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Main Street Reimagined Podcast
This is a podcast for dreamers, creators, developers, and entrepreneurs to learn, share, and be inspired to change your community through small business.
Main Street Reimagined Podcast
Episode 40: From Home Hobby to Award-Winning Winery with Sandi Weddington
Sandi Weddington never expected a simple wine-making kit—an anniversary gift for her husband Steve—would transform their lives. What began as a hobby in 2008 blossomed into Blend of Seven Winery, an award-winning establishment now making an entrance into Downtown Marion after many successful years in Delaware.
Their entrepreneurial journey exemplifies how life's unexpected turns often reveal our most meaningful paths. When Steve's position was eliminated after nearly three decades with the same company, the couple faced a pivotal moment. Rather than viewing this setback as merely a loss, they recognized an opportunity to pursue their passion full-time. Shortly afterward, Sandi's own corporate position was eliminated—another push toward their winemaking venture.
What makes Blend of Seven special goes far beyond their distinctive wines, which include everything from dry reds to a lime-infused variety that "tastes exactly like a margarita." The name itself carries profound meaning—representing both their blended family (Sandi, Steve, and their five children) and their approach to winemaking. This familial foundation extends to their business philosophy, where many wines bear names connected to family members and customers quickly become friends in their warm, welcoming atmosphere.
The Weddington's story offers powerful lessons for entrepreneurs at any stage. "Take a breath, recharge, and redesign your plan" became their mantra through challenges, including a recent property sale that fell through at the eleventh hour. Their ability to maintain perspective—asking "why is this happening for me" rather than "why is this happening to me"—transformed potential disasters into stepping stones. As Sandi advises aspiring business owners: "Don't wait. The younger you are, the more energy and resilience you have." Most importantly, they exemplify the courage to "do it scared," acknowledging fear while refusing to be paralyzed by it.
Visit Blend of Seven at their new location at 146 West Center Street in Downtown Marion, where you'll experience their award-winning wines, homemade baked goods, and the unmistakable warmth that comes from a business built on family, resilience, and genuine connection.
Guest Links:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/blendofsevenwinery
Main Street Reimagined:
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The Main Street Reimagined Podcast, Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLqfkmF5bRH0od1d3iiYKs3oEn_gvMYk7N
Henry Development Group:
Facebook: facebook.com/henrydevelopmentgroup
Website: www.henrydevelopmentgroup.com
Developing News Newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/33110524eb5c/developing-news
Luke Henry:
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/luhenry
Facebook: facebook.com/luke.henry.148
#BlendOfSeven #OhioWines #WineLovers #AwardWinningWines #WineryLife #DrinkLocal #SmallBatchWine #FamilyWinery #FamilyBusiness #BlendedFamilyLove #ResilientEntrepreneurs #DoItScared #PassionToProfession #BuiltOnFamily #FromSetbackToSuccess #DowntownMarion #MarionOhio #OhioBusiness #SupportLocalOH #OhioEntrepreneurs #ShopLocalMarion #EntrepreneurJourney
I said, I've been there too and I know the temptation is to just lay on the couch and cover your head with a blanket, I said, but the more you do, the better you'll feel. So just make yourself, get up, do something, do something. And it's kind of the same way with business when it gets rough, you have to do something. You just have to take a breath and recharge and redesign your plan. Take a breath and recharge and redesign your plan.
Speaker 2:This is the Main Street Reimagined podcast, a show for people ready to turn visions into realities and ideas into businesses. Hey, I'm Luke Henry and each week I lead conversations with Main Street dreamers who took the leap to launch a business, renovate a building or start a movement, their ideas, their mindsets and their inspirations, as well as some of the highs and lows along the way. This is a place for dreamers, creators, developers and entrepreneurs to learn, share and be inspired to change your community through small business. Enjoy the show. Hey, friends, this is the Main Street Reimagined Podcast. Thanks so much for being back with us here. I'm excited for another conversation today and looking forward to digging out some gold nuggets that you can also take and use in your business, in your ventures, or share with someone else who might find value. So today I'm excited to have Sandy Weddington with me from Blend of Seven Winery. Hey, sandy.
Speaker 1:Hey there, Good morning everyone. Thanks for having me.
Speaker 2:Yeah, absolutely Happy to have you here and excited to dig into the conversation. Sandy and her husband, Steve, are the really latest entrepreneurs to hit the downtown Marion streets with their business here Blend of Seven Winery. And so, if folks, you're not quite open yet as of the recording here it's literally day to day waiting on your permit to finalize. It's a if people haven't been through it before, it's quite a process.
Speaker 1:Yes, it is.
Speaker 2:And you're kind of at the mercy of others to how that comes. But as soon as that piece of paper gets in your hand, you're ready to open the door. So by the time this airs, who knows? You might be officially open.
