You may have noticed – hopefully – that there is a book available to buy through this site.
The book titled Shake, Serve, Repeat – how I built a business from a hobby tells the story of how I built the Cocktail Shaker Boys business and ran it for 15 years before selling it in October 2024.
So, is it a cocktail book?
No, it’s not. It’s written as a self-help business book for anyone who is considering turning their hobby, their passion into a business. It’s a big step to take something you love doing and want to get paid for into a business. It requires a different set of skills. Some you will have already and some you may have to work on. But isn’t it a fantastic idea to consider earning an income or making a living from something you already enjoy doing? It’s got to be the best of all worlds, to spring out of bed in the morning looking forward to doing the thing you love.
What’s the style of the book?
I’ve written it as an autobiographical account of my journey with the cocktail business. From where the idea came from, to the importance of choosing a great name and marketing to ‘spread the word.’
However, even I know that people won’t buy a book just because I’ve written it! So, I’ve written it as a business book, outlining the lessons I learned along the way. Hopefully it will make your path easier. Hints, tips and good sound advice packed into a small book will make your experience better. You want to spend as much time as possible doing your thing, rather than being a business person. Spoiler alert. You will need to be good at both – ultimately.
Other contributors
Many other people, have of course trodden the same path as me. Turned something they love doing into a small business. I managed to persuade 4 of them to contribute their experiences to add colour, contrast and depth to the book.
2 of them went all in and made their hobby business their full-time income. Nigel gave up a good job in one of our high street financial institutions to become a wedding photographer. He ended up changing his business model fundamentally by specialising in dog photography. The book explains why Nigel took this significant step.
Melody took her talent for baking into a cake making business. She also changed her model fairly substantially from baking all types of celebration cakes initially into just doing wedding cakes. Again her story and how and why can be read in the book.
Unlike Nigel and Melody, I ran the Cocktail Shaker Boys part-time. I already had a full-time consultancy business. Susannah wanted to switch from her job in I.T. training into running a fitness class having been a participant. One day she was asked to help out by running the session as the instructor was taking a holiday. And now Susannah runs the business. It’s funny how life takes you on funny turns and how opportunities are always out there. Finally Carol always had a talent for baking and had many years experience in hospitality. She used this experience to start her baking business, selling items such as small cakes and flapjacks at local food fairs. It’s all explained in the book.
How big is the book?
I talk to people who feel intimidated with the idea of reading a book sometimes. Particularly a business book. The good news is that (if you read at the same speed as me) it will take you about 4 1/2 hours to read the book cover to cover. That’s not long is it?
It’s intended to be a light-hearted story with plenty of anecdotes to explain the points made in the book. You can buy directly from the website here. Alternatively you can buy online from Amazon (there’s a Kindle version too of course), or from any online book seller. If you buy through the website, I can send you a signed copy.
Either way, let me know what you think once you’re read it.