In the latest installment of Brewbound’s A Round With – a weekly Insider-exclusive Q&A series with industry leaders – Julie Rhodes, founder and principal of Not Your Hobby Marketing Solutions, shares her best advice for navigating craft’s turbulent waters, balancing competing priorities… and surviving the Craft Brewers Conference (CBC).
Before founding Not Your Hobby in 2019, Julie spent more than two decades in the bev-alc industry in roles across supplier sales, distribution management and digital marketing.
What common themes are you hearing among your clients right now?
Declining wholesale volume, slow foot traffic in their taprooms, limited distribution opportunities, confusion about what products to make, and feeling stuck in their marketing efforts. That said, the one thing I want to shout from the rooftops to all beer brands right now is “You’re not alone!” Many of us are experiencing the same woes, so please don’t think you’re on the struggle bus by yourself.
What are the biggest challenges your clients are facing? Does this vary by size or business model?
Regardless of size or business model, getting more butts in seats, questioning what products to make and struggling to understand how to market to today’s consumer are pretty universal.
A lot of breweries are struggling with enduring the down cycle that we are in right now, but please know that I don’t see all doom and gloom, there are still incredible opportunities out there in our market, but you’re going to have to work smarter to find them.
For the brands willing to roll up their sleeves and learn more about strategic business planning, financial literacy, and consumer purchase behavior, the possibilities are vast. You just need to have a growth mindset and realize that your business in the future might not look exactly like the business that you originally started, and that’s not a bad thing.
In distribution, there is a lot of indirect value in branding and consumer trial opportunities to be had that you can’t achieve with just your onsite location, but brands need to adjust their revenue expectations for the next few years. The market needs time to correct itself. Expansion plans need to be strategic and conservative.
On the flip side, I don’t think that brands can rely 100% on just taproom revenue, especially if you are only offering liquid for sale. Today’s on-premise environment calls for special experiences, which includes things like entertainment, food, etc. – more of a full spectrum hospitality situation. Customers are less likely these days to spend their discretionary income on just beer, they need a better reason to get out of their house and you have to provide enticing occasions to motivate them.
Is there anything you’re seeing among your community that would benefit other breweries?
Internal investment in strategic business planning will benefit any sized craft beer brand that wants to keep their doors open well into the future. And it’s not just financial literacy, although that is a huge part of getting your house in order. Strategic planning also includes setting goals for each department, optimizing your marketing efforts, evaluating sales data, creating repeatable processes and systems that make operations more seamless, and learning how to make well-educated decisions about the vision of your business.
If you’re curious about how to begin all of this (because it sounds daunting), I suggest reading books about entrepreneurship to help you with the journey. My go-to resources are Traction by Gino Wickman, The Great Game of Business by Jack Stack, Dare to Lead by Brene Brown, and The E-Myth by Michael Gerber. Or you can just give me a shout…wink, wink.
You’ve been a big advocate for craft breweries using sales data. What can they gain from this? And how can breweries that don’t have the funds for a subscription to NIQ or Circana otherwise access useful numbers?
I totally geek out for data. One of my clients called me a human spreadsheet the other day and I take that as a huge compliment! Data, especially sales data, is so incredibly important for any business to use in their decision making processes.
Being data driven is not enough, you have to be data informed. Your data needs to tell a story and that story needs to dictate how you move forward. Sales data can also be a big bucket term that can mean a lot of different things wholesale volume, distribution points and revenue from POS, or scan data from sources like [NIQ or Circana], or taproom sales. To leverage sales data is to figure out what you are looking for, research where to get it, employ some software to collect it, and know how to use the results.
Sales data isn’t cheap BTW, so just embrace it. It will either cost you time or money, or both. Data is a competitive advantage and that holds a lot of value, so expect to pay for it in some way, shape or form. There’s a learning curve to it, so you’ll have to do some homework
The Brewers Association publishes a wonderful quarterly dashboard from 3 Tier Beverages that is free for members. I wish more brands would use this thing, it’s like gold. Your distributor can also be a wealth of data for you. Ask if they can grant you access to scan data or a data portal.
Between working with your clients, volunteering as a mentor and promoting your own business, how do you balance your time these days?
Balance is subjective. I honestly feel like I’m never balanced! Prioritized and organized, yes absolutely, but balanced? Probably not, unless I’m in a yoga class. I do juggle quite a few things, including my business, volunteer hours, marriage and two kids to add to the list, but it takes a lot of work and a lot of intention for how I want my life to play out.
To be completely honest, I have chronic anxiety and I got shingles in my mid-thirties, so mental health is the No. 1 thing that I consider when it comes to how I spend my time, and it’s why I decided that it was best that I work for myself.
I set intentions for everything I do. Every activity or project needs to bring value and benefit to my life, and if I find that something would be a negative influence or bring more stress into the equation, I have learned to say no. So I hope that people realize it might look like I do a lot, but it’s all very intentional. Also toss in the help of therapy, anxiety medication, prioritizing sleep and exercise, project management software, and a wonderful circle of friends/work colleagues that all provide support for one another.
You’ve got a page on your site dedicated to social justice resources in the craft beverage industry, which is part of how you can “use [your] platform for change.” What are some meaningful changes you’ve seen in the industry in the past few years?
In my corporate years I was never allowed to use my voice for things that were important to me, so when I started my business, I made a very conscious decision to use my platform to be transparent about what I feel is right or just, it’s a huge part of my core values.
With guidance from experts in the fields of social justice and feminist business practices (always stay curious!), I wanted to play a part in changing the craft beer environment. Organizational culture change is hard and slow and takes a village, but I can say that there are some pivotal moments that I’ve seen that make me hopeful for where we are going as an industry. In times of trauma, humans have a tendency to want to “fix things” immediately, but when it comes to shifting a huge social construct, we have to rely on the small things to note progress. Don’t lose sight of them.
When I first entered the industry there were no mentions of codes of conduct or bystander training or educational opportunities for underrepresented communities. It’s amazing that these movements are becoming more present. That guilds and associations are providing HR resources for members is astounding, as that didn’t exist years ago. The rise of mentorship and grant programs to publicly acknowledge the fact that our industry is disproportionately advantaged is also very significant compared to the environment that I worked in back in the early 2000s.
Even not so obvious things like recognizing parental leave, offering flex hours, providing medical benefits (including specific allotments for gender affirming care and women’s health), and companies that provide mental health resources and feedback platforms.
We still have a long way to go, but progress is definitely evident for those of us that have been around a while. As long as we keep having tough conversations, we can keep moving forward.
Craft Brewers Conference is around the corner. How can brewers who are attending make the best use of the investment of time and money it takes to be in Las Vegas for the event?
I’m super excited about CBC this year as I get to speak about digital marketing with one of my former BA mentees. Some advice for those attending: make a plan ahead of time, don’t try to attend ALL the events, hydrate, prioritize sleep, and make sure you’re eating things to fuel your mind and body.
Be very intentional about your schedule. Plan what presentations and educational sessions you want to attend first, then divide and conquer if you are going with a team. Prioritize the things that you need to grow your brand.
Second, think about what you need from the trade show. It can be really overwhelming, so make a punch list of vendors that you want to visit and schedule your floor time.
Finally, use your phone! I know that sounds strange, but at CBC you will have a ton of great conversations, collect a lot of business cards, have aha moments during sessions, and see things you want to buy. Use your phone to take pictures, jot down notes, collect contacts and record voice memos to ensure that you don’t forget vital moments during the event.