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At some point in every entrepreneurial journey, the voice of reason tells you to pack up your dreams and go home with your tail between your legs. What do you do when you run out of money and have to own up to your investors? Or when your roof collapses? Or when that voice sounds more like a roar? If you’re Fritz and Erin Rahr, co-founders of Rahr & Sons Brewery, you run toward that roar.
I have interviewed many entrepreneurs, from those just starting out to serial entrepreneurs with dozens of business ventures under their belt. The most successful all seem to have one thing in common: They’re willing to face down the fears and doubts that would stop others in their tracks. They run toward the roar. Here’s what I mean: In a pride of lions, the older males roar to provoke fear and send prey scattering away from the startling noise and into the path of the smaller, quieter lionesses — the true hunters. If gazelles knew to run toward the frightening sound, they would have a better chance of survival. Likewise, successful entrepreneurs are those who run toward the intimidating challenges and conflicts.
In 2003 and 2004, Rahr & Sons Brewery took off quickly, going from “finishing the business plan to putting beer on the shelf in about nine months,” Fritz Rahr, the CEO, says. He was home — returning to his roots and carrying on his family’s 170-year brewing tradition after 11 frustrating years in the corporate world.
They started in Texas with three beers and have expanded quickly. Fritz and Erin, the company president, now have 33 full-time employees, a few contract workers, and over 50 volunteers (yes … volunteers who are in the beer-making business just to be a part of something special). It’s like a family. They expect their recently launched brew, called Dadgum IPA, to become their No. 1 seller and to be distributing their products in nearly 20 states by fall of 2018. With that kind of growth, it’s easy to think success was inevitable. But the old proverb that “the temptation to quit will be greatest just before you are about to succeed” was true for the Rahrs.
That temptation very nearly became a reality. The business was underfunded up front, which meant Fritz had to split his time between selling the product and trying to raise more funds. About a year and a half in, he was way overworked, and they were out of money. They laid off their staff and made the dreaded phone calls to investors to say it was over: They were going to have to close their doors. At the end of that emotional day, they left for a camping trip so they could step away and reevaluate. Erin wasn’t ready to let their dream die — “my gut told me there were other options,” she says. On the drive, a distribution idea popped into her head. Three pleasant days of camping and another phone call later, they had a deal, a check, and a couple of semi-trucks on the way to their facility to pick up their product. It was the thing that kept the brewery alive.
Just as nearly closing their doors led to a distribution partner, another seemingly insurmountable disaster led to not one, but two once-in-a-lifetime business opportunities: an almost unheard-of level of community involvement and loyalty that money just can’t buy and a chance to hit the pause button and do a company reboot.
In 2010, the roof of their 20,000-square-foot facility collapsed under a heavy snow. Erin’s proudest moment was the day they reopened after seven months. The Fort Worth community rallied around them and showed their loyalty to the local brewery. The collapse also led to one of the most valuable five-month seasons in the brewery’s history because, as Fritz says, “It allowed us to reevaluate everything. We rebranded everything. Then we made modifications to the brew house to brew better beer by making it more efficient.” They got to do everything they would’ve done if they had the chance to start over … because they did. The roof collapse, like so many moments in so many entrepreneurial journeys, turned out to be “the worst day and also the best day.”
Through their entrepreneurial journey, Fritz and Erin have learned some amazing lessons by running toward the roar:
1. Get business interruption insurance so you have a chance to turn something like a roof collapse into a business refresh.
2. Get more money than you think you need up front because the last thing you want to do when you’re trying to sell your product is to run around trying to scavenge money to keep the lights on. “If you think you need $1 million, get $3 million. If you think you need $2 million, get $6 million,” says Fritz.
3. When you come to a challenge, step away and reevaluate (even though it’s the hardest thing to do).
4. Never give up.
Entrepreneurship is hard work. But when it’s in your blood, I’d argue the only thing harder is working for someone else. You’ll face hard times. You’ll want to quit. But if the Rahrs taught me anything, it’s that, for the love of beer, when you hear the roar, you’ve got to run toward it.