We have had so many people reach out to us today and ask that very question. The answer is simple. We just keep on keeping on.
So our Kickstarter wasn't successful. So what? It has no reflection on the success of our business. We are proceeding as planned. We'll be totally honest with you, as we promised from the get go, we are disappointed it didn't work. When we originally came up with a business plan, Kickstarter wasn't even on our radar. Because it had been so successful for other breweries, we thought why not give it a shot? Hindsight allows us to see what we may have done wrong or what we could have done better. But none of that matters now. What matters now is focusing on moving forward and keeping our momentum going.
And FYI, to anyone considering Kickstarter for their own business.... It is EXTREMELY stressful. Much more emotionally and mentally difficult than we ever anticipated. We would NEVER do it again. Even if we had funded, we are not sure it would have been worth it. The ups and downs were too extreme. It was like being bipolar (or so we imagine). One minute we were like "YAY! Someone donated!" And the next it was "OMG! We haven't had a donation in three days!"
"Yay! Two people just pledged $100! We're totally going to make this!"
"We haven't had a single pledge in 12 hours. It's over. We're NEVER gonna make it."
"Someone just gave us $10 bucks! We totally have this in the bag!"
Sigh.
Frankly, we are relieved it is over. We have been approached by a few people who are interested in investing and want to know what kind of repayment plan we are offering. And many, many people have emailed, Facebooked, Tweeted and texted that they still want to offer their pledge to us. We are so overwhelmed by this generosity and not at all dumb enough to say no. We will also still honor the original prizes offered on Kickstarter! The PayPal link is on the blog at your right. If you would prefer us to send you an email with the link, just private message us your email address via our good pal Facebook or email us directly at mischiefbrewery at gmail dot com.
Finally we want to say thank you to EVERYONE who supported us. First and foremost our parents:
April's parents Stoney and Lana who have been our biggest supporters since the day we said, "Hey... We're thinking about starting a brewery..."
Brandon's parents Steve and Elena, who were a little less excited about our idea but still hesitantly offered support after a lot of questions were answered. :)
Our three amazing kids, Derek, Cade and Mattingly, who pooled their tooth fairy money together and donated $100 (via Nana's help) without us knowing.
Our incredible cousin Eddie, who is also a part of this business. He pimped us out, showed up to events with us and listened to us whine and fret and freak out. Our cousins Gary and Serena, and Rick and Julie, who contributed and helped us by posting our link on Facebook constantly. April's Uncle Bob and Aunt Brenda and our honorary Uncle Ed who supported us without question or judgment.
Our best friends Ken and Deanna, Tim and Beth, Erik and Jessica, Paul and Amy, Clint and Erin, Mike and Diane, Travis and Elizabeth, Karen and Larry, Chad and Jovina, Chad and Kim, Charlie and Brooke, Cory and Becky, Trevor and Catherine, Mark and Kristen, Matt and Tricia, James and Andrea, Todd and Wendy, Sue, Josiah, Shane and Kelly, Kelly and Jerolyn, and Bud and Cheryl, and Joel and Chandra.
Our amazing friends who have been a part of our lives in one way or another pretty much forever: Joanne, Sarah, Roland, Michelle, Julie, Angela, Kyle, Katie, Sargant, Nancy, Maria, Kay, Raz, Roel, Marci, Jill, James, Natasha, Lisa, Mandy, Leigh, Amy, Justin and Brian.
And last but certainly not least, the craft beer community. Our brothers and sisters in brewing here in AZ - Steve from Fate Brewing; Mike from Veritas; Jonathan, Brett and Katie from AZ Wilderness; Michael, Amanda, Audra and Damon from Granite Mountain; Jon and the FABULOUS staff at O.H.S.O Brewery; Rob and Candy at North Mountain; Andy and Ted and the rest of the gang at Four Peaks; Doug from Freak'N Brew; Ron at Papago, and the crazy guys at Devious. We are so honored to be a part of this amazing community of brewers. Thank you, thank you, thank you! Your support, encouragement, advice and friendship means more to us than we can ever say.
