Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in food and beverage but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Andrew Cameron, founder of Still Fired Distilleries, located in Lequille, Canada.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
We are a Craft Moonshine Distillery located in Lequille, Nova Scotia and we distill spirits from the first 'legal' stills built in Atlantic Canada. We have a wide target market as moonshine enthusiasts come in every age (19+) and gender.
Tell us about yourself
I started my career as an Underwater Welder (Commercial Diver), where I met my business partner, Owen Ritchie. We both shared a passion for quality spirits and were tired of the selections available at the Liquor Authority so we strongly believed that we could create a better product, using the bountiful agriculture available in the Annapolis Valley. We got to work in 2013 and by June 2015, Still Fired Distilleries was born. I am strongly motivated by the fact that we get to make, create, explore, taste and experience everything the alcohol sector has to offer and I am significantly warmer on a day-to-day basis then when I was working in the Atlantic Ocean.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
The company has received an overwhelming amount of positive feedback from a wide variety of components of our business. From marketing, to customer service, to quality of product, to price point, we are consistently given a strong reassurance from our loyal customer base that everything is running smoothly.
What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?
Unfortunately we share a similar problem with a lot of business owners in this current world where supply chains are very uncertain. We are constantly struggling each day to find supplies and are never guaranteed to receive our next order of bottles, caps, packaging material, fermentable, etc. It has made for a very stressful work environment.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
Use "NO" as your motivation: You will always be told no from multiple directions so use this word as your daily motivation to persevere.
Know your limits: Don't reach too far and work too hard. Everyone thinks that being an entrepreneur means freedom but you have no idea how much more time and energy you are going to sink into this as a personal endeavor. Burn out can happen quickly.
Know where you want to go: Coming from a business that could allow an endless amount of expansion, if the cash-flow allows for it, you need to know your capabilities and your comfort levels. Don't grow beyond your means.
Anything else you'd like to share?
Cheers!
Where can people find you and your business?
https://www.stillfireddistilleries.com/welcomehome
https://www.instagram.com/stillfireddistillery/
https://www.facebook.com/stillfireddistilleries.ca
If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solopreneur that you'd like to share, then email community@subkit.com; we'd love to feature your journey on these pages.
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