This Side Hustle Spotlight Q&A features LeAnn Darland, 38, of Williamsburg, Brooklyn and Tara Hankinson, 37, of Bronxville, NY. Darland worked in finance operations at Google and Hankinson in customer experience strategy for The New York Times when they started the homebrewing side hustle that would become TALEA Beer Co. Responses have been edited for length and clarity.
Image Credit: Courtesy of TALEA. LeAnn Darland, left; Tara Hankinson, right.
When did you start your side hustle, and where did you find the inspiration for it?
Tara: The summer post-MBA, I worked at a winery and fell in love with the idea of creating that experience — a beautiful space, Instagrammable flights and a true connection to customers — in the beer world. I started homebrewing while working in management consulting and continued while working at The New York Times. I left to join a beer ecommerce startup, where I met LeAnn. That job was one step closer to truly following my passion for beer.
LeAnn: I lived in Coronado, San Diego, during my time in the Navy. I loved the casual, community environment of breweries, which was such a contrast to my time serving. When I moved to San Francisco, all of my friends who visited wanted to visit wineries. I started thinking about creating a brewery that would appeal to my friends and mom, who wanted to dress up and celebrate.
What were some of the first steps you took to get your side hustle off the ground?
We were both homebrewing on opposite coasts (Tara in midtown Manhattan, LeAnn in San Francisco). Tara entered a few homebrew competitions, and her beers did well. LeAnn pitched her skills to local breweries, but no one replied to her emails. When we met at the small beer ecommerce startup, we quickly realized we wanted to start a brewery together. From concept in July 2018 to first product in hand in April 2019, we spent about nine months working in stealth mode.
What were some of the biggest challenges you faced while building your side hustle, and how did you navigate them?
Homebrewing takes a lot of time — about six hours for a brew day and almost a month until you have a finished beer. The process is very similar to brewing on a commercial system, except the “warehouse” was a tiny apartment fridge. As homebrewers, we spent a lot of time getting feedback on the beer and trying to figure out the best way to enter an already crowded market.
Once we took steps to start our own brewery, the biggest challenge was the many negotiations and process points that we had to do in tandem with our jobs. Liquor license attorneys and brewery managers do not take calls on nights and weekends, so we were constantly juggling the desire to make progress on our brewery project while also being type-A employees who did not want to compromise performance on our day jobs.
Image Credit: Courtesy of Sydney Applegate / TALEA. Williamsburg Taproom.
How long did it take you to see consistent monthly revenue? How much did the side hustle earn?
Once we had our first beer in hand, we sold and delivered it for about six months before seeing consistent purchases. We earned $15,000-$20,000 a month but were not profitable. We learned so much about our customers and adjusted our product mix, packaging format, delivery methods and sales tactics. We were losing money month over month, but we were gaining traction.
You’ve since turned the side hustle into a full-time business. What does growth and revenue look like now?
We’re growing revenue by double digits year over year through our taproom and wholesale businesses. We’re profitable and can decide how to best use our funds now that we’re financially stable. We’ve chosen to grow our team with amazing hires and invest in brewing equipment and processes that have a quick payback period and improve our products.
A key channel we invest in and that we’ve seen immense growth in is our partnerships and experiences. We’re nimble and have had a lot of fun working with other brands we admire on building awareness — from Fishwife and Olipop to Fly By Jing and Black Seed Bagel. Don’t be afraid to be playful and think big.
Image Credit: Courtesy of Alice Gao / TALEA.
What do you enjoy most about running this business?
The people. It is so gratifying to see someone enjoy a beer and the experience of sitting in our taprooms. Our spaces are not just about great craft beer; they’re also about hospitality-forward service, beautifully designed taprooms and a wide array of drinks and snacks that make going to a brewery feel like an experience. Seeing someone enjoy that will never get old.
What’s your advice for others hoping to start successful side hustles or full-time businesses of their own?
Don’t let perfection be the enemy of progress. Sometimes, you need to make a decision, even if it feels like a compromise. We spent a few thousand dollars on trademark searches for our name and eventually combined our first two names to create TALEA. It didn’t feel perfect, but it was a huge blocker in our progress.
No one will care as much about your business as you do. We recommend being as hands-on as possible to make the side hustle pivot a success.
This article is part of our ongoing Women Entrepreneur® series highlighting the stories, challenges and triumphs of running a business as a woman.