And everyone from our West Valley and Arizona Craft Beer Fanatics groups - Steph and Ian, Joey, Tony, Noah, King James, Jon P, Rob, Jon G, Hop Head Fred, Billy the Smooth Hoperator, David, Chirs, Isaiah, Tim, Andrew, The Argabrights, Bill, Patrick and the Brew Bros, Maureen and the rest of the awesome women of AZ Girls Pint Out.
Our sweet friend Jen Pruett and the staff at HDE.
The Beer Guy, Seattle Beer Girl, The Beer Wench (Ashley), Chad the Sound Guy from Drinking Made Easy, Kevin and the amazing people at Crazy Mountain, Dave and Bailey from 515 Brewing.
And every single TOTAL STRANGER who contributed because they knew someone who knew us or just out of the kindness of their hearts: Lauren, Steene, Laurie, Bruce, John, Randy, Brian, Erik, Greg, Robert, Anan, Ashley, Scott, Robert, Joshua, Justin B, Nick, Mike B, Matthew, Phil, Jimmie, Barbara, Ed, Adam, KJ, Trinidad, Jason K, Pack Systems, RobJ, Jesse, Stephanie, and Danielle W.
We are still looking forward to making Mischief for you! We are planning to hold some tastings in the very near future so you can try our delicious beer. Like we said on Facebook today, we are not giving up. You don't call yourselves Mischief and go cower in the corner. You pick your bad selves up and KICK ASS.
And that's what we plan to do.
Monday, June 18, 2012
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
The uphill climb
Well it's been an interesting week.
First of all, we want to say thank you. Those words do not even do justice to the amount of gratitude we feel for all of you who have so generously donated your hard earned money to help us reach our Kickstarter goal. We chose Kickstarter for this reason, to help the community be a part of what we are doing. This isn't just our brewery, it's yours. YOU are helping to build it. And we are so overwhelmed with emotion when we think about all you have done for us.
Last weekend we were invited to attend the 2nd annual Ameri-CAN Canned Craft Beer Festival in Scottsdale. We were lucky enough to go last year, and it was one of the best festivals we have ever attended. When the promoters invited us this year, we were thrilled. We knew it would not only be a good time, but an amazing opportunity to network with other people in the industry, and also meet many of the people who have been supporting us.
We were blown away. We couldn't make it through a crowd without people stopping us to wish us luck and show their support. Everyone was so excited about the idea of another brewery in town, especially the people we talked to from the west side. Peoria wants more options for craft beer and they are looking to us to help bring it to them.
With every event or opportunity we have to talk to the craft beer community, we get more anxious and excited to make this happen. We know this is what we are meant to do. We know we will be successful. It's just that getting there has been a roller coaster ride.
We have 24 days left to reach our Kickstarter goal. We would be lying if we didn't tell you each day we grow increasingly more nervous. Kickstarter is an all or nothing platform. If we don't reach the goal, we don't get anything. You are not charged and money never exchanges hands. Thankfully we are not relying on the money raised from Kickstarter to start our business. But our time frame to open does depend on having these funds. If we don't reach our goal, it could push our opening back as much as 6 months.
We realize Kickstarter is not your average way to raise funds for a new venture. It's unusual. Some people think it's just plain wrong. And we respect that. But the current economy forces people like us to come up with alternative and creative ways to raise funds. It's rough out there. People need every dime they make to help provide basic needs for their families. It's a lot to ask friends, family and total strangers to donate money so you can open a business. We realize we aren't feeding a third world country or curing some horrible illness. We're making beer.
But we are creating a sense of community. We are providing an opportunity for people to band together to make something good and positive happen. And all that generosity you have shown us, we will pour right back into this community. We are creating jobs. We are creating a place for people to come and eat and drink and visit with their neighbors. And we will support this community through our own hard work and charitable donations.
If you have already supported us, we are indebted to you. We humbly thank you for believing in us. We promise to make you proud. All we ask is that you share our story and our goal with your friends and family. Tell everyone you know about the passion we have for making this happen. Share the Kickstarter link. Spread the word. Let's make this happen.
Help us make Mischief.