Speaker 1:Who knows, it would be nice.
Speaker 2:Yeah, absolutely, but so folks haven't been in. Maybe they're listening in the future and you are open, but they haven't made it in yet. Tell them a little bit about Blend of Seven, your new location here in downtown Marion and what all you offer there are going to be offering there.
Speaker 1:Okay, we will be at 146 West Center Street. It's a very lovely building. We had some great bones and aesthetics to start with, so I'm really excited with the space that we created. People would come into our old spot and just said they felt like they were walking into our home, so we kind of wanted to continue that feeling and add some upscale notes in there as well. So we're really excited about the space and anxious to get open. We make wine from juice, so we have wines from right here in Ohio as well as all around the world, so that's kind of a unique twist that we have on it. So we'll have our wines. And then I also have a cottage kitchen, so we'll have some of my home-baked goods pies, cakes, cookies, breads, good things like that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah. So yeah, all the good stuff there to be had food, drink and conversation.
Speaker 1:Absolutely.
Speaker 2:And it is just a beautiful space, really cozy, and you've got the historic elements that just add so much charm, with exposed brick, original hardwood floors, the pressed tin ceilings in part of the space and just really neat. So I'm excited for you to be able to welcome people in and just such a great kind of laid back environment for them to be able to hang out with friends, whether it's for the entire evening or maybe it's to stop in for a glass or a bottle with friends before going to one of the eateries around town.
Speaker 1:So oh, absolutely yes, and we'll have. I'm going to partner with some some of the local restaurants downtown as well, where people will be able to order their food. Some will deliver it, some they'll have to have delivered, but so they'll be able to have a meal there too if they want.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, absolutely. You got plenty of room, tables, chairs, you've got the bar there to walk up to and do tastings, and all of that. So I know that you're excited to get people in there I've been able to have a behind the scenes look.
Speaker 2:So I'm kind of fortunate. I've watched the process come together and see your vision come to life, so that's been exciting to see. So I want to dig in a little bit, kind of rewinding to the beginning of the journey. Your story is really fascinating and unique in that you and Steve both have ties here to Marion, although your most recent location where you've been for how many years? So 14. 14 years in Delaware, which, if folks don't know, that's like one county south, so 20, 25 minutes away. And so you're actually relocating your business to Marion. But that's not by coincidence.
Speaker 1:No, we're coming home yeah.
Speaker 2:So tell us a little bit about the story of kind of growing up around here and then what uh, where all you've been that kind of brought you back, including starting this business with Steve, and uh, where your name came from and all of that Okay.
Speaker 1:Well, steve was born and raised in Marion and graduated from Harding. I always get it wrong. I think in I graduated too. He graduated in 77. I think so I always get it wrong, but I think it's 77, so he's, you know, a Marion boy through and through. He grew up in the city then. I was actually born in Mansfield, but when I was 10 my parents bought Plaza Bowling Center, which is now Blue Fusion for those that may or may not know.
Speaker 1:So, from age 10 to probably my mid forties, I lived in Marion um at the time I was.
Speaker 1:So when the kids graduated I was working in Columbus, so we moved to Delaware to kind of have a, so I would have a little less of a drive, um, so we still have a lot of friends here, we have some family here, so it's it's. It was a surprise, kind of I was looking forward to coming back home to a small town again, and but then what surprised me about it is how, um, it was comforting because we were kind of ending a chapter and starting a new and you know, in some ways it was a hard pill to swallow because we're downsizing but we're doing it with purpose, so.
Speaker 1:But at the beginning it was kind of hard. So coming home knowing that we have friends here, family here, it was very comforting, so that was good. Yeah, yeah, I love that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and I mean people are very excited to have you opening and and it seems like, like you know, kind of old friends and acquaintances are sort of popping up out of the woodwork. I've, you know, see some of that on social media as people are, you know, uh, waving virtually and everything or commenting uh and uh, you know, expressing their well wishes, and it seems like some of those are kind of blasts from the past oh, absolutely both of your histories here, so um, so, share a little bit about uh, where the the winemaking started in this process and and where the name blend to seven came from.
Speaker 1:All right, Um, as far as the name, it was one of those things. Once we decided to do the business, I had written our names down my Steve and mine and all the kids and trying to you know, use a different letter from each of the names to come up with a name. And it was one of those aha moments when you're like brushing her teeth or washing dishes I'm pretty sure I was washing dishes and it was like blend the seven, Because Steve and I were both married before, so we're a blended family, and between the two of us we have five kids and we're a family of seven. So you blend wine and we're a family of seven. So that's where we're a blended family, blend wine, so that's where blended seven came from.
