Roles and resposibilities?

[ny_spirits]

I am wondering how other craft distilleries divide up the work. Would some of you be willing to share comments on either your personal situation or your thoughts on how things *should* be done (or both!)?

I'd be particularly interested in what roles and responsibilities are taken on by distillery owner(s)and which are filled by employees. Also, in situations where there is more than one owner or partner, how are the responsibilities divided between partners? I know there is not one right answer and much is dependent on individual skills, but I think it would be really interesting to hear from a few of you as to what works for you (or what you think would work).

Thanks!

[scohar]

I am wondering how other craft distilleries divide up the work. Would some of you be willing to share comments on either your personal situation or your thoughts on how things *should* be done (or both!)?

I'd be particularly interested in what roles and responsibilities are taken on by distillery owner(s)and which are filled by employees. Also, in situations where there is more than one owner or partner, how are the responsibilities divided between partners? I know there is not one right answer and much is dependent on individual skills, but I think it would be really interesting to hear from a few of you as to what works for you (or what you think would work).

Thanks!

I think as a new craft distillery, you must expect to do all of the work. Most operations I've seen are either mom-n-pop shops or a couple of guys that got together to do it. Unless you have a lot of investment funding, you'll not have the cash to pay salaries.

[Ralph at Tuthilltown]

The question you ask is one we all face. Division of labor has more to do with the management team and available cash. No one rule applies. But the more salient question to ask may be: "Will anyone out there share their knowlege gained of managing a distillery, for a fee?" Few of us have had the opportunity to be "shown" what to do, rather we've come through the school of hard knocks and learning on the job. It would be inappropriate to expect any small distiller to simply start laying out a management strategy without expecting to pay for that information.

That said, there are some among the US small distillers, our own team included, who offer advice to a point, beyond which there is a fee involved for consulting services and access to our hard earned experience and knowlege.

R

[Charles@AEppelTreow]

I'm a chemist is real life, for a global company, and have beeen sent off from time to time for training in the latest management fad. i always smile at these, since i get much more use from them at the cidery, then as a chemist - I'm free to cherry pick the element that work (for me).

Anyway, during one of these classes, I realized that a small business, like my cidery, or a distillery, is the ultimate in 'role compression'. The theory being taught was that people don't think well in multiple time horizons. so management structure should mirror decision timeframes. Having too few layers is 'role compression' - you're trying to think about next week, next quarter and next year at the same time.

In my case, I trade off timeframes with my wife. I do next quarter, next year and tomorrow, and she handles next week and next month. It fits our appititudes and keeps either of us from working/planning at too many levels at once.