M A G A Z I N E
www.powderkegbeer.co.uk My husband John and I started Powderkeg Brewery in 2014 and have run it together ever since.
1. Do you have different roles within the business? How did you decide on those? Very much so. John was already a brewer and in the industry — he wrote the business plan while I was working freelance to support the family and looking after our two small children. So naturally he took on the brewing and the facilities management and is very much the business brain. I have juggled the branding, art direction, marketing and PR, as well as keeping accounts and doing some HR and customer management. We tend to work together on strategy as it’s crucial to bounce things off each other.
2. What advice do you have for running a business with your partner/ family member? It works for us because we are not argumentative people, we get along well. If you have a fiery relationship it’s probably not for you, as the business could suffer, and any staff would end up in the middle of it. I enjoy the pride our kids take in the business – they love to wear the branded hoodies and are always telling their teachers they should be drinking Powderkeg!
3. Would you recommend it? Yes and no. It’s amazing having a shared vision and creating that together. When we won our first couple of big awards it felt so exhilarating, after all that hard work. But when you add that on top of having a family together, it can be a real stretch to manage everything. It can be hard not to talk shop at home – because generally, you both find it really interesting. And being together all day, every day, means you don’t get that enjoyment from meeting at dinner to ask about each other’s day – you already know everything that happened! That’s why at the beginning of the year I accepted a part-time Arts Manager role at Exmouth Town Council (the kind of job I was in before). The business had reached a point where we had a great team so I could cut back my hours there, and it’s refreshing to have my other line of work back up again but still be involved in Powderkeg. I guess the answer is that balance is key, and business and family needs change over time so you have to constantly adapt.
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E M P O W E R I N G W O M E N . H O S P I TA L I T Y . R E TA I L
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