Hey friends —
I’ve been down for 10 days with the flu. The kind where you’re not “resting,” you’re just… horizontal and bargaining with the meaning of life.
And when I finally opened my laptop after more than a few days in bed and saw 378+ unread emails and a pile of meetings to reschedule, I had that very specific panic that feels like someone just dropped a keg on my chest.
Here’s why I’m telling you this:
That “oh no, I’m behind and I don’t even know what I missed” feeling? That’s what it’s like to run a beverage business without financial clarity.
Not because you’re irresponsible. But because when you’re busy keeping the doors open, the numbers and strategies become the things you’ll deal with later.
And later turns into:
- guessing how much you're making with each pint or six pack
- hoping payroll magically works out this month
- crossing your fingers that the cash flow statement will be black instead of red this time
It’s the same trap Michael Gerber talks about in The E-Myth (it’s on my recommended reading list here). Yes, it's a book and you have to read it. I know I spoke about AI recently, but not all of your knowledge needs to come from Chat GPT or Claude.
You get stuck working in the business instead of on it… and finance is one of the first places that happens, because it’s not on fire today.
Until it is.
Here’s the tough-love truth for you: there will never be a good time to pause and strategize.
The chiller will always break, the taxes will always be due, the food truck will catch on fire, someone will always no-show, the kegs will always be somewhere they’re not supposed to be, and so on.
So you have to block the time anyways to pause, strategize, delegate, and automate.
And this week, I’m making it easy for you: listening to my newest podcast episode counts as your blocked strategy time!
Because I just dropped a business-changing interview with Chris Farmand from Small Batch Standard — my friend, industry colleague, superdad, and the kind of finance brain you want in your corner when you’re trying to run a profitable operation instead of a chaotic passion project.
Chris has helped just shy of 300 craft beverage brands get clear on what’s actually happening in their business.
In this episode, we talk about:
- the mindset mistakes that keep founders behind
- how to look at sales, margins, and expenses without spiraling
- what your P&L is trying to tell you (even if you’ve been ignoring it)
- why labor + training decisions quietly make or break profit
- how to stop guessing and start making decisions you can defend
If you want the simplest possible frame: sales – expenses = profit. For more context, circle back and listen to episodes 10 and 11. But if you don’t know what’s going in and out (and where it’s leaking), you’ll work twice as hard for half the return.
I’m not exaggerating when I say this one episode could either save you thousands or make you thousands.
BONUS: If you’re headed to Craft Brewers Conference this year, here’s your other “block strategy time” move: Chris and his crew are teaching a FREE (yes, free), all-day craft brewery finance workshop on April 19th. It's a come and go situation, so no stuffy schedule to follow. Did I mention it's free? All day. All profit plays. So worth it.
Between that workshop and a conference schedule that’s basically a concentrated dose of actionable education, you could block hours of profitable strategy time just by showing up and actually paying attention.
Sending you positive cash flow vibes,
Julie
P.S. If you want to talk shop in person (or watch me go full beverage-nerd on stage), here’s where I’ll be speaking soon:
P.P.S. You know what else counts as your weekly strategy time? Live monthly coaching inside the Barrel 2 Business Collective. It’s sales + marketing strategy for craft beverage brands in a $39.99/month membership — monthly trainings, actionable templates, and a private community for craft beverage teams. Unlimited team members, cancel anytime, and you can always watch the replays if you can’t make it live. Stop waiting for strategy time, join today!
Are you tuned in yet? I have a podcast!
If you enjoy tough love for your business and you actually read these emails, then you'll love the podcast. Bite sized episodes that pack a big punch. You can catch up on all episodes here or click those cute buttons below. You can also search for This Is Not Your Hobby wherever you get your podcasts. Have a Bottleneck for me to tackle on an upcoming episode? Submit your anonymous gripes and beverage business issues here.
