 If he can say that, man, what excuse do you have? Is it ever too late to do something that you truly enjoy, something that you're passionate about? This is something that I always get in my mailbox, hey Wilson, is it too late? Well guys, today I am reviewing how this guy who's in his 70s, he retired and went on to create a million dollar business out of boredom. To see whether they're the real deal or not, so then that way we can learn from it, we can model from it, so then that way we can draw inspiration to do what we love best. Make sure you guys stay until the end. Hello friends, my name is Wilson, your friend in helping you build a thriving small business and a profitable food business. Guys, if you enjoyed this type of reaction videos, make sure you smash the like button because this just shows me and Jason this is the type of video you enjoy. So then that way we can create more of these for you. Now without further ado, let's dive right in. I was just going to be retired and start doing some more traveling and so on. I ended up being bored and deciding this is crazy, I'm too young to do nothing. I love him already. I am too young to do nothing. I am too young to do nothing and look at him guys. If he can say that, man, what excuse do you have, man, oh, man, oh, man. And by the way, I'm going to send this to my dad. He needs to definitely watch this video if not just that opening is gold. I would say telecommunications lawyer working for a large telecommunications company and I retired in 2008, I believe. I sometimes tell people there's only so much yoga you can do and so we started kicking around possibilities to start a project. We did a little research and decided we would give it a try and see if Washington could support gym focused distillery. My name? I love what he's doing right now and the way he is approaching this. And by the way guys, in your state and in your province, wherever you guys are, there are programs, government programs that actually give you subsidies and grant. What does that mean? That means it's free money for you to invest in these types of distillery, for you to invest in research and development. There is a program in BC and there must be other types of programs out there especially if you're creating something like that. This gives you back grants and reimbursement. So definitely make sure you guys do your research if this is down your lane. I'm Usselton. I'm one of the co-owners and distillers here at New Columbia Distillers. Michael is my father-in-law. We were at a distillery located in Washington, DC. We make primarily gyms, rye whiskey, then a linem vermouth and a Italian style bitter. We're producing about 8,000 cases of gin a year, the vermouth and some of the other products are on top of that. We probably jointly put in about a million and a half dollars. Holy crap, that is a lot of money guys. No, do not put in a million and a half if this is your first time doing something. And of course this guy can afford it because he's a lawyer of a big telecommunication company. And obviously he can afford this kind of gamble. But if you're first starting off, do not pour in a million dollars in creating a restaurant business. Guys, do not do that. Unless you know what you're doing of course, right? And by the way, a million and a half isn't a lot of money when it comes down to it because of these machinery. And I'm pretty sure he has a lot of subsidies that went back to him. And it's good to actually overestimate and over prepare with your cash flow. So then that way you're not going to be forced out of business for random reasons. And for example, if you're to create any type of restaurant, just to give you a range out there, $200,000 to $300,000, that's a typical range of a setup for a restaurant. And that's already a very good level of restaurant already. And obviously that ranges to 500 to a million dollars depending on the type of restaurant you want to create, how many seedings, how big, is it going to be a drive-thru, whatnot, whatnot. So overall, it ranges depending on what you want. Half of that was equipment, a little less than half was the build-out. And the remainder was we had to have some operating capital. That was based on how much we could afford to lose. How much could we afford to flush down the toilet? I love. This guy is full of wisdom and clearly he is full of wisdom. He is only putting in money he's willing to lose and afford to lose. This is something not a lot of people understand as the concept of running a business. When it comes down to running a business, we're banking on a lot of different factors. Especially if you don't know what you're doing, you're pretty much banking everything on something that might just go to zero. So definitely make sure you guys equip yourself with the best knowledge so that in that way you increase your chances of success. And for you watching this video already, I know you're one of those that are increasing your level of success just by doing the research and just by watching this video. So kudos for you. And something that didn't work. Unlike most other cities at that point, Washington did not have any distilleries and had not had one since before prohibition. Wow. The distillery really was an absolutely naked warehouse. All of the systems had to be put in. You know basically a blank canvas of an old warehouse to an actual production facility took about a year. And you know we used that year to not only do the construction but also to get all of our licensing in place. There's a lot of lots and lots and lots of paperwork, not only locally but with the federal government. And it isn't just... See that's the thing. When you're building a restaurant, obviously it's not going to take you as long because you're not selling liquor. However, there must be a lot of time that is put into preparation and you must prepare for that. So if you are having thoughts and wanting to open a restaurant in the next year, in the next two years, now is the time to actually take action. Now is the time for you to prepare yourself. Now is the time for you to equip yourself so then that way when you are ready to open, you are all set to go. And speaking of that, if you guys are wanting more additional training on that then definitely check out the free masterclass below where I share with you how do you come up with a profitable idea? How do you go to market and validate that and how do you market so then that way you can create something that is going to be able to make you back your investment. So definitely check it out in the link below. It started. This is a highly regulated business, but it's not a business unless we can sell. At the time we couldn't sell anybody a bottle directly. We could only sell wholesale to bars, restaurants from the first stores. The laws are changed so that we're able to do a lot more things. So we can sell bottles, we can give people taste, we can make cocktails. At this point we're up in the neighborhood of a million dollars revenue a year. It's been great fun and I really enjoy it and it gives a real opportunity for creativity. Things are working well and our presence in DC is now pretty well established. We will probably try to expand a little bit our distribution. Right now our brand is only mid-Atlantic and a couple of stray states. A few more states won't hurt us and I think just continue on kind of what we've been doing and maybe come up with another gen or two. Everybody needs a new gen. You know at some point I will probably try retiring again, but not immediately. Not immediately. I love it. He's definitely the real deal guys. You can tell it's all about the mindset, the mindset of always being a learner, the mindset of not being afraid to go out there and do something you're passionate about and truly that is really the mindset you need in order for you to be successful. When you're creating something that is your own, something that you're proud of, you can see why he is still willing to put in the work to make this happen for him. So guys, I hope you enjoyed this video. Once again, if you guys enjoyed this, make sure you guys smash the like button so that not only once again, we know this is the type of video you guys enjoyed. Otherwise, I'll see you guys in the next video.