MY BEST ADVICE: Money should always be a means to an end, not an end in itself. Making a difference brewing real, live Kombucha and super feedback should be your prime driver, so be fuelled by your passion and trust the money will follow.

If it becomes a chore and you no longer leap out of bed in the morning that’s a sure sign your passion is waning and it will be felt throughout your business, so keep the flame burning bright! 🔥

EVER TEMPTED TO GO INTO THE DEN? Series 1 started in Jan’05 when I was sleeping in a rat-infested warehouse. I’ve watched avidly from Series 2 and never missed an episode since.

“Gaz, are you waiting until the next series to ask for more money for less equity?” became a recurring question each year. It was always tempting to apply, but I was ultimately reluctant to share my baby with anyone out of alignment with my business ethics and ethos.

I also like to make and implement decisions without having to wait for others’ approval, and intuitively; neither of which sit at all well with stiff corporate types!

But I picked up many tips and good business practices along the way, and DD’s been a reassuring constant throughout; watching the 2016 series from my hospital bed affirmed I had everything to fight for, providing momentum to get up and running again after my setback.

If I had to choose a dragon it would be Rachel Elnaugh from the first 2 seasons (above), who most aligns!

BIGGEST BUG BEAR: Nuisance cold callers, particularly if selling space at trade shows and promising 16k footfalls and in practise delivering 1000. That and the fact shows are rarely worth the expenditure in time and effort - nor the minefield of snake oil salesmen that plague such events!

But, don’t throw the baby out with the bath water; that’s just how my label design company reached out in ‘19 and they went on to beautifully rebrand our range and website at an incredible rate that…erased the thousands I’d wasted over the years doing trade shows!

BEST THING ABOUT OWNING A BOOCH BRAND? Having a garage full of the best booch on tap night and day, of course! 😋