We recently connected with Mahlik Rich and have shared our conversation below.

Mahlik, appreciate you joining us today. What do you think it takes to be successful?

I believe there are two things worth highlighting when one speaks about what it takes to be successful that spans all walks of life. First, you must define success for yourself. From the time we’re young we’re pigeon-fed ideas on what success looks like and what we should aspire to, but without defining success for yourself, you greatly increase the likelihood that you’ll find yourself conflicted and unfulfilled, living someone else’s idea of success. Secondly, you’ll need the confidence to walk in that definition shamelessly! A lot of people will try to project their ideas of what success is onto you and only self-confidence will allow you to respect how you feel as a priority in achieving success for yourself. I developed this view on success after finding myself, absolutely, hating my first “good job” coming out of college. After a year of working tirelessly I knew that the success story that came with the job wasn’t for me. After doing everything that I was “supposed” to do I still found myself unhappy so I put in my two-week resignation and that was the best thing I could’ve done! I was told “you can’t lose when you bet on yourself” and I’d have to say it’s held true to this day.

Mahlik, 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?

I got into the wine industry by way of serving at a fine dining restaurant where I was introduced to wine in a completely different capacity. I had a background in sales, so once I seen the money people were willing to spend on wine I saw an immediate opportunity to increase my income! It was through studying wine and the regions it came from that I began to see the entire world through the lens of food and culture and I was determined to share that experience with people ever since. Sip More started off as a platform for me to share my tidbits on how to enjoy wine in a better fashion, alongside my passion for travel and culture. From there, it grew into me hosting private dinners, pairings and travel experiences that are wine-centric but I removed a lot of the intimidation people usually experience when exploring wine. This was important for me as I feel the wine industry is inherently exclusionary for professionals and consumers alike and I wanted to create spaces for people to enjoy wine comfortably. With a focus on enjoyment rather than education, I ventured into my first private experience of pairing cannabis and wine in a flighted style alongside tapas and it was there that Sip More began to carve out its own identity. What I’m most proud of is building a community of people that enjoy the experiences that we provide as well as the support that follows because when you’re starting off, you really just have a “dollar and a dream” so the love we’ve received thus far has been priceless. The main thing I want my fellow & future Sippers out there to know is that the best has yet to come! I have some really exciting things brewing that I can’t wait to share, so keep your eyes peeled!

Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?

Absolutely! The first book that comes to mind, that I think every entrepreneur should read is “The E Myth: Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Work and What to Do About It”. The title is a mouthful but I think the book does a great job at forcing you to ask yourself a lot of the questions you should be asking yourself before you just jump into creating a business. We all start businesses for different reasons but if you don’t create systems to support you being able to carry out your mission and your business cannot operate without you…Congratulations, you now own a JOB, and that’s not what most of us are aiming for. One of the greatest takeaways I have from this book is that all of the most revered companies acted as if they were big before they ever were, so do your due diligence and put certain things in place as if you’re already a successful company and everything you do will be in that same vein.

Any advice for managing a team?

There’s a lot of psychology involved in creating an atmosphere that brings the best out of the people that you hire to support you in your endeavors so it’s imperative that you have a People Strategy. Your People Strategy is having an actual strategy for how you can best support the people that support you; your team. I’ve worked in a lot of different places and the places in which people performed at their best, and cared the most were in the places where they felt like they mattered. When managing a team, your team needs to know they matter and they’re not just there to work. Morale is everything and outside of paying people well, the best way to maintain high morale is to consistently demonstrate that you have your team’s back by showing up for them. This could mean being understanding when someone isn’t feeling like their best selves, a thoughtful birthday card, or making it a point to say “thank you” no matter how small the gesture may have been. When you show your team you’re willing to go the extra mile for them, they’re likely to reciprocate your energy in ways you’d have to see to believe.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @sip.more & @mahlikrich

Image Credits
@Leakonnalenz @Robfoxrich