BREWERS AS ENTREPRENEURS Beverage Business Institute, College of Business

Vocation: “It is the place where your great joy meets the world’s great need.”

Entrepreneurs Defined  Entrepreneurs are generally defined as individuals who create a business venture with the goal of making a profit.  Entrepreneurs are therefore assumed to be:  Visionaries with clear missions  Business & bottom line oriented  Effective leaders  Creative/Innovative  Independent  Thought leaders/knowledge experts  NOT SO MUCH

Characteristics of Entrepreneurs  What we know about entrepreneurs:  High in N-Ach  Low in N-Aff  Independent  Resilient  Creative  Not easily managed  Don’t always play nice with others  Passionate/driven

Brewers and Entrepreneurship  Does a brewer have to create a business to be an entrepreneur?  No, entrepreneurship takes many forms  There is no such thing as an “Intrapreneur”  Can “employees” be entrepreneurs?  Yes, new products & business ventures involve risk & rewards  Only difference may be resource availability and work parameters

Brewers and Entrepreneurship  First mover  One does not have to be an inventor to be innovative  Being first to market has a number of advantages IF there is the business infrastructure to support the penetration of the target market  Early adopter  A strategy utilized by those having a larger presence within a target market  Can come in after product acceptance and “flood” the market driving smaller competitors into a retreat position

Brewers and Entrepreneurship  Perceived role of brewers  Artist? May not care what others think  Scientist/chemist? Quality and process sometimes outweigh business considerations  Alchemist? Strange and wonderful blends that may have no market  Business person? May be too mainstream & too low risk for a “big hit”

Brewers and Entrepreneurship  Orientation of brewer may determine success as an entrepreneur  A pragmatic combo appears to be the most effective  Reliance upon “team” becomes important  May be counter-intuitive for most but still critical  Timing of development, roll out, and market penetration is heavily dependent upon brewers and the “approach”  May depend upon whether the brewery is a first mover or early adopter

Characteristics of Managers vs. Entrepreneurs  An organization “local ”  Risk averse  Strict adherence to rules and structure (bureaucratic)  Bottom line focus  A cosmopolitan  Risk “tolerant”  A boundary spanner  The business version of ADD ManagersEntrepreneurs

Characteristics of Managers vs. Entrepreneurs  Facts & data drive decisions  Closely tracks results  Gate keeper  Intuitive decision maker  High tolerance for ambiguity  Doesn’t recognize any “gates” ManagersEntrepreneurs

Characteristics of Managers vs. Entrepreneurs  Meets customers’ needs  Responds to directions  “Rides herd to gain “obedience”  Creates customers’ needs  Does not respond well to directions  Has been lost from the herd ManagersEntrepreneurs

Characteristics of Managers and Entrepreneurs  Satisficing decisions  Specific work parameters (time, place, resources, etc)  Pragmatic decisions based upon resource allocation  Optimizing decisions  Flexible work parameters (do what it takes to “get er done”)  Experimentation (trial & error may dominate) ManagersEntrepreneurs

 Ironically the identifiable age-related personality changes among managers are those with which most entrepreneurs are imbued at an earlier age.  Those things that attract certain personalities to creative and independently driven vocations are similar to those factors motivating entrepreneurs. Personality and Entrepreneurs

Cautionary notes  Being creative/innovative does not always translate into entrepreneurial success  The need for independence does not equate to entrepreneurial success  Having great, unique products does not always mean a successful business venture  HOWEVER, if all of the above are combined with business acumen the odds are improved dramatically

Business reminders  Identify and try to understand the barriers to entry  142 breweries in Colorado with over 75 in planning  Know your market and targets  When is it saturated?  Know your products and where they fit  Demographics/target markets  Pay attention to competition but be true to your vision  Be willing to take calculated risks but know when to make changes- FOCUS on RESULTS