Today we’d like to introduce you to Clint Bradley.
Hi Clint, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
As many things do, this started around a table. We were hanging out with our friends, having a few beers, and thought, “this is funny; we should do a podcast!” We then started up a beer review podcast called 3 Beers In. After meeting several brewery owners, brewers, and other industry people through our podcast, Ross and I started homebrewing. We started making some really solid beers, so people started asking us to make them batches for events. We brewed for about 7 years out of my garage, and somewhere in there, Ross one day turned and said, “Man, I just want to wake up and make beer.” I responded, “Ok,” and started working on a business plan and raising funds. A few years later, 3rd Level Brewing was up and running. We like to think that name reflects our love of nerd things, and our journey: 1st level: podcast, 2nd level: homebrewing, and 3rd Level Brewing.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
No. As with any small business, there are things you can’t plan for or account for. We’ve put blood, sweat, tears and an immense amount of time into trying to establish our name in the Round Rock community, and it feels like it has been much slower for people to recognize us than we anticipated. We struggle with keeping beer stocked, cashflow, and being able to pay ourselves even to this day. We love what we do; we just wish we could stabilize and make a little for ourselves.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
We love video games, anime, comic books, and all things nerd. We are proud to have a space where people can come in, have a great beer, and chat about any of those topics. It’s one of the most satisfying elements of the community we’re building. Some of the best comments we receive other than “great beer” is “it’s great to have somewhere I can come and talk about this nerd stuff.”
Before we let you go, we’ve got to ask if you have any advice for those who are just starting out?
Make sure you love it. It is not an easy road to start a business of any kind, so you need to be able to weather through the bad times. Also, appreciate the small victories. I struggle with that, but it’s great if you can because it will help you persevere.
From a more technical view, when you’re forecasting out revenue, be very conservative and make sure you can still cover your expected expenses.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://3rdlevelbrewing.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/3rdlevelbrew/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/3rdLevelBrew/
