Nick Araco JR’s Post

The Unexpected Business Strategy: DANCING... Lead to explosive growth. For the past five years, Stuart (a store associate at TAU) and I have turned our business relationship into something extraordinary. Stuart took over (and began managing) our account 3 years ago, Since then, every week, I personally hand-deliver his Mid-Day Squares order. But there's a twist— We always have a dance-off in the grocery aisles! This isn't just a quirky ritual; it's the cornerstone of our friendship. We decided to treat business as a friendship first and a transaction second. This approach has exploded our sales at Les Marches TAU. Customers know us as the "Dynamic Duo" or the "Great Duo," eagerly anticipating our weekly dance. The joy and camaraderie we share have made work energizing and engaging. We've realized that by focusing on building genuine relationships, we've not only had more fun but also seen a remarkable increase in sales. The moral of the story? When you invest in real friendships in business, the results are profound. You enjoy the journey, create lasting memories, and yes, you sell more products as a byproduct. Let's make business less about transactions and more about building meaningful connections. Because when you do, everyone wins. LFG!!! #retail #grocery #sales #chocolate #canada #smallbusiness #cpg

This article is so great. Big shout out to Kindell Tolmie, Seth Holan, Wild Birds Unlimited, Inc. and, of course, to our wonderful friends at Franchise Business Review

𝟵 𝗬𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘀, 𝟵 𝗖𝗵𝗲𝗲𝗿𝘀: 𝗥𝗲𝗳𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗻 𝗠𝘆 𝗝𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗲𝘆 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗲𝗲𝗿 𝗜𝗻𝗱𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘆 I’m a nostalgic person. Each year, around my work anniversary, I reflect on the many moons I’ve spent at Mark Anthony Brands International AKA The Mike's Hard Lemonade Company. I ask myself: Am I still growing? Am I still learning? And I also like to ask myself–𝑨𝒎 𝑰 𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒇𝒖𝒏? 𝐒𝐨 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭, 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐦𝐲 𝟗 𝐟𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐦𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝: 𝟏. 👨👧 𝐅𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫/𝐃𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐃𝐮𝐨: Buyer meetings with my dad (a distributor general sales manager) while I was in my first role as a Key Account Representative. The novelty of a father/daughter chain duo was always a hit.  𝟐. 🚀 𝐍𝐞𝐰 𝐁𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐖𝐢𝐧𝐬: Winning truly NEW business on a large scale, most notable for me was selling White Claw into Whole Foods North Atlantic, Dollar General, and Trader Joe’s for the first time.  𝟑. 🐶 𝐅𝐮𝐧 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩𝐬: An Amoskeag kick-off meeting for the Mike’s X ASPCA partnership where I rode into the sales meeting room on an electric scooter with the distributor founder’s dog (Biscuit) running behind me. 𝟒. ⛰️ 𝐓𝐞𝐚𝐦 𝐁𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠: Hiking Camelback during my first Specialty Team meeting, realizing that I now had a team for the first time in my career. 𝟓. 🎤 𝐊𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐨𝐤𝐞 𝐍𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬: Trying karaoke bars in 12+ cities. My favorite is still D Street in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.  𝟔. 🌟 𝐒𝐗𝐒𝐖: Hosting CPG entrepreneurs from Gopuff’s Put Me On program at SXSW.  𝟕. 🚗 𝐄𝐩𝐢𝐜 𝐒𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐩𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐬: Running the COOLEST consumer sweepstakes—White Claw X Tesla, White Claw X Yacht Week in Croatia, Cayman Jack X the Amazon River. The last two are not specific memories but rather important themes: 𝟖. 🤝 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞: The beer industry attracts some of the most hilarious, charming, and bright people. I have countless examples of people I’ve worked with who have taught me, influenced me, and changed my life for the better. I’m so grateful for that. 𝟗. 🌍 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲: We’re not saving the world, we’re just making it a little more enjoyable! What are some of your favorite memories in your career?

Our Homans Associate Excellence Shoutout this week goes to Steve Bartolo! Steve was nominated for this feature by four different employees! Nominations: 1. With over 20+ years of dedicated service to Homans, Steve is a top performer in all aspects of his career. A true partner with Family, Friends, Customers, and associates. Working alongside Steve, you will gain the hunger to be great - as it radiates day in and day out from him. 2. Dedicated Employee for 23 years, great customer service, product knowledge 3. He always gives 100% to the customer, he takes every quote personally. Every time a customer brings an issue to his attention, he will solve it and reassure the customer the entire time. 4. He's a Homans institution. Fun facts about Steve: 1.  What do you do in your free time? I love to play guitar and cook creative meals for my family.   2.  Do you have any pets? If so, tell us about them! Yes, one dog. His name is Wilbur (he was a rescue from the Charlotte's web litter). 3.  What is your favorite movie/show? Back to the Future. 4.  What's the best place you've ever visited? Why? Napa Valley because I was able to taste the grapes where the wine was made and spectacular views of the vineyards.   5.  What skill do you think everyone should have? Basic lifesaving skills.

