Business Over Beer

This episode was recorded live from The Ripple Space in Downtown Vancouver, WA at the Passages to Success Fall Conference. Our guest is Chris Hays, President and COO of ZoomInfo.

It's not often that you get to talk to an executive leader of this caliber. Chris shared his experience in growing ZoomInfo into a multibillion dollar public company and provide very relatable ideas for small business owners around sales, growth, scaling, failure, exit strategy, and ways to weather an economic downturn.

Prost!

Episode Highlights:

0:37 Introductions

2:45 ZoomInfo's commitment to Vancouver, WA

5:30 The Beer portion of the program

7:57 How to manage growth & executing on opportunities

10:56 Learning from failure

14:20 Best ways to focus on your Total Addressable Market (TAM) - fit and intent

17:33 How company size impacts your ability to pivot

19:56 Ripcord moments

21:21 Cofounding a small business

26:32 Always have a contract

28:11 Tips for scaling your business

32:15 The natural tension between Sales and Operations

34:57 The hardest thing Chris had to sell

35:50 Keys to weathering an economic downturn

39:30 Ways to look bigger as a small business

42:15 The Final Action

43:45 Wrap up

Guest Beer:

Victor 23 Craft Brewery - Vancouver, WA

Briefcase Full of Hops, Fresh Hop Hazy IPA, 7% ABV

Thanks to all our Sponsors of the Passages to Success Fall Conference:

Comcast Business

The Port of Vancouver

Gravitate

Greenhaven Landscapes

Rational Unicorn

In Light Hyperbarics

Twin Star Credit Union

Chase

Victor 23 Craft Brewery

Valo Cellars

Heathen Brewing

K Water Store

The Barbers

This episode was recorded live from our Passages to Success monthly member event at IV Tea Company in downtown Vancouver, WA. Our guest is Natalie Fairchild, Founder and Chief Inspirational Office with Pacific Perks, a mobile cafe that creates personalized experiences for families and organizations in the Pacific Northwest.

Small Business Owners are experiencing a wide variety of hiring challenges in today's market. In this episode, we do a deep dive into some of those challenges. We discuss the notion of The Great Resignation, and Natalie shares with us some creative solutions for a more effective hiring process. In addition, Natalie shares with us her 5 Rules for Business Basics and shares some big news about the future of her company.

Prost!

Episode Highlights:

0:08 Intro

1:11 Thanks to our Sponsors

3:35 Top Hiring Challenges

5:00 Welcome Natalie Fairchild Founder of Pacific Perks

6:36 The Great Resignation

9:44 Creative Problem Solving in the hiring process

12:52 How many spaces after a period?

16:35 Changing the old school mentality

17:58 The role of storytelling in the hiring process

20:47 Constantly recruiting for great candidates

23:54 The beer portion of the program

26:45 How pivoting can help you make the best of a bad situation

32:30 5 Rules for Business Basics

37:48 Franchising at Pacific Perks

43:05 Balance your work and maintain your flexibility

47:47 The Final Action

50:15 Contact Natalie

50:42 Wrap Up

51:20 Meet Jason Huggins with our Sponsor Twin Star Credit Union

Guest Beer:

Blue Moon Brewing Company - Denver, CO

Blue Moon Belgian Style Wheat Ale, 5.4% ABV, 9 IBU

Episode Links:

Passages to Success

Natalie Fairchild

Pacific Perks

Top Hiring Challenges from BMA Group

Thanks to our Sponsors!

Twin Star Credit Union

Chucks Produce

IV Tea

Loowit Brewing

Coming to you live from The Clark County Historical Museum in Vancouver Washington, this was recorded at our April 2022 Passages to Success member Event.

We are excited to have Owners Jon Dyer and Kara Bowman of CheckRight NW, a Bookkeeping and Payroll company based in Vancouver, WA.

Her journey from 10 hours a week to 10 hours a day

Jon started offering bookkeeping services while getting his accounting degree and by the time he graduated, he had an established business. The question was whether or not to change to a CPA business or stay the course.

He stayed the course, growing from just bookkeeping, in an office barely big enough for two people, to multiple offices all over Portland, OR Metro and expanding in to Payroll Services as well.

Kara started as a part time employee in 2012 as Jon's first hire, and has now become a Partner in the business.

