We recently connected with Denielle & Dan Martinelli and have shared our conversation below.

Denielle & Dan, appreciate you joining us today. Your ability to build a team is often a key determinant of your success as a business owner and so we’d love to get a conversation going with successful entrepreneurs like yourself around what your recruiting process was like -especially early on. How did you build your team?

In most cases, your team is one of the most critical components of your business. In the hospitality industry, this is especially the case because your team is interacting with your customers and providing them with an experience that you want to be positive and enjoyable. The problem is, many businesses fail to realize that their team is so important. The failure can be in many different aspects, not just financially.

When we first started our business, we did hire a few part-time employees that we found through online ads. Our interview process is always pretty simple. We like to see past employment and discuss your current skills and desires for work. We have a conversation to determine your demeanor and if the team will mesh well. The interview process is short because we believe that actions speak louder than words and being on the job is the only true way for us to decide a great fit or not. Someone can sound great on paper, but can they multi-task, can they be a team player, do they take initiative, do they keep calm when under pressure; all questions you cant tell from an interview.

Admittedly, in the beginning, we did not know much about hiring for these positions or how to handle the job duties once hired. We learned a great deal as time went on and our first few employees did not stay too long as they had other aspirations or failed to build a connection with our business.

For a while, it was just the two of us. We ran the bar, cooked in the kitchen, did all the cleaning and brewed all the beer. We decided that we did not want to invest time training the wrong person only to leave in a couple months. We thought a lot about what we needed in an employee and how we could be better bosses too.

One day we got a message from a good customer that offered to help work in the kitchen. We already knew she fit in well with us and she loved our business too, so we decided to give it a try! She meant helping here and there but we asked for a real commitment in order to take the time to train and have someone we could really count on and she agreed. This is where it all started….

We treated her with respect and gave her room to have her own opinions on improving the business. We understood her role as a wife, as a mother, and as a human being and gave her the flexibility to move her work schedule around when needed as to not miss important life events. In turn, she treated us like family and gave us the confidence to trust her in order that we could grow other aspects of the business or simply take a breathe. Together, we improved each others quality of life and continue to inspire each other.

Our next employee was also a good customer. He was interested in learning more about beer and Dan was willing to teach. He volunteered at beer fests and eventually we hired him on as a bartender. He loves our brewery and connects with our customers. He spreads the word about our events and always supports with good energy.

We hired two more customers turned employees after that and they followed suit. We have learned that by creating a positive atmosphere, people were attracted to us and willing to put in the work. We have been very fortunate enough to build a team that supports one another, hangs out at the brewery on their days off, goes above and beyond and is always making us feel lucky.

Communication is important. Understanding the needs of your team is important. As a leader, you learn their strengths and weaknesses and decide which battles to pick or how to pivot much the same with any relationship in your life.

We share in our successes as a team and keep people motivated. This past year, we took home three winning medals in our first beer competition, Best Florida Beer. We closed down our taproom and took all of our employees to the festival and medal ceremony!

the saying holds true “you can catch more bees with honey than with vinegar”

Denielle & Dan, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Daniel is a professional brewer that got his start working in places like Fort Myers Brewing Company and LauderAle. Denielle works in marketing and management for a medical spa franchise. Together, we wanted to build a business of our own with the skills that we had. Opening a brewery was a natural choice since it combined both of our passions.

We saw a need for more creativity in beer and decided to brew cocktail inspired beers and hard seltzers with an emphasis on fresh fruits. We are proud to be offering those products and broadening the palate of most people. Our craft beers and seltzers are adventurous and out of the box!

What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?

The most effective strategy has been using social media. We consistently keep people informed on new beer releases, events, new merchandise, mug club, beer collaborations and so much more. Many customers use social media to get a sense of what your business is all about. There is so much to choose from these days, that it is important to stand out and build a connection with your customer.

Any thoughts, advice, or strategies you can share for fostering brand loyalty?

The simplest way to foster brand loyalty is with a loyalty program and one that is easy to use. Everyone knows someone that frequents a place so often they could practically live there. If that person is not offered any long term incentive, they could end up leaving when something slightly better or closer to home comes along…. Offering a loyalty program is a no brainer for us. Its almost like finding a ten dollar bill in your pocket that you were not expecting and always gets you excited.

We allow customers to accrue points for every dollar that they spend and redeem for discounts.

When we noticed our loyalty members racking up their points, we decided to add on a bonus tier. This is our Mug Membership that is earned and not bought into. Our best customers can reach this status and receive special perks throughout the year.

Another way to foster brand loyalty is by putting on events. Sure everyone comes to your business because they love your product, but providing a special opportunity to get together and socialize can also get people excited and always waiting to see what you come up with next!

Contact Info:

• Website: yeastybrews.com
• Instagram: instagram.com.yeastybrews

Image Credits
Growth & Co.