The letter I penned and sent to every craft brewer I could find in the state of North Carolina

1. Late one night when my parents thought their 12 year-old daughter was asleep, I overheard a
conversation between them that would forever change my perspective on life.
“I’m not going to let that huge corporation full of business people tell me how to run my business. I’m
not going to join that network,” my father said.
“But dear, you’re going to make less than half of what you’d make as a part of that group. We have two
young children and a huge mortgage to worry about,” my mother replied with a waver in her voice. “Can
we survive?”
“We’ll survive, darling. I’m not a big business guy. I don’t want to attend doctor’s balls. That’s just so
fake to me. I got into medicine to help people. The medical profession has changed so much from what
it was when I signed up, but I’m not going to change. I love my patients. I’m not going to have some big
whig tell me how much time I’m allotted for each patient, which drug I should prescribe, which
computer system to use. Ugh. We’ll survive. It may be tough,
but we’ll survive,” my father stated adamantly.
My mother vowed to stand by him, and that she did. Over the
next 20 years I’d watch my parents fight ‘the system’ tooth and
nail and scratch through some tough financial times, but they
always provided a warm, loving home for my brother and me.
My father didn’t make a typical physician’s salary, but his
patients adored him; some would see no other physician for
ear, nose, and throat needs up until the day my father retired.
From my father I gained my fighting, independent spirit, my left
brain dexterity, and I learned the value of supporting the small
entity, the small business owner. My father was a David in the
Goliath world, and he was my hero.
I am the one suffering in a ‘trendy’ 1970’s off-the-shoulder pink dress and
bad haircut here. Apparently bangs CAN be cut too short.
Devoted, stubborn, dedicated, and passionate are words I’d use to describe my mother. She raised my
brother and me with a steady hand of discipline and a full appreciation of the arts. She was a classical
singer who bused us to school six days a week and taught us the piano. She had us recite memorized
poems in front of large groups of people, and she enrolled me in ballet lessons.
When the summer breaks would roll around we worked our parents’ farm instead of watching TV. We’d
get up early to weed the garden, pick wild mulberries, and collect eggs. From my mother I gained a
strong work ethic and a deep appreciation of the arts. She too was a David in the Goliath world, and
from her I learned compassion, empathy, and the value of loyalty within relationships.

2. With my mom at Christmas in 2006
So how did I get here?
I was accepted at a small Midwestern liberal arts college on an
academic full ride, and my freshman year I decided to differentiate
myself by completing two majors in three and a half years while
competing on the varsity soccer and track and field teams. After
graduating with a 3.93/4.0 GPA, I opted to work for the small,
minority-owned CPA firm; my clients were typically in the not-for-
profit and NGO sectors. Throughout most of the first decade of my
career I devoted myself entirely to small business. I’d go on to earn a
top tier MBA from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill,
again graduating at the top of my class. To gain some additional
perspective, I chose to work for a large global manufacturer, where
the pay was fantastic, but I quickly learned my personality was out of place. And then….I purposefully
took a pay cut and got into the craft beer industry. Finally, after all those years, I finally felt at home.
This was where I belonged. This is where I’ve chosen to stay.
Partnering craft with passion in North Carolina.
In the Brewers Association Power Hour Pete Johnson led that discussed the 2009 beer industry statistics
(with the focus on craft beer), North Carolina was recognized as one of the top 5 fastest growing states
for craft beer (year-over-year case sales) alongside Washington, Oregon, Texas, and California. I’ve been
monitoring the production numbers of several North Carolina craft brewers and have researched
consumer sentiment. What I learned and saw put me over the moon. Then I started digging into
several breweries’ accounting and production management systems both inside and outside North
Carolina.
What I learned dismayed me, and in some instances, my jaw just about hit the floor.
I have learned that most of the craft breweries’ existing accounting, financial, and production
management infrastructure won’t support a sudden spurt of growth sustainably. The focus has been
placed entirely on production and sales, and oftentimes either a) an office manager or non-accountant
handles the books or b) the accounting system the brewery is using is some off-the-shelf product that
doesn’t support real-time inventory of ingredients, WIP in the fermenting tanks or finished goods;
changes in brewing recipes (and subsequent costing changes); or offer a true cost of creating a particular
brand of brew.
Why is this worrisome? Far too many times, both within and outside the brewing industry, I have seen
what happens when a company waits too long to consult a true accounting resource or invest in a more
robust accounting and/or production management system. The Excel sheets start to fly, many times
several versions. Communication breaks down. Managing the production schedule becomes a daily
headache. People start blaming each other interdepartmentally when the supply chain breaks down,

