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

Laura, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Often the greatest growth and the biggest wins come right after a defeat. Other times the failure serves as a lesson that’s helpful later in your journey. We’d appreciate if you could open up about a time you’ve failed

When I assumed ownership of Details Wine Bar, many processes and systems were already in place. It was overwhelming, but I chose to tackle all the systems that I felt were lacking. That decision later led to the oversight of possibly the most important system of all and resulted in a failure that changed my business forever.

You don’t know what you don’t know, they say. I thought that I had a good grasp on what it takes to run a business that sells alcohol. I’d been through the training. Almost my entire staff went through the training with me as part of our onboarding two years ago. Once the business was in my hands and the license to sell alcohol was in my name, I inattentively moved on to the next challenge naively assuming that the current policies and procedures for legally selling alcohol were good-to-go. That was, until I got a phone call that the wine bar failed a sting operation from the Liquor Control Board. Not my best day.

I felt so defeated, embarrassed, and like I let my entire staff down. How could someone so particular about the smallest details of running a business fail to pay close enough attention to the most important element of all? I do believe that the greatest growth and biggest wins often do come right after a major failure or defeat, however. It took me a couple days to get my bearings, but after being given a serious reason to pause and reevaluate my direction and intentions for the business, I started to feel really good – like it was meant to be. Rather than building fear and closing doors, this failure created opportunities. For the first time since I inherited the wine bar staff, I had the chance to really show them what I valued for our business and on their behalf. I was seeing more clearly the things that were most important to me and to my mission for the wine bar. Months of what felt like chaos started to feel controlled almost overnight. I also finally took the time to sit down with our Liquor Control Board Officer (which I should’ve done LONG before), and we had an amazing conversation. I learned so much and feel better about running a business that retails alcohol than ever before. It felt like a huge weight had been lifted. Moving forward, I know that this experience is going to continue to make us better, especially for me in my role as a business owner.

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 developed an interest in wine while traveling through Europe in my twenties. Wine-tasting became a hobby over the years, where I took some classes for fun and worked a stint at a winery in southwest Washington State. After I resigned from the fire department, I went a ‘tad’ stir crazy…which just happened to coincide with a new wine bar opening in the area. My partner and I were passing by Details Wine Bar before it opened when he saw a “We’re Hiring” sign in the window. He must’ve been feeling the tension of my newfound stay-at-home gig as well because he didn’t bat an eye before saying, “You should work there”. I was six months pregnant with my second child so starting new job serving wine seemed a little unconventional, but I went for it. Almost two years later, I purchased the business from the previous owners and am full speed ahead.

I haven’t been a business owner for long, but so far the one thing I am most proud of is that I can maintain a workplace that upholds the truth that business owners can be real, honest-to-goodness human beings and be successful. So much of the world today feels fake, and like you must play some sort of game to get ahead. Sure, that is a reality in some places. I’ve been there. I’m fortunate, though, that I got to choose something different for myself by taking a leap on my own vision for a healthy workplace. It feels good. Our brand is still growing and changing, but I feel peace knowing that we (myself, my business partner, and our staff) are headed in a positive direction because our business network is full of incredible people that I admire to no end. I believe that the our industry partners and fellow business owners (not to mention the wonderful people we meet every day at the wine bar) are all a direct reflection of the values we represent. We also exclusively represent family-owned Washington wineries at Details Wine Bar, which allows us to share good wine made locally by good people. In my world, it doesn’t get much better than that.

Any fun sales or marketing stories?

Business Ownership has been a huge learning curve for me, but risk-taking paid off recently when I bit off more than I could chew by taking on an unexpectedly large-scale event. Details Wine Bar was an established business when I purchased it in November 2022, yet it had a quiet social media presence and forward progress had slowed a bit since its inception almost two years prior. I also took the reins during one of the busiest and most lucrative seasons, so I felt a lot of pressure to build momentum going into the slow months.

I figured that the best way to draw people to the wine bar would be to host several events each month. A Google search led me to the idea of hosting a “Mini Wedding Expo”. Well, when we shared the idea with couple other business owners in the area, it quickly grew to a large-scale 1st Annual event spanning the entire Historic Downtown. The event was to take place in less than two months, and I was in way over my head.

Once the vendor list was set, we arranged for an Open House Meeting to get everyone on the same page and answer questions. I was prepared for feedback, but what I did not expect was the overwhelming amount of guidance and free publicity from seasoned vendors with loads of marketing experience. One of the vendors went as far as to send me a social media schedule for the two weeks leading up to the event including images and detailed instructions for video reels and stories for each day. To say that my knowledge of business marketing grew exponentially would be an understatement.

The 1st Annual Poulsbo Wedding Expo didn’t make us a ton of money, but the knowledge I gained was beyond worth it. Our marketing budget was next to nothing at the time, so the free publicity was priceless. I can’t say that it’s always worked out when I jumped into something feet first and blindly trusted individuals that I hardly knew to help me execute something big. This time, though, it absolutely paid off.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

I never dreamt of being a small business owner. In fact, up until recently I had a very different aspiration entirely. The story of how I got to be a business owner started with me leaving behind my dream career as a Firefighter”.

There’s something peaceful about knowing that you’re on the right path headed in the direction of purpose in your work. I felt that instantly when I started down the road to a career in the Fire Service. Many firefighters will tell you that getting a job offer is like winning the lottery, and I felt that deeply. My career was on the fast track. In five years, I went from probationary Firefighter to shift Lieutenant, having earned a master’s degree in public administration along the way. Everything felt right, until it didn’t.

A few years into my career, my mental wellness began to decline. I got treatment for depression, which helped to some degree, but one day I just couldn’t bear the thought of going to work. That one day turned into a couple weeks, then into months on a leave of absence, which ultimately led to my resignation. After all that effort and passion, my dream ended and I had to find a new direction.

I’m still learning from a chapter in my life that I intensely miss, but it took time and therapy for me to understand that the trauma I had experienced was not directly related to the dynamic of emergency services (i.e. emergency calls). Rather, it was more closely connected to my progress in the organization.

I failed to see that my personal mission did not align with the mission of my former employer at the expense of my mental health. Did I handle this gracefully? No. I hurt, and I blamed the organization for it. In reality, I spent years trying to change a workplace to fit my own vision of what was best for everyone. It felt like I was trying to force my way through a concrete wall, and it didn’t take long at all for me to get burnt out.

The lesson I learned is that, in any entity that is not your own, the mission is not your own either. You may believe in the mission that was established by your boss, your Administration, your Board of Directors, and that’s great! However, if you do not feel that mission in your core, it may be time to move on – and that’s okay too! It’s so important to understand yourself, your values, and your personal mission to discover and stay on a sustainable path that fulfills you professionally and keeps you healthy. That path exists, and it is 100% worth seeking out.       

Contact Info:

• Website: www.detailswinebar.co
• Instagram: @detailswinebar
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/detailswinebar
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/details-wine-bar-poulsbo?osq=details+wine+bar

Image Credits
Pam Sproul Photography