Cam Heaps, who launched Steam Whistle Brewing in 2000.
Cool, mellow, refreshing - all of the beer company labels apply to Cam Heaps, the surfboarding chief executive officer of a Toronto-based microbrewery. But beneath his casual exterior, Heaps harbours a keen enthusiasm for business. He launched Steam Whistle Brewing in 2000, when he was only 25. The brewery now boasts one of the bestselling premium beers in Ontario, and even expanded into B.C. in the midst of the recent recession.
Here's how Heaps ensures that while others are crying in their beer, he and his company are busy selling it:
"Anything in our lives, if we want to be the best at it, we must focus on it. So if Steam Whistle focuses on doing that one thing every day - making world-class Pilsner - it not only makes for a quality product but a great work environment, because we all know what we're doing every day. We never wake up going, "Geez, what are we going to do? What are we going to make? What are we going to represent?" It's all straightforward: We want to make the most respected premium beer in Canada.
"Most of our competition can't resist the temptation to extend their product line. Coming out with a new product line creates a lot of excitement and gives your sales a boost, but in the long run it's not exactly strengthening your core brand. You take most of the successful beer brands that have been around for a couple hundred years - your Heinekens, your Becks, your Bitburgers - most of those breweries just focus on one beer.
"The big breweries have grown up fighting for half a point of market share. We've been forced to be more creative in connecting with the customer. We deliver the beer in vintage vehicles. For people having a party or those who want a keg for the backyard, we bring the beer right to their door. And we have a vintage school bus we've retrofitted; we send that to the bars in the summer to bring their staff down for a tour and to educate them on what we're all about.
"We're making a premium product; we spare no expense. So we never put the product on sale; we never lower our price. We price it at the high end of the premium segment. Yet we're still growing at double digits. I think people, even in a really tough economic time, still look to reward themselves for a hard day's work.
"Once a week, I try to sit down with my partner and management team to go over the sales figures as well as the industry data. You're definitely tracking performance - that's a must-do - going over the various sales results to identify where you're on track and on course, where you're ahead of schedule, ahead of target, and where you're behind. And if you're able to do that each week, then, come the end of the year, you will hit your numbers.
"We have a sales force of about 12 individuals who are out there every day meeting with bar owners, managers and staff. We generally hire veteran salespeople. Most of them we've worked with before in previous iterations of our careers, or they've worked in the industry, so they don't require a ton of training. They're fairly independent in their operations. We co-ordinate programs and support them here at the brewery, but as far as training, most of them come as veterans.
"We put a ton of money into staff events and appreciation. We have a profit-sharing program where we take 5 per cent of all pretax profit each year and distribute it amongst the staff. We have an employee share ownership program too, so a lot of the staff are now investors. We've just started a reward program: Each employee who's been here five years will be rewarded with a surf trip down south. We'll take them down, show them a good time. And as well, they get a case of beer every week.
"We spend a lot of time working directly with the staff. We don't just walk by the staff; we try to get a feel for how they're doing, how they're feeling. Each day I try to get around to say hi to every staff member in the brewery. A group of employees with a balanced life is far more productive than any group of employees who work 80 hours a week.
"Everyone is encouraged and allowed to challenge the thought of the senior management team. We view ourselves as equal to the employees; we all subscribe to the same strategy. We try to populate the building with people who are passionate and capable in what they do. So if they have a thought, at any point in time, we view it as valuable. Not all of their ideas are going to be good ones - that goes for the operators as well.
"One of the things I try to do is travel. It helps me get away from the business, relax and balance my life, and also allows me to get a clear vision of the business. I take January off, and usually go down to the Caribbean to do some surfing. It's a great time to take holidays, especially in the Canadian beer business, because it's not a very busy month. Getting away for a whole month means I can really look with a fresh set of eyes at the business when I get back."