Hey!

So continuing with my informal posts, I felt like addressing one question I get at least once a week. “What exactly is Monon Beverage Brokers?”. There are sub questions that come from it, so answering those will follow.

“What exactly are you?” -The goal of Monon Beverage Brokers is to offer sales, event, and distribution management to beer, wine, liquor, and mead producers. This comes in all shapes and styles. Some producers may be are looking to grow into distribution, some need extra feet on the streets during a launch, or full time representation in the state of Indiana.(the latter being my favorite as I can build long lasting relationships with these producers)

“Where is your warehouse?” -Well, I dont need one. I work with the distribution already in place. Maybe it is a large distributor, or maybe they self distro, whatever the case, I am a producer in the eyes of the ATC. Everyone has a place in the 3 tier system and mine is with the producers for all operation purposes. I also don’t have the logistics experience nor financial backing for such an undertaking. Im fine letting the pros handle this.

“Why do you represent them?” -Everyone who I represent, or will represent, have been vetted and looked into deeply. I will not represent a brand that is not producing quality products. This seems to lead to the next question often

“Didn’t so and so producer bad beer/wine/liquor/mead?” -Everyone has had a bad or even just misunderstood product at one point in time. Even Coors/Miller/Bud have had flops. Two of the producers I work with make a Braggot which is a style I have rarely dealt with, misunderstood for sure.

“Would you ever represent X brand?” -Yeah, there are several brands I have my eyes on, and a few of those are watching me too. There are even a few out of state brands not yet in Indiana that I would love to bring here.

“Do you just do sales and events?” -Most simply, yes. There are several office tasks I do, but I also have offered beer, wine, and spirits training to bars and restaurants. Line cleaning has always been something on the back burner for Monon, but I have been pretty busy already with the sales and events aspect.

“You must drink so much!” -Less a question and more something I hear a lot too. I rarely drink outside of work based meetings or events. I can enjoy a beer here and there, or a cocktail while I read, however I am around it all day, so it becomes less appealing to continue being around it.

“Do you home brew beer or wine?” -This is sort of a part two from above. Accountants dont go home and do more math, so my hobbies differ from my career. I am still looking for a solid hobby, so suggest something and I will give it a shot

“Why did you start your own business?” -This seems the best one to end on. I have been in this industry since 2011, drinking before that and I love it. The people, the community it creates, everything! I’m fortunate that out of school I landed a gig with People’s Brewing Co which helped shape what I do now. I look back on what I did well, and what I didnt do so well. (Brett, you were right about using a CRM system…. Ive said it before, but now it is in print, CRM is the way to go.) Next gig as Director of Operations for a brewery/winery combo I saw where they had past success, but also what not to do. I got the push I needed in July of 2016 to do my own thing, although I wasnt sure what it was exactly. October 2016 Monon Beverage Brokers Launched! It has changed somewhat from its beginnings, and will change more as time goes on.

“What next?” -Okay, I said I was going to end on the last question but this just came up while taking a break from typing. Im not sure. I am playing with ideas on how to provide better customer service as well as add to my team. Being able to talk to people like Kitto Insurance Inc and Bottoms Up Beer gives me ideas on how they have been successful in the service end of this industry vs the production end. There are others I probably should grab a pint with or working with the Brewers Guild in Indiana as their goal is the same as mine in a sense: To promote awareness.

So I will ask a question to you now: Anyone else I should hook up with in this industry or how can I better serve you?

Thanks for reading!
SPW