Craft Brewery Financial Training Podcast

Today we welcome back Tim Near from Agrowgate, a company that works to save you money on cost of goods sold. Think cans, cardboard, malt, freight and so much more.

Key Points

• State of the industry: Trends in costs and commodity pricing
• Brewery purchasing 101: Best practices 
• How to properly source key ingredients 
• Keys to benchmark your costs against industry averages

Resources

• Connect with Tim Near and learn more about how to save money 
• Listen to the Brewery Supply Chain Management podcast
• Join the brewery financial network - connect with other brewery owners to learn best practices to improve profits and cash flow

In today's podcast we hear the audio version of a recent Brewery Financial Round Table meeting where we tackle brewery cost management and expense reduction.

Summary of key points:

• ​Use this 1-2-3-4 step process to put a laser focus on cost cutting and reduction
• Share the Brewery Financial Training Program with your managers and staff – train them in the ways of identifying and reducing (or eliminating) bloated costs
• Key challenges we discussed: Controlling costs related to production and materials, freight and shipping, finding efficiencies, avoiding cost surprises, improving culture and communication
• 78 Ideas to cut costs and improve financial results – Double Your Profits in 6 Months, by Bob Fifer
• Dan Klasen from the Beverage Federation shared details on the group purchasing organization (GPO) to help you save a ‘craft load’ of money

​Join the membership today and get instant access to the brewery financial round table replay, presentation deck, and brewery cost cutting resources.

Today on the podcast we hear from Scott Birkner, VP and Business Lending Specialist at Dogwood State Bank.

Scott shares insights on how to use SBA loans to purchase an existing brewery or make a partial acquisition of a brewery.

Key Topics

• How to finance a start-up brewery, buy an existing brewery, or make a partial acquisition using SBA loans
• State of the lending industry: Credit availability, interest rates, trends
• What does the future of lending look like? Scott looks into his crystal ball and shares his observations

Resources

• Connect with Scott and learn more about brewery acquisition financing, [email protected]
• Join the Beer Business Finance Association - we talk brewery finances all the time! 

Today on the podcast we talk non-alcohol beer with Dave Williams from Bump Williams Consulting.

Dave shares data, insights, and analysis on the non-alcohol beer category.   

Key Topics

• Major players in non-alcohol beer, sales volume, and growth trends 
• NA beer sales by market channel: Chain and grocery, liquor, convenience, and on-premise accounts  
• Retailer response to NA beer: More shelf space, more willingness to take on these brands
• Crystal ball time. What does the future hold for NA beer?  Listen in for Dave's full analysis 

Resources

• Connect with Dave Williams, [email protected]
• Join our financial network of brewery owners and managers 

Today on the podcast we hear from marketing guru Julie Rhodes from Not Your Hobby Marketing.

Julie and I talk about The Power of Marketing + Finance. And dig in on why NOW is the time to invest in your marketing and sales strategy. 

Key Topics:

• Brewery marketing trends, new ideas to try, fundamental marketing tactics to revisit
• Why NOW is the time to double down on your investment in sales and marketing (and where to find the cost savings to pay for this)
• When to add a sales rep (and how to pay them)

Resources:

• Connect with Julie Rhodes at Not Your Hobby Marketing
• Learn more about the Beer Business Finance Association, a network of brewery owners and managers focused on driving profits and cash flows

Today on the podcast we hear from Ross Stensrud, co-founder of Tapwyse, a developer of custom branded apps for taproom breweries.

Ross shares his experience working in commercial fitness - where the business model is all about memberships and recurring revenue - and how this idea can be applied to your taproom to grow sales.

Key Points

• How to develop an app for your brewery to grow sales and create predictable recurring revenue
• Best practices to re-imagine the 'mug club' so you can add unlimited members
•  The best incentives to get customers to download your app, use it to buy your offerings, and receive push messages to come back to your taproom more often

Resources

• Get in touch with Ross and learn how to grow taproom sales with recurring revenue, [email protected]
• Join the Beer Business Finance Association, we are a group of brewery owners and managers, working together to grow sales and improve profitability

Webinar Replay: How to Build Your Brewery Key Metrics Dashboard

In today's webinar I am joined by Alec Johnson from Ekos who shares his favorite KPIs and shows you how to build beautiful (and profitable) dashboards.

Here's what you'll get:

• 50+ key metrics used by other breweries
• KPI best practices: How to pick the right numbers for your business
• Sample brewery KPI Scorecards and templates to download
• Tips to build dashboards and KPIs in your brewery management software

Do this next:

1. Watch the webinar replay: How to Build Your Brewery Key Metrics Dashboard and download the Presentation Deck
2. Join the Beer Business Finance membership. We are a network of brewery operators focused on driving profits and cash flows (and Key Metrics help us do that!)

Today on the podcast we hear from Brian Deignan, founder of Validation Ale in Santa Barbara, California.

Validation ale's tagline is: "Allowing great beer to rise to the top. Your order is a vote toward Validation."  The concept is to curate an evolving tap list based on customer orders and taste.

Validation uses data to drive decisions on what beers belong on tap. This approach gives customers what they want while maximizing beer sales on draft. A lovely combination.

Key Topics

• Lessons Brian learned starting his brewery and what he would do differently (how to use calendars and deadlines to keep the project on schedule)
• 3 Big Ideas to grow sales and profits ("Steal the glass", "line price your beer", and "split test your draft lineup")
• Success secrets from the tech industry and how to successfully apply them to your brewery business

Resources

• Connect with Brian at Validation Ale
• Learn more about the brewery financial round table

In today's podcast we'll cover the key drivers of brewery profitability, and give you specific action steps to follow to improve the bottom line in your business.

Key Topics

• Key drivers of brewery profits
• Scorecards to measure and improve the bottom line
• Most effective ways to cut costs, increase margins and grow sales
• How to create a profit plan and profit routine

Resources

• Learn more about the brewery financial round table
• Watch the video and get the financial templates: How to Drive Brewery Profitability

On today's podcast you'll hear about a new project from A-Bay Engineers called the Craft Brewing Community Dashboard.

Many brewery owners and managers are looking for financial and operational benchmarking data, and this new dashboard could be just the thing.

Jamie Schild, CEO and Jim Oilschlager, COO share details on the community dashboard, what it is, how it works, and how breweries can use this information to make data-driven decisions. 

Key Topics

• How to join the brewery community dashboard
• Favorite KPIs from Jamie and Jim
• Benchmarking against your peers vs. brewery historical performance

Resources

• Sign up for the brewery community financial dashboard
• Learn more about the brewery financial round table