We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Jody Sidle. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Jody below.
Jody, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What did your parents do right and how has that impacted you in your life and career?
My parents are incredibly supportive- they praised us (my sisters and I) even if we didn’t make straight A’s, as long as they knew we had tried. It was never about being the best but doing our best. They are kind to everyone, never judged people and taught me the same values. Things did not always work out the way they hoped, but they rarely complained, instead they would find a solution and just keep going. Life wasn’t always perfect, but they taught me to see things through different lenses.
When I was 16 and had just finished school in the UK, my parents bought us all to the states where most of my dad’s family live. My parents and I spent the next 6 months traveling in a station wagon, and with a tent, all across the US. We had very little money, and at one point my mother got quite sick so we rented a pretty awful apartment in Austin, TX and dad and I got telemarketing jobs to pay for it. That experience not only gave me an opportunity to really know my parents, but it opened my eyes to what is truly important- it’s not the material things we have; it’s the relationships, kindness, and compassion. I met so many strangers on that trip that would give you the shirt off of their back, and they had nothing. It was the greatest experience of my life, and I am forever grateful to my parents for that time.
So how have they influenced my life choices and current endeavor? Even when business choices have not worked out, even when I went through bankruptcy, I never saw those events as failures, and I kept going because that’s what they would do. Instead of seeing things as failures, I see them as opportunities to learn- where did I go wrong and what did I do right and how can I incorporate the good stuff into my next job. You have to keep going and growing. I treat all of my customers the same, with care and respect no matter what and I have empathy for those that have struggled with alcohol as I have and are trying to change. Because my parents always encouraged me to be the best version of myself, I am hopefully able to impact others in a positive way with compassion and transparency in my work and personally. They always taught us to tell the truth, even if it felt like the hardest thing in the world, and not do things for your own gain, but to see the bigger picture. Like them, my business and work choices will probably never make me wealthy, but they make me happy, and hopefully others, and that’s a pretty cool.
Jody, 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?
During the pandemic, I was going back and forth with drinking alcohol and abstaining. I’ve always had a somewhat unhealthy relationship with drinking, letting it define me, and often making bad and sometimes dangerous choices when under the influence, including a DUI in 2017. In 2020, I joined a global online community called Over the Influence as a stalker for a while. I finally started talking about my own issues and situations and realized I was definitely not the only 50-year-old female feeling and acting a certain way when it came to drinking – in fact I was blown away with how many people of all ages were questioning their relationship with alcohol, but too afraid to do it openly with friends and family. I started ordering non-alcoholic options available online and most of them I poured down the drain- they were so bad, another excuse to continue drinking. I stumbled across a few dedicated NA shops in New York city and became intrigued by the concept. I was a realtor at the time, still am part time, and 2021 was incredibly busy for me so I put the idea of a shop on the back burner. But by the end of 2021, I had read tons of ‘quit lit’ and had stopped drinking almost entirely and I just couldn’t stop thinking about the concept of an NA bottle shop. In January of 2022 I took the train to NYC and visited all 7 of the dedicated NA bottle shops that were open at that time. Even more fascinated, I threw myself into researching the whole industry. I told one of the commercial realtors at work about my idea, and he found a spot available in Carytown- my top location. After convincing the landlord to give me a shot, he gave me 24 hours to sign a 3-yr lease. I did, panicked, then went full force. I used money I had saved that past yr to buy shelving, a POS system and enough stock (a tenth of what we have now) to open the doors in June of 2022. People had no idea what it was all about and thought I was selling elevated sodas. I heard others say we wouldn’t last 3 months. I ignored the nay sayers, although I was certainly nervous about the concept working in Richmond VA. I had my last drink on April 29th, 2022, the first since the previous October, and I’m coming up to 3 years. The shop will be 3 years old in June. We have a franchise in Chester, NJ, and they have opened a satellite location. Richmond ended up being incredibly open to the idea and are loyal supporters. The margins are low in the NA field, and with the growth of the market, you can now find many brands on Amazon, at grocery stores and big box wine shops, which makes it a challenge as they can sell for a lot less than a small brick and mortar business. But what we offer none of the above can. We spend a long time curating the products we carry. We have the community determine what we bring in through tastings and feedback. We take the time to look at the ingredients, the sugar content and where it’s derived from. We educate ourselves and our customers. We know what’s truly zero proof and