Episode 30: The One for the Growth-Oriented Mom with Amy Yanzer of Forward Beverage Co: Living Into Your Strengths, Entrepreneurship & Making It Work with Baby #4 on the Way

Amy Yanzer, small business superhero and soon-to-be mom of four, spills the tea (or rather, the non-alcoholic nitro cocktail) on balancing motherhood with entrepreneurship. From laugh-out-loud anecdotes to revolutionizing Wisconsin's drinking culture one "soft cocktail" at a time, this episode is bubbling with wisdom, laughter, and the perfect recipe for embracing life's unexpected twists.

Main Topics & Discussion

Motherhood's Unexpected Surprises
Amy's journey from church music director to co-founder of Forward Beverage Co. is anything but conventional. Hear her honest take on what shocked her most about motherhood, how she managed two under two, and why she's welcoming baby #4 at 40 with confidence that we all aspire to. Her advice about longing versus guilt offers a refreshing perspective for any mother struggling with work-life balance. 

Crafting a Business (and Family) from Scratch
When Amy's husband Paul quit drinking, he used his chemistry background to create non-alcoholic alternatives that weren't just sugar bombs. Together, they've built Forward Beverage Company into a thriving business with products in over 200 locations across Wisconsin. Amy shares how they're redefining what it means to "have a drink" in one of America's most alcohol-friendly states, and how she envisions bringing her children into the family business.

The Growing Pains of Growth
From navigating multiple moves to building community in a new city, Amy's transparent about both the challenges and triumphs. Her "if it's not a hell yes, it's a no" philosophy is exactly what busy moms need to hear. Plus, she reveals her secret weapon for childbirth (HypnoBabies) and why she's approaching motherhood at 40 with newfound wisdom about what really matters—definitely not lost high heels or perfectly clean houses.

Links & Discount Codes:

Kindred Bravely: THEREALMOMHUB15

Forward Beverage Co: REALMOMHUB10  (valid April 29-May 29, 2025)

Strength Finder Test: https://www.gallup.com/cliftonstrengths/en/253715/34-cliftonstrengths-themes.aspx

Hypnobabies: https://www.hypnobabies.com/

Host & Show Info

Hosted by: Cally & Emily O’Leary

About the Hosts: We’re real moms and real sisters. We may look and sound alike, but our motherhood journeys are uniquely ours. We all do Motherhood differently, and thank goodness for that. Let’s learn and grow together.

Podcast Website: https://therealmomhub.com/

Like what you hear? Let us know!

• Rate & Review on Apple Podcasts & Spotify – Help others discover the show!
• Join the Conversation – Join us on social (Instagram, Facebook, TikTok), or send us a message at therealmomhub@gmail.com to let us know what you'd like to hear more of.
• Share this episode – If you enjoyed it, share with a friend, tag us on social media and let us know your favorite takeaway.

Transcript

Thanks for waiting. Okay, now I've got to close all the tabs because I read the tech sheet.

(...)

Okay, now I'm really ready.

That was the mom stuff right there. Like I'm just gonna get this thing done right now. Yeah. Because I own a business and I need to get it done. Yeah. Look at you go. Okay, so we have Amy Yanzer on today. And Amy is like a small business superhero in my life right now. So Amy, can you just tell us like what your normal day to day is, family, background, you know, how many kids?

Sure. I am married to my husband, Paul. We've been married for 12 years in August. We have three boys. They are 10, nine and six, Henry, George and Gabriel.(...) And in 2023, we opened a business together called Forward Beverage Company. It's a non-alcoholic cocktail company, which sounds kind of wild being in Wisconsin. But when Paul quit drinking in 2021 and we would go out to dinner, he'd like order water when we had our anniversary or something like that, you know? Like he wouldn't have anything to celebrate with because mocktails are too sugary and he was over the NA beers.(...) But he had this background in chemistry,(...) in food and science, in development. And so he made these drinks that taste like drinks without the booze, but they have good things in them like electrolytes or adaptogens or functional ingredients that make you feel better than alcohol does. So I said, you've got a great idea. I don't have anything to do. So you do the back of the house stuff and I'll do the front of house stuff. So I mostly work the shop and I talk to people and I make sales. And then I do all the book work, like cookbooks and accounting and taxes and stuff like that.

I am representing with my favorite.

Ah, I had one too. I was gonna point it.

Same one, we're so cute.

Yeah.

(...)

Wait, Emily actually has one,

Okay, so here's

my question for Amy. So I've got this purple, which I've had before and I love.

(...)

Also listeners, if I just zone out by the end of this episode, that's why it's super relaxing.

(...)

Yes. But it's also really, really fun. So I'm glad we're doing this on video. Amy, can I shake this at my desk and pour it into my martini glass or will it explode?

(...) Yes, you can shake it, but the trick is to wait. So you shake it, shake it, shake it, and then you let it sit for like a minute. Then pour it into your glass. Otherwise, yes, it will explode.

I'm obsessed with the nitro. No, I am. Something that I think really sets you guys apart because I used to be in the wine industry. So love a beverage, love flavors. I love the non-alcoholic situation. I love all the more herbaceous, really interesting things are happening and I'm here for it. But what you guys do is actually the fun chemistry part.

(...)

So I'm really, okay, I'm gonna shake it right now. Yep. And I'm gonna let it-- Just like you're shaking a cocktail. I'm gonna let it, okay, I can do that. Okay, I'm gonna let it chill for a minute.

Oh, I feel it. We did not plan this episode to be like an unboxing video. That's how it's happening right now. No, we actually are gonna get to your mother.

