Great Idea: Moonshine As A Business

Freelancer Ideas

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Before he moved to North Carolina in the mid-`90s, Joseph Michalek's New York buddies kidded him about coming to the land of moonshine and Mayberry.

Within months of arriving in Winston-Salem, he began to notice a glass jar quietly being passed around at bluegrass festivals and race tracks.

"I'd never seen nor tasted moonshine, but it was pretty obvious that's what it was," said Michalek, 38. "I was prepared for the worst, but I sipped it and it was delicious, much smoother than I expected. It had a hint of fruit in it; I'd never tasted anything quite like it."

What Michalek tasted was a moonshine "hybrid," which has grown in popularity in recent years at barbecues and ballgames throughout the Carolinas - usually offered from a friend's back-pocket flask. The corn whiskey infused with local peaches, apples, cherries or strawberries is sweeter and smoother than the 180-proof, clear liquor with a bouquet of paint thinner.

Old-timers call the fruit-infused liquor sissyshine.

"You'd be surprised at who's drinking that stuff too," said Arthur Black, a South Carolina peach farmer. "It ain't farmers in overalls; it's yuppies in places like Charlotte."

Michalek saw a business opportunity.

In 2005, he started Piedmont Distillers in Madison, north of Greensboro - the first legal distillery in the Carolinas since before Prohibition.

Michalek produces Catdaddy: Carolina Moonshine, which is being sold in more than 200 North Carolina ABC liquor stores and outlets in York County, S.C. Catdaddy is moonshiner slang for the "best of the best."

He won't divulge his startup costs or his sales, but it's now being sold in a half-dozen states. Last year Piedmont sponsored a NASCAR Nextel Cup Series race car. Michalek works with four full-time employees.

He produces Catdaddy in small batches - 300 gallons, triple-distilled in a German copper pot still. A batch yields about 1,500 bottles, which are filled, corked and packaged by hand in Madison's former train station. A 750 milliliter bottle costs $19.95.

He says his liquor mixes well - he has recipes for a Moonshine Martini (Catdaddy, orange vodka, triple sec, cranberry juice and a splash of lime) and a Who's Your Daddy (one part Catdaddy and one part Irish Creme).

Real moonshine comes in two "flavors" - legal and illegal. The essential difference is one is taxed and one is not.

You can go into most any liquor store and buy moonshine such as Georgia Moon Corn Whiskey, Platte Valley Corn Whiskey or Catdaddy. The federal tax on a gallon of whiskey is $15.50.

It is legal to own a still; you can buy one online for less than $800. If you want to produce any alcohol in your still, you need a federal permit. Under the alternative fuels law, you can make up to 10,000 gallons a year of ethanol, which can power engines when mixed with gasoline.

"Yes, you can have a still, but it must be permitted and you can produce spirits for fuel use only," said Art Resnick, director of public and media affairs for the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau of the U.S. Treasury Department. "Let's make this perfectly clear: It's illegal to make moonshine, which is untaxed spirits."

Even if a person wanted to make moonshine at home and pay federal taxes, it's not that simple. It requires a federal distiller's license and is cost-prohibitive for anything other than a business.

On Michalek's journey to become a distiller, he says he gotten some curious looks as a "fast-talking Yankee with a hard-to-pronounce last name" asking questions about the production of moonshine.

"But I was interested in the high-grade premium stuff, and once people understood I respected the quality of their product, they opened up," he said. "They take a lot of pride in making good whiskey. It's truly becoming a lost art."

What Michalek learned was that he wasn't interested in the old-style, 180-proof stuff with enough "bite" to take the chrome off a trailer hitch.

"I don't see how anyone can drink that stuff; it should be illegal," he joked.

Catdaddy is moonshine, but it's not straight corn whiskey.

"It's flavored moonshine. A lot of homemade moonshine is fruit-infused, and our recipe is too, but we've added two more flavors to make it unique," said Michalek, who brought the proof down to 80 to make it smoother.