First of all, we want to say thank you. Those words do not even do justice to the amount of gratitude we feel for all of you who have so generously donated your hard earned money to help us reach our Kickstarter goal. We chose Kickstarter for this reason, to help the community be a part of what we are doing. This isn't just our brewery, it's yours. YOU are helping to build it. And we are so overwhelmed with emotion when we think about all you have done for us.
Last weekend we were invited to attend the 2nd annual Ameri-CAN Canned Craft Beer Festival in Scottsdale. We were lucky enough to go last year, and it was one of the best festivals we have ever attended. When the promoters invited us this year, we were thrilled. We knew it would not only be a good time, but an amazing opportunity to network with other people in the industry, and also meet many of the people who have been supporting us.
We were blown away. We couldn't make it through a crowd without people stopping us to wish us luck and show their support. Everyone was so excited about the idea of another brewery in town, especially the people we talked to from the west side. Peoria wants more options for craft beer and they are looking to us to help bring it to them.
With every event or opportunity we have to talk to the craft beer community, we get more anxious and excited to make this happen. We know this is what we are meant to do. We know we will be successful. It's just that getting there has been a roller coaster ride.
We have 24 days left to reach our Kickstarter goal. We would be lying if we didn't tell you each day we grow increasingly more nervous. Kickstarter is an all or nothing platform. If we don't reach the goal, we don't get anything. You are not charged and money never exchanges hands. Thankfully we are not relying on the money raised from Kickstarter to start our business. But our time frame to open does depend on having these funds. If we don't reach our goal, it could push our opening back as much as 6 months.
We realize Kickstarter is not your average way to raise funds for a new venture. It's unusual. Some people think it's just plain wrong. And we respect that. But the current economy forces people like us to come up with alternative and creative ways to raise funds. It's rough out there. People need every dime they make to help provide basic needs for their families. It's a lot to ask friends, family and total strangers to donate money so you can open a business. We realize we aren't feeding a third world country or curing some horrible illness. We're making beer.
But we are creating a sense of community. We are providing an opportunity for people to band together to make something good and positive happen. And all that generosity you have shown us, we will pour right back into this community. We are creating jobs. We are creating a place for people to come and eat and drink and visit with their neighbors. And we will support this community through our own hard work and charitable donations.
If you have already supported us, we are indebted to you. We humbly thank you for believing in us. We promise to make you proud. All we ask is that you share our story and our goal with your friends and family. Tell everyone you know about the passion we have for making this happen. Share the Kickstarter link. Spread the word. Let's make this happen.
Help us make Mischief.
Monday, May 14, 2012
Kickin' it with Mischief
Our Kickstarter fundraiser is in full swing! It's day four of our 38 day campaign, and as we type this to you we have already received over $900 in pledges from friends, family and total freaking strangers.
Words can not express how humbling this has been for us. We are so blown away by the amount of support we have received. Especially from people who don't know us from (Sam) Adam(s). (Like how we did that? We know, sometimes we amaze ourselves with our own cleverness!)
Please remember, Kickstarter is an all or nothing platform. If we don't reach our goal in the next 34 days, we get nada. This money could make the biggest difference in making this dream a reality. The more money we have, the faster we can open and start bringing quality craft beer to Peoria Arizona!
We've added the link to the Kickstarter to the right. Please take a minute to watch our quick, yet highly entertaining video. Comments are always welcome! So please, share the link and our story with your friends. Tell your families. Shout it from the roof tops! Help us make this happen for this community!!!
With sincerest appreciation,
Brandon and April
Words can not express how humbling this has been for us. We are so blown away by the amount of support we have received. Especially from people who don't know us from (Sam) Adam(s). (Like how we did that? We know, sometimes we amaze ourselves with our own cleverness!)
Please remember, Kickstarter is an all or nothing platform. If we don't reach our goal in the next 34 days, we get nada. This money could make the biggest difference in making this dream a reality. The more money we have, the faster we can open and start bringing quality craft beer to Peoria Arizona!
We've added the link to the Kickstarter to the right. Please take a minute to watch our quick, yet highly entertaining video. Comments are always welcome! So please, share the link and our story with your friends. Tell your families. Shout it from the roof tops! Help us make this happen for this community!!!
With sincerest appreciation,
Brandon and April
Monday, May 7, 2012
Let's get this party started!