Episode Highlights:

00:42 Introductions

3:53 High level overview of CheckRight NW

5:10 The beer portion of the program

6:30 Our first ever live TikTok

11:25 How John and Kara came together

17:55 Should have quit my jobs sooner ("18:50 I wish I would've just let go of some of things that were holding me back")

19:40 Work life balance

24:40 Building their company culture

30:05 How Kara went from employee to partner

36:25 Curiosity as a cornerstone of growth

41:03 Don't bake for clients

45:11 How their Customer Service culture will drive future growth decisions

49:15 Advice for small business owners about growth

53:30 The Final Question

55:55 Contact information

57:20 Wrap up

Episode Links:

Passages to Success

CheckRight NW

Kara Bowman

John Dyer

Jon's Mom's Google Review

Von Ebert Brewing

Sector 7 Hazy IPA

On this episode of Business Over Beer, we have Passages To Success member and owner of Escape Zone 360, Ben Bevard.  

Ben originally had the idea for his escape room while taking a marketing class in college, and when the pandemic hit, he found himself in a position to start his own business. Not only was he able to get it up and running, he has expanded, adding a second escape room in 2021. 

Escape Zone 360 provides immersive - device free - entertainment, that is family friendly, perfect for birthdays, youth groups, and celebrations of all kinds. In addition, Escape Zone 360 is great for businesses for a fun day out of the office, or through team building with a professional business coach. 

Starting and growing your own business is never easy, but as Ben has shown, if you have the courage to take some risks, it can pay off by turning your dream into reality. 

Prost!

0:43 Introductions

1:15 50,000 foot view of Escape Zone 360

2:00 Inspired by the love of travel

3:21 Types of escape rooms?

7:21 The consumer that never leaves

9:00 The escape room community - co-petitors not competitors

11:00 Good for your mental health

12:52: Team building

17:07 Why an escape room

18:54 Business growth lessons

20:39 Ideal clients of Escape Zone 360

23:02 The Final Question

24:55 Wrap Up

Escape Zone 360

Ben Bevard

Escape Room movie

Audrey Clark Co.

Business Over Beer

On this episode of Business Over Beer, we have Passages To Success member and local realty expert, Diana Rutherford.  

A former Collegiate Athlete, Diana's experience playing softball has helped her develop more of a teammate approach to her real estate business as a way to best serve her clients. She first got into Real Estate though her dad's business, and is now taking a fresh approach to the real estate industry centered around service. Diana believes that we are all better together and through more human connection we can build a better community.   

Prost!

0:43 Intros

1:17 50k foot view

2:15 What's with the softball uniform

3:24 Iowa State

4:10 Service is number 1

6:35 How got Diana into real estate

10:40 Importance of adjustment

12:43 Navigating areas she's not good at

15:50 Rewriting the realty playbook

20:36 Push Back to the new playbook

23:45 The Final Question

27:42 Wrap Up

At Home With Diana

Realty By Rutherford

PNW Real Estate

Realty One Group Cascadia

Iowa State Cyclones

Business Over Beer

On this episode of Business Over Beer, we recorded live from Victor 23 Brewing with Head Brewer, Todd Britt. Victor 23 is a great local brewpub, complete with all the regulars saddled up at the bar, there to support the brewery.

In this episode, we learn about  where the name "Victor 23" originated from. Also, Todd talks about his journey from the Midwest to The Pacific Northwest, brewing for institutions like Goose Island and Rock Bottom, before landing the head brewer job for Victor 23.  Todd talks about the art of brewing and his passion for barrel aged beer, but understanding that this is a business, and he needs to brew beer that his customers want.

"Somebody's gotta buy it," Todd told us. "It Doesn't matter if its the best beer in the world, if I can't get you guys to drink it, it doesn't matter what I think of the beer"

Prost!

0:48 Intros

4:05 50k foot view of Victor 23 Brewing

5:00 The beer portion of the program

7:35 What's new with the beer industry

9:21 Todd's passion for barrel aging beer

15:50 Changes to hop technology

19:55 Todd's brewing background

22:22 Goose Island

24:10 Rock Bottom

25:45 Adjusting to the PNW beer culture

27:51 Does the PNW love for hops hinder our beer culture

33:47 Angie's Mystery Beer

39:35 Where the name Victor 23 comes from 

41:37 Getting the Victor 23 brewer job

43:54 Let demand lead supply

49:37 The Final Question

52:40 Wrap up

Victor 23 Brewing - Vancouver, WA

Business Class, Hazy Pale Ale, 5% ABV, 10 IBU

"Upgrade your ticket and experience the comfort beyond the curtain. Brewed with the guys of Biz Over Beer, this Hazy Pale Ale features layers of hop character, including citrus, papaya, mango, blueberry, and orange blossom."