True to his craft, Michalek won't identify the three flavors he adds, other than to say it's a fruit with spices similar to vanilla and cinnamon.

Davis Clark of York, S.C., grew up on a farm and had his share of the old-style moonshine.

"But in those days, you drank what you could find; poor folks couldn't afford no `government' whiskey," said Clark, 63. "But here recently I've been seeing more fruit in the jars as the proof has been coming down. That's what the younger folks want these days. That old shine is like the folks that drank it - dead and gone."

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MOONSHINE FACTS AND LORE

History: Moonshining dates 300 years to the Scots-Irish who settled in the Carolinas. Making moonshine originated in the Scottish highlands with farmers who used excess grains such as corn to ferment into liquor. The reason many of them came to America was high taxation on property, such as whiskey, and religious persecution.

A basic moonshine recipe calls for 5 gallons of sweet feed (grains such as corn mixed with molasses); one package of distillers' yeast; 5 pounds of sugar and water. It's basically mixed together with warm water and allowed to ferment for several days. The fermented brew is then filtered and run through the distilling process or the still. More moonshine drink recipes can be found at www.catdaddymoonshine.com.

Slang terms: White lightning, kickapoo joy juice, popskull, ruckus juice, mountain dew, happy Sally, hillbilly pop and panther's breath.

The name: The production and transportation of illegal or untaxed whiskey was done primarily at night.

A Web site on the history and lore of moonshine was done by a group of the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill students in the mid-1990s for a cyber publishing class. Their description of moonshine's potency: "One drop will make a rabbit whip a bulldog." www.ibiblio.org/moonshine

Kansas.Com

The End (A Series of Unfortunate Events, Book 13)

A Teen Millionaire's 3 Principles to Success

Freelancer Ideas

I started my first business at age nine with $50 and a home computer, and ran it from my room at home as a one-kid operation. By the time I was 19 I had started nearly a dozen profitable businesses, and for my latest venture I had received a very attractive offer of $10 million in venture capital. I turned that offer down and walked away because I didn’t feel good about the conditions that would have been imposed on me if I’d taken the money. The venture capital firm would have called the shots, told me how to run my company, and paid me a salary that would’ve been less than I’d made on my own since I was 12.

It was a lucrative offer, and who knows? Maybe with their backing and expertise I would have come out way ahead. But I didn’t think it was the right deal for me. I made that decision without regret, and I’ve never looked back.

I knew this was not a now-or-never choice. There would be plenty of other opportunities to create even more successful businesses--because I’d learned the skills it takes to do so. Once you learn these skills, you never have to be tied to any one particular enterprise. I realized that while I could have taken someone else’s $10 million investment, I’d rather invest in myself.

I’ve been fortunate enough to make my first million before graduating from high school and buy my own house at 20. At 21, I’ve now put away enough in savings and other investments that I could practically retire today . . . if I wanted to. But of course, that’s the last thing on earth I’d want to do. I just enjoy it all too much. Not to say the money isn’t important, but frankly, it’s not why I do what I do. I do it because I love it.

I’ve always loved starting new businesses. I take pleasure in every aspect of it, from coming up with a new concept, or a unique twist on an existing concept, to finding a name that perfectly captures the nature of the business, to building the team, launching the enterprise, and watching it take off and grow. Of the more than dozen successful businesses I’ve launched over the past 12 years, every one of them has been a unique experience, and I’ve loved the process every time.

Starting out so young gave me a certain courage that comes with blissful ignorance. I had the confidence that comes with not knowing any better. As I’ve grown older and seen more of the business world, there have been times when I’ve had to overcome doubts and work to maintain my confidence, just like anybody else. But the thrill of trying out new ideas and seeing them take root and grow has always made it worth the effort.

I was fortunate to learn very early on the key principle that all successful entrepreneurs need to know: First, you have to believe in yourself.

It’s actually not that difficult to succeed. It’s much more common sense than rocket science. But it starts with finding the courage to put yourself out there.

