Advice Line with Fawn Weaver of Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey (April 2024)
1Digest
This episode of How I Built This Lab features Fawn Weaver, founder of Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey, as a guest mentor. The episode focuses on the importance of storytelling for early-stage entrepreneurs and how to effectively communicate a brand's story. Fawn emphasizes the need for authenticity and heart in storytelling, encouraging founders to connect with their own souls and share their stories in a way that resonates with others. She also advises on how to break down a brand's story into manageable sections and tailor it to different audiences. The episode features three callers: Kevin Orida, co-founder of Puente Coffee Co., who seeks guidance on articulating his brand's story; Elizabeth Crossywright, founder of With Love Darling, who wants to scale her direct-to-consumer jewelry business through storytelling; and Joanne Bang, founder of Eat Jo Pie, who seeks advice on generating more demand through social media. Fawn and Guy offer practical advice to each caller, emphasizing the importance of owning online real estate, building an authentic brand story, and leveraging social media as an additive to a strong foundation. The episode concludes with a call to action for listeners to submit their own business stories and questions for future episodes.
Outlines
Introduction
This Chapter introduces the How I Built This Lab, a new project where former guests of the show offer advice to entrepreneurs. The episode's guest mentor is Fawn Weaver, founder of Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey, known for her storytelling abilities. The episode aims to help founders refine their brand stories.
Fawn Weaver: Storytelling from the Heart
This Chapter delves into Fawn Weaver's perspective on brand storytelling. She emphasizes the importance of authenticity and heart, stating that a story must resonate with the founder's own soul to connect with others. Fawn introduces the concept of 'why' in storytelling, urging founders to answer the question of why their brand matters and how it adds value to the world.
Caller 1: Kevin Orida, Puente Coffee Co.
This Chapter features Kevin Orida, co-founder of Puente Coffee Co., a coffee trailer business in Austin, Texas. Kevin shares his personal story of growing up on a coffee farm in Honduras, highlighting the rich cultural and personal connection he has to coffee. He seeks guidance on effectively communicating his brand's story and mission. Fawn and Guy encourage Kevin to embrace his natural storytelling abilities and break down his story into manageable sections, emphasizing the importance of connecting with his audience on a personal level.
Caller 2: Elizabeth Crossywright, With Love Darling
This Chapter features Elizabeth Crossywright, founder of With Love Darling, a jewelry brand that produces in developing countries and supports vulnerable communities. Elizabeth shares her story of transitioning from a career in the Danish army to founding a jewelry business with a strong social mission. She seeks advice on scaling her direct-to-consumer business through storytelling and navigating the challenge of multiple compelling messages. Fawn and Guy advise Elizabeth to focus on the unique aspects of her jewelry and the positive impact it has on the communities she works with, suggesting she leverage customer testimonials and authentic storytelling to build brand awareness.
Caller 3: Joanne Bang, Eat Jo Pie
This Chapter features Joanne Bang, founder of Eat Jo Pie, a seasonal pie business in Orange County, California. Joanne shares her personal story of discovering her passion for pecan pie and developing her own unique recipe. She seeks advice on generating more demand through social media and scaling her business. Fawn and Guy emphasize the importance of owning online real estate and building a strong brand identity. They advise Joanne to rebrand her business with a more ownable name, suggesting 'Joe Bang Pies' as a strong option. They also encourage her to leverage social media as an additive to her core brand, focusing on building authentic connections with her audience and collaborating with local influencers.
Keywords
Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey
Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey is a Tennessee whiskey brand founded by Fawn Weaver. The brand is known for its unique story, which centers around Nearest Green, a formerly enslaved man who taught Jack Daniel how to distill whiskey. Uncle Nearest is committed to honoring Green's legacy and promoting diversity and inclusion in the whiskey industry.
Brand Storytelling
Brand storytelling is the art of crafting and sharing a compelling narrative about a brand. It involves connecting with the brand's values, mission, and history to create a story that resonates with consumers. Effective brand storytelling can build emotional connections, increase brand loyalty, and drive sales.
Direct-to-Consumer
Direct-to-consumer (D2C) is a business model where companies sell their products directly to consumers, bypassing traditional retail channels. D2C brands often have a strong online presence and focus on building relationships with their customers. This model allows for greater control over the brand narrative and customer experience.
