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

Randall, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. How did you come up with the idea for your business?

In 2014 I lost a loved one to suicide. Right after this event I started to get more involved with the local whiskey enthusiast community. I noticed that whiskey had a way of bringing people together, even people who likely would not have crossed paths during the daily lives. I knew I wanted to help people feel connected, so they didn’t feel alone they way my brother did when he made that decision. I started to answer questions in whiskey forums, then I started shooting videos. In 2018 I learned what a podcast was, and I started working on my podcast December 2018. I launched in May of 2019 and have been plugging away ever since.

I knew that a whiskey podcast was a good idea for me because I felt so fulfilled anytime I was able to teach people in forums. I was afraid I would run out of content, or that I would not have time to keep up with the production schedule, but I have always been able to figure it out. There were already many other whiskey focused podcasts, but I have a style that is more focused on nerdy informational details, historical information, and presented in a manner that is straight to the point. I am not a content producer who likes silly gimmicks. I figured that if I produced the content I would have been interested in when I was learning, I would attract the like minded viewers, and it worked!

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 background and context?

I didn’t start drinking alcohol until I was in my late 20’s. When I did start I was fascinated with wine. I learned pretty quickly that wine was not very easy to share with a large number of people because it oxidizes to quickly after it has been opened. Whiskey is stable in the bottle for years, and it only takes a tiny amount for someone to taste an expression and see if they like it. Since I am social and like sharing the transition was easy.

At first I was doing the podcast with no plan on how I would monetize it. My full time business was as a real estate agent in north Texas. I discovered that if people know you for their hobby, they will hire you as their agent. This provided financial opportunities that allowed me to keep producing the podcast. Eventually my wife helped to manufacture our own line of whiskey related merchandise. We sell a sensory aroma kit, leather whiskey bottle travel bags, custom glassware, carriers, lanyards, whiskey lids, products made from whiskey barrels, whiskey scented candles, t-shirts, hats, cocktail kits, and many other items. Our goal with all of our merchandise is to offer a product to our viewer that they were likely already going to buy, but to offer it to them at a price that was lower than their other purchasing options. In this way, they can redirect their spending and support the podcast. Since we cut out the middle men and buy straight from the manufacturers we are able to sell for less and still make a healthy margin to grow the podcast.

Part of being an entrepreneur is being ready to take action when opportunity presents itself. The year before I started the podcast I co-founded a facebook based whiskey club called Someone Say Whiskey. That has grown to over 14,000 members. This large captive audience and our industry relationships led formation of my own whiskey brand named Unallocated. Unallocated is currently a “house brand” for SSW, but we have plans to grow it in the future. At about the same time I was invited to an industry event at a large distillery in Houston name Gulf Coast Distillers. A series of events led to me forming a second brand of whiskey with the distillery and a co-founder named The Prideful Goat. TPG is already making big waves in the industry. With our first official release at the first of 2022, we have already broken many records for growth. At this time we have distribution in 7 states and two online retailers who ship.

Podcasts are generally monetized with Patreon donations and sponsorships. I figured if someone had a product to sell to my audience that was going to make them enough money that they could afford to pay me a sponsorship fee, it makes even more sense for me to start my own businesses and use the influence of the podcast to grow brands that I believe in because I built them.

Eventually I formed a discussion forum for my viewers named Bourbon Real Talk Community. This is a forum that I can fully control the culture to make sure we are staying true to the vision of bringing people together. The connectedness of the community also allows me to raise a lot of money for charity. Last year the combined fundraiser efforts of SSW and BRTC raised around $100,000 for worthy causes.

In an effort to honor my brother and leverage the following and communities I have built I ended up forming my own non-profit organization named Live Stay Project, Inc. We are focused on suicide preventions, family support, and working to give those hope who may be struggling.

Through this journey I have been able to do what I love, give without expectation, grow my real estate business, grow a whiskey merchandise business, grow a whiskey club, grow a whiskey discussion forum, form two brands of whiskey, support charities, and start my own non-profit! When I started I didn’t know how it would all work, but being ready to take action when opportunity presents itself has carried me far!

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

I started working on my podcast in Dec 2018, launched in May 2019, and buy December 2019 my family was all together for the holidays and my Dad and my wife were both asking me questions about why I am wasting so much time on a podcast. I track the source of my real estate deals, and I have accounting records to show merchandise sales. I had never looked it up before, but I was able to pull up the records and show both of them that my efforts had brought in a substantial amount of revenue and profits! From that point forward I started noticing a shift in the attitudes of the people around me. Now my wife works full time for the family’s businesses and we are more connected than ever. You have to have a big passion associated with your goals, because if you don’t any sane person would quit.

What else should we know about how you took your side hustle and scaled it up into what it is today?

When I first got involved in the whiskey space it was an an enthusiast. I spent all of my work time running and growing my real estate business. Real estate agents spend a majority of their time trying to find their next deal. As I grew my following my next deal started to find me. It was a slow process, and all along the way there were plenty of signs that it wasn’t going to work, but I persevered and everything came together. Now I spend around 70 percent of my time on whiskey related things, and only 30% of my time on my other business endeavors. They say if you love what you do that you will never work a day in your life. The part they leave out is the years of working at what you love, ignoring the calls of loved ones to focus on something more tangible, ignoring the failures and setbacks, ignoring the hatred you attract from the public who says you are self important, and getting to a good place, so that you can spend your time doing what you love!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.BourbonRealTalk.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bourbonrealtalk/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bourbonrealtalk
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/randall-sullivan-4511b926/
• Youtube: www.youtube.com/bourbonrealtalk
• Other: BRT Forum: www.facebook.com/groups/bourbonrealtalkcommunity