We're Gonna Need a Bigger Shelf

Three new additions to the bookhoard; Start Your Own Business, Fifth Edition: The Only Start-Up Book You'll Ever Need (Entrepreneur Press), Become Your Own Boss in 12 Months: A Month-by-Month Guide to a Business that Works (M. Emerson) and The Brewers Association's Guide to Starting Your Own Brewery (R. Daniels, editor).

A departure form most of the rest of the hoard being about the business end of things rather than the "Art" end.  Between these three I should have a fairly clear picture of what I need to do to get the brewery up and running.  Not that I think they'll cover everything, or provide me with a magic wand to wave and all my problems will disappear, but it should help me to get over the major hurdles.

Speaking of hurdles I think the biggest one I've found is money, specifically the lack of it.  I know there are loans and grants available from the government, but I'm reluctant to avail myself of them.  Stupid conservative principles.  I've been hearing good things about kickstarter.com, and my friend has suggested that I sell shares.  I'm more likely to go this rout I think, I'm just wary about selling enough shares to raise enough start-up capitol and still maintain control of the company. 

The second largest hurdle is the licensing.  Not so much the federal licensing but the state and local licensing.  It might be easier to start with a brewpub, but that means cooking as well and a kitchen is a great way to turn a large fortune into a small one.  I'm already looking at spending a good deal of time poor, I'd rather not make that a good deal of time broke.  The licensing might be easier but the money and logistics won't be.  On the other hand, locating a space would be harder.  Research and ponderous decisions to follow.

New Additions to the Bookhorde

Some more books that I ordered have come in; Homemade Root Beer and Soda Pop (S. Cresswell), Homemade Soda (A Schloss) and Brewing Up a Business (S. Calagione).  Both the soda books are excellent, though Cresswell's book is a bit more oriented on history techniques and the "why" of soda making, where Schloss' is more about the recipes.  I also noted that many of the recipes in Homemade Soda include options for carbonating with champagne yeast.  W00T!  Real alcopop.  That makes for some interesting possibilities.

Calagione's book is all about how he went from making beer in his garage to running the Dogfish Head Brewery.  Inspiring, and by all accounts, a good place for a burgeoning entrepreneur to start their climb up the great tree of capitalism.