But

you know.

Okay, while I'm always letting that settle, I have to tell you guys a story.

So last week, last week, I come to Amy's shop and I'm so excited because Amy's husband, Paul, and my husband, Kevin-- Sadie told me this story. Oh good, I've gotta tell it again because Amy hasn't heard it yet. Okay,

So Kevin and Paul were skiing. Paul's telling Kevin about this new drink that he's come up with. It's about to be released. Kevin is so excited. He's been talking about it for months. He just like hasn't gotten over to the shop to get it. So I decide to give, you know, to supply some in Kevin's Easter basket. So when I bought them, Amy was like, just make sure to tell Kevin that it's 10 times the amount of THC is what he's used to. Cause he's had, they have social seltzers, which are these mocktails with what Amy? THC.

(...)

THC and CBD. So very low dose, like a half of a gummy.

Yes, okay. So like I've had one of those, it was delicious, it was amazing. I didn't even really feel that different. It was relaxing, beautiful. Okay, so make sure you tell Kevin these are 10 times the amount.

(...)

So-- That's where this is going. So we're like trying to crank on a bunch of house projects. I am a church music director, right? It's Tritum week, which in our church means I'm just living at church that week as we're trying to crank out these projects. Okay, it is Saturday of Easter weekend. So I need to be at church that night. I am so crabby all day because Kevin like wasn't reading the room for what projects I wanted him to do. I mean, we are at odds the entire day. And I've been living at church. He's been parenting by himself. Okay, so I'm running out the door at like, you know, 7 p.m. And I feel like I need like a peace offering. And I say, there's a paper bag in the back of the fridge. I've been saving it once the kids are in bed, just like go find the paper bag.

(...)

So I'm in the middle of vigil. I'm in the middle of our Easter vigil mass when I remember that I told him these drinks were in the fridge and didn't tell him how much THD was in it.

(...)

get home. It's 11 p.m. I realized I had forgotten my house keys.(...) So I'm pounding on the door because I don't have my keys.

(...)

So finally, Kevin does come downstairs. He was actually in the shower. He comes downstairs. He is just jovial. He's so happy to see me. And I'm thinking, I remember we were fighting when I left.(...) I also remember like he did look like his eyes were a little half masked. So I'm like,

(...)

oh. And he just like gives me this big hug and he goes,

(...)

I think I might be a little bit baked.

(...)

Okay, so he goes to bed.(...)

The next morning we wake up, he's doing great. Looks great. Kids are ready to do Easter. We traditionally make this Easter bread that's this Bulgarian Easter bread. And it's like very important to our side of the family. We make it every year. He's never really liked it before. Are you kidding me? He had like a piece. Amy, Easter morning, he ate, I think half a loaf.

(...)

(Laughs)

(...)

I think the thing I'm most shook about is that Kevin doesn't like kuzn Oh, well that was before anyways.

Yeah, so there you go. Now he's a little more careful. It just brings joy. Yeah.

It does. Okay.

It's a really good story.

I wanna hear some matterings of like I'm fascinated by the entrepreneurship and the beverage and I wanna keep circling around that. But I do wanna hear about the motherhood side of your life. So as I crack this,

(...)

I'm gonna see if I can get it right in the mic. It's so pretty.

I wish people could see it.

(...)

Here we go. Oh yeah, here we go. No, I'm gonna hold it up.

Okay, here we go. Oh, look at that. It's a nice glass. It's a nice glass.

(...)

We're fancy right here. Oh, it's so pretty.

Okay, we're gonna do like a half can.

(...)

Like, and then it's settling out. Oh, there you go. Yes.(...) Yes.

(...)

We got this beautiful foam on top.

(...)

It's science.

It is science. I'm gonna hit it with like a couple of maraschinos just cause I'm feeling like really fancy.

Oh wow. You are ready.

I think if I was going for like true flavor with this one, I'd go with like a little lemon.

Yes, but lemon.

Okay, I'm excited. Okay Cal, what's our first question for Amy?

What shocked you about motherhood? Shocked you to your core.

(...)

Ooh.

Probably how much they eat.

(...)

(Laughs)

I mean, all I do is think about food. It's like you finish one meal and then it's like, but I got to feed them at snacks. And then you're finished with that. And you're thinking about the next meal. And then you have to base your whole schedule around like when they need to eat or else they get hangry.

(...)

I mean, we used to eat dinner. Like if it wasn't on the table at five o'clock, it was a meltdown. Yes, that's right. Right? Yes. Oh, the food and the prep and the schedule. And we were very careful about what we eat. So we wanted to do that to our kids. So like I was mashing our baby food and, you know, like choosing whole foods and not the tubes and the snack stuff because we wanted to just give them the best. So yeah, just all I think about is food.

(...) Is that like today, days old or like when they were younger?

Yeah, I mean, when they were younger, my son used to eat so much that he would sleep like 15 hours a day. I mean, like all he did was eat and sleep. He would wake up for a little bit and play

(...)

when he'd go back to sleep after eating. Like yeah. Incredible. So the food, yeah.

Okay, that's so funny.

Mm-hmm.

(...) So I don't think this brand was around your first time around motherhood, but spoiler, you're about to be.

(...)

(Laughing)

You want the full view? A new view old? Oh, I don't know if you can do that. I can do that. I'm like 33 and four and I'm 39 years old and I will have a baby and turn 43 weeks later.

You know what? You weren't 40. Nice.

Totally unexpected.

So really?

(...) Mm-hmm.

That's fun.

The business was our baby, right? We put all of this like effort and time and love into it and created something brand new and we're nurturing it. And then,(...) surprise.

