Specialty Wine Shop - VinoNueva Fine & Rare Wines

Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in food and beverage but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Ana Corina Baptista and Bernardo Villanueva, Founders of VinoNueva Fine & Rare Wines, located in Miami, FL, USA.

What's your business, and who are your customers?

VinoNueva is a project that we decided to launch out of our passion for wine and our desire to bring to Miami an approachable way to buy and enjoy wine. With the belief that what makes a wine exceptional is subjective - it's the place, the time, and the people you're sharing it with, we created VinoNueva: a space where anyone, from aficionados to connoisseurs, can learn and share their passion for wine.

VinoNueva is a specialty wine shop where you'll find wine for every palate and budget. Our goal is to personally guide our customers in their selection by understanding their tastes and needs. So that they leave our shop with a bottle of wine, they'll enjoy and an interesting piece of knowledge.

Tell us about yourself

We're a husband-wife team, wine aficionados who have learned wine by exploring, drinking, and discussing it with anyone who can teach us something new.

After almost a decade of living in New York City, we moved to Miami in search of a change of scenery and industry. Once we arrived, we quickly noticed we couldn't find the wines we were looking to drink, and a crazy idea we had discussed over a few glasses of wine became an opportunity. We left our corporate jobs to turn this long-time wine passion into a business venture.

Becoming a business owner is no walk in the park. Keeping ourselves motivated every day is what keeps us moving forward. We constantly remind ourselves why we're doing this, think about our purpose, and look to exceed our and the customer's expectations.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

Our biggest accomplishment has been getting people excited about wine and building customer trust. This is what we aim to do every day. We put a lot of effort into designing the shop to be non-intimidating. From the moment our customers walk through the door, they feel they've come to the right place to get honest and knowledgeable recommendations, broaden their palate and discover the world of wine. We enjoy it when our customers come back, hang out at the shop to talk more about wine, call or text to let us know their thoughts about a wine they tried at a restaurant, or sign up for one of our tasting events.

What's one of the hardest things that comes with being a business owner?

Today, one of the hardest things that comes from being a business owner is knowing the value of your time. As a business owner, you'll have to wear different hats. It's not just a role. It's a mix of different roles.

One of the day-to-day challenges we face is understanding which tasks should come first, how much time to allocate to each task, and what to delegate to others to move forward efficiently.

What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?

'The tip' that has gotten us through times of discouragement, uncertainty, stress, and the emotional rollercoaster that being a business owner entails, is: 'keep pounding.'

We've met people who have related to our story and have been kind enough to give us good advice. One of them said to us, 'just keep pounding.' We weren't sure what that meant, and he explained that having a business is like a boxing fight. You have to 'keep pounding' until you get your knockout. Don't throw in the towel! Keep fighting, and never stop believing in what you're doing.

And lastly, look forward but remember to also look back from time to time and celebrate all you have accomplished.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://vinonueva.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vinonueva/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/vinonueva-fine-rare-wines/

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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