Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in food and beverage but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Nova Cadamatre MW, CEO of Trestle Thirty One, located in Geneva, NY, USA.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
We are a small luxury winery in the Finger Lakes of upstate NY. Our customers are really anyone who enjoys fine wine and wants to be adventurous in discovering new wines!
Tell us about yourself
I originally got started through an idea that my husband had. He said, "We should start a vineyard. It can't be that hard!" After that, I really fell in love while researching grapevines and have been in the wine industry ever since. I really love the industry. It's one of the only industries where you can walk through the vines, harvest the fruit and make something with it and then go sell it directly to the customer. One person can be involved all the way through, and that is really special.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
Being able to move into my own business full time. That only happened this year, and we have been in business for seven years.
What's one of the hardest things that comes with being a business owner?
Doing all the stuff that you aren't passionate about. For me, that is all the compliance and tax paperwork that comes with owning your own wine business. It's really challenging, but it's part of running your own small business. If you don't do it, no one else is going to.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
- Be prepared for everything to take three times as long and cost twice as much as you expect.
- Always lean towards the conservative side when putting business plans together.
- Make sure you are 100% emotionally invested in making your business work. If your heart (and your family's hearts) are not in it to win it, don't start. This is not an easy journey.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://www.trestle31.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nova_cadamatre_mw/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NovaCadamatre
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/novacadamatre/
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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