Be true to your who and why
I’ve co-owned and operated Courthouse Creek Cider long enough to have received questions seeking advice about starting a cidery. These are questions from folks who are still kicking the tires, trying to figure out whether to go into the business. The questions are always focused on the what. What equipment to buy. What style of cider to make. What vendor to use. I almost always initially reply with the question, “Well, who are you?” I don’t ask this to be an asshole, I really mean it. Who are you? If you know your who, you know your why, and the what just flows. To me, it’s a version of the phrase “free your mind and your ass will follow!” I’m not the first person to think about this stuff, google “know your why” and take a look. For what it’s worth, here is my experience.
We did not start with the idea of creating a cidery. We started with a blank piece of construction paper. On it, we began to write down the core concepts that define us. For example: Our children. The importance of family. A healthy environment to raise our kids. A place to garden. Our sustainability (i.e., control our own destiny), and the importance of a sustainable environment. Being earnest. There were more. The paper is gone, destroyed in a house fire. Anyway, these personal principles informed our ultimate want—a sustainable agri-business that would allow us to raise our kids in a healthy environment and foster positive relationships with the land upon which we lived, and the community in which we lived. We then jotted down how we would make this happen (the realistic piece of the puzzle, i.e., finances, etc.).
At the time, we did not live in Virginia. We never even contemplated creating a cidery. We just set forth who we were, and why we wanted a sustainable agri-business. Where we ended up didn’t matter, neither did the type of agri-business. So long as it fit within our who and why, it would work.
The point is, when you know who you are, and why you want something, the what is easy. I own and operate a small agri-business with my wife to give my kids a healthy, informative upbringing. I don’t just grow apple trees, I grow them as sustainably as possible because I care about being a steward of the land. I strive to adhere as closely as possible to natural methods of cider making because using additives and chemicals contradicts my core beliefs. And all of this makes branding and marketing easy. Courthouse Creek is far more than cider. It is us. And that makes all the difference.
Be well.