Meet Julie Rhodes | CEO-Consultant-Public Speaker-Author

We had the good fortune of connecting with Julie Rhodes and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Julie, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
Throughout my career in beer sales and marketing, I mentored a lot of my fellow industry colleagues and they kept telling me that I should teach this stuff full time. Eventually, I got to a point where I realized that teaching the business side of beer brought me more joy than actually doing it, so I decided to make a business out of it.

What should our readers know about your business?
My business, Not Your Hobby Marketing Solutions, is all about teaching small to medium-sized craft beverage brands how to increase their business knowledge, even if they are limited in time and resources. I specialize in teaching craft beverage professionals how to improve their sales, optimize their digital marketing tactics, and create more profitable relationships with their distributor partners. You just need to learn how to work smarter, and not harder, to get a leg up in our highly competitive market. The idea for my company stems from the fact that most professional brewers come from a background of homebrewing, which is a pretty intense hobby, but once you apply for a business license and you have customers, you have a full-fledged business, not a hobby. One lesson that I love passing along is never to take any conversation for granted. You can’t build a business alone. The more people you can connect with along your journey, the better. Connection and interactions lead to learning and new perspectives, which is beneficial for any entrepreneur.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
To be honest, my idea of a good time is probably reflective of where I am in my life right now, which is married with two kids, lots of pets, and short on sleep! But if I had a good friend in town, I would probably start with a hearty breakfast at Denver Biscuit Company, followed by a walking tour of Red Rocks to burn off some calories. After a quick pint at Hogshead Brewing, I would probably take them downtown to get a photo with the Big Blue Bear, cruise down the 16th Street Mall, and then hop the light rail over to Union Station for some architecture appreciation and ice cream at Little Man. And you can’t skip beers over lunch at Falling Rock Taproom, especially if it’s right before catching a Rockies game. For dinner and a nightcap, we would head over to RiNo for Jaeger Schnitzel and a Slow Pour Pils at Bierstadt Lagerhaus.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
There are 3 specific people in my life that encouraged me to start my business and have supported me unconditionally along the way. I dedicate my Shoutout to Jason Rhodes, my husband and partner in the beer industry; Andreas Hausner, President of SHW Brand, who mentored me throughout my career in beer sales and beyond; and Laura Lodge, Owner of Customized Craft Beer Programs and founder of the Big Beers, Belgians & Barleywines Festival, who assigned me homework to grow a company and who continues to support me in every way, personally and professionally.

Website: https://www.notyourhobbymarketing.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/notyourhobbymarketing

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/rhodesjulie

Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/NotYourHobbyMS

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/notyourhobbymarketing

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/notyourhobbymarketing

Image Credits
Raymo Estrello, and Hello You Studio