what has trace amounts (still under .5% ABV). We know what’s vegan and gluten free, what’s spicy and what’s sweeter tasting despite low sugar content. We know the adaptogens that are safe for expectant mothers and which aren’t. We understand when someone is in sobriety, they may not want something that tastes like alcohol as it can be triggering so we can point them in the right direction. People come to us and often stay for 30 minutes to taste drinks and chat, whether it’s about their drinking journey, the reasons why they want to cut back or to have a shoulder to cry on because life is hard. Bars and restaurants love to buy from us because they can cherry pick the products, buy in smaller quantities and of course we can advise them on what to buy to make signature cocktails for their establishment. We are doing a series of concerts this year called LIVE LOUD- the owners gave the opportunity to us to sell everything NA instead of going with other national companies, which I think speaks volumes about who we are and what we do, I have an incredible team, my manager and son, Lewis Sidle makes everyone that walks through the door feel special, a super talented mixologist- Dakota, and a creative social media designer, Brandon. Our community is amazing and our followers loyal. We do events of all kinds, corporate team building, festivals, mixology classes and pop ups. All of the above is what separates us from the ‘big guys’ and I couldn’t be prouder of what we have accomplished as a team, and as a small business. The NA field is not a fad, and we feel responsible for getting great alternative options in the hands of those that want them at affordable prices and in a safe space- the goal is to normalize not drinking, so nobody cares if you order a boozy drink or an NA one- it’s really irrelevant. We hope to open additional franchises in other cities this year so that more people have access to NA drinks. We want people to walk out of Point 5 knowing they have a product they love instead of wasting money guessing and or thinking all NA options taste bad because they ordered something on Amazon that looked good or grabbed a bottle at the grocery shop.
Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?
Transparency, honesty and following through. My actions mirror my word. We did a whole bunch of events for free to begin with so people could start seeing the Point 5 name and associate it with everything non-alcoholic. It was tough because not only was it a new business, but also a whole new concept. I was the 16th NA bottle shop to open in the country. The beauty was that we, Point 5, were learning and growing and making mistakes right along with the makers and distributors- it was a learning game for all of us and one that we were all passionate about. I think that is a big part of what has afforded us such a good reputation within the market, we are all (Point 5 team) genuinely passionate about what we do and offer. I believe we treat everyone from customers to makers to wholesalers with the same integrity and kindness, and when you do that, those same people will want to help you grow. It’s such a simple concept but so many businesses ignore it.
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
This question makes me laugh because I’ve pivoted so many times. I’ve had more jobs than most people, and that’s not in a bragging way. I probably wasn’t the best employee despite the fact that I always did really well, but was never one for time constraints, rules and red tape. I knew that I either had to work for myself or needed a position with plenty of autonomy to be happy. So, I started in sales like my dad at quite a young age. I have always been ok with the risks that come with commission-based jobs, even though at times it can be daunting. I jumped around more than I should’ve because I got bored once I felt that I had learned all that I could in each position. I’m not proud of that, but I always knew that I wouldn’t have trouble finding another job. So, when I got bored, I would look for something totally different even if I had zero experience in that particular field. Somehow, I would get hired and learn everything I could to be a top performer. Then on to the next. For example, in a radio sales position I did a voice over one time and the company loved it- their sales increased by 120% while the ad ran- so, I taught myself how to record and edit and sent off for auditions all over the place. I landed some decent jobs and ended up being flown to California to host on camera videos for a UK audience. It wasn’t till I got there that the crew said how impressed they were and where else had I done on camera work? I never had- they never asked prior to flying me out there and I never offered that information. My point is, I took a chance, I pivoted into a professional host role knowing that the worst that could happen is I wasn’t very good, and they would never ask me back. I shot 75 videos for that company over the next 5 years.
The only reason I could fathom opening Point 5, a business I knew nothing about, in an unknown industry is because of being able to stop, pivot and throw myself into something 100% while understanding the risk and acceptance that it may not go as planned. I knew that I could lose some hard-earned money, but I was willing to take that chance rather than regret not doing it. Some people never pivot, they know what they like and what they want to do, and that’s great. But I’m just not one of those people- changing direction has been my life, whether good or bad, and I attribute the ability to pivot to my success- maybe not financial success, but that’s not what I equate with success anyway. :)
Contact Info:
- Website: https://point5rva.com
- Instagram: @point5rva