(...)

(Laughing)

But

it's okay. It's gonna be great. And we're gonna love this child more than we would ever love, work or a business, right? I've always said that motherhood is the most important thing that I'll ever do, but it's not the only thing I'll ever do.

I like this. I like it a lot. Was that true before you had your first?

(...) When did that come out? Yes. Yeah, I think I always knew that family life and having children and raising them would be the highlight of my life. But I also knew my strengths as a person. My gifts, have you ever taken a strength finder test? So I'm a woo, winning others over, which is like outside people winning and talking

and smoothing.

Which test is this, I don't know.

Oh, I took a test at one of my old jobs, which is probably my favorite part of that job. It's called, oh gosh, I should have written it down.

We'll put it in the notes at the end.

But you take a test and then it evaluates you and what your strengths are. They call it like the attic in the basement, right? So there are things you're naturally gifted at and there's things that you're really not good at at all. And all of my natural abilities and inclinations are things outside the home, right? So working with other people, communication, like talking through how I think about things, activator, achiever,(...) those are my tops. And so I always knew that I wanted to work,(...) but that having a family and being a mom is more important than the work. It just,(...) I feel like it made me a better mom because I got to use those skills and use those gifts. And then I got to come home and be with my family.

(...) So what did that look like for you throughout, I don't know, the eight years of motherhood before starting forward?

A lot like Callie. So I would work on the weekends and my husband would be like single parent with the kids, but then I would have Mondays off or I wouldn't have to go in early in the mornings. So when they were really young, we were able to save on childcare because my kids were in daycare five days a week.(...) And then by the time that my children got to school, I had transitioned to a job that was 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. So I could take them to school, I could go to work, I negotiated 30 hours a week instead of 40. And so I left it too and I could pick them up. And then at that time I was also teaching piano lessons for my home. So I had a private studio and I'd have the neighbor girl come over and give her a little bit of money to play with the kids for like that hour until Paul got home. And then Paul would make dinner and we would all eat together. And that's how that looked. It was like a big puzzle, right? But I always felt that I still got to be around and see them and everybody was happy and thriving. So it felt good.

I had a friend over this morning and she has said she's like just kind of musing about

just mom guilt in general.

(...)

And she reframed it for herself that instead of feeling guilty, that feeling is more, at least for her, like just longing for your children,(...) which I think is a really healthy reframe because it's really healthy to long for things and not have them all the time. And like when I was working full time, I would long for my children. Sometimes when I'm home more, I'm actually longing for work. You know, like it's always good to really like want more of something.

(...)

So yeah, I thought I loved that. And it's a helpful reframe for me is I'm kind of trying to do what you did. And you're such an amazing mentor for me because it seems like it just worked so well. You know, you love it. Your kids are happy and healthy. You guys still had enough energy to start a business.

(...)

It's amazing.

(...) Yeah, it's crazy. No, working for the church was great. I really liked a lot of things about it. And especially at that time in my life and yeah, the schedule worked out really well.

Yeah, I don't think you can do it all. And I don't think you have to, right? I mean, was my house always perfect? No, but we still eat healthy food every night, right? There's just things that you give and take. I think now as an older mom, I look back and think I shouldn't have worried so much about if the house was clean or not, right? Because everybody was happy and hindsight is always the greatest gift. But no, you certainly can't do it all. But you can enjoy where you are and recognize that all of these faces change, right? There used to be baby stuff all over and then I gave away all my baby stuff and soon it'll be coming back into my life again, right? So, you know, it just...

So as you're straddling this line between celebrating home life, following your gifts and making sure those are realized and giving back to the community,

(...)

I'm wondering if you felt predominantly supported and understood by your friends and family and like your coworkers, or if you ran into friction at different points and what that looked like.

(...) I think

created the friction myself by comparing.(...) So I worked at the church, which Kelly knows a lot of middle-aged women work for the church, right? And what do they have? Kids who are grown and gone. So while I was a woman and I was working and they understood having a young family, I always felt like I should be staying an extra hour. They're coming in early, you know, they're working more than their 40 hours a week because they can and there's always more to do and there's always more to give.

(...)

But they didn't make me feel that way. I put that on myself.

Are there things going into this next phase of motherhood for you?

(...)

Are there things that you feel like you'll do differently or you just like have a new scope, you know, for like what's really important?

I'm not, yes, I'm not gonna stress out as much about the little things because I know how fast it all goes by, right? I feel like I just blinked and I had my first tube. I had two under two, right? So that was super busy.

Two under two.

(...)

Yeah, my boys were 16 months apart, yes. And they're still best friends to this day, you know? They're just super sweet.

(...)

But the stresses and the challenges that made me get upset or I remember this one time where we were trying to go to a wedding and I couldn't find one of my high heels because my room was so messy and I was just like losing it. And then I like, I was journaling later and I was like, I lost my over, not finding a shoe. Like that's insane. Like I was way too stressed out. This time I'm not gonna worry so much because I know how fast it all goes by and I'm just gonna try and enjoy it.

Yeah. Well, in six years isn't actually that big of a gap either. Like there are some times when we were like, oh, unexpected last baby. And it's like 12 years later.

(...)

No, and actually my six year old is probably the most excited about the baby because he'll get to be a big brother. So he talks to the baby in my belly every day and asks for it to come out. I was like, yeah, yeah, yeah. But it'll be really, really great. He'll be a good helper. He already asked to change the diaper if he gets to wear gloves, you know? He wants to be protected.

Okay, sure. You got it. Yep.

(...)

