We were lucky to catch up with James Wieker recently and have shared our conversation below.

James, appreciate you joining us today. Can you recount a story of an unexpected problem you’ve faced along the way?

It is very surprising how broken the tier 3 system is in the beverage industry. The team at Blackhat has been working to resolve those issues in some very creative ways by co-oping resources to spread costs amongst different members. Most people have no idea how hard it is to 1. Break into the industry due to unnecessary, heavy, and burdensome regulations are from the prohibition era really make things. 2. That it is next to impossible to find competent and reliable distribution channels. So the current challenge how do we come up with creative solutions to navigate that and build in such a challenging environment when the big companies have huge advantages over us.

James, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

My background is in tech. I successfully exited my tech company back in 2009. From there working with various teams we were able to build several successful companies. Then 5 years ago completely by accident I was introduced into the industry. Life has been a wild roller coaster since. Fortunately I was introduced to the Blackhat team in May of 2022. It has been an amazing journey to come in and work with a awesome team! They are so creative and love to analyze solutions. Those solutions I believe will change the craft beverage industry when everything is said an done!

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

Building in an industry where all the big companies have all the advantages can be extremely difficult. That is where creativity is key. We have been able through hard work and hustle to overcome those challenges, but unfortunately each time we move forward we find it is a false summit. Regardless of each false summit though we find a creative solution to overcome that one and continue to move forward.

Do you have any insights you can share related to maintaining high team morale?

First foremost, set the expectation of the performance matrix in the interview process. That will filter out who isn’t a good fit. This may sound brutal, but what is more brutal? Not hiring someone who isn’t going to be happy or both parties continually being unhappy because the expectations were not clear and they are not a good fit? Once you find that person is a good fit and hire them help them with excellent training and clear established standards. Then lead with compassion helping them on their journey with you and your company.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.blackhatdistillery.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/blackhatdistillery
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/theblackhatdistillery

Image Credits
These pictures represent good times and community. At the end of the day if we are not gathering and having fun what is the point?