3. there’s an overstock of a particular brand, or inventory starts walking out the door. The admin staff has
to create additional work to generate a workaround solution, when the system should be doing all that
work.
This impedes growth. It keeps tensions high, to the point that key people within the company either
leave or apathetically resign to a “that’s just the way it is around here” mentality. That worries me to no
end when I see how much potential our Tar Heel state is offering us.
Can you answer the following with confidence?
• Can you calculate the true cost of producing a length of each brand of your beer? If not, you
could potentially be creating beer at a loss to your brewery.
• Will your accounting system or production management system support a 20%-50% year-over-
year growth rate in case/keg sales?
• Have you recognized the full tax benefit of any capex investment you’re making or are about to
make in your brewery? How are you managing your fixed assets? Hint: this isn’t the once-a-year
exercise the CPA firm you work with for your tax returns completes.
• Are you measuring your brewery’s success on any other metric other than barrels produced or
sold? You should be.
• If the bank turns you down, do you have a resource who can advise you on alternatives to
finance the expansion of your operations?
Why should you trust me? What makes this Audra character so different?
I’m one of you. I’m passionate about craft beer and am a proud member of both the Brewers
Association and the North Carolina Brewers Guild. My personal goal is to become a Certified Cicerone
by 12.31.2010, and I’m looking to homebrew a smoked porter with my husband later this month. I
spearheaded a craft brewing best practices group on LinkedIn. I have worked for a 97,000bbl (2009
figures) craft brewery, which gave me an opportunity to immerse myself in some best practices, as well
as help develop solutions for practices and processes in place I want to help craft brewers avoid.
I am here for you. As much as I loved my job and the people there, I left the 97,000bbl brewery to
devote my know-how, experience, and noggin entirely to the North Carolina craft beer scene. I turned
down three job interviews with employers within three weeks of my returning home to North Carolina
in favor of the chance to work with you, as a partner, as a second set of eyes, as an advisor, as a
colleague, as a friend. I am truly my father’s daughter and want to help you succeed.
I’m juxtaposed between the left and right brains. I possess an MBA skillset and have built my career
using my left brain, but my heart lies within the arts. I care about the little guy; it’s who I identify with.
Small business defines me, and I’ve worked with many clients and several employers in both the public
and private sector. No job is too small, and no feat is impossible (especially when it’s managed
appropriately).

4. Your CPA firm may prepare your tax return for you, but it’s unlikely they are providing you proactive,
ongoing help and advice throughout the year. If they do at an affordable rate, you’re one of the lucky
few (nice job!).
I’m way affordable. Most of our craft brewers can’t afford to have a full-time finance and accounting
person on staff. I recognize that. You drive this bus. Perhaps it’s a one-time project where I help you:
upgrade to a more robust financial or production management system
develop your fixed asset management system
develop your CRM system
put some metrics in place for you to measure your performance
help you develop overhead costing
and then train your staff and leave. Perhaps I spend 16-24 hours per quarter with you as a “check-
up”. Or perhaps your accountant/bookkeeper bails, and you need some help keeping your books
up-to-date in the interim.
Like my father, I have cast aside the big business salary in favor of helping the little business succeed.
Many of my MBA colleagues charge triple-digit hourly rates. I take your needs into account and
structure my services on a project-by-project basis, typically on retainer and with a non-disclosure
agreement in place; meaning, I won’t talk to anyone else about your numbers, financials, equity
structure. I keep my mouth shut. There is no spiraling open-ended agreement, you don’t have to incur
the cost of an additional employee, and I won’t talk in some over-the-head fancy business language
where my goal is to lose you. Life is too short for that crap.
I recognize your limited resources; my job is to maximize your investment in me as quickly as possible. If
applicable, I will train your existing staff so that you don’t need to call me back for the same need again.
My goal is to prepare you: to tee you up for growth, profitability, and happy coworkers and then take
the training wheels off and proudly watch you ride off into the sunset on your own.
Give me a whirl!
I work hard, and I play hard. I take my work very seriously, but I don’t take myself all too seriously (I
actually make fun of myself a lot; you have to when you’re a nerd, right?).
I’ll be happy to sit down and talk with you to listen to your needs at no
cost and no obligation to you (save perhaps a beer…).
But you don’t have to listen to me blabber on. Take a peek at my
background and what others have to say about me by reading through my
recommendations at http://www.linkedin.com/in/agm1127 . Then feel
free to call me at 919-538-4404 to chit-chat or email me at
audragmarotta@yahoo.com . Questions and/or concerns are always
welcome.

5. I hope to hear from you.
Partnering craft with passion,
Audra Marotta
Managing Partner
Violent Orchid, LLC
http://www.facebook.com/audragmarotta
http://www.twitter.com/audragmarotta
http://www.linkedin.com/in/agm1127