So aside from eliminating stress, letting things go, are there things that come to mind that you think every future mom should know about?

(...)

It's okay to ask for help.

(...)

Ah, that's hitting. That's still hard, Amy.

Yes, but you can't do it all. Or you can say no, right? Like you don't have to go to every play date or you don't have to make every holiday or every trip or the things that cause guilt.

(...)

It feels like trying to please other people. And I think now as a mom who's gonna be 40, you guys have heard this, that when you turn 40, you have no more F's to give.

(...)

I haven't, but it makes sense. Oh yes, that's the thing. I was just gonna say that I'm actually excited from the women in my life. I'm excited for the 40s.

Yeah, yeah. So I don't really care what people think about me, so I'm just gonna do what I want and I'm just gonna ask for what I need, you know? And if it doesn't happen, fine, but I feel way more confident in saying no to the things that don't really bring me joy and yes to the things that do and admitting that I can't do it all now than I did when I was 29 and having my first.

(...) Yeah. Yeah. Is that something new for you in the past couple of years or is this-- Yes. Well, it's okay.

No, yes, like self-growth, right?

(...)

I remember one lent I really prayed for patience and that I feel like is coming a little bit more for me now, more easily, more naturally. So I think I can bring that to raising a young child again because we know you need a lot of it.

It's hard, it's hard to be patient all the time.

going into the nitty gritties of this next birth that you really didn't think would happen again, are there things that you're doing again? Are you taking a birth course again? What do you do six years later? Do you remember on Breastfeed? What do you think?

I hope so, I hope so. No, I think I do. So when I was pregnant with my first, I was very nervous about giving birth in general. I was terrified. I actually would faint when I had my blood drawn. Not excited about it at all.

Then I can't remember who told me about it, but I found this course called HypnoBabies and it was a binder and it came with MP3 files and you would download that on your phone and listen to it. So it's self-hypnosis, it's meditation that really helps the listener reprogram all of the images of like women hanging on and screaming for dear life and pushing this baby out into

positive view of my body is built for this, pregnancy is natural and normal. So you listen to these affirmations and then you have these maybe 40 or 50 minute sessions where you kind of lie down and really let your body relax deeply. And I used it for all three of my kids and I've, like I said, I faint when I give blood and I have three all natural births and they were all beautiful and I was awake for all of them. And remember every single one, they talk about contractions as pressure waves, right? So it's not like the scary negative word, but like, oh, so every pressure wave is like a moment closer to meeting your baby.(...) So I am listening to that again and I'm just reminding myself that pregnancy is natural and normal. My body knows just what to do. My labors got consecutively shorter and easier.(...) And I don't think this one's gonna be that long at all. It's just gonna slide right out. So I feel really good about that.

(...)

I have to admit like I've known about hypno babies(...) and I

I love a natural childbirth.(...) That's my goal.(...) I just had a really hard time feeling like I could fully meditate and like call a contraction a wave when it actually does hurt. However, hearing you say like 40 to 50 minute sessions, I didn't understand like that piece.

You do intense training ahead of time.

Okay, the wave makes so much sense to me actually.

when you think about something hurting, what do you do? You brace yourself, right? You tense up and what the hypno baby system does is trains your body to do the exact opposite. Like release so much that you don't feel as much constriction and as much pain.

(...)

And then it talks about the different stages, right? So you've got the pressure waves and then there's the like the second to last stage is called transformation, right? Where it gets like a lot more intense. And then there's even a track that is written for actually like pushing baby out and how to like relax with your body and push when your body is ready to push. So you're not really fighting anything. And I think that just made it so much easier. Also, I got to have two water births.(...) So that was really fun. And I don't get a water birth this time because of where I am, but that's okay. I didn't have one on my first. So it'll just book end nicely and I'll be fine with that.

(...)

Amazing. Something so much chill, so much. Yes, well, and I have to tell myself that that's kind of an entrepreneur thing too, right? You just believe in the vision of who you wanna be and you start thinking like that person and acting like that person. So I want this really beautiful birth experience. I'm just acting like it's gonna happen. I'm gonna say no to the things I don't want. It's gonna be great.

Yeah, maybe we should all have a baby in our 40s.

(...)

(Both Laughing)

I mean, it's more and more common.

(...) And I do, I feel really

blessed and gifted to be able to have a baby because people pay to try to have babies when they're older and they can't get pregnant because they're older. So it is a gift. But yes, I do feel like I have a little bit of experience. It's gonna be fun.

I'm inspired now. With Kieran, I definitely did like a, I think it was the off brand version of HypnoBaby. It wasn't officially HypnoBaby and I didn't fully commit. But I remember my

one of my favorite jobs ever, she fully committed to HypnoBaby. During her lunch breaks,(...) the lunch break off in her office, she would be doing her thing. And it's a huge time investment.(...) So, okay, I'm re-engaged in this(...) for Kieran's future siblings.

So I'm hearing a lot from you about growth. Like you're very focused on growth, transformation. I'm hearing you talk about journaling. There seems to be a lot of personal reflection.

(...)

Have you always been that person or has this evolved?

I think I've always wanted to do my best and be my best. I think I've learned different ways to do that. Obviously, I've always loved to read, so that just opens up your world, right? But I've had really good friends who have also strived to be the best version of themselves and heal the trauma that they've been through and not pass that on. And my husband and I talk about how we have helped each other grow on this journey too. So that feels really good. So yes, I've always tried to be a person who learns from mistakes and does things better and lets go of past hurts and moves on.

How do you feel like having kids helped you? Are there certain things, new traits that you developed or maybe

they didn't, maybe you'd be so much more evolved without them.

