Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in food and beverage but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Harvey Williams, Founder of Delta Dirt Distillery, located in Helena, AR, USA.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
Delta Dirt Distillery is a family-owned craft distillery located in the richest farmland in the country - the Arkansas Delta. We're unique in the American distilling industry because as a fourth generation black-owned farm, we grow our own produce and grains. Since launching the first product in December 2020, we are now distributing it to customers throughout Arkansas, Pennsylvania, Mississippi, and Houston, TX. We're excited to be launching in several states in 2023, including Tennessee, Louisiana, Georgia, and possibly California.
Tell us about yourself
Although I've always wanted to run my own business, I honestly never envisioned a distillery in the future. I grew up farming with my Dad, brothers, and cousins on our family's farm. The dream was to go to college and put the hard, laborious work of farming in my rearview. But after college and working 25+ years in the food industry, I realized that farming was so much more than I had previously imagined.
To build a business and a national brand from what my great-grandfather started as a small sharecropping farm is nothing short of a modern-day miracle. So it's easy for me to stay motivated and inspired to keep going. I still get excited whenever we launch Delta Dirt into a new state, or a new order comes in, and I'm especially grateful when new visitors stop by our tasting room.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
Opening during a global pandemic was quite the task, but I'd say that our most significant accomplishment has to be the creation of Sweet Blend Vodka. The vodka, with its unique sweet potato and corn blend recipe, has won the highest awards in several US and World competitions.
What's one of the hardest things that comes with being a business owner?
Being a business owner comes with a ton of challenges, one of the hardest for a distillery is building a brand that creates demand for our products. Why buy Delta Dirt over hundreds of other choices? So the mission becomes to inform everyone everywhere about our story and then provide them with amazing-tasting spirits.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
Running a small business has lots of moving parts, and you wear a lot of hats. There are a few tips I find helpful.
- Research - do your homework and learn as much as possible about your business interest.
- Prepare - expect problems along the way because the unexpected will happen. This will lead you to find and connect with resources that help solve problems.
- Purpose - know your "why" because you'll occasionally have to remind yourself of why this business matters to you.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://www.deltadirtdistillery.com/
Facebook: https://facebook.com/deltadirtdistillery
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/deltadirtdistillery/
If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.
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