Growing up on my father’s farm, I developed an early interest in selling things. It started with something simple: selling sweets to the farmworkers. At the time, I didn’t think much of it. To me, it was just a way to make a bit of pocket money and maybe stand out among my siblings. But looking back, I can see that this small venture marked the beginning of a lifelong entrepreneurial spirit that would one day lead me into the beer industry.
As I got older, my responsibilities expanded beyond sweets. I moved into wholesaling and distributing chickens and dairy products to neighbouring farms. At the time, I didn’t realize I was learning the basics of supply and demand, logistics, and distribution. All I knew was that I enjoyed the process of finding something to sell, negotiating prices, and making sure the products reached their destinations.
But it wasn’t just about making sales. I was learning the importance of relationships. Delivering dairy or chickens to neighbouring farms wasn’t just a transaction—it was about trust. I realised that to grow a business, no matter how small, you had to build a connection with your customers. These early lessons would serve me well in the years to come.
Fast forward to my student days, and my entrepreneurial ambitions began to take a more formal shape. While many of my friends were focused on their studies, I set up a small “factory” to manufacture timber doors. With the help of my trusty Nissan 1400 bakkie, I began selling and delivering these doors to various trading and hardware stores in the surrounding areas. This experience taught me a great deal about managing operations, handling logistics, and providing excellent customer service.
Running the timber door business was hard work, but I loved every moment of it. The thrill of seeing a sale come together, the satisfaction of delivering a product I was proud of, and the joy of building something from scratch—it was exhilarating. Every door I sold represented more than just a paycheck. It represented my commitment to my craft, my belief in what I was doing, and my desire to provide a product that people could rely on.
In many ways, those early ventures laid the foundation for my future in the beer industry. While I hadn’t yet tapped into my passion for brewing, I was developing the entrepreneurial skills I would one day use to build beer brands, sell products, and create lasting relationships with customers. The lessons I learned about persistence, hard work, and the power of relationships were invaluable.
Though my early ventures didn’t involve beer, they set the stage for what was to come. Selling farm products and timber doors may seem worlds apart from brewing and selling beer, but the principles are the same. It’s all about understanding your market, building trust, and delivering a product people want.
Looking back, I realise those farm days weren’t just about learning how to sell. They were about planting the seeds of an entrepreneurial dream that would eventually lead me into the world of beer. And while I couldn’t have known it at the time, each transaction, each delivery, and each satisfied customer was shaping the path to what would become a 30-year career in the beer industry.