Speaker 1:And that's what we were very family oriented about our family, and we respect that about other people too. So it kind of highlights the two, the things that are most important to us.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, I love that. So so this all started with a with a winemaking kit, if I remember the story correctly, right?
Speaker 1:Yeah, so it was about 2008,. Steve and I, you know you have to sometimes reconnect because we've been together for a long time. So we started doing date days. We'd just get in the car and drive, and one day Steve was like hey, I'm not crazy about wine, but I know you like it. Let's go to a winery. And I guess from there we both got the bug as far as he found some wines that he liked to drink.
Speaker 1:So, that was cool. We converted him a little bit there, um, but we just kind of fell in love with the atmosphere of talking to the owners and the other people that were there, cause it's like you sit down at a bar and you're having a heartfelt conversation with a stranger within 10 minutes, you know.
Speaker 1:So, um, and we were enjoying the make or drinking the wine. So he's like I wonder what it'd be to make some wine, wonder what's involved. So one year for our anniversary, I got him some wine kits and he started making the wine and liking it and next thing, you know, we have six, 10 carboys going in the house, cause the kids would walk up to the front door like what's that smell? And I said, doesn't it smell good? But fermenting wine is an acquired taste because it has a little different scent in the beginning. But so, and then his job was downsized, his position was downsized after almost 30 years, unexpectedly. So it was like, well, we like doing this, why don't we? I'm going to look to see what it, what it takes to do it as a business.
Speaker 1:So I did the research and we actually added a 12 by 14 room under our house because it had to be a separate room and its own water source and all this stuff. So we started doing it out of our home with private tastings and we would do. People could host and we would charge them, I think, like $5 a head or whatever, and everybody that came could taste whatever wines we had open. So we were doing that, and we were doing $200, $500 at each of these gatherings and I'm like maybe it's time to find our own space. So we looked around and found the place on London road, which was a 1400 square foot space that we rented, and so we opened there in 2013. Um, and we were there about six months and realized it was too small. So we started looking and it took us a while to find the property on Stratford road.
Speaker 1:Uh, so we opened there in October of 2015 and we went from the 1400 square face square foot space to a 4400 square foot space Big upgrade, yeah, and then of course we had the full kitchen there and a large tasting room and a private room and yeah, yeah, that was previously the branding iron restaurant.
Speaker 2:A lot of folks locally will remember it as that, absolutely. Kind of a Delaware icon for many years. Oh yeah, but yeah, and so you've been there for 14 years, 14 years. And that was a big undertaking. You were both working in the business. Absolutely Every day Now did you have any other family working in the business in and out over those years?
Speaker 1:working in the business at in and out over those years. Oh yeah, that was kind of um, I think, one of the joys of and of having that um, pretty much all of the kids um have helped us okay at one point or another. Um I wrote one boy's kyle. He and his family are in toledo but there are times that he's come and helped us with remodeling projects and things like that. So at some point they have all had their hands helping us and that's been awesome.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, and probably what made it a little bit hard to move on from that chapter.
Speaker 1:Yes, and we've had some of our grandkids have worked with us as well, so it's been awesome. Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2:I mean, I love family businesses. For that reason you know it can be tough to work with family, sometimes because that line between work and family or work and family time. But at the same time it could be just a real joy because you're kind of all at your best, you're working together pitching in and kind of working towards a common goal and serving customers and just being able to share that experience is really unique and a lot of fun.
Speaker 1:Yeah, absolutely Memories.
Speaker 2:Yes, yeah, yeah, we have some of those that we've made as well and talk about them often. So then we met, because you all reached out about another space, actually, that we had for rent and it was a fair bit smaller and you were kind of thinking about downsizing.
Speaker 2:You all reached out about another space actually that we had for rent and it was a fair bit smaller and you were kind of thinking about downsizing, kind of looking at, hey, this has been, you know, a great ride, 14 years in Delaware and you won quite a few awards during that time Also we need to be sure to mention. Tell us about those awards and what that involved.
Speaker 1:So in the Delaware area they have it's called a reader's digest, um reader's choice, um not readers digest readers choice. So basically, uh, patrons can vote on their favorite places in Delaware. Um, the best winery became an option in 2018 and we've actually won it every year since it started. So that's like every year it's awesome, and at the same time it's more pressure.
Speaker 1:Oh, my gosh can we do it again next year, but yeah, so that's pretty cool. So there, that'll be opening up again the voting for that here at the end of the month.
Speaker 2:So OK, yeah, so yeah, congratulations on that through that time.
