'Planning Your Successful New Zealand Distilling Business' Course FAQs

There is no doubt that YouTube and other social media platforms provide a lot of information that people can consume for free. 

However, most people do not realise how expensive ‘learning for free’ actually is - until they put a price on their time.

Social media platforms rarely offer - if ever - a structured learning approach to starting a distilling business, that considers your business success, in a specific part of the world, to meet that country’s specific requirements… for free.  

That’s why TDIs ‘Planning Your Successful New Zealand Distilling Business’ course is an excellent investment if you’re serious about business success.  

And, we offer a 30 day money-back-no-questions-asked refund policy if you find it’s not for you.

It is a good thing to have apprehensions about starting any new business, regardless of how awesome it is.  

Complacency or taking a ‘she’ll be right’ approach to a distilling business can be tolerable in the short term, but potentially harmful in the long term.  

This is the main reason why we include in the course an advanced financial model and information to get you started.  

This way, you can do your own exploration and build a solid picture of what the finances look like for your business. From the capital (cash) you will need to start then grow the business, to what wage, profits and even sale price for your business you could get - if you ever decide to sell it. 

And if you have someone in mind who is good with numbers, ask them to join you on this great adventure!

Then, you can work out how much the business will cost to provide you with the outcomes you seek.

Although our course focuses on the business functions and commercial aspects of a distilling business, we have resources within the TDI network that can help address this.  

This includes a number of ‘TDI friends’ who are willing and available to assist in different ways to help get hands-on experience.

Additionally, the Institute of Brewing and Distilling (IBD) provides a globally recognised curriculum in distilling and brewing if you need really technical training on how to make great spirit. 

Their courses are online and you will gain a deep understanding of the processes involved in distilling.

The Wines and Spirits Education Trust (WSET) provides superb learning materials, delivered by industry practitioners, that will give an excellent grounding in spirits.  

From here you can then determine how best to proceed with developing your technical skills.

We set an expectation with people to give themselves 12-18 months to get a commercial distillery up and running. 

Our reasoning is twofold. 

Firstly, the work required means finding time that is over-and-above what you do today.  

This also needs discipline and focus as the gains are hard earned the whole way. In many ways, it's on par with making a life-style decision and committing to a gym routine.

The gym routine may be workable on your own, but it's often far more effective with a personal trainer or a mentor to guide you every step of the way.

This keeps you focused on the right things - both inside and outside the gym, as you progress to your end goal.

Secondly, satisfying the various licensing, food safety, dangerous goods, retail and distribution requirements takes time.  

As does satisfying council requirements concerning building and resource consents.  

In New Zealand for instance, existing buildings will likely need to comply with earthquake safety requirements, as will any plans you may have in mind for new locations. 

TDIs course will provide you with a single spot to reference, and garner your understanding concerning these very important matters.

We have people who can help

We have a list of suppliers that you may tap into when you join the course.

We also have a series of MasterClasses, presented by industry practitioners who can provide additional detail and guidance over-and-above the course content.  

For example, we have:

• MasterClasses from gin, whisky and rum producers
• A MasterClass concerning safe distillery design
• Another MasterClass that considers distribution strategy, and 
• Two fantastic MasterClasses from co-founders Troy Trewin and Brett Steel concerning capital raising, and branding / marketing respectively.

The other great resource we find is the other students in the course. 

You can reach out to them through the MasterClasses once you get to know them within your local community.

The private Facebook group we have seen is used for asking others things like ‘how do I negotiate a trade waste agreement’, or other tricky things people discover along the way.

We can recommend some consultants to you but you may find that unless you are creating a big distillery, consultants may not be the best course of action.

The first port-of-call might be the ‘Planning Your Successful New Zealand Distilling Business’ course, to get you started in this space.  

This will also help you identify where you need help, and the types of resources that can help meet your needs.

Yes there are!  

We have an upfront cost for the course.

Or, for an additional $50 you can spread the cost of three equal monthly payments.

And to remove all the risk, the course carries a 30 day money-back-no-questions-asked refund policy for both sign-up options.

Just drop us an email requesting a refund within 30 days of enrolling, and we’ll be on the case.

No questions.