James Thomson #022
In this episode, we speak with James Thomson of Wildlife Brewing Co., one of the breweries in Shepparton. Listen in as James discusses how he and his two partners came up with the idea to set up a brewery, the history of the brewery in Shepparton, how Wildlife is growing its community via their membership program, and his plans for the future of the business post-COVID. Key Highlights ● [00:57] An introduction to James Thomson ● [04:33] The joys of managing a lifestyle business ● [05:46] How James came up with the name of his brewery ● [07:42] Unearthing the history of Shepparton’s brewing history ● [10:03] What each of Wildlife’s three founders bring to the business ● [11:02] What makes Wildlife’s beers different? ● [14:02] How Wildlife came to be ● [15:34] Wildlife’s first customers ● [16:25] Early challenges while starting the business ● [18:50] How Wildlife’s membership works ● [20:10] Upcoming beers within the next 12 months ● [23:14] Local pubs partnered with Wildlife ● [24:01] How James would describe his wildlife ● [26:04] Wildlife’s most outstanding members ● [28:17] The ins-and-outs of running a microbrewery ● [30:37] How much beer does James drink? ● [33:12] James’s goal for the business ● [35:12] Who locally inspires James? ● [36:02] James’s message to the Shepparton public Powerful Quotes by James ● There will never be a time when you look at the bank account and go, “Oh, there’s enough money.” It doesn’t really work like that. You’re the asset that’s going to generate that money. ● A great beer is a balanced beer. ● Our best asset is that we don’t know everything about making beer, and that’s what helps us make good beer. ● You might sometimes brew a beer that just goes on its own little journey and you can’t explain why. You investigate and find out. ● A business is shaped by the things that happen along the journey.