True, that's true. So a funny story is that when Paul and I got married at 28, I said before we got engaged that I didn't want to have kids till I was 40. Like I wanted to have the career and the big life and do all the things. And he was like, well, I don't want to be an old dad. Then we were talking about the number of kids and he wanted three and I kind of wanted four because he's one of three and I'm one of four.

Wait, you wanted four kids but you wanted to wait. Yeah, you were 40.

(...)

(Laughing)

You know, this was a 28 year old that was talking. And so now we're laughing because both of us have compromised and we're getting what we want. I'm having a kid at 40.

(...)

That's gonna be our fourth. And he's getting to not be an old dad.

A young dad and an old dad. I mean, what is it?

A young dad and an old dad.

How do we define an old dad? I don't know. We'll find out.

Cause we'll be those old parents with all of the young parents.

(...)

It's fine.

(...)

My friend says it keeps you young.

Yeah, and also it depends on where you live. Honestly, so many women are starting to have their first in their late thirties and thirties.

I would say in cities. I think where Callie and I live, maybe I'll for sure be the old one, but that's fine.

(...)

(Laughing)

Okay, so speaking of being in the city, you haven't lived here that long. So like you moved,

started a whole new business.

(...)

How did you form community? And have you, you know, how do you find time for that while you're also starting a business?

That is a great question.

What role does that play in your mothering and just your mental health?

Yeah, how long have you been in Wausau? I guess it would be a good.

Yeah, we moved to Wausau in 2022. We had lived in Madison for eight years. And when we were first married and had our first son, we were in Chicago.

(...)

So we've keep moving north. I feel like we're gonna be Canadian someday, but anyway.

(...)

(Laughing)

I was definitely stressed before we moved from Madison to Wausau. We had bought a fixer upper house. We had to sell that. Paul started working up here and I was still at home with the kids trying to put the house on the market, packing, cleaning and working full time. It was just a lot. So I was definitely going to therapy. And she said, and I remember this,

make sure that you don't discount community and the importance of that in your new place, like when you move, right? So I thought about that a lot. I mean, we joined a parish right away. That's important to us. Our faith always has been finding friends of students that went to school with my kids was really helpful. That helped us connect to people. And then actually the business that we have is right downtown.

(...)

It's a customer service based business. So people come in and I get to walk with them or chat with them and talk to them. So I have these customers that I know now, these regulars who come in, but then I was also able to connect with other business owners because my product is sold in other stores. So I have lots of different layers of community. Like I know some other entrepreneurs. I know, you know, fellow like moms and dads and people who are looking for these alternative beverages. I know people from church. I know people from school.

(...)

So I feel very plugged in. And in this day and age of remote work, or, you know, the idea of like wanting to live in the homestead and be self-sufficient, that's great and well and good. But community is what like adds that final dimension to your life, right? Like you would have a perfect house. You can have, you know, great land. You can be self-sufficient and have a job that you go to on your computer every day. But it is the day to day like, hi, how you doing? You know, connecting with people on a very simple level that really brings joy. Like I know the mailman's name, you know, it's great.

(...)

That's really important. I think we've backtracked a lot since 2020. And I think there are a lot of reasons outside of 2020 where it's community is showing up a little differently for people now, especially younger generations, like younger than millennials.

But tips from you, because you've seemingly done some work in three years. I mean, you moved to Wausau and you're like, hey, let's start like a community-based business. Like let's start out, you know, that's a lot. So how do you build that?

Can you give us quick context? How far have you taken this business in three years? Cause it's been a lot of growth really quickly.

It's been a lot of growth really quickly. We had the idea in January of 2023 on our couch, cause it was the dead of winter. And we were just kind of home and thinking about what we wanted to do next. And then we leased a building in May of 2023 and renovated ourselves other than the lighting, excuse me, and the plumbing.(...) And then we opened our doors.

Seven months later, we were in talks with a distributor, an alcohol distributor actually, to help us get our products further out of reach.

(...)

And now we're coming up on our one year anniversary of that. So I mean, we've had a lot of growth from being a single shop to, I'm in over 200 accounts now across the state

(...)

and I can ship nationwide.(...) That's amazing. And that's all you. Yes. Like we're in festival foods, right? I mean, that's a big deal for a brand new brand. Yes. Yeah.

That's amazing.

Thank you.

Good job. Okay, now back to Emily's question.

Well, no, no, no, now I have a new question. How close do you get to Milwaukee?

(...) I'm in Milwaukee. I'm in a hotel downtown.

And then I'm in Kenosha(...) and I'm in a couple other places around the Milwaukee area. But my distributor can distribute anywhere. So basically if you go into a bar and say, hey, do you afford beverage? The bar rep should be able to order it from there.

I'm 100% going into a bunch of bars now. I have like three liquor stores in my brain. This will just be fun. Okay, cool. Okay. So your distributor's name.

Go back to work a little bit, just for fun.

I'm like, hey, have you heard of these guys? Why don't you have them? Yeah.

(...) That would be great. Kate, what was your question though? Cause it was good, but I forgot it.

Me? You just bulldozed me. I was asking for tips on community and you know, like how did you do all this work so quickly? I'm curious about like fresh interactions with people and when you're trying to figure out, are they giving me energy? Like how can we show up for each other? You know,(...) that might sound a little cold and calculated, but like,

know, the people that you're choosing to really build with, that's a lot to consider when you've grown so much in the short amount of time.