Believing in yourself is what gives you the confidence and resilience to deal with the rejections and doubts. It drives you to do the best job you can, no matter what you’re doing.

Over time, I’ve learned to trust my instincts--and that’s crucial. You can learn all kinds of things from other people, but ultimately it’s your own instincts that you’ll need to rely on. The bottom line of your business is you.

Whether you are selling door-to-door, on the phone, through an infomercial, or on a website, ultimately the venue doesn’t matter. All of these methods work. First and foremost, you must be able to sell yourself. People don’t buy your product or service only because they like it or want it; they also buy it because they like you. If they don’t like you, then in many cases it doesn’t matter how much they like the product you’re selling, they won’t buy it.

If you put yourself out there with confidence, you’ll find that most people respect you and respond well to you, whether or not they want what you’re selling.

Believing in yourself leads naturally to a second principle: You have to believe in what you’re selling.

People sometimes think of selling as the art of being pushy, crafty or even manipulative. In fact, it’s exactly the opposite. The best salespeople focus on asking questions and listening, not pushing.

I don’t believe in high-pressure selling. High pressure is what people use when they’re selling something nobody wants, or charging far more than their product is worth. There’s a difference between being persuasive and applying pressure. I’m persuasive when I’m selling, but that’s because I truly believe in what I’m selling and the value it will create for my customer. My feeling is, I’d be doing my customers a disservice if I let them not buy my product.

The best salespeople are so dedicated to giving customers what they want that they are willing to be as rigorous, patient, and dedicated as it takes to make the sale. They don’t give up easily because they believe in what they’re doing.

I’m always genuinely fascinated to know why people wouldn’t want what I’m selling. If you’re not passionate about the product or service you’re offering, how could you possibly approach people with genuine confidence? Make sure you’re proud of what you sell and the value it creates in people’s lives, and you’ll instantly become a better entrepreneur.

Believing in yourself also leads to a third success principle: When you respect yourself, treating other people with respect comes naturally. Treating other people with great respect is one of the most powerful secrets of business success. Keep doing that over time with everyone you encounter, and you’ll find that people are consistently receptive to you and to your products, services, and ideas. Any fears and doubts you have will start to melt away.

And then you won’t hesitate to go ahead and ask for the sale.

Excerpted from You Call the Shots by Cameron Johnson. Copyright © 2007 by Cameron Johnson. Reprinted by permission of Free Press, a division of Simon & Schuster, Inc.

The Great Lesson Of A Dead Copywriter

SnoBear Snow RVs

Freelancer Ideas
http://snow-bear.com/

In past years ice fishing meant pitching a small "fish house" onto the ice, chiseling a hole, and hoping you'd chosen a spot with hungry fish.

That was until Tom Lykken, engineer, avid fisherman and co-owner of SnoBear Industries (snow-bear.com), based in West Fargo, N.D., developed the world's first motorized fish house in his garage.

The SnoBear is a fully equipped fish house that can be driven along the ice on tracks and skis. It lowers itself at the flip of a switch, and built-in power drills cut as many as six fishing holes into the lake's surface.

The vehicles, which cost from $33,000 to $50,000, can be customized with anything from satellite TV to GPS-enabled fish-tracking devices. They also come equipped with escape hatches, just in case.

"Summer fishing went from rowboats to speedboats, and ice fishing has too," says co-owner Greg Hatten. "We've created a wintertime boat."

The SnoBear is now in its second year on the market. The company, which employees a staff of 15, took in just under $3 million last year; it expects revenues to double in 2007
The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief

"Dead Doctors Don't Lie" and the Many Hazards of Affiliate Marketing

Freelancer Ideas

One day my boss came into the office raving about this tape he'd gotten from somebody. It was "Dead Doctors Don't Lie", a brilliantly crafted pitch for nutritional supplements. And he wasn't the only one... I started getting copies of this tape in the mail, sometimes 2-3 copies a day. For about six months or so in 1996, it was the hottest thing going.

