We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Kristie Fellows. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Kristie below.

Kristie, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today How do you think about spending on the little things / small joys when finances are tight?

I have shelved a lot of self-care spending. Fortunately, I love wearing hats so the few and far between visits to the hair stylist these days aren’t a big deal. A much bigger deal was shelving working with a yoga therapist. Shelving the strength, balance, flexibility, relaxation, awareness and more that come from working with a skilled, knowledgable and caring professional felt self-defeating and yet financially necessary. Now the yoga therapist and I are offering yoga sessions in the wine lounge on Wednesday mornings. It’s been an all-around win but particularly for the people who come to Sitka to practice yoga.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I believe that enjoying a glass, a flight, or a bottle of wine is a great way to connect to the area and to each other. That’s why we focus on serving wine from the Pacific Northwest (Northern California, Oregon and Washington) and even serve many wines from our own Humboldt County, CA. We also offer a few curated beers on tap, cider and fresh press coffee and tea. We serve delicious alcohol-free wine, beer and cider too.

Sitka Wine Lounge is located in a Victorian beauty that was built in 1898 and is on the National Register of Historic Places. Sitka’s cozy, eclectic furnishings intentionally serve up a bit something for everyone. Most of the furniture has a story, as does the art. Love of the natural beauty and the rugged history of the area resonates in everything we do at the lounge – starting with the name, Sitka. The lounge’s namesake, the majestic Sitka Spruce, can be found throughout the region.

Wine makers and vineyards operate in a milieu where science, art and fortuitousness cascade to ultimately flow out the bottle into our glasses. I am honored to offer up their works of art, their well-informed science and their hard work.

Sitka Wine Lounge was created and operates as refuge for visitors and locals. A place where a group, couples and solo guests can relax and/or recharge. Or perhaps, pick up a special bottle of approachable wine to take on an adventure, to a celebration or bring home as a special memento.

Our beautiful village needed a place like Sitka. As I have done many times in my life, I thought “I should make it happen”. With tons of help from family and friends, Sitka Wine Lounge happened.

Can you share one of your favorite marketing or sales stories?

Years ago I was working at technology company in a leadership B2B (Business to Business) support and service satisfaction role. It was an exciting and extremely busy time for everyone at the company. I was a new employee at this relatively new company. The company was beyond the start-up phase but it still operated like a start-up in many ways. I met my contacts at our most important Fortune 500 customer over the phone right after learning they were firing us. I flew down to meet them with one of my peers. We wanted to ensure them that the transition from our service would go smoothly. Our contacts were extremely disappointed and they didn’t hold back. I had and showed them genuinely empathy. They understood that I wanted them to be successful during the transition to their new service provider. It took passionate persuasion on my part for my team to get behind committing to a smooth transition. Ultimately, after rebuilding their trust, improving communication, and addressing some online and capacity issues, they stayed with our company’s service. While this may not seem like this is about taking risks, sales or marketing, it is.

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

An in-person workshop at the MEA, Modern Elder Academy, was by far the most important resource in shifting my mindset for Sitka to become a reality. Five days focusing on transition, wisdom, thriving and navigating challenges was just what I needed to help me to flourish in all aspects of my life. MEA offers unique, science-based, fantastic workshops in Mexico, New Mexico and online. MEA has a vibrant, supportive alumni community too.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://sitkawine.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/sitkawinelounge
• Facebook: https://facebook.com/SitkaWineLounge