Having another successful Discovery Day with Schooley Mitchell Franchise Opportunity!!! 💡 While we certainly take this opportunity to educate prospective Franchisee Candidates on our model, did you know that we often have Franchise Consultants and Brokers who also join our Discovery Day's? 👤 If you're a Franchise Consultant who's looking to learn more about Schooley Mitchell, send me a message and lets get you registered for one of our Virtual Discovery Day's! #SchooleyMitchell #Franchise #Franchising #DiscoveryDay

SUCCESS! How do you celebrate a big win? Personally, I thank God, and then I get back to work. Our client secured an order from Walmart for 100,000 pieces of each of their two products. Reaching that level of distribution is a huge win. For them and for us! This client had been struggling to break into Walmart for a while. Their product was good, but they were getting rejected BECAUSE of their packaging. We got to work. We completely redesigned the look and feel of the packaging so we could grab the customers' attention with the product's main features. The results were terrific. So satisfying Have you ever worked with a client and helped them achieve a major goal, like getting their products into a big retail store? When they came to me, Moments like that are why I love what I do - helping clients solve problems, seize opportunities, and hit major milestones through strategic branding and packaging solutions. Maybe I'll celebrate with a high-five, too. How do you celebrate a big win? 

et every step count this week. Write it down, think about it and take actions. Make Monday Matter. Have a great week ahead. #camillo #outsourcingpartner #newweek #monday #businessprocess #businessidea #businessplan

Today, I am excited to share a new chapter in my career: I am taking on the responsibility for Vinventions NAM (North America), in addition to my current roles as CEO for South America, China, and South Africa. This is an enormous challenge, but one that fills me with pride and motivation to keep building. First, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to Denis Van Roey (my former boss), who trusted me, always challenged me, and gave me the opportunity to grow within this organization. My thanks also go to the Vinventions Board of Shareholders, including the company’s founder Marc Noël and the Chairman of the Board, Patrick Mathieu, who supported this decision. And of course, thanks to my new boss, Axel Vuylsteke, current CEO of Vinventions, for his immediate trust and support. This journey would not have been possible without the unwavering support of my team in South America. Since I joined Vinventions in 2016, they have demonstrated a level of commitment and professionalism that has allowed me to progress, learn, and evolve. Success is never achieved alone, and without you, I would not have reached this point. As Henry Ford said, “Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success.” I also want to acknowledge several people I have met along this Vinventions journey since 2016, from whom I have learned a great deal: Nagib, Malcolm, Mark C, Olav, Justin, Stephane, Fred, Gerard, Stan, Heino, Jay, Alejandro and of course, my great mentor Juan Carlos. Also to my Vistage 202 group. Now, the challenge is clear: to lead the development of Vinventions in North America, to get back on track with the plan we set out, and to position our company once again as a key player in closure systems for the wine industry and now also for spirits. We will relaunch Nomacorc, launch SÜBR, and consolidate our leadership in screwcaps with Vintop. This will be a significant challenge, but as Walt Disney said, “All our dreams can come true if we have the courage to pursue them.” On a personal note, I must say that none of these steps would have been possible without the unwavering support of my wife and children. They are my strength, my center, and they give me the drive to embrace new challenges. This new opportunity will take us to live in California for 3 years, and together, we trust this experience will be positive for all of us. Finally, I believe that being open to change, facing the unknown, and continuing to learn are the keys to personal and professional growth. As Albert Einstein said, “Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving.” And with all the support surrounding me, I will keep moving forward. Thank you to everyone who has been part of this journey. I am ready to face whatever comes next, with the conviction that the journey is always more important than the destination.

This week we’re celebrating 4 YEARS of atōst 🎉🥂 What an adventure so far! It certainly hasn’t been easy but I wouldn’t trade it for the world. Some days I feel like it’s been 100 years, others like I just started yesterday. I’m so grateful to be on this journey with Kyle Pressman Here are some memories I’m reflecting on as I look back on the past 4 years…. ✨   2020 The year we made our dream a reality. The first year of atōst holds so many incredible memories for me. There were many long days and nights at the facility developing flavors and recipes which led us to selling our very first bottle on November 1, 2020. 2021 Our second year in business we did everything we could to get in front of consumers. Whether it was at our tasting room in Golden, CO, out at an event, or farmers markets throughout Denver - anything to introduce atōst to as many people as possible. 2022 After many months of self-distribution, we finally partnered with our first distributor and began hiring employees to join our team and bring atōst into so many new places throughout the state of Colorado. We innovated a lot and launched some amazing seasonal flavors. 2023 One of our most pivotal years yet. We’re proud to have received a Double Gold medal in the San Francisco Spirits Competition. Our aperitif was judged by industry experts and tasted next to global giants. We also had the opportunity to move our production and operations back to our home and produce right next to the farms we source from in Southern California. 2024 Our family grew by one as we welcomed our sweet baby girl to the world. atōst also grew and expanded into major local retailers such as Whole Foods, Albertsons, Vons, and Pavilions. It’s a dream come true to see atōst evolving each and every day. Our team is growing and we are just getting started. I can’t wait for the next 4 years and beyond 🥂 #anniversary #entrepreneur #businessgrowth #gratitude #femalefounder

An optimized Supply Chain serves the customer best!!