Speaker 2:But but in doing all that, you're running really a restaurant, a winery, a bakery, an event venue, a restaurant, a winery a bakery, an event venue, and you know, you guys were kind of getting to the point where, like, maybe we want to get this to kind of back to our roots a little bit, where it's just the winery, maybe a little bit of the other stuff, but not on the grand scale, yes. And so you'd reached out kind of thinking about, hey, coming back to Marion with your roots and coming back to live here, work here, and so we met and it was an interesting way that that all played out, because the space that we looked at he said this could work and I said I'm in the process of buying another building. I know you have this listed. Yeah, we have enclosed, but I think that this could be a really great spot for you. And you guys were game to go check it out. So we looked at it and I think it was pretty obvious, kind of right away, that it's like OK, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1:This is. This is the space. So this is definitely the space, and what's really cool about it is the basement that's underneath. So we have, you know, if things go really well, we have that extra space down there that we can figure out something to do with. So we can grow if we need to grow.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah. So when we went to 146 West Center Street, you guys saw the vision, I think very quickly. And then again, as we mentioned earlier, you've been working diligently to bring that vision to reality. Yes, yeah, with paint and decor and just little touches and upgrades, and, of course, let alone bringing all your winemaking equipment and supplies and all of that that came with it. It was a bit of a journey, but I think worthwhile.
Speaker 2:Oh absolutely here in the end. I know that we don't go into detail, but again just kind of being real about the entrepreneurial journey that we find ourselves on. Sometimes you guys came here fully expecting that your prior location was sold.
Speaker 1:Sold yes.
Speaker 2:All but sold.
Speaker 1:Yeah, we had a closing date. It was just All but sold. We had a closing date, it was just a matter of moments.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and that fell through quite literally in the 11th hour.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:And has been very challenging for you. And again, I think there's probably someone out there listening that's either experienced that maybe they're going through something right now, that's either experienced that maybe they're going through something right now, and it can be very difficult to be, on the one hand, excited about something new starting, but also, on the other hand, you know, really frustrated, disappointed and maybe scared that things are not playing out the way that you hoped, but, as entrepreneurs do, it's adapt and overcome.
Speaker 1:Exactly. You absolutely have to be flexible. Tunnel vision is not an option. You have to be able to see the big picture, see the end game. Sometimes it's a long-term sacrifice for a long-term gain, sometimes it's a short-term sacrifice for a long-term gain, sometimes it's a short-term sacrifice for a long-term gain, but you definitely just the biggest challenge is removing yourself from the situation.
Speaker 1:I think, so that you can open your mind and your eyes to see what you're not seeing, because you're like this is what I want to do, this is where I want to go. So you get that tunnel vision seen, because you're like this is what I want to do, this is where I want to go, so you get that tunnel vision. So you have to really work hard sometimes to step back and take a breath, look at everything and say, okay, this is where I want to go, this was my original plan, but now I'm over here, so how do I get back to the road? So you definitely have to be flexible, take a breath, step back, you know, maybe reach out to other people Sometimes it's family, sometimes it's new acquaintances and say this is what I have going on. What do you, how do you? How do you think you know what are your thoughts and don't be afraid to ask for help.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah. Who are some folks that have kind of helped through those times for you?
Speaker 1:Steve and I definitely rely on each other a lot. Sometimes we have a good relationship with two of our bankers, so sometimes I'm like Brian, I'm stuck here, I can't see it anymore. Can you come take a look at this and help me figure out how do we get past this junction? I'm going to get emotional today. It's crazy.
Speaker 1:But, anyway, and I think about my parents and watching them all the years and how they would get by, and they just didn't quit. It gets hard, yes, but you can't. You just have to, and sometimes even not quitting is taking a break. Yeah, you know it gets hard, but you can't. You just have to. And sometimes even not quitting is taking a break.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:To let your mind read, mind and body recharge, cause you can get exhausted physically, mentally. So I think, just watching them over the years, despite where they were, they never stopped and they never quit.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, well, and I believe that your children and grandchildren are watching as well.
Speaker 1:I hope so.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I believe that they're learning through your tenacity and resolve to bridge these gaps and get through these challenges as well and I think there's probably someone out there listening that needs to hear this message as well and that is just that things rarely go as planned and truly those that are successful over those that are not are the ones that just don't quit Exactly there is a book I read recently.
Speaker 1:Our youngest grandchild has cerebral palsy and I can't think of the gentleman's name that wrote it, but he has cerebral palsy and it's just called Just One Step or One More Step, and I see anybody that's going through life and through a hard time. It's a really good read. I mean it's not a super long book. It didn't take me long to read it. I tell you, at some points it makes you feel really lazy.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Because of what this guy went through and he just the things that he accomplished and it's just like, okay, get over it, clear your mind, recharge your body, let's get to it. Yeah. So, just just one more step.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Just one more step. Yeah, that's really good.
Speaker 2:Really good. Yeah, I think there are those times, you know, and I think that wisdom is being able to discern the times when maybe you need to take a step back, you need to take a day off, you need to take a drive, a walk or whatever, and those other times where you need to just suck it up and just keep walking. You know, one step at a time and getting through to where you need to go. So that's not always easy to discern which which it is Right. Sometimes it's both.
