In 2014, after taking Renaissance Entrepreneurship Center’s Business Planning Class taught by Paul Terry and a team of teachers, Tim Lee opened Liquid Gold, a craft beer, wine and cider tap room and bottle shop located in the Nob Hill neighborhood of San Francisco.
We celebrated Tim’s business many years back in this blog post featuring Renaissance graduates who launched small businesses in 2014. Now, 8 years later, we are returning to those small business owners to ask them about their businesses, how they’ve been managing through the pandemic and what insights they’d like to share about small business ownership.
AN INTERVIEW WITH TIM LEE OF LIQUID GOLD
What inspired you to start your business? I’ve always dreamed about running my own business and pursuing a career that I would love and truly enjoy. I believed in the idea that if you work in what you love, it won’t feel like work. I was also tired of working in mundane jobs that didn’t bring any job satisfaction.
Did the pandemic lead to operational changes? Yes, we had to take our inventory online. We created a web store and sold all of our products for pick-up or shipping. We built an outdoor parklet, which has helped as well. Since customers were not allowed to drink in store, we also shortened our store hours to cut costs.
Are there specific marketing or management strategies you used (and/or continue to use) that worked well? We used some social media advertising to promote pickup and shipping orders. Once the pandemic started, I relied on my staff to run the business in store and I worked from home. I wanted to keep my staff employed and I didn’t want to potentially expose my family to Covid. As a result of this, I’ve developed even more trust in my staff to keep things running smoothly while I’m not physically there anymore.
On a more personal level, how have you been managing through these challenging times? It’s been tough, especially with two young kids, but I’ve stayed positive and have become better with making the most of my work time at home.
How is your business doing now? My business is doing better, but still not back to pre-pandemic levels. I am optimistic about the future but not sure if/when business will be back to normal.
Any specific products or services you’d like to promote? Beer catering! We do occasional catering events at business offices, retail stores, parties, etc. You can learn more here: https://www.liquidgoldsf.com/beer-catering.
Any advice you would give to others starting a small business at this time? Follow your dreams and work hard. You can do it!
Is there anything else you’d like to share? We are celebrating our 8th anniversary on October 22nd! Please join us for a beer!
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