Besides a big set of balls, what do you need a lot of in order to start a business in this economy?
Money.
We wake up thinking about money. We go to bed thinking about money. And money consumes our thoughts in between. You can't start a business without money. And lots of it. No matter how well you plan and budget, it's never enough.
Luckily, we are following a business model created by our friend and mentor, Tom Hennessy of Colorado Boy Brewery in Ridgway Colorado. Tom's proven business model allows us to start this brewpub with a small amount of capital. We are fortunate enough to have a small nest egg of our own and a couple of investors who believe in our concept. But like we said, it's never enough.
One way for breweries like ours to raise funds is a wonderful program called Kickstarter. Kickstarter allows start ups to raise funds for creative projects through donations from friends, family and even total strangers. We have supported two breweries ourselves through Kickstarter. It's a program we believe in so much that we have decided to try it ourselves.
Basically it's an all or nothing platform. Meaning, if we don't reach the goal we set for ourselves, no money is exchanged. For us, it was exciting supporting the two brewery start ups that received our donations. It feels good being a part of making dreams come true and contributing to something great in a community. We have received so much support from our friends, family and the craft beer community, we are confident our Kickstarter campaign will be successful. Regardless, this brewery is going to happen either way. But we love the idea of giving people a chance to be a part of this.
Our Kickstarter project will 'kick off' this Friday, May 11 and will run for 38 days. (Ask Brandon why he picked 38.) We can't wait to share the link with you. You can check out our fun video, created by the Amazing Travis Suhr, read our story and see the Fabulous prizes we are sharing with our contributors. Every penny raised will help us pay for licensing, equipment and legal mumbo jumbo, all necessary for us to make Mischief with you.
From the bottom of our kegs, we thank you for your support!
Money.
We wake up thinking about money. We go to bed thinking about money. And money consumes our thoughts in between. You can't start a business without money. And lots of it. No matter how well you plan and budget, it's never enough.
Luckily, we are following a business model created by our friend and mentor, Tom Hennessy of Colorado Boy Brewery in Ridgway Colorado. Tom's proven business model allows us to start this brewpub with a small amount of capital. We are fortunate enough to have a small nest egg of our own and a couple of investors who believe in our concept. But like we said, it's never enough.
One way for breweries like ours to raise funds is a wonderful program called Kickstarter. Kickstarter allows start ups to raise funds for creative projects through donations from friends, family and even total strangers. We have supported two breweries ourselves through Kickstarter. It's a program we believe in so much that we have decided to try it ourselves.
Basically it's an all or nothing platform. Meaning, if we don't reach the goal we set for ourselves, no money is exchanged. For us, it was exciting supporting the two brewery start ups that received our donations. It feels good being a part of making dreams come true and contributing to something great in a community. We have received so much support from our friends, family and the craft beer community, we are confident our Kickstarter campaign will be successful. Regardless, this brewery is going to happen either way. But we love the idea of giving people a chance to be a part of this.
Our Kickstarter project will 'kick off' this Friday, May 11 and will run for 38 days. (Ask Brandon why he picked 38.) We can't wait to share the link with you. You can check out our fun video, created by the Amazing Travis Suhr, read our story and see the Fabulous prizes we are sharing with our contributors. Every penny raised will help us pay for licensing, equipment and legal mumbo jumbo, all necessary for us to make Mischief with you.
From the bottom of our kegs, we thank you for your support!
Monday, April 30, 2012
Past, present and future
It's been another busy week for Mischief!
Earlier this week, we met with the director of economic development for the city of Peoria. We can't tell you how much of a relief it is to know our hometown is on our side and are excited for what we plan to bring to the community. Ideally, they would like us in one of their historic buildings downtown. This area is further south of where we planned to be, but the idea intrigued us and we agreed to take a tour with them.
The building is rough. Really rough. And the costs to renovate are not anything we budgeted for. But the potential is so far beyond what we could ever hope for in a location. We would LOVE to go into an old building with some character and history. We never even dreamed it would be an option. So now we have some big decisions to make. The downtown building is not our ideal location. Although that area is going through a MAJOR revitalization right now, we're just not sure if the timing is right for us. Decisions, decisions. It's just good to know that no matter where we find a home, the city is behind us.