Yes.(...) We were fortunate enough to apply for and get into a cohort of food and beverage and farming businesses in the state of Wisconsin through UW Extension. It's called the Food Finance Institute. So we had a business coach. We met with people online. There were 41 applicants and 15 spots. So we got one of those spots. And then every other week we would meet online like this and have a presentation about an aspect of the business that you need to know. Co-manufacturing, accounting, marketing, sales,

(...)

promotions,

three-year go-to-market plans, things that businesses that have these moving parts need to know. And so that really helped us to understand the roadmap of how we play the game and grow our business, but it also put us with other like-minded Wisconsin businesses who are trying to do the same thing. So that was really great.(...) And I just read the other day and I love this so much. If it's not a hell yes, it's a no. So when I get the opportunity to like spend time with people or go somewhere or even do an event, if I'm not really excited about it, I'm probably not gonna do it because I only have limited resources, especially now since I'm at the end of the pregnancy and I'm feeling a little bit more tired.

(...)

So those people and that mantra have helped me kind of calculate like you said, where I spend my time and energy.

that makes a lot of sense. Just so clear. Like I just feel like you have such a roadmap for how you're gonna spend,

it sounds like every minute of every day.

(Laughing)

You're gonna keep climbing the ladder and reach your goals. I'm sure it doesn't feel like that, but it looks like that, Amy. I gotta tell you. Oh, thank you.

Thank you. I did read a lot before we opened the business. And after I thought about this idea for a beverage company, I read a lot of business books because I figured somebody else has already done it. So what can I learn from them?(...) So I remember even more like psychology and economic base books,

I've taken what I can from those and try to implement them. I also listen to Mel Robbins a lot. You guys like Mel Robbins?

I just listened to her this morning while I was working out.

Yeah.

That's great.

So she's also done a lot of cool things and has just figured out there's a formula. Like you don't have to be original.(...) You have to be you while you do something. Yes. But the format or the formula isn't new. You just gotta find it.

Also, if it's been around the block a few times and people are attracted to it, pretty good market evidence that yours is gonna take off and you do it well.

When you're making these big

life changes,

just curious, because Emily and I talk about this, like when we're deciding to work more or to work less or what does that look like for us? When you're making those decisions for yourself, are you thinking about

how it affects your kids in that moment and long-term? Or do you just have this belief that(...) when you're making the best decisions for yourself and your career, it's just going to work out for everybody? Do you obsess over those little day-to-day things like we are right now?

(...)

Not as much anymore because they're in school and I'm at work. Like we're doing our own things and we're all kind of growing on that path. But the question that I always ask myself when I have a hard decision like that is, am I gonna look back on this in 25 years and say, oh, I wish I would have done this? Like, am I gonna look back and say, oh, I wish I would have worked more or am I gonna look back and say, oh, I wish I would have gone to more soccer games? So that just kind of helps me weigh out what I need to do. So could I have done more sales call this year? Yeah, but I also got to go into kindergarten and help them decorate cookies. So I try to make choices that

the needs that I have and my kids have right now, build those memories, and then

the big picture in mind, right?

(...)

Yeah, that makes a lot of sense. When you were coming up with this business idea,

the fact that you pursued it, you really went after it,(...) did you have family balance in mind eventually or was it just this curiosity, this shiny thing that you

had to choose, that you had to scratch? The idea is that this business will be able to provide for my family. Like we just talked at dinner tonight, my children can be hired by my company and I can pay them if I'm a direct supervisor and they have tasks that are appropriate to their age, like cleaning the bathrooms and taking out the trash.(...) But that's something that is gonna benefit them in a lot of ways. They can learn good work ethic, they can earn some money, they can invest that money, they can be with us as we're working and see that model of this is how you build something from scratch. So I think it's a really great thing that we're gonna get to do all together.

(...)

yeah. I love it. So on that note, how do you, you're building this thing, you called it your fourth baby before you knew you were having a fourth baby.

(...) (Laughing)

You're putting so much care and energy into this. What happens for you and Paul when you're done with the work day?(...) Because your business partners, your life partners, how do you navigate that? How do you figure out where to blur the line and when it's a hard time off?

(...) We have a rule that we don't always follow but everybody knows it. There's no talking about business at the dinner table. Now tonight Paul had read an article about the boys being able to work. So he did share that piece of information. But we really try not to talk shop at the dinner table with everybody. And then after that, it's just time for us to be a family. If there's a pressing issue or we need to unpack the day, we'll do it like before dinner or maybe afterwards if we watch a show or something together. But we've recently gotten to be better about scheduling our work meetings in the mornings

(...)

and just being able to focus our talk about work on that time and then letting family be family and the other parts.

feel like I wanna turn this around and ask you guys all of those questions. How did you decide to go into a podcast together and what's your goal and how do you make this work with having young, young kids? Because they need you a lot more

and constantly than mine do.

I feel like part of it's good for us.

I mean, to show up, yeah. You know? Really, really good for us.

Like talking to you and like people that have done it. You know, it's, we learn so much.

(...)

And it's a structured way to continue the growth and the learning.

Also, Cal and I have talked about doing a project together for a while.(...) And when you talk about personality tests, we score incredibly complementarily. We have very, very different strengths internally. Like I think many people who watch our mannerisms get confused about who's speaking and they're like, oh, you're the same person. We used to get asked if we were twins.

so funny. But internally, very, very, very different processing.

(...)

So yeah, we knew we wanted to do something and then I'm four years older than Cali(...) and motherhood hit me like a ton of bricks. It just destroyed me. Like I thought I was pretty good at adulting and crafting my life. Well, you were. That's the problem. That's the problem.

What I wanted.