Speaker 1:Right, I think, a little rest and then keep going. One of my dad's biggest thing was fake it till you make it. You know, it doesn't matter how you feel, you still got to do it, yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, that's really interesting. I was thinking about a conversation I had with someone just a few days ago and they were talking to a younger person in their organization that they were kind of frustrated with because they they quit their shift early because they just quote weren't feeling it that day. And and this leader I was talking about just just said, you know, like I had to look at her and say I don't feel like doing it sometimes, but we show up, we do the work and we get it done and sometimes in doing so then we start to feel it.
Speaker 2:Exactly you got to do the thing first, and then you start to feel it. If you wait for the feelings to come, it's probably never going to get done, right?
Speaker 1:Yeah, I had a similar conversation with my niece a few weeks ago because she's going through a rough time and I'm like you know. I said I've been there too and I know the temptation is to just lay on the couch and cover your head with a blanket. I said, but the more you do, the better you feel. So the more you do, the better you'll feel. So just make yourself, get up, Do something, Do something. And it's kind of the same way with business when it gets rough, you have to do something. You just have to take a breath and recharge and redesign your plan Really good, yeah, I agree.
Speaker 2:So tell me, kind of thinking back. I know it's been a while now since you first started, but we like to talk on this about the leap, which is that moment in time where you'd been doing the hobby thing, You'd been kind of talking, You'd been kind of dreaming Maybe you'd chit chat on a long drive about, yeah, maybe someday we do this thing. Chit chat on a long drive about, yeah, maybe someday we do you know this thing. And now you're really considering doing it and you're walking to the end of the diving board and you actually have to jump off. Do you remember what that was like and some of those emotions and some of the conversations between you and Steve to to say, yeah, let's, let's really go after this thing, let's do it?
Speaker 1:Um, so we were both working, had full-time jobs. He was working a different job from the one that his position was, uh, eliminated and, you know, we didn't have the income that we had before but we were, you know, paying our bills and enjoying life and, um, we'd been, like I said, been doing it for a hobby and we talked about it and it was like, okay, you know, we started it with the idea like, this is either going to be a an expensive hobby, a little extra income, or, who knows, maybe it would turn into business that maybe one day one of our kids or grandkids would want to take over. So we kind of, when we started, we started with the idea, okay, we're going to start this and we'll, we'll let it show us where we need to go. So, as it grows, or if it grows, then we'll, we'll grow with it. So we kind of started it hoping that it would turn into a business that a kid or one of our grandkids would take over.
Speaker 2:But I think we were open to doing to whatever it, whatever it went to, yeah, yeah, but it was just let's let's give it a shot, was it just kind of absolutely I mean it was our.
Speaker 1:We took um when we. You know, starting from the house wasn't too bad because there wasn't a lot of cost. So the biggest leap was when we went to that first space on London road that was. So when we did it it was like, okay, we're going to find a place that we can afford, whether we have one customer or a hundred customers a week, you know, whatever it was, um. So we started out really small and the crazy thing about that was the we signed the lease on a Saturday for that space and that, following Monday, I was had been with Col's for almost 10 years 8, 10 years, was actually a district admin at the time and that Monday when I went to work, I found out our district was being eliminated and so was my job.
Speaker 1:So like, okay, well, this is interesting, but it actually worked out because that's an employer. They're a great employer. So, like, these are your options you can go into a store, keep your same pay, pay rate, we won't deduct your pay, um. But I didn't really want to go back to doing the closes, the mids, the opens all in one week, cause it's it's hard on the body. So, or we can, you know, we give you six months severance and you'll get unemployment. So I took the severance package and the unemployment because I knew that would allow me then to be at the business full time right from the get go and help it get off to the best start.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so really, two job losses in a fairly short amount of time is what propelled you to kind of do this. You know if life went on easy and you know the same old, same old. You maybe wouldn't have had the impetus to to get it going.
Speaker 1:No, we would have probably just stayed in our lives that were comfortable with a comfortable income, um. But this was also an opportunity for us to get back to the income that we had before. That likely wasn't going to happen Because when Steve's position was downsized he was on the cusp of going to almost 50. And people say age discrimination doesn't exist in hiring. But it does. It does. He just couldn't find because of his, I think because of his age more than anything. He just couldn't find anything in the same field that was going to pay him what he was making before yeah.
Speaker 1:So this really allowed us to start over in a better place.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, well, what a story. So you know, the thing I hear as well here is that you've been here before where things were uncertain and things didn't go as planned and ended up that that was really a blessing in disguise.
Speaker 1:Exactly. I always tell people be careful what you pray for.
