So, what is entrepreneurship? The Oxford dictionary says: “the activity of setting up a business or businesses, taking on financial risks in the hope of profit.” … Yes, but this definition just barely scratches the surface. And here is why…
Anna here, Founder and CEO of Hooch Booch, a Denver-based hard kombucha brand. I am here to tell you that the most difficult part is getting started. So while yes, the definition states setting up a business, it is once you get going where the actual adventure of entrepreneurship begins. Let’s think big-picture and logistics for a moment. In order to start a business you must first have an idea. Maybe it is something that has been in the back of your mind for years that you haven’t had the time to fully dedicate all of your energy to… YET. Or maybe that idea hasn’t hit you. This is something that cannot be forced. When the timing is right, you will know. To explain this idea I will share my story of Hooch Booch and how my tiny, little idea sprouted into a business.
Picture this – It’s March of 2020 and the COVID pandemic has just forced the entire world to shut down. I was working as a Creative Manager at a corporate event planning company. Due to COVID, the industry became basically desolate overnight. Unfortunately (in hindsight, fortunately) for me, this resulted in a furlough that was initially 6 weeks that then turned into 6 months. At this same time in Denver, our Mayor declared liquor stores non-essential for a mere few hours, deemed “The Denver Prohibition of 2022.” So what does a furloughed gal interested in the hospitality industry do when this happens? Take a deep dive into the history of the roaring twenties and how the 21st Amendment would impact the future of women in the workplace forever. Throughout my research I also learned that classic cocktails emerged to mask flavors of bad alcohol or “hooch” as they called it. See where I am going here…
Also at this time, my younger sister was living in San Diego, the hard kombucha capital of the US. She would always send me different hard kombucha’s and say “Look out for these if they come to Denver”, giving her review of the flavors each time. So this is the second piece of the Hooch Booch name. Hooch being alcohol, and booch being a short catchy nickname for kombucha. What truly allowed for this idea to be born was stillness - I attribute the birth of Hooch Booch to the slowdown time in my life, meditation and just listening to my gut. So as the entrepreneurship definition states, I decided to take a risk and dive head first into launching a business.
How to go for what you want?
Jump, leap, take off. Right now. Why? Because if not now, then when? It is so easy for our minds to cycle into narratives about why we cannot do something rather why we can. It is absolutely the time to change this narrative. You will never be 100% totally ready to take the leap - I sure wasn’t. But then I thought to myself, what is the worst thing that could possibly happen?. The worst thing would be that the business flops, no one likes the product, or the branding, or the idea. I then thought, well that truly wouldn't be all that bad, I could come up with something else or tweak the idea based on feedback I received. So I started to imagine what could happen if people DID like my idea, product, branding and knew deep down the reward would be soooo much higher than the risk. I decided to jump in head first and never look back. I completely immersed myself in the world of Hooch Booch and tried to learn everything I possibly could by asking questions, reading, researching, and picking as many brains as I could. I knew if I wanted this to succeed that I needed to get educated and obsessed with the industry. And so I did just that.
I am here to tell you that it is not going to be easy. In fact, it is going to be really hard. Like, REALLY hard. But the reward, holy cow, is it amazing. Once it starts to stick, once people start gravitating to you and towards your product. Damn. Does that feel good. This is my invitation to you – Jump, leap, take off and never look back!
Xoxo,
Anna - Hooch Booch Founder & CEO