If you recall, a few weeks ago we placed an offer on a location in the exact area we wanted. We finally got a counter offer this week. The price is amazing and it only needs a little bit of work. It's just not a historic building with exposed brick and a cool story. Then again, it also doesn't have asbestos. What to do, what to do?
In other news, right now we are getting ready to head to San Diego for CBC 2012. We are looking forward to all the contacts we will make, as well as checking out all the exhibitors in the trade show. So this post is going to be short and sweet. We've got some packing to do!
We'll be tweeting all week from CBC. If you are interested in what we are up to, follow us on the Twitter:
Brandon tweets here.
April tweets here.
Hope your week is full of Mischief!
Earlier this week, we met with the director of economic development for the city of Peoria. We can't tell you how much of a relief it is to know our hometown is on our side and are excited for what we plan to bring to the community. Ideally, they would like us in one of their historic buildings downtown. This area is further south of where we planned to be, but the idea intrigued us and we agreed to take a tour with them.
The building is rough. Really rough. And the costs to renovate are not anything we budgeted for. But the potential is so far beyond what we could ever hope for in a location. We would LOVE to go into an old building with some character and history. We never even dreamed it would be an option. So now we have some big decisions to make. The downtown building is not our ideal location. Although that area is going through a MAJOR revitalization right now, we're just not sure if the timing is right for us. Decisions, decisions. It's just good to know that no matter where we find a home, the city is behind us.
If you recall, a few weeks ago we placed an offer on a location in the exact area we wanted. We finally got a counter offer this week. The price is amazing and it only needs a little bit of work. It's just not a historic building with exposed brick and a cool story. Then again, it also doesn't have asbestos. What to do, what to do?
In other news, right now we are getting ready to head to San Diego for CBC 2012. We are looking forward to all the contacts we will make, as well as checking out all the exhibitors in the trade show. So this post is going to be short and sweet. We've got some packing to do!
We'll be tweeting all week from CBC. If you are interested in what we are up to, follow us on the Twitter:
Brandon tweets here.
April tweets here.
Hope your week is full of Mischief!
Monday, April 23, 2012
Here's what's happening....
It's been a busy week for Mischief.
We spent the last week in negotiations for our hopeful location. We spent some time homebrewing and fine tuning some beer recipes. We ordered more shirts. We are looking for an architect to draw up plans for the building. We filled out paperwork for the city. We made plans to tour some breweries in San Diego next week while we attend the Craft Brewers Conference. And we finally ordered business cards. So there's no turning back now. We're legit.
We also had our friend and brother from another mother, Travis Suhr, film us for a promotional video to be used in the very near future. Travis is an amazing film maker who is going to be HUGE some day, just you wait and see. But for right now, he's hopefully hard at work editing so we don't look like the huge dorks we really are. It's nerve wracking being on camera. You want to seem natural and cool and relaxed. But instead you're worried you sound too cocky and look too fat and everyone can see the black hairs on your chin. Lucky you guys! You get to judge it for yourselves soon!
Next week, hopefully we have everything with the location finalized. Keep your fingers crossed and say a prayer to Saint Arnold, the patron saint of beer, that everything works out. But if not, it's okay. We'll just move on to the next one.
We will also be preparing for CBC12. We are finalizing the seminars we plan to attend and are looking forward to meeting lots of new people in the industry, as well as spending time with old friends from breweries we have visited in our travels. It's going to be like summer camp. But with beer.
It's a rough business. But someone's got to do it.
We spent the last week in negotiations for our hopeful location. We spent some time homebrewing and fine tuning some beer recipes. We ordered more shirts. We are looking for an architect to draw up plans for the building. We filled out paperwork for the city. We made plans to tour some breweries in San Diego next week while we attend the Craft Brewers Conference. And we finally ordered business cards. So there's no turning back now. We're legit.
We also had our friend and brother from another mother, Travis Suhr, film us for a promotional video to be used in the very near future. Travis is an amazing film maker who is going to be HUGE some day, just you wait and see. But for right now, he's hopefully hard at work editing so we don't look like the huge dorks we really are. It's nerve wracking being on camera. You want to seem natural and cool and relaxed. But instead you're worried you sound too cocky and look too fat and everyone can see the black hairs on your chin. Lucky you guys! You get to judge it for yourselves soon!