Speaker 2:Yeah, because we were.
Speaker 1:you know, we were going through a tough time and it was like, okay, Lord, I was praying for financial independence. I didn't know that financial independence, on God's version, was a complete reset Right.
Speaker 2:yeah, took a dip through unemployment and outright fear of where the next mortgage payment is going to come from. The next rent payment, then you committed to this space.
Speaker 2:Yes, and all of that and those can be scary. Oh yeah, I mean there's legitimate fear involved with that. Is they get to that point and maybe they have something that propels them forward, like you said? Or maybe they're just so darn comfortable that they don't have that thing that's forcing them in? But the people that I've seen get out there and do it, take the leap and be successful are the ones that did it, scared.
Speaker 1:Yes, you did it scared. We did it scared, and you know, and don't wait. I always tell people I said I really wish we'd have done this 10 years sooner. You know, so don't, don't wait. You know, the younger you are, the more energy you have, the more resilient you are. So don't you know? Just don't wait. Plan it, have a plan, have a backup plan. You know, when years or times are good, sock away that money, because at some point you're probably they're not going to be so good and you're going to need it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's great advice. Yeah, how have you seen those cycles in your? Now you know 14, 15 years of business that you've been doing this. Surely there's been some ups and downs, oh, absolutely. How did you guys go about kind of planning for those or managing through the lean in the good times?
Speaker 1:Yeah, I think it's one of the hardest things to do and I'm certainly not perfect at it, because, you know, when things are really good, you're like I want this. You know I can afford this, I'll take it. So you have to really reel in those desires and those wants. And do I really need that? Or, you know, is that going to enrich my life, or, you know, or is it just a comfort thing or a luxury item, you know? So you have to watch those kinds of things, and I did as I got older and after experiences of needing it, I did get better with socking away a little money here and there, just in case you know, I've never been so good. People always say you want to have six to nine months. I'm like I don't know how they do that, but, um, you know, so it's. It's good to have that plan and a backup plan and when you have the money, try to put some of it away. You know as much as you, as much as possible.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, yeah, it's hard to have that discipline. Sometimes the thing that makes entrepreneurs great, which is, you know, taking those risks and driving hard and, and you know, kind of taking things to the red line sometimes also can backfire, yes, so having some people around whether that's a spouse or someone else in the organization, a friend, a mentor, that can kind of help balance, can be very helpful.
Speaker 1:Yes, absolutely. And if you're not great with money, find somebody that you trust. Yes, that is good with money and let them be in charge of your money. You know, keep an eye on it, of course, because you never know what might happen, but you know, let them, let them help you, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2:You never know what might happen, but you know, let them, let them help you. Yeah, yeah, how did it? How did it go as you and Steve started working together day to day, because it's different being married and working together Right so you probably quickly figured that out. And how did you start to get into the rhythm of kind of dividing tasks and kind of staying out of each other's? Way and being respectful of, kind of the, the boundaries of those roles, just like you would in a in a job you know you don't go take someone else's part of their job if that's what they're supposed to do.
Speaker 1:Yeah, absolutely. It's funny. And what does he say? He says like he goes yeah, I don't mess in her kitchen and she doesn't mess in my wine, when we were at the other place and I was in the kitchen a lot. But no, yeah, we definitely have our shouldered responsibilities that are pretty much 100% ours. And you know he utilizes my um, my palate. You know, when we're making some new wines and I usually come up with ideas on blending the wines, but he makes the wine.
Speaker 1:Um, when we were in Delaware, you know he was primarily out front with the kitchen and staffing issues. I was drawn more into the kitchen so it kind of became more a back of the house. So that's one of the things I'm looking forward to is having more interaction every day with our customers out front. But, yeah, we definitely have our things that we take care of, and not every spouse or every couple can work together, but it has worked for us. I guess one of the things that helps us too is he's a morning person, so he'll get up about 5, 6 o'clock in the morning, so he has a few hours on his own, and then I usually have a few hours at night because he falls asleep before I do so we have our time of just chilling and not having each other. But no, thankfully we do partner Well. We partner well in life and we partner well in our business.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, you've got to figure out those rhythms that work really again in in in life and in business. Uh, finding you know those rhythms and that takes a little bit of time, but with intention and uh and uh, that can come Talking a little bit about the wines themselves. Speak to what makes your wines particularly unique and why is it that you guys have won the awards that you have, and what kind of feedback do you get from customers that makes your wines and your winery different than some of the others out there?
Speaker 1:I think our customer service has definitely been what has kept us on the Reader's Choice best list. Because whether you walk in the winery one time or you're a regular that comes in every week or every month or every few months or whatever, we try to welcome people. We welcome them as soon as they walk in the door. We want them to feel comfortable, we want them to feel like a friend. Um, and we've had customers that are now probably going to be lifelong friends. So you know, that's that's just the environment that we foster. And when we hire people, it's like, okay, this is what's important, you know, just take care of the customer, make them feel comfortable. So that's one of our first priorities, yeah for sure. And then we both take pride in whatever we do.
