We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Tina Karras. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Tina below.
Alright, Tina thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. One of the things we most admire about small businesses is their ability to diverge from the corporate/industry standard. Is there something that you or your brand do that differs from the industry standard? We’d love to hear about it as well as any stories you might have that illustrate how or why this difference matters.
My vodka’s only ingredients are spirit from organic, non-GMO corn and purified water. That’s it and that’s the way liquor is supposed to be. But most consumers don’t know that many brands, especially the corporate brands, are adding sugar, food coloring, glycerin, high fructose corn syrup, just to name just a few additives, to their spirits and if they stay under the allowed threshold, they do not have to disclose that on their label. Those additives are what can cause or significantly add to a hangover and heartburn the next day. As a consumer myself, I read every label and care greatly what I eat and drink. I was very upset when I learned that this allowed threshold existed and that was one of the many reasons I decided to create my own vodka. I want to know what’s in my food and beverages and it shouldn’t be hidden. My vodka is made with the best ingredients and the spirit should be able to stand on its own without any hidden additives to cover up a poor quality and taste. The best part of my vodka is that it is so clean and literally everyone that’s had my vodka has said they feel great the next day versus the way they feel when they drink a brand that has hidden additives.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I grew up in a family owned restaurant and worked in restaurants while I was in college at UNC-Chapel Hill. I moved to Los Angeles pursuing a songwriting career and supported myself working in the music industry, and bars & restaurants. The music led me to The Roxy Theatre where I performed a few times and then through a chance meeting, ended up getting a job there working in the box office. That job evolved into several positions including management, special events, and then the liquor buyer. That’s really where my spirits career began as I had the opportunity to meet every brand supplier and distributor. Through so many tastings and trainings, I realized there wasn’t an American owned vodka that was also non-GMO, organic, great tasting, at a great price and female owned. Looking back, I realized that every job I had was preparing me to create my vodka and launch my album. I met so many wonderful people and many in the liquor industry are now my closest friends and had no idea all those relationships that I created would also support my own brand. My vodka support organic, non-gmo, and regenerative farmers and I love giving back to farmers that contribute to our health and well-being vs using gmo, pesticide laden crops that supports more pesticide use in our food chain.
I’m an official partner with Kiss the Ground that educates and supports regeneration in farming. This way of farming can transform the climate by going back to the way farming was done before the de-coupling of livestock and agriculture and the heavy use of pesticides. This film inspires and empowers each of us to contribute right now in our own way, no matter how small, to affecting the soil by planting seeds or herbs in your yard, and all of it cumulatively can make a big difference. The music that I write is about self-empowerment and creating the life you want to live and I love that my vodka has brought all these worlds together for me to share with others.
Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?
Yes, I took a few classes on Mindvalley, Eric Edmeades and Srikumar Rao, and their lessons have greatly impacted my entrepreneurship. The biggest lesson that I think about every day is that you’re not creating a business, you’re creating yourself. Every challenge, problem, triumph or failure is an opportunity to realize who you are with how you choose to handle things as they come up and it makes the journey more exciting and fulfilling since the real growth is occurring within. Another teacher is Larry Morrison, aka The Financial Shaman, who has great insights on abundance and education. I just watched one of his YouTube videos busting the myth that you need to know everything before you get started. Instead he talks about how life experience and figuring things out in the moment and as they come up are the only true ways to learn. Reverend Ike is my all time favorite teacher with his interpretation of the Bible as a book of positive self-image psychology through its metaphors that describe different states of consciousness. He is also hilarious and enjoyed his career as a teacher and listening to him reminds me to enjoy what I’m doing and have fun while I build my company.
Can you talk to us about how your funded your business?
I was planning to launch my vodka during festival season of 2020 where I would introduce my vodka at private events and parties off of the festival sites and use social media to get the brand awareness started. The pandemic lockdowns made that impossible and I was suddenly furloughed. With no income, no product, and no collateral, it was difficult to get a bank to fund me and too soon to get investors involved so I funded my vodka with those no interest credit card checks and transfers. I spoke to a few friends that worked in finance and those are legitimate lines of credit and they had way better rates than most banks anyway. No bank would offer me a 0% with a 3% fee. But there is a deadline on the interest rate but still was the best way to start for me.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.tinasvodka.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tinasvodka/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tinasvodka
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tina-karras-69b429221/
- Twitter: www.twitter.com/tinasvodka
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCu_XwJ5lTRXOLrg_bwURiPA
- Other: tinakarras.com instagram.com/tinakarras Facebook.com/tinakarras https://open.spotify.com/artist/0p5hbQMWIIXDWYQvVUCZqU?si=iNn8KxoDTYiPrUw9aVQAuQ
Image Credits
Amy Graves, Andrea Mathis, Theo Skudlark