We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Jodie Morgan a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Jodie, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Parents can play a significant role in affecting how our lives and careers turn out – and so we think it’s important to look back and have conversations about what our parents did that affected us positive (or negatively) so that we can learn from the billions of experiences in each generation. What’s something you feel your parents did right that impacted you positively.
As the second generation of a growing family business, the decisions my parents made (and continue to make on occasion) are an integral part of the foundation of Grinder’s Switch Winery.
As a kid, my brother and I watched our parents work their tails off in order to make their business profitable (we owned a maintenance supply business at that time). As soon as I was old enough, I was expected to help fill orders, pack boxes, take inventory, etc. It wasn’t just busy work, I was a full blown employee and by the time I was 17 I was doing a large part of the office work while my mother was recovering from surgery. Not only did this early perspective of exactly what it took to run a business give me a good work ethic but it also showed me that the responsibility of keeping your business viable will always lie squarely on your own shoulders.
Fast forward to 2010 when my young family and I moved back to Tennessee, I joined my parents and my brother once again to help them grow their budding winery. They started me small. For the first couple of years I merely worked behind the bar and maintained their website and social media. A few years later, I was in charge of our brand new wine club and slowly taking over the marketing and promotion aspects of the business. Then we opened the store in Nashville and I designed that place top to bottom and then managed day to day operations. Eventually, I moved into learning the production end until finally, in 2020, my mom’s illness forced my parents into retirement and my brother and I took over the day to day operations of the entire company.
Mom and Dad tried to never give me more than I could handle at a time. Allowing me to really learn the ins and outs of every aspect of the wine business (and there is a lot). Along the way I would have ideas about how to grow or expand or maximize sales and they would always listen, advise and then give me the freedom to see if my idea stuck. These days, my parents are only involved in the really big decisions and I call them almost every day for guidance, but they have truly set us up for success now and in the future.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
Hi! I’m Jodie and I am the second generation of Grinder’s Switch Winery, Inc. in Centerville, TN with locations in Nashville, TN and Columbia, TN. My title is something I struggle with a little, but my brother calls me “the really general General Manager” which is accurate enough. I oversee operations at all three of our locations as well as manage wine production, keep the pile of paperwork under control (mostly), and “steer the ship” in general. You can also catch me watering the landscaping, making cheese boxes, blowing leaves, and occasionally pouring wine.
Grinder’s Switch Winery is a small-town winery that produces hand-crafted wines in the heart of middle Tennessee. We pride ourselves on making wine casual ,fun, and delicious by taking the intimidation out of the wine industry and welcoming wine drinkers new and old to the wonderful world of Tennessee wine.
If a guest were to visit each of our locations they would find a different atmosphere at each one, but they will receive the same warm and welcoming experience no matter where they go. That’s probably what I’m most proud of (besides having great wine), because wine can be intimidating to people who aren’t familiar with it and we really work to take that anxiety away and give people the confidence to drink what they like.
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
Oh gosh, I call 2020 The Year of the Pivot. By the time that year was over I was tired of coming up with new ideas to keep our business afloat. Like most businesses at that time we did all we could to keep money coming in the doors. We had two stores at the time, one in Nashville and our original location in Centerville. The Nashville store that typically makes the majority of our sales was really crippled by the regulations and so we leaned into our Centerville location and online sales.
Our little winery out in the middle of nowhere carried this company for several months. We built a firepit and made it available for reservation, we brought in food trucks every month and provided plenty of out door seating. We set up outdoor bars and did outdoor tastings. We created a monthly wine club with free shipping for people that didn’t feel comfortable coming out. It wasn’t pretty, but we stayed afloat and at the end of the day we came up with some really great ideas that we still implement today.
Do you have any insights you can share related to maintaining high team morale?
At some point in the evolution of a small business, you can’t do everything yourself. Eventually, you have to hire on other people and loosen up on the reins a little as you fit them into place. This can be a really scary moment, especially in the beginning, because your company is your baby. BUT, something amazing happens when you stop micromanaging and encourage people to come up with their own ideas and systems. What happens is they get invested in your company and brand, they take pride in their work and they ultimately help your business grow. A little encouragement and praise goes a long way and creating an environment where your staff feels valued is going to create a better company that is easier to manage and more profitable for everyone.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://gswinery.com/
- Instagram: @gswinery
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GrindersSwitchWinery/
- Twitter: @gswinery
Image Credits
Jodie Morgan