Speaker 1:So Steve is very consistent with his process and how we make the wine. As far as the flavors, we both like food and we both like flavor. So we have fun with playing around with different combinations or adding, like we have. Our Ricky's peach tree is a blend of two Ohio whites and we add a natural peach flavoring. So you get that wonderful peach flavor, but it's not super sweet. We were not afraid to blend two wines together. When we were at the old space, we would infuse some of the wines with alcohol. We can't necessarily do that now because we don't have a liquor license, but so we're just not afraid. We're just throw it together and if it works, awesome. If it doesn't, we make sangria out of it.
Speaker 2:So there's a win-win, yeah, yeah, yeah, I love that. It's interesting. You talked about the consistency. That is, I think, something that's often overlooked. Whether it's a restaurant, whether it's you know, whatever product someone is making, the consistency is so key.
Speaker 2:Absolutely because if someone comes in and they you know love, you know this particular wine and and then the next time they come in they're like, oh, this tastes different, I don't like it as well as I did the last time, but they're telling me it's the same, then that obviously can be very off-putting, and the same, you know, if it's a restaurant or a bakery or whatever. I think that sometimes, again, the entrepreneurial spirit can be a little too free spirited, you know, always trying to kind of change things up and whatever, but being able to find something that's really consistent and making sure if you're working with teams and everyone knows their recipes and processes and checklists and all of that that are being really followed to the letter.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah, that's when we, when they had the kitchen that was one of the biggest things when I was training our team members in the kitchen was like, okay, this has to be the same whether I make it, susie, make it, susie makes it or Ray makes it. So you know, we had little cheat portions, like whether it was a bowl or measuring cup or whatever I said. It needs to be the same amount of cheese, the same amount of sauce, the same amount of. You know whatever ingredient was going in that and you know. And then to take pride when you put it together, yeah, yeah, yeah, that's really good.
Speaker 2:Okay, well, uh, I know that there are a lot of people that are looking forward to to trying these wines that are, you know, newly introduced to you, and, uh, and, and I know you're just as- eager to allow them to try.
Speaker 1:So what are you still afraid, you know? Cause it's like you want to get the doors open. It was like, okay, I think we're ready, we have everything in place. What could go wrong? You know cause something always goes wrong.
Speaker 2:Yeah, as a little bit of a teaser, what are, uh, what are a few other kind of fan favorites that, uh, are typically your recommendations.
Speaker 1:As far as our sweet wines, that's the Kimmy K's, which is a Chardonnay with sweetened with acai and raspberry. The Ricky's Peach Tree, we have one called Say what. It tastes like a lime margarita. It's kind of fun. That's why we call it Say what, because I tell people, if you serve it in a rocks glass with a salted rim and hide the bottle, people are like man, this is a you know what is this? And they're like you're drinking wine and they're going to say what? Because they're not going to believe it's not a real margarita.
Speaker 2:Wow, that's yeah incredibly unique.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and we have some real good, some really nice dry reds. We have our Ali's Diablo Rojo, which is our granddaughter named that one and that's the other thing a story of a lot of our wines are either named by our kids, for our kids or for our family.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's fun, yeah, yeah. I think that those experiences are just so unique, yeah, and that's what people seek out. They seek out experiences and they seek out authenticity, and especially when they can go somewhere and see the process, I think that's really cool, and so I know that at your new location you kind of have some of your winemaking process that's exposed, so they can actually see the carboys that are sitting on the rack and these are becoming the wines that are in the bottles across the way and on the rack that are completed, right?
Speaker 1:Steve wasn't for sure about that in the beginning. I'm like no, it'd be really cool. I said, think about some of the places that we've been and you can see these things. I thought I think it'll be all right.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, I think that's really neat. I think I'd shared with you. We're recently in Italy and we're at a place where they had that. You know where it was on display and you could see the process and see it happening, and you can have the winemaker explaining some of the process. I mean, that's just so fascinating. So I think people really enjoy that experience and being able to see how it's made and kind of how the whole process works. So that's exciting. Yes, yeah, Well, very good. Well, we've talked about some of the, some of the joys. We've talked about some of the challenges and lessons learned along the way. I mean, I think this has been so applicable to a lot of different types of businesses, whether they're you know kind of in the sort of hospitality or food and beverage industry, or if they have a retail store or a service business.
Speaker 2:You know, a lot of what we've talked about applies in terms of being able to overcome challenges and and be resilient through unknown times and some of those. I really appreciate you sharing those experiences. I always love to ask you know what's your?
