Something that has always fascinated me about consulting is getting to work with a diverse array of clients who all have different needs. I find that being required to flex my creative and adaptive muscles is motivating. To have the best information to draw from, I attempt to learn from what I have done in the past, research what others have tried and, my favorite, learn from business owners who have done it themselves. By compiling this information, I have created my own library of best practices to draw from. To keep expanding this resource, I talk to as many people as I can.
I was recently introduced to Jessica Torres, co-founder of One Martini, a one-stop-shop for your creative cocktail needs. One Martini’s website content ranges from cocktail recipes to infused alcohols and spirit reviews to bar essentials. Jessica is a great example of a business owner finding success through adhering to simple, yet important, principles. Because of this, I was excited to be able to pick Jessica’s brain about her experiences in starting a blog and website. These are the highlights:
- I first asked Jessica what tipped the scale for turning her personal passion into a business and I couldn’t have received a better business-minded answer – “The fact that I could make money doing something I enjoyed.” Having passion for what you do is, in my opinion, a vital element needed for success as a business owner. The other side of this is understanding how to turn a hobby, idea, invention, etc. into a successful enterprise. The next response from Jessica is what helps to make that success a reality.
- Jessica mentioned that being open to change and not quitting were the most important lessons learned from getting the website to where it is today. Starting any business requires flexibility and perseverance, which can be some of the biggest hurdles to overcome. It usually comes down to accepting the need to adapt and having the grit to stick it out.
- When it comes to specifically overseeing a blog and website, Jessica had clear advice, “Running a blog/website takes a lot of time, especially in the beginning and it can take a long time to start seeing results from your efforts; stick with it, focus on quality content, photography and SEO. It’s also helpful to network and meet other people in the same niche as you. They are the ones who will promote you and help you grow.” While this may sound simple, many people overlook these critical points and it is where they fall short.
- Finally, when I asked about her most successful creation, Jessica went straight to The Weekender – a coconut vanilla tea infused rum cocktail. I find it easy to see the passion of those involved by the quality and quantity of the content on their site. The Weekender is just one great example of seeing the love of the subject-matter shine through.
At the end of the day, Jessica is a business owner who understands what it takes to find success. I felt her key message was to be flexible, have perseverance and produce a quality product. Again, these may seem like simple ideas, but it is so important to ensure the details of a business startup hit on each one of them.
So, to see what a beautiful cocktail themed blog looks like, click over to One Martini’s website and, in a comment below, post a link for the cocktail or article you find most interesting.
Learning and Doing 