Worcester Business Journal

www.wbjournal.com April 11, 2016 • Worcester Business Journal 11 I n 2014, Dave Howland took his home brewing passion and made the leap to his own brewery and tasting room. Since that time, Howland has been slowly expanding 3Cross Brewery on word of mouth and the strength of his varied selection of beer. In his first two years, he ran into his own challenges familiar to many small business owners and are faced by the smaller brewers throughout Massachusetts. Chief among these chal- lenges is the need to handle all aspects of the business. These various roles of dis- tribution and finances weren't always something that came easily to Howland. "If I had thought about it more thor- oughly, I probably would have realized that I had a lot to learn," said Howland, who relied on other small business own- ers and brewers. Howland has found these new areas can be sustaining as well as challenging. "It's my taproom hours that keep me motivated – when talking to people about the beer. There is something about being able to share the experience of the beer with someone who is enjoying it. It's fulfilling," he said. What is success? Unlike the larger breweries in Central Massachusetts that measure their output in thousands of barrels, Howland mea- sures his by the tens – moving 100 bar- rels of beer last year. That's not only just fine by him but actually preferable. "I'd be perfectly happy if my beer was never sold outside of Worcester. I don't want a team of 20 people working for me … it's a very different business model," said Howland. He doesn't have his sights set on pure growth, but rather on a measure of suc- cess that is more small business than big brew. He wants to contribute to the Main South community surrounding his brewery while making a good living and brewing great beer. 3Cross founder purposefully stays small BY SAM BONACCI Worcester Business Journal Digital Editor P H O T O / S A M B O N A C C I Central Mass. breweries Dave Howland focuses on the quality of beer at his 3Cross Brewery in Worcester 's Main South commu- nity and is less concerned about matching the growth of other local craft brewers. administrative role," LaFortune said. That shifting role in the beginning took its toll, said LaFortune, who began questioning whether he was right for the position after about 10 years. Even though he loved beer and the company, he questioned whether he was a true beer geek. Yet, LaFortune strength- ened his resolve on the realization the company needed direction to be able to grow. It was around that point LaFortune planned a way forward for the company involving canning and diversifying by brewing for other companies. "I realized early on that it isn't about management, it's about leadership. I have plenty of managers now, but I don't have a lot of leaders," he said. "You have to be the one to have the vision, and you have to work back from the vision." Backing up that vision is the role of those you hire, said LaFortune, whose main suggestion to any growing brewer is to make a good investment in employ- ees. The best people for the job will cost more, but as you grow you must hire the people that will keep the company mov- ing forward and your quality up. "The quality of your people is the most important thing, so you have to try and find the best you can," he said "Just do the best you can to find the best people. They come at a price." Culture and benefits Chief among the concern for Jack's Abby and Wormtown has been main- taining company culture. With a sales team spread throughout Massachusetts, New York and Pennsylvania, Jack's Abby has made a concerted effort to build connections between everyone. "Building a sales team culture with people across the Northeast is a whole different can of worms than dealing with people that are in the brewery three times a week," he said. Wormtown went to the lengths of bringing in a consultant to firm up its company culture. When a company is growing, it is necessary to be more delib- erate and plan towards the culture the brewery wants to cultivate, Roesch said. "It isn't just the people at the top say- ing what the people down below should do and them supporting the company. It's the leaders giving people the resourc- es they need to do their jobs," Roesch said. "We're letting them do their thing and not micro-managing, and it's exactly what we need to support this kind of hundreds of percent growth every year." While all of this has been deliberate and difficult, Roesch isn't looking back to the simpler times, but reveling in the steps that Wormtown has taken and looking forward to continued growth in the future and the benefits – such as health insurance and a 401(k) for the first time – that come with it. "You've got people with kids and mortgages who are relying on the com- pany to make a paycheck every week and put their lives together. To be able to say we have that, and to put benefits on top of it, is the thing I am most proud of," Roesch said. n While none of this is strictly anti- growth, it means that Howland's suc- cess can't be summed up in barrels per year. n P H O T O / S A M B O N A C C I 1. Jack's Abby Craft Brewers, Framingham 2. Rapscallion Brewery, Sturbridge 3. Medusa Brewing Company, Hudson 4. Gardner Ale House, Gardner 5. Wormtown Brewery, Worcester 6. 3 Beards Beer Co., Northborough 7. 3cross Brewing Co., Worcester 8. 50 Back Brewing Co., Pepperell 9. Banner Beer Co., North Grafton 10. Bay State Brewing, Sturbridge 11. Flying Dreams Brewery, Worcester 12. John Harvard's Brewery & Ale House, Framingham 13. Kretschmann Brewing Co., Webster 14. Nashoba Valley Winery and Brewery, Bolton 15. Slesar Bros. Brewing Co. / Beer Works, Framingham 16. Stone Cow Brewery, Barre 17. Tree House Brewing Co., Charlton 18. True West Brewery, Acton 19. Wachusett Brewing Co., Westmister 20. CraftRoot Brewing LLC, Milford 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 19 18 20 KEY:

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