Speaker 1:I always love to ask, you know what's your, if you have other favorite inspirational or educational resources books, podcasts, YouTube channels, that sort of thing that you draw on when you know maybe it's an everyday thing or maybe it's just through some of those challenging times. Um, you know, again, it's just I, really my parents, just their fortitude and and what they went through. And my dad had cancer and um it had gone undetected and he ended up like the actually broke the bone and then um spread throughout his body but through that he had to have his leg amputated and he was that one heck of an athlete, you know, and just and just to see his courage and strength and resiliency after losing that and just still going, yeah, still going ahead. So I mean that's, that's huge. Um, like I said, the book that I had, um people like such as yourself, that have you.
Speaker 1:Obviously you started with a leap and just seeing what you do and just I, just I take inspiration from all around. There's so many opportunities. If we open our eyes and look into whether it's someone getting through a personal struggle and you look at them and say, man, how did they recover from that? Or if it's someone building their business, or some people like to call it empires, whatever you call it, there's a lot of inspiration around if you open your eyes.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's right, I agree. I think that there is. There's a lot to be learned from everyone around us and you've mentioned some great examples and I certainly can see how those have inspired you as you've went along your journey. And again, I think the ability to essentially what you said earlier was kind of disconnect emotionally, to be able to take the situation in more objectively. We get so emotionally wrapped up in situations and it honestly blinds our good sense, doesn't it, where we kind of lose the opportunity to look at the situation. And you know, one of the sayings that I use that is helpful is, instead of saying why is this happening to me, I say why is this happening for me? And what, what, that's great. How can I, you know, turn the situation to be able to say, hey, this, you know, we both lost our job, right?
Speaker 1:Make it an opportunity.
Speaker 2:Yeah, let's take that opportunity to start a business. In the end, you know, we hindsight's 2020, as they say, and you can look back and say, gosh, if we hadn't done that or if we hadn't had that happen for us, we likely wouldn't have started this business and wouldn't be where we are today and have the richness of the relationships that you've developed along the way and so, yeah, it's so easy to see in retrospect and if we can try to keep that perspective in the present day. I know that I struggle with that.
Speaker 1:It's easier said than done. Oh right, well, and yeah, in hindsight being 2020, I try to remind people to. They'll beat up on themselves. It's like why didn't I see this coming? I should have seen this coming years ago, and while hindsight's always 2020. And if you had that sight as foresight then you wouldn't be here. But stop beating yourself up, because we have to as we go through. Whatever we're doing, whether it's business or life, we can only make a decision based on the information we have at the time. In hindsight, you get information after the fact, so you made the best choice you can.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:So let's just redirect and get back on the path. Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2:Well, I think that's a good place to end, sandy. We'll kind of land the plane here, but I really appreciate your time and your sharing and your vulnerability as well, sharing about the experience. I think that there's a lot again that'll be taken away in terms of inspiration and education for folks that come to listen to this, whether it's next week or next year. But I definitely want to give you an opportunity to share again where people are going to be able to find you very, very soon and how to follow along with your journey social media and all that as well.
Speaker 1:Oh, absolutely yes. We have website, facebook, instagram, twitter. So, whatever your pleasure, find us there and we'll be at 146 West Center Street. It's on the corner of Center Street and Prospect. It's a nice, unique location, as you said. The building is just beautiful inside. We'll have on street parking plus um after five and on the weekends. There was plenty of parking behind so you can enter in the front or the back.
Speaker 2:Yes, yes, great, great mention there. So yeah, just blend of seven winery on all of those platforms and follow along and do a good job of sharing uh, hours and specials and all those things and, of course, grand opening dates will also be shared there. So, if you haven't gotten quite open, when this airs, we'll make sure that people want to follow along there and you'll be sharing just as soon as you can you bet You'll be anxious to get there.
Speaker 2:So thanks again, sandy, thanks again to all of our listeners for tuning in and we appreciate you. Hopefully, again, you took something away here. If you know someone who needs to hear the message that Sandy shared today, please share this episode with them. It would mean a lot to me, lot to me. I'd consider it a personal favor to help spread the word of our podcast and the work that we're trying to do to empower and encourage entrepreneurs, dreamers, doers that are doing work on Main Street and beyond in lots of different communities. So thanks again for tuning in and we hope to catch you next time on the Main Street Reimagined podcast. Thanks, thanks for listening to the Main Street Reimagined podcast. Thanks, thanks for listening to the Main Street Reimagined podcast. To learn more about Main Street Reimagined Henry Development Group or our work in downtown Marion, ohio, please visit MainStreetReimaginedcom If you want to connect or if you know someone who we need to interview, shoot us an email at info at mainstreetreimaginedcom. Until next time, keep dreaming and don't be afraid to take the leap.