Business Over Beer

Victor 23 Brewing

Todd Britt

Rose City Distilling

Goose Island Brewing

Rock Bottom

What's our vector Victor?

DB Cooper

5440 Brewing

Welcome to the first episode in our Passages To Success series, recorded live at our recent Sales and Marketing Seminar in January 2022, featuring Charles Swatzell, Formos CEO and Dave Barcos, Formos Director of Business Development.  

Prost!

0:43 Intro

4:00 50K foot view of Formos

6:33 The beer portion of the program

11:15 Signs you've made it

14:31 The difference between Start Up and Starting Up

16:00 The Hustle

20:10 How being an actor helped in business

27:58 Business Development Defined

32:02 Start Up Development Phases

35:54 Walking a lonely path and self motivation

42:23 Tenacity

44:30 Navigating sales as an introvert

47:19 Telling your story

53:59 Projects they're proud of

1:03:46 The Final Question

1:06:34 Wrap Up

Victor 23 Brewing - Vancouver, WA

Business Class, Hazy Pale Ale, 5% ABV, 10 IBU

"Upgrade your ticket and experience the comfort beyond the curtain. Brewed with the guys of Biz Over Beer, this Hazy Pale Ale features layers of hop character, including citrus, papaya, mango, blueberry, and orange blossom."

Formos

North Bank Innovations

Charles Swatzell

Dave Barcos

Aria Gin

The Swatzells Perform One More Day Parody

Sidekick

Pan's Mushroom Jerky

Mushroom Jerky Beer Pairings

VanTechy

Business Over Beer welcomes back Vancouver, WA City Councilor, Kim Harless, for part 2 of her interview. 

A lifelong resident of Vancouver, Kim has spent her entire adult life in service, working with non-profits and government agencies. Elected to the first ever Clark County Charter Commission as the only person of color, she has become the first Indigenous person elected to Vancouver City Council. 

In this episode, Kim shared with us that she is not viewing her City Council seat as a stepping stone to further her political career or to do what's in the best interest of a political party. Rather, she is committed to making the community a better place for everybody and on policies that make it easier to promote mutual aid projects and allow for community members to support each other. 

Now is a time for Vancouver to "grow up", literally and figuratively. We need to be more effective in how we grow our urban centers and protect our rural farmland. We need to have a resilient community that can take on these challenges and still thrive, but at the same time recognize that we cannot simply rely on the resiliency of our people. We need to provide opportunities to all our citizens. We won't thrive if our people are constantly having to overcome huge setbacks. 

Prost!

Worthy Brewing - Bend, OR

Lights Out Stout, 7.7% ABV, 30 IBU

"This hybridized American Stout accentuates the subtle nuances of non-traditional ingredients, such as Bob’s Red Mill Oats and milk sugar, which lend a smooth body with some residual sweetness. The whole Madagascar vanilla beans show mostly in the aroma."

Kim Harless

Paint Care

Vancouver Free Fridge Project

Proper Mystery Beer Opening Procedure with Keith Sconiers

On this episode of Business Over Beer, we welcome Vancouver, WA City Councilor, Kim Harless. 

A lifelong resident of Vancouver, Kim has spent her entire adult life in service, working with non-profits and government agencies. Elected to the first ever Clark County Charter Commission as the only person of color, she has become the first Indigenous person elected to Vancouver City Council. 

As a natural introvert, Kim never really saw herself in the spotlight, but she has a greater desire for the world to be a great place for everybody and won't want to stand on the sidelines when she sees injustice or an opportunity for life to be better for her community.

Prost!

Black Raven Brewing - Redmond, WA

Trickster IPA, 6.9% ABV, 68 IBU

In mythology, the raven can play tricks or otherwise disobey normal rules, hence the name Trickster. This well-balanced IPA has a light fruit, citrus and piney hop aroma with a full hop flavor. With delicately balanced malt and hops and a 6.9% ABV, this beer has truly earned its name. 

Kim Harless

Paint Care

More Black Raven Brewing Co.