This episode of Side Hustle Spotlight Q&A features LeAnn Darland, 38, of Williamsburg, Brooklyn, and Tara Hankinson, 37, of Bronxville, NY. Darland worked in finance operations at Google, and Hankinson worked in customer strategy at New York Times when they began home brewing, what happened TALEA Beer Co. Responses have been edited for length and clarity.
Photo Credit: Courtesy of TALEA. LeAnn Darland, left; Tara Hankinson, right.
When did you begin doing this and where did you get the inspiration?
Tare: The summer after I got my MBA, I worked at a winery and fell in love with the idea of creating that have—a beautiful space, Instagrammable flights, and a real connection with customers—in the world of beer. I began brewing at home while working in management consulting, and continued working in New York Times. I left to affix an e-commerce beer startup where I met LeAnn. That job was one step closer to actually following my passion for beer.
LeAnn: I lived in Coronado, San Diego when I used to be in the Navy. I loved the relaxed, social atmosphere of the breweries, which was such a contrast to when I used to be in the service. When I moved to San Francisco, all my friends who visited me desired to visit the wineries. I began considering about creating a brewery that may appeal to my friends and mom, who wanted to decorate up and rejoice.
What were the first steps you took to begin your side hustle?
We were each homebrewing on opposite coasts (Tara in Midtown Manhattan, LeAnn in San Francisco). Tara had entered a few homebrewing competitions and her beers were selling well. LeAnn had pitched her skills to local breweries, but no one was responding to her emails. When we met at a small e-commerce beer startup, we quickly realized we wanted to begin a brewery together. From concept in July 2018 to first product in hand in April 2019, we spent about nine months working in stealth mode.
What were the biggest challenges you faced while building your side hustle and how did you overcome them?
Home brewing takes a lot of time—about six hours per brew day and almost a month to get your beer ready. The process is very much like industrial brewing, except the “warehouse” was a small refrigerator in an apartment. As home brewers, we spent a lot of time researching beer and attempting to work out the best strategy to enter an already crowded market.
When we took the step to begin our own brewery, the biggest challenge was the quite a few negotiations and process points we had to finish alongside our work. Liquor license attorneys and brewery managers don’t take calls at night or on weekends, so we were consistently juggling the desire to make progress on our brewery project while also being Type A employees who didn’t wish to compromise on efficiency in our day jobs.
Photo Credit: Courtesy of Sydney Applegate/TALEA. Williamsburg Taproom.
How long did it take you to see a regular monthly income? How much did you earn from this side hustle?
Once we had our first beer in hand, we sold and delivered for about six months before we began buying frequently. We were making $15,000-$20,000 a month, but we weren’t profitable. We learned so much about our customers and adjusted our product mix, packaging format, delivery methods, and sales tactics. We were losing money month after month, but we were gaining traction.
Since then, you’ve turned your side hustle into a full-time business. How’s the growth and revenue looking now?
Revenue is growing double digits 12 months over 12 months through our taprooms and wholesale. We are profitable and can determine find out how to best use our funds now that we are financially stable. We have decided to grow our team with amazing employees and invest in brewing equipment and processes that have a quick payback period and improve our products.
A key channel we are investing in and have seen huge growth in is our partnerships and experiences. We are agile and have had a lot of fun working with other brands we admire to build awareness – from Fishwife and Olipop to Fly By Jing and Black Seed Bagel. Don’t be afraid to be playful and think big.
Image credit: courtesy of Alice Gao / TALEA.
What do you enjoy most about running this business?
People. It’s so nice to see someone having fun with the beer and the experience of sitting in our taprooms. Our spaces aren’t just about great craft beer; they’re also about the welcoming service, beautifully designed taprooms, and a wide range of beverages and snacks that make a visit to the brewery feel like experience. I never get bored with seeing someone enjoy it.
What advice would you give to others who want to begin their very own profitable side hustle or run a full-time business?
Don’t let perfection be the enemy of progress. Sometimes you have to make a decision, even if it looks as if a compromise. We spent several thousand dollars attempting to trademark our name and ended up combining our first two names to create TALEA. It didn’t seem ideal, but it was a huge obstacle to our progress.
No one will care about your online business as much as you do. We recommend that you simply be as hands-on as possible to make sure that your side hustle is a success.
This article is a part of our Women Entrepreneur® series, where we share the stories, challenges, and successes of ladies running businesses.