(...) And then I had a child and I just,

(...)

I mean, I was excited to be a career woman always. I was like, my kid's gonna daycare right away and my life looks really different than I thought it would.(...) So through that whole period, I'm just calling Cali and calling Cali. Like, what do I do with this? What brand did you use? Like, what?

(...)

(Laughing)

Who am I even, right? Like not doing what I used to do.

100%,

so the idea is really just expanding the village outside of just my one sister who would field all my questions and call them back.

Lord knows, I was a baby when I had a baby. So that was if I made the right call. But it's what I'm sticking with.

You're doing all the research. You're making a great job.(...) You're killing it. So I still call Cali all the time.

Had you heard the word "matrescence" before?

No, not until you guys talked about it, it's a very new thing. But I love it because it explains exactly what it is, right? It takes time to grow into feeling like a mom, being comfortable with your skills, trusting your gut, trusting your instinct, even that whole period of your body healing back and feeling like yourself again. I read somewhere that it takes almost five years for women to feel like themselves again and to build the nutrition reserves that they had. And I mean, that's about how long it took me after my last baby to get back into regular exercise and really prioritizing that. I mean, it's like go for walks in the stroller. This is not funny. I think that contributed to this. Also, I literally gave this up, right? No, I used to love a glass of wine or a cocktail and Paul quit drinking and I would still have one once in a while, sometimes more than one. And then I thought like, well, these are so much better for me and I feel better having them, so why don't I just do this? And then sure enough.

(Laughing)

(...) Here you are. Here I am. I love it, I love it. So, okay, tell me about the THC because I didn't know that you guys actually

that, so the Kevin story really floored me. I was like, oh, I didn't know that they were on that train.

Which you heard twice now, once from Sadie, once for me. Was it a similar story?

It was a similar, many more details from you, so I'm grateful.

(...)

I'm gonna give a little context here. I moved back to Wisconsin

years ago, two years ago from the West Coast and I'm gonna get so much pushback for this. This is the most alcoholic state. It is wildly unhealthy. I was in the food and bev industry. I liked to have a great time in my 20s with my friends. We would have dinner parties, there would be lots of wine, there would be cocktails. I was like, we're fun, we do cool stuff. I got to Wisconsin, was like, oh, with breakfast, oh. This is actually just like all we do here. This is its own activity, is alcohol. Ooh.

(...)

Anyway.

It's bad, yes.

Yes, so

that side.

And then also weed's not legal here.

Which I'm like, how are we all alcoholics and like wildly unhealthy, but like we don't wanna.(...) I'm having a really hard time holding both of them.

Yes.

(...) So I guess my question for you is,

how does forward and your vision there fit between those?

Oh, it's such a good question because it's such an easy answer. We are pushing the beverage industry forward.(...) Oh, you are. So we're redefining what it means to have a drink because this is a drink, it just has nebus in it. Or the purple haze is a drink and it has hemp in it. So that's the technical way that we can have these drinks in Wisconsin legally is because our products use emulsified Wisconsin grown hemp, that's 0.3% THC or below. So if you suck out all the water of my drinks, even that 25 milligram purple haze,

(...)

it's less than what the 2018 farm bill allows in hemp products.

Okay, I'm wrapping my head around that.

Yeah, so it's totally legal product.

(...) Curious about this, because it laid Kevin out.

Yes,(...) so cannabis discipline.(...) Oh, I forgot to say during all of that, he also did some minor construction in our home while drinking from the beverage.

(...)

And while single parenting, right?

No, the kids weren't bad at that one. But yes, okay, sorry, back to you.

(...)

So funny. It's really good.

Yeah, but then at the end of it, it's a plant, right? So that's the other stigma that I think we as geriatric millennials are trying to get rid of, right? Geriatric millennials. That's exactly what I am.(...) You can have a drink with THC in it and it doesn't have to have weed leaves on it and it doesn't have to taste bad or smell skunky. It can give you like a calming, pleasant

It can help you sleep better. I had never had a THC beverage until I tried Paul's, but it's all plant.

(...)

Yeah, that was not my thing at all. And I don't like other products, but the emulsion that Paul uses is a nano emulsion. So it hits your body faster. So you feel it faster, right? And then it passes through your system faster. So it's about a 90 minute,

(...)

I call it a half a glass of wine, like our original dose with the THC and the CBD.(...) So the CBD relaxes the body and the THC relaxes the mind.

I need to try this new purple haze.

It's on our website.

Okay, very new.

(...)

So, okay, your website, we can link all of this in the show notes, but just before I forget, your website is just forward beverage or?(...) forwardbev.com. Okay. And people can purchase through forward beverage.

You can purchase through us and we'll ship it to your door.

Because to be clear, there are many options that are totally pregnancy breastfeeding friendly.

Yes.(...) Yes, and all of our products say so on it. Yeah, so we have a line of soft cocktails, which is our term for mocktails because mocktails makes me think of a, like a Shirley Temple at a six grade dance party, right? Like something's missing. It's just kind of fake.

Like a little bit of a bean and some spray and then some get it.

Also it has the word mock in it. Like, am I being mocked for my choice right now? Yes. No. Good point.

Exactly, right? So soft cocktail is just as complex and elegant as a cocktail, just without the booze, right? And our drinks are low sugar. We don't use fake ingredients. There's layers to them, you know,

different notes and

different,

elements that the palette can choose, you know, that you can pick out. And when can it be the front, the mid, and the back palette? There you go. Mm-hmm.

(...) The acrobatics, they do all three exist.