This thing was an MLM deal and the inducement to sign up went something like this: You buy 1000 copies of this tape, you buy a list from us, you mail the copies to 1000 people... ten of them sign up and buy more tapes, and each send to 1000 people.... pretty soon you'll have hundreds of people in your downline and you'll be drinking margaritas on a cruise ship somewhere in the Mediterranean.

Malcolm Muggeridge said "News is old things happening to new people." There are a few things to be learned from this, that apply to affiliate marketing online today.

If the deal was really as good and easy as that, the company wouldn't recruit distributors, they would mail the tapes out themselves. But one of the advantages of an MLM program for a startup company is the company can still make a profit on a sales process that fundamentally loses money. Let me explain.

Let's say the company mails out 1000 tapes at a cost of $1000 and sells $2000 of product and makes a net profit of $100 at the end of the day. They're gonna send that thing out until they run out of mailing lists that work.

Which is exactly how direct marketing companies like Lands End and Sharper Image make their bread.

But let's say they mail out 1000 tapes at a cost of $1000 and sell $600 of product. That's a $400 loss.

It's bad business unless you can convince somebody else to buy the tapes.

That's where the MLM structure comes in. Because all you have to do is make it sound like people are going to make money and they'll try it. And usually recruit one or two people before they've spent a few thousand bucks and only made a few hundred back. And the company still makes money.

Not just on the products. They also sell the tapes.... and they sell the same mailing list over and over again, mailing lists that no "brick and mortar" list broker would touch with a 10 foot pole.

As Harvey Mackay says, "Beware the naked man who tries to sell you his shirt."

Back in the day, I wasn't in "Dead Doctors Don't Lie," but I was a sucker for other things. And the #1 experience that de-programmed me from this stuff was when I started using direct mail to get retail customers for my business.

No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't make the economics work. I could write great copy and do everything just right, and I still lost money. I realized that I was trying to take a fundamentally inefficient business and then make it multiply ("duplicate") with Pixie Dust.

Pixie Dust can be effective for a little while, but the reason MLM companies constantly go down in flames is every single foot soldier is running a business in the red, compensating with borrowed enthusiasm. The whole thing stays alive because someone's churning people through the revolving door.

This has an exact equivalent in affiliate marketing today - other than the advertising medium, things haven't changed a bit. People recruit new people to buy Google traffic every day, so each day new people come into the market and drive up bid prices. The guys on the front lines bleed while generals drink wine hundreds of miles away, safe from enemy fire.

This is most prevalent in the "make money on the Internet" category, where a sucker is born every six seconds. The guy who runs the affiliate programs gets all the profit while all his affiliates just repeat the same failed experiment over and over again.

Please understand, it doesn't have to work this way. Many times it doesn't. It doesn't work this way for McDonalds, where every franchise owner can potentially be successful, and most are. McDonalds works because the fundamental business unit, the single store, runs in the black - so the satellites are profitable too.

This is why it's so important to make your sales funnel work - with traffic you buy yourself - before you ever recruit your first affiliate. As much as possible, you should do everything you can to ensure that your affiliates will be successful. That your sales funnel converts visitors to buyers better than the competitors.

This is also true for any kind of publicity you seek. There are some genies you can rub only once. An endorsement from a major leader in your industry - before you cash in that favor, make sure your sales funnel works. Before you go on Oprah make sure your website does its job.

The few who get all this right before they rub their publicity and affiliate genies and call in their favors make a pleasant discovery. They discover that when the exponential growth curve hits, it HITS, big-time. They discover their niche was actually much bigger than they thought.

At my Roundtable meeting last week in Florida (my $14,000 a year private mentoring group) we were discussing the fact that it's actually easier to go from $50,000 a year to $500,000 a year online than go go from $5,000 to $50,000. It's much easier to be #1 in your market than to be #4.

Once you've legitimately conquered the sales conversion beast, it's a magic carpet ride the rest of the way.

[Via Perry Marshall]

Garden Office