Social Media Marketing
Social media marketing involves using social media platforms to promote a brand, engage with customers, and drive sales. It encompasses a range of strategies, including content creation, community building, influencer marketing, and paid advertising. Effective social media marketing requires a deep understanding of the target audience and the platform's algorithms.
Online Real Estate
Online real estate refers to the digital assets that a brand owns, such as domain names, websites, and social media handles. Owning online real estate is crucial for building a strong brand identity and ensuring that consumers can easily find and connect with the brand. It also provides greater control over the brand's online presence and messaging.
Entrepreneurship
Entrepreneurship is the process of starting and running a business, typically involving innovation, risk-taking, and the creation of new products or services. Entrepreneurs are individuals who identify opportunities, create solutions, and build businesses to address market needs.
Scaling a Business
Scaling a business involves growing a company's operations, revenue, and market share. It often requires strategic planning, investment, and the development of efficient processes to handle increased demand and complexity. Scaling can be a challenging but rewarding process for entrepreneurs.
Authenticity
Authenticity in branding refers to the genuine expression of a brand's values, personality, and purpose. It involves being true to oneself and avoiding contrived or inauthentic representations. Authentic brands build trust with consumers and foster stronger relationships.
Customer Testimonials
Customer testimonials are statements from satisfied customers about their positive experiences with a brand or product. They can be powerful marketing tools, as they provide social proof and build credibility for a brand. Testimonials can be collected through reviews, surveys, or direct feedback from customers.
Influencer Marketing
Influencer marketing involves collaborating with individuals who have a significant following and influence within a specific niche or industry. Brands partner with influencers to promote their products or services to their audience, leveraging the influencer's credibility and reach to drive awareness and sales.
Q&A
What are the key elements of effective brand storytelling, according to Fawn Weaver?
Fawn emphasizes the importance of authenticity and heart in storytelling. She believes that a story must resonate with the founder's own soul to connect with others. She also highlights the importance of answering the 'why' question: why does the brand matter and how does it add value to the world?
How can early-stage entrepreneurs effectively communicate their brand's story to different audiences?
Fawn advises breaking down a brand's story into manageable sections, each with a clear beginning, middle, and end. She encourages founders to tailor their storytelling to different audiences, focusing on the aspects of the story that are most relevant and engaging to each group.
Why is owning online real estate crucial for building a successful brand?
Owning online real estate, such as domain names, websites, and social media handles, provides greater control over a brand's online presence and messaging. It also ensures that consumers can easily find and connect with the brand, building a strong brand identity and driving traffic to the brand's core assets.
How can entrepreneurs leverage social media to enhance their brand's reach and generate more demand?
Fawn and Guy advise using social media as an additive to a strong brand foundation, rather than relying on it as the primary platform. They encourage entrepreneurs to build authentic connections with their audience, engage in organic content creation, and collaborate with influencers to expand their reach.
What are some practical tips for entrepreneurs who are seeking to scale their businesses through storytelling?
Fawn and Guy suggest focusing on the unique aspects of a brand's product or service, leveraging customer testimonials to build credibility, and exploring partnerships with organizations that align with the brand's values. They also emphasize the importance of creating a compelling narrative that resonates with consumers and drives them to take action.
Show Notes
In case you missed it, we’re rerunning our Advice Line launch episode from a few weeks ago. Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey founder Fawn Weaver joins Guy on the Advice Line, where they answer questions from three early-stage entrepreneurs about telling their brand story.
In this episode, we’ll meet Kevin, the owner of a coffee trailer and roastery who grew up on a coffee farm in Honduras. Then Elisabeth, whose jewelry company aims to make a difference in the developing world. And finally, Joanne, a home baker looking to turn her love of pecan pie into a full-time business.
If you’d like to be featured on a future Advice Line episode, leave us a one minute message that tells us about your business and a specific question you’d like answered. Send a voice memo to hibt@id.wondery.com or call 1-800-433-1298.
And check out the origin story of Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey, told by Fawn on the show in 2021.
This episode was produced by Chris Maccini with music by Ramtin Arablouei. It was edited by John Isabella. Our audio engineer was Neal Rauch.
You can follow HIBT on X & Instagram, and sign up for Guy’s free newsletter at guyraz.com.
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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