What mom doesn't want to sit down at the end of a crazy day, kick her shoes off, and sip on a nice glass (or two) of wine? With two children under the age of 2 at home, I am finding myself looking forward to these precious few minutes, before I have to tidy up the house, do laundry and get everything ready, just to do it all again the next day. And, if it is before 1 AM, when I finish all the daily chores, I will sit back down, pick up a good book, and have one final glass of wine before bed. Like they say, "A Glass of wine a day, keeps the doctor away" --- well, they don't say that, but I do. :-)
So, when I found that there was a mom entrepreneur in CA who was making her own wine, under the label MommyJuice Wines, I knew I had to share her story with you, as well as do a product review (stay tuned Friday for this and a giveaway). Below is my interview with Cheryl Durzy, the creator and owner of MommyJuice Wines. Please enjoy, and make sure to head back here on Friday for my detailed review of the red and white MommyJuice wines she sent me to sample, as well as enter for a chance to win some for yourself.
Name: Cheryl Durzy
Company Name/Product/Service: MommyJuice Wines
Company Location: San Martin, CA
Facebook URL: www.facebook.com/mommyjuicewines
Twitter Handle: @mommyjuicewines
Age of Company: 2.5 years
Favorite Inspirational Quotes: "Destiny is something we've invented because we can't stand the fact that everything that happens is accidental."
Favorite Book: Too many to name and changes frequently. These days, it’s my iPad.
Tell us a little bit about yourself. How many children do you have? What are their ages? Your hobbies? Etc.
I
am late-ish 30’s, from the Bay Area in Northern California. I went to
the University of San Diego with a couple of stints abroad in London and
the South of France. Upon graduation, I moved to San Francisco for
nearly 8 years and worked at a high-tech public relations agency. I met
my husband there…moved to the South Bay to raise the family and that’s
where I am today.
I
have two kids. My son is 8 and my daughter is 4 (5 in April). When I am
not working for the family wine business or hanging out with my family,
I enjoy working out (doing my first triathlon this Spring),
yoga/pilates/bar classes, cooking and eating, drinking wine with my
friends, skiing, reading and watching good TV with the husband (current
favorites are Dexter, Breaking Bad, Boardwalk Empire, The Walking Dead,
Mad Men) when the kids are finally in bed and the house is in a
semi-normal state of cleanliness.
Briefly explain your business. How did it come about?
I have been working for my family’s winery (Clos LaChance, www.clos.com)
for nearly 14 years now. I love to drink wine and do so on a regular
basis (in moderation of course). My kids developed the lovely habit of
pointing at wine glasses and yelling “That’s Mommy’s Juice.” It was
especially embarrassing in crowded restaurants. However, it did inspire
me to create a label and start selling wine under the MommyJuice brand.
My
goal with MommyJuice is to provide a quality wine for a great price
point. And to make wine FUN! I also hope to provide a bit of sanity to
all those moms out there that are like me—doing a million things at
once. I hope that at the end of a busy day, Moms are sitting back,
drinking a glass of MommyJuice and getting a bit of comfort knowing that
there are moms all around the world going through the same stuff. And
surviving.
What
is a typical work day like?
Well I try to work out in the mornings
(early, way too early) so I get up to exercise. I always check my ipad
or phone for anything that came in overnight that I need to respond to
(especially with my east coast distributors or international customers).
Come home and take a quick shower. Get the kids up, dressed and
breakfast. Make lunches. One kid leaves for one school (typically
brought by my husband) and them I bring my son to school (next year they
are both in the same school! Yee-haw!). Then I come home, clean up
from breakfast, get myself ready for work and head out the door. Its
about half an hour drive to the office, no traffic thankfully. Often
checking my email at stoplights (trying to break this habit, I promise).
Once
I get here every day is different. Lots of communicating with
distributors and customers. Interfacing on the social media sites. Lots
of writing and implementation of plans, budgets etc. Developing sales
materials and brochures. I also manage the brand for Clos LaChance, The
Vegan Vine and Wicked Good Wines. We have done a lot of distributor
realignment and sales force changes the last 6 months, so I have really
been focusing on that stuff lately. I sit on a couple of boards as well
(President of the Board for the Santa Cruz Mountains Winegrowers Association and Board Member for Free the Grapes and the California Sustainable Winegrowing Alliance) so I usually interface with someone about those issues at least once a day.
What
has been a struggle while starting up your company?
The wine industry
is really, really challenging. Getting the right distributors to build
the brand, pay us and help sell the wines is literally impossible. All
wine needs to be sold to accounts via distributors.
Distributors have
been consolidating while the number of wineries and brands is increasing
faster than ever. So there is a real problem getting distributors to
pay attention to your brand. You basically have to pay them to do it. Or
you can go with a smaller distributor…and take a gamble of whether or
not they pay you.
I
have found that people either LOVE the idea of MommyJuice (usually
moms, husbands and parents of such moms too) or HATE it (most people
that are not moms). It’s a little controversial, which has been fun and a
little challenging as well.
What did you do in your past work life?
High tech PR, but that was so long ago. Here’s kind of an interesting article
about my old company that I just came across today. I was what they
called an “Alexander-ite” taking notes at conferences and getting the
press to pay attention to my client. I was 22-25 years old. A baby.
What
have been some of your major successes?
Getting 30 plus distributors
in less than a year. Getting MommyJuice into Northern California Target
stores. Amazing PR—an AP story last Mother’s Day, People Magazine and
the Today Show (I take credit for it because I hired a friend—a fellow
mom-preneur—to help me with it. Holly Nuss @momforwine…but she did the
leg work).
What
have been some of your major challenges?
Dealing with a trademark
challenge and lawsuit (since settled). Dealing with people that just
don’t get the brand or the idea that women are buying most of the wine
these days. Dealing with people that think I am the devil for daring to
say that moms should be allowed to drink wine.
On
those impossible days, what motivates you to keep going?
MommyJuice!
Ha, seriously though I so enjoy going home and pouring a glass of wine
to drink while I am preparing dinner for my family. My husband sits down
to chat with me while I am cooking and the kids are running around
telling us about their day, going in and out of the house/playroom and
just sitting back and enjoying the chaos of what is really important to
me. Wine is a part of that…
What
is your balancing secret in managing a business and family?
There is no
secret….I am barely hanging on. I forget stuff all the time and my
house is not always spotlessly clean. But I just learn to embrace the
chaos and try and enjoy each moment.
What
is next for your business?
Now that I have distribution for the wines,
my next challenge is getting the stores to carry them….so that people
can buy them. It’s a huge challenge because the competition is insane. I
am a tiny little winery and this industry is dominated by large
companies that make millions of cases. I encourage all your readers to
learn more about the small business and family-owned wineries and try to
buy only those wines to help them out. Small, family owned wineries are
on their way out because of these industry shifts. It would be a shame
if that was the way of the future. There are many, many wines with
decent (under $10, yes there are!) pricepoints that are made by
family-owned wineries. Seek them out and tell everyone you know!
Do
you have any advice for other mom entrepreneurs that are starting out
and struggling, or are on the fence about starting a business?
Make sure
you do your research, because people are “sue” happy these days looking
for a quick buck. Make sure you have an attorney that is a friend.
Utilize your resources (friends and family) to help promote your
business. Invest in a professional looking web site. Its your brand,
storefront, image all in one. And try and have fun with whatever you are
doing. Because if its taking you away from your family and if you are
not having fun…then its not worth it. Also, be nice and fair to
everyone. It’s a small world and what comes around goes around.
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