Yes, and they do all different things. And then our social seltzers are the same base as the soft cocktails. So it's a soft cocktail with that full spectrum hemp extract, so CBD and THC, and electrolytes and adaptogens like ashwagandha or rhodiola. And those have different effects on the body too.

So fun.(...) Great news for pregnant women, it's all good. I know.

(...) (Laughs)

Oh, I have a request. Please send this directly to Paul.

Postpartum cocktail, soft cocktail.

(...)

Oh,

what about it? You wanna come up with one?

Oh. Oh. I want one that has healing properties. All the good things. Like the hospital bag. All of the good things. Gimme an iron hit, gimme it, you know?

Ooh, that's a great request. That's okay. Put it in the hopper.

(...) I feel like at least I always wanted citrus, so if it can maybe be, I don't know, maybe that was just me, both kids.

You wanted something to keep your scene.

Yeah, I'm gonna bright, okay.

(...) Did you ever hear about people who encapsulated their placenta?

Oh yeah, oh, their friend needs to do it.

Have you done that?

I haven't done it. For her clients, I've never done it.

What do you think about it?

the research isn't sound enough for me to feel like it's worth it.

I'm there too, and I also think when I really consider it, and I consider, you know, why would we start doing this? If you look at examples in nature,

(...)

a deer automatically does it. I mean, they have this instinct to do that, to replace that thing that they built over a lot of months, and I don't think we have that instinct at all. We have to manipulate it so much in order to be able to consume it. I mean, it's just logically, I'm like, I don't, but I support it if women wanna do it.

Yeah, I think about that

lack, right? So like this was in you, and now it's not anymore, and so no wonder your hormones all are wacko, because that, so yeah, there should be a drink that like helps you rebuild, at least to balance out some other.

Well, you have the Ford Beverage logo, but like, you know how beautiful that like blood vessel network is on your placenta?

Oh.

Oh. It's like a tree, it's like a tree of life. Have you ever seen this? Yeah, I think it's kinda creepy. Oh my, they were hauling mine away, and I said, come back here, I would like to see that.

You got to see it?

Oh yes, she was hauling away all my waste, and I was like, hold up. I worked really hard on that. Wow. And she like pulled it up and like showed me everything. It's amazing.(...) Cool.

(...) I can't believe that you had the wherewithal to like, hey, hey, hey, excuse me.

Well, it was after Charlie, which was natural.

Nora, I was a little more out of it, I gotta say. I mean, I was exhausted, but I had all those like happy, you know, like, yes. Endorphins. Once the shaking stopped, because that does happen for women that don't have a set.

(...)

Just reflecting on all of the growth points of your life, which I always find

You mentioned surrounding yourself with other

who had a similar mindset, and we're probably doing different work, their own work, but you're all growing in separate ways and sharing that. So I'm curious if there are poignant moments for you when specifically women have shown up for you in ways that you really needed, that helped you, and whatever growth pattern you needed at the moment.

Yes, they have. I had a cantor at my old church who was very high up at American Family Insurance, and she took me out one time, and I was kind of unsure how to handle the disagreements between my cantors and my organist.(...) And I don't know if you have this, yes. Organist have this reputation for being very persnickety and not very flexible and kind of mean. Anyway,

(Both Laughing)

she took me out and she just kind of sat me down and just talked to me about how I can address this and gave me some pointers, and really took me under a wing as, you're a leader, you just need to flex that muscle a little bit. I remember that. Also, one of my favorite pieces of advice from her, if there's not an agenda at a meeting, she's not showing up.

(...) I love that.

(...) Meetings can be such a time suck, but if you can logically put together, this is what we need to get through, okay, I'm in. We can do it, we can stick to that.

(...)

I think when I left corporate, the whole thing was like, could this meeting have been an email?

And it's really, I mean, I think a better question is, what is the agenda? What does that look like?

Right, why am I here?

Why are any of us here?

Why are we having this meeting? Anyway, so that was a very memorable moment. And then I've had a lot of friends come in my life. We had really great neighbors in Madison, and we were going through some hard times, but they were there and supportive for me. We had a Bible study that we would meet at our house every night. They had older kids who could either be home alone or go to bed, and then mine were younger. So we would put them to bed earlier, and then everybody would come over, and we would read through the upcoming scripture for the week and reflect on it, and just pray for each other and what was hard. And we learned a lot from each other there.

So yes, there've been hard things that I've been through my life, hasn't always been up, up, up, like growing, growing, growing the family.

(...)

But the right people have come at the right time. Yeah, I think God sends them to us.

(...) It sounds like you were open to feedback, which not everyone is. Like when that woman took you out to lunch and said, you need to flex this muscle, it was because she saw ability that you weren't using, and that's really hard feedback for a lot of people to receive. So you were also ready to

on what you were.

Oh yeah, yeah. I can't possibly think that I know everything. Other people have lived it and done it, and I wanna know.

Yeah.

What makes you feel beautiful?

(...)

Oh, that's a nice question.

(...)

What makes me feel beautiful is having my nails done. I really like having like beautiful painted nails. Yes.

(...)

Also,

working out with my muscles, like lifting or some kind of a strength training class or something that makes me feel beautiful, like having muscle tone.

Probably just being around my kids and when they hug me and say that they love me, that makes me feel beautiful too, probably on the inside more. Because I think that shows that I'm the right mom for them.

(...) Absolutely.(...) Cool. And number four.

And number four. And number four. Yes.

So cool. Thank you so, so much. Thanks for having me, you guys.

It was so fun. I was nervous that I wasn't gonna have answers for your questions or know enough about anything, but this was really comfortable and wonderful.