Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in food and beverage but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Nicholas Miller, Vice President of Sales and Marketing of Miller Family Wine Company, located in Santa Barbara, CA, USA.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
We are a vertically integrated wine company making wines from grapes we grow and nationally distributing our wines. Our customer is anyone from the everyday drinker of our Butternut wines to the collectors looking for our Allocated Bien Nacido Estate wines to those who are sober, curious, and looking to try our Hand On Heart Alcohol-Free wines.
Tell us about yourself
As a fifth-generation farmer, our family was one of the first pioneers to plant wine grapes on the Central Coast post-prohibition. I started making our own wines in the mid-2000s. I am motivated every day to carry on the legacy of our family business as we evolve and create an environment where our employees feel they can show up as their authentic selves.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
My personal breakthrough came through understanding that to be a high-performing company, you can't just spend your time building the business outward facing, but that successful companies spend an enormous amount of time working on the business of their business. Internally cultivating a culture and building an environment where employees feel like they belong.
What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?
Balancing all the competing interests of internal stakeholders. When you're surrounded by talent, people want to bring their best ideas forward with the best intent, but as the owner, you always have to look at the whole company, not individual departments, which oftentimes means saying no to good ideas.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
- Always over-communicate with your team and stakeholders. Even with a clear vision, it takes a lot to make sure everyone is on board.
- Only hire the right person for the right job; hiring available talent to fill an open headcount is usually a short-term solution without long-term success.
- Focus on being strategic, not opportunistic. There are always more opportunities than any one person/company can take on.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://www.millerfamilywines.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=112555410415213
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/millerfamilywinecompany/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/miller-family-wine-company/
If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.
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