We were lucky to catch up with Steven Matsumoto recently and have shared our conversation below.

Steven, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. One of our favorite things to brainstorm about with friends who’ve built something entrepreneurial is what they would do differently if they were to start over today. Surely, there are things you’ve learned that would allow you to do it over faster, more efficiently. We’d love to hear how you would go about setting things up if you were starting over today, knowing everything that you already know.

While there is a certain sense of pride that comes from creating something from scratch and building it, I would have to say the one thing I would have done differently is to purchase an existing business versus starting from zero. The advantage being that you have revenue coming in from day one. Then it’s just figuring out where the holes in processes are to improve operational efficiency, cash flow controls, and customer experience.

This is what my partners and I are doing with Juno’s Liquor. We purchased a business in decline, implemented some best practices we used in other successful enterprises, and now we are rolling up other stores under the brand that are in a similar situation. It’s a growth through acquisition strategy with the plan to exit via an IPO or sale to a larger operator.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I am the definition of a Renaissance Man, in that I am constantly reinventing myself and learning. I’ve been a U.S. Marine, a parts manager, a marketer, a banker, and a lot of things in between. I cofounded Stigmare, a branding and marketing agency in 2009 with one of my partners in Juno’s Liquor. We’ve known each other for 17 years, and in 2021 began the hunt for recession proof, cash flowing businesses.

For over a year we looked at everything from laundromats, car washes, vending machine routes, and even ATM routes. We were about to close on an ATM route when a friend sent me a Facebook post from a business broker. It read, “Liquor Store, Fire Sale,” with a phone number. That was on a Sunday night. Monday I called the broker, and we had a deal negotiated and executed by that Friday.

That’s how we got into the liquor store business, because of a Facebook post. I won’t disclose how much we paid for our first location, but I will say it was a cash deal and less than $100,000. The store was in rough shape, virtually no inventory, very little useful data from the point-of-sale system. A little diamond in the rough. That was in November of 2022, and now we are in the process of opening a second location with a third we’re looking to purchase.

We’ve really turned the brand around, and aim to be the Starbucks of liquor stores. I think a big part of our growth has been creating a warm, welcoming environment in what is typically a much more transactional industry. We want to build relationships with our customers, and draw influence from some of the best companies out there. Seeing customers’ reaction to our remodel was definitely a highlight.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

Oh boy, do I have stories about this. I think the biggest pivot I had to make was in 2017. For over seven years I had poured myself into trying to establish a Garment District in the Greater Seattle area. In 2010 the City of Seattle came out with a study on the Fashion Industry in region. It empirically showed what many of us close to the trade anecdotally knew. Seattle had the fourth highest concentration of fashion designers in the U.S.

To support start-up brands I worked to establish a Fashion Incubator like ones in other cities to provide coaching and resources to young fashion brands. We garnered a lot of media attention, but that never translated into the capital we needed to really have an impact. I self-funded the project for as long as I could, but it just became unsustainable and I had to shutter the project. Losing hundreds of thousands of dollars in the process. It nearly bankrupted me.

That’s when I took a step back from entrepreneurship and jumped back into the corporate world as a business banker. I worked in the banking and financing world until 2022 when we purchased Juno’s Liquor. It was my time in that industry that allowed me to rebuild my war chest to jump back into the world of business ownership. Mind you, I still operated my marketing and consulting business on the side as well.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

This will be therapeutic. Three months after purchasing Juno’s Liquor my condo burned down, and my pets severely injured in the fire. I lost almost everything, and my sweet animals were stuck in an oxygen tent for 24 hours. The only reason I had any clothes at all was because I had forgotten to pick up my dry cleaning that week.

For two weeks I was in a hotel room smaller than my master bedroom with what I had been able to salvage and my two cats, Crispus and Ion. I had a great support system that came to my aid, but my mental state still hasn’t completely recovered. I was in a dark place, but the store gave me something to focus on.

I ended up selling the condo for well below market value because I was under insured and could finish rebuilding it and grow the business at the same time. I don’t like being a renter again, but I know we are building something worth the sacrifice.

I’m still financially recovering from the fire. I went from a 30% credit card utilization to nearly a 90% utilization. It’s stressful, but that’s the price of admission for building a business. I don’t think we talk about that enough. Your personal finances are going to take a hit for a short period of time until you hit critical mass.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://junosliquor.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/junosliquor/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/junosliquorusa
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stevenpaulmatsumoto/
• Twitter: https://x.com/junosliquor
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@junosliquor
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/junos-liquor-arlington

Image Credits

Ribbon Cutting Photo courtesy of The Greater Arlington Chamber of Commerce and Southern Flare Photography