Love, Poetry & Profit In An Oaken Barrel

SO, HOW MUCH WINE CAN YOU SELL OUT OF A GARAGE?
 
Answer: Not a lot.
 
But that's what Ryan was doing.
 
He was making wine in his garage. He was selling a few hundred cases a year. Legally. His landlord let him have the garage bonded as a winery by the Feds so it was all above board and he was paying his excise tax.
 
And understand, this is the Napa Valley.
 
Stories like this one are not that unusual.
 
Here's the problem: even if it's really good wine, nobody gets rich on a few hundred cases of wine a year.
 
 
IN A WAY, RYAN WAS THAT FABLED GUY WHO WOULD PERFORM BRAIN SURGERY ON HIMSELF
 
He just had to figure out how to stay awake during the operation.
 
That is one of the classic definitions of an entrepreneur.
 
The driven guy with the hyphenated job title who does it all himself.
 
Winemaker, Chief Bottle Washer & Brain Surgeon.
 
However, it seems that Ryan was not the egomaniac who insists on staying the brain surgeon.
 
One day, at a wine event he was running, Ryan met Crystal.
 
Crystal is a dynamo.
 
When she met Ryan, her career was vibrant and vigorous. She was getting on jets and going places. She was moving and shaking and making stuff happen for big companies.
 
 
CRYSTAL AND RYAN ALSO KNEW THEY HAD A CONNECTION
 
But they didn't hook up right away.
 
After the event, the Napa winemaker and the corporate shaker went their separate ways.
 
But that didn't last long.
 
Geography couldn't keep them apart, and good wine brought them together.
 
Crystal became the yin to Ryan's yang.
 
They married, and she joined the winery in the garage.
 
Fast forward to today. It's no longer in a garage. It's in a huge cave. 
 
With Crystal's help, Ryan gets to focus on the winemaking instead of the brain surgery, so to speak. He focuses on the science and the art of turning grapes into liquid poetry.
 
Meanwhile, Crystal works a different kind of science and art: that of winning friends and influencing people. She handles the sales and marketing.
 
 
AND IN THE PROCESS, SHE DEVELOPED ANOTHER KIND OF POETRY
 
She has created the entrepreneurial poetry of building a desirable cult brand.
 
Through a combination of evocative personal touch and scarcity, she has helped attract legions of dedicated followers.
 
She also made it happen by doing something that would scare the pants off of a lot of business owners.
 
While Ryan began making more wine, and the hundreds of cases turned into thousands, Crystal made that wine harder to get.
 
No more retail.
 
No more restaurants.
 
Sales direct to the customer only.
 
And preferably, through a club-membership model.
 
 
YES, MEMBERSHIP DOES HAVE ITS PRIVILEGES
 
Make a better product.
 
Make it harder to get.
 
Make it available on a monthly subscription.
 
And you know what happens?
 
By cutting out the middleman and selling the product for what it's worth at retail, you double your margin. And boy are these wines worth far more than the retail price. Phenomenal. 
 
By making it rare, it's made more desirable. They don't even sell it on their own website for the most part. As Crystal likes to say, "It feels like you need to know somebody to get it."
 
By making it available on a club basis, the worth of each sale is far more than just a single accidental retail purchase.
 
And by winning friends and influencing people, you create a steadfast and enthusiastic group of supporters who are there for you. Your die-hard fans help keep you in business and love your product.
 
 
THIS IS A FAMILY BUSINESS WHERE THE CUSTOMERS ARE LIKE FAMILY
 
Yes, it sounds like a cliché.
 
A cliché that yours truly has railed against.
 
Fortunately, in this case, it's true in the best way possible.
 
This was very much in evidence in the wake of the Napa fires.
 
Crystal says that she handles all the customer service, which means she handles a whole lot of email.
 
With the fires, the amount of email was overwhelming, all of it inquiring about the health and welfare of the family.
 
Crystal, who typically expedites such things, said that it was taking her weeks to catch up and let everyone know they were OK.
 
 
WHAT HAS HAPPENED HERE IS A LOVE FOR THE BUSINESS MADE INDEED MADE MANFIEST IN THE BEST WAY POSSIBLE
 
Talk to Ryan, and it's clear that he has a love for people, and for the science and the art of making wine.
 
He also has a word for the kinds of wines he likes to make: "Balanced."
 
In an age when it seems like vintners are trying desperately to show the world they can make wines that punch you in the face with a particular quality, he's making wines that invite you in and seduce you.
 
Talk to Crystal, and it's clear that she has a love for people and for sharing her husband's craft with them.
 
Talk to Crystal and Ryan together, and it's clear they have a love for each other. It's also clear that the business is a labor of that love. And it has balance.
 
Ryan has another word, this one for the reason why the business and the brand work.
 
 
THAT WORD IS: "RESPECT"
 
The Fabulous Honey Parker and I interviewed the two of them for the CoupleCo podcast.
 
And more than once in previous CoupleCo interviews, the husband has said, unsolicited and in no uncertain terms, the reason why the relationship and the business work is because of respect.
 
Ryan was just the most recent.
 
Also, something else happens when we're recording these podcasts: Honey and I get the best seats in the house.
 
We get to watch two people who never expected to be hearing the things they're hearing, about their business and their marriage, from each other.
 
It has been revealing.
 
It's also humbling. As Honey repeatedly says, "It makes me want to be a better couple."
 
I concur.
 
And the thing about being a better couple in business together is it makes for a better business.
 
 
WHY IS A COUPLE LIKE CRYSTAL AND RYAN SO FASCINATING?
 
We've been pondering this.
 
And we think the answer is in something another one of the CoupleCo couples said in their interview: "It's not just your business. It's your whole life."
 
And the woman who said that is dead on.
 
It's one of the reasons we've found couplepreneurs so interesting to interview, and why so many people who aren't in business with a spouse are enjoying the test podcasts we've given them.
 
It's not just about being in business together. It's about risking everything.
 
In a culture where the marriage ideal is to live happily ever after? Running a business together throws all of that into question.
 
Because it IS your whole life.
 
 
IT'S ABOUT TWO PEOPLE WANTING TO MAKE THEIR LIFE EXACTLY THE WAY THEY WANT IT
 
And the odds seem enormous.
 
The deck is stacked in the other guy's favor.
 
And if a husband and wife business goes down in flames (or up in flames, as has been happening in Napa), what does that mean for life, the universe and everything?
 
Looking at Crystal and Ryan, and the fabulous business that has grown from a rental garage a decade ago, there's fortunately no need to answer that question.
 
They've survived the fires, this epic challenge, and their business is as strong as ever.
 
It's pretty cool.
 
If you want to know more about Crystal and Ryan's winery, visit www.waughfamilywines.com.
 
And if you want to visit Napa right now, the place is open for business. Honey and I spent an astonishing week there. 

While you can see what the fires have done, you can also see the majority of the place, which is untouched and glorious, a joyful and thriving place full of entrepreneurs like Ryan and Crystal who are happy to welcome you. 

As always,

​Blaine Parker
Your Lean, Mean Creative Director in
Park City
www.slowburnmarketing.com
​