Don’t Just Go for It: Mara Smith on Research, Credibility and Building in a New Industry Artwork

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Badass Women in Business

Don’t Just Go for It: Mara Smith on Research, Credibility and Building in a New Industry

September 15, 2026 • Aggie & Cristy • Season 5 • Episode 31

0:00 | 53:24

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SUMMARY

Entrepreneurship celebrates action, but Mara Smith makes a strong case for something less glamorous: do the work before you make the leap. After 16 years outside the traditional workforce, she entered the spirits industry with no tequila experience and built Inspiro Tequila through deep research, deliberate credibility building, disciplined growth, and an unwillingness to accept a product that was merely good enough.

SHOW NOTES

Strategic Focus

What does it take to enter an industry where you have no track record and convince customers, distributors, and insiders that you belong? Mara’s answer is not confidence alone. It is preparation, focus, disciplined execution, and earning credibility one decision at a time.

Key Takeaways

Mara rejects the familiar “just go for it” advice. Before launching, she studied tequila production, regulations, competitors, distribution, and the customer the industry was overlooking.
When Inspiro’s first production run failed to meet her standards, she scrapped it rather than blend it into something acceptable, choosing the long term brand over the sunk cost.
Growth does not always mean adding more. Mara uses SKU discipline, focused markets, and carefully chosen retail accounts to protect resources and build demand.
Reentering business after years away required more than rebuilding a résumé. Mara deliberately built a network of founders and peers and learned to make specific asks when seeking help.

GUEST CONTACT & CONNECT

Mara Smith is Founder and CEO of Inspiro Tequila, a premium additive free tequila brand with an all women leadership and production team. After careers in accounting, law, and corporate strategy, she spent 16 years outside the traditional workforce raising her family before entering the spirits industry.

Inspiro Tequila is woman owned and B Corp certified.

Website: https://inspirotequila.com/
Mara on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mara-smith-inspiro/
Inspiro on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/inspiro-tequila
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/inspirotequila/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/inspirotequila/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@inspirotequila

Join the proveHER community:
https://proveher.com/

Read the companion Blogcast:
https://badasswomeninbusinesspodcast.com/phblog

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