Next week, hopefully we have everything with the location finalized. Keep your fingers crossed and say a prayer to Saint Arnold, the patron saint of beer, that everything works out. But if not, it's okay. We'll just move on to the next one.
We will also be preparing for CBC12. We are finalizing the seminars we plan to attend and are looking forward to meeting lots of new people in the industry, as well as spending time with old friends from breweries we have visited in our travels. It's going to be like summer camp. But with beer.
It's a rough business. But someone's got to do it.
Monday, April 16, 2012
Location, location, location
So after one of the most discouraging weeks we have had during this journey, last week began with a light at the end of the tunnel.
We may have, possibly, might but not certainly . . . found a location.
We are trying so hard not to get our hopes up. We are kicking ourselves in the ass for even saying it out loud. But so far it looks good. It's in the area we have hoped for. The price is right. The square footage will work. Our mentor, Tom Hennessy of Colorado Boy Pub and Brewery has drawn up a tentative floor plan based on our measurements and pictures. It's going to require some hard work, but we're good at that. So we'll see. Now we just have to come to an agreement with the building owner and get a letter of intent. Keep your fingers crossed.
Once the letter of intent is signed, we can move forward. Then it's building inspectors and construction bids and cleaning and painting and a mountain of paperwork for state and federal licensing. And although it sounds overwhelming and monotonous, we can't wait to get started!
Our goal is to do as much as we can ourselves. We're good at painting and laying tile and one of us knows our way around a hammer and nails. And although the other one of us refers to the different screw drivers as the plus sign one and the minus sign one, she's certainly not afraid to use them. Plus she's super good at delegating and supervising and picking up lunch so there will be plenty of things keeping her busy.
If any of you know fancy people like electricians and plumbers who will be interested in working for "hydration" (are you following us there? wink wink), please reach out to us. You can find us on The Facebook and The Twitter, or you can leave a comment right here. We would love to hear from you regardless of what you have to say.
Again, we can not thank everyone enough for the overwhelming amount of support we have received from total strangers. The craft beer community has embraced us tightly, and it is your encouragement that keeps us going. It all started because we were tired of driving miles to find a place with decent craft beer. And now we know you are, too. We are not just making Mischief for ourselves anymore.
We are making Mischief for you. And we are loving each and every moment of it.
We may have, possibly, might but not certainly . . . found a location.
We are trying so hard not to get our hopes up. We are kicking ourselves in the ass for even saying it out loud. But so far it looks good. It's in the area we have hoped for. The price is right. The square footage will work. Our mentor, Tom Hennessy of Colorado Boy Pub and Brewery has drawn up a tentative floor plan based on our measurements and pictures. It's going to require some hard work, but we're good at that. So we'll see. Now we just have to come to an agreement with the building owner and get a letter of intent. Keep your fingers crossed.
Once the letter of intent is signed, we can move forward. Then it's building inspectors and construction bids and cleaning and painting and a mountain of paperwork for state and federal licensing. And although it sounds overwhelming and monotonous, we can't wait to get started!
Our goal is to do as much as we can ourselves. We're good at painting and laying tile and one of us knows our way around a hammer and nails. And although the other one of us refers to the different screw drivers as the plus sign one and the minus sign one, she's certainly not afraid to use them. Plus she's super good at delegating and supervising and picking up lunch so there will be plenty of things keeping her busy.
If any of you know fancy people like electricians and plumbers who will be interested in working for "hydration" (are you following us there? wink wink), please reach out to us. You can find us on The Facebook and The Twitter, or you can leave a comment right here. We would love to hear from you regardless of what you have to say.
Again, we can not thank everyone enough for the overwhelming amount of support we have received from total strangers. The craft beer community has embraced us tightly, and it is your encouragement that keeps us going. It all started because we were tired of driving miles to find a place with decent craft beer. And now we know you are, too. We are not just making Mischief for ourselves anymore.
We are making Mischief for you. And we are loving each and every moment of it.
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