We sit down and have a margi with Jarrad Bell, co-founder of our favourite cocktail mixer brand Mr. Consistent, who started at TVM back in July 2020 and has since grown to have 1,500+ stockists Australia-wide, including MYER and Dan Murphys.
You’ve started Mr. Consistent at the beginning of Covid. What made you jump from having a design agency to a premium mixer business?
To be honest I designed the label, the logo and brand while I had the agency. I happened to contract to Jeremy's former business The Collective. When the Pandemic hit, most of my clients who where hospitality venues had nothing to market, so I focused my energy into this.
What advice would you give someone juggling a side business and full-time work who wants to take the next step?
I've had 3-4 business, while working full-time at another business or running the agency. It's all about passion. I don't do it for the money, I do it because I enjoy designing and marketing and making people feel good when they have an experience with something I've produced.
When developing a new brand, what are the key elements you think make an impression?
How will people interact with your brand, how will it make them feel when they see it or feel it?
Building trust through design and brand is crucial. I always tell people to think of your favourite restaurant, you trust you're going to get the experience you want from them, but you trust McDonalds the same way. It's not the same experience, but you trust they will deliver your expectation of them.
Your team has grown in the last year. What advice would you give to someone considering their first hire?
This has been a whirlwind for me. Learning about hiring and managing. I would say, try to connect on a personal level. Understand their goals and dreams and building trust. Nine times out of ten you are hiring someone to do the job you've been doing and wanting them to do it at the level you did it, or expect it at. Ask hard questions, ask fun questions and ask personal questions.
What does attending TVM contribute to your business? Do you come for sales, feedback, exposure etc?
When we kicked off, we found it hard to break the retail market. Bottle shops didn't get it, retailers kinda got it and most stockists were friends. TVM gave us the opportunity to talk directly to the consumer outside of social media and get to know us as owners and lovers of cocktails. It also offered revenue which as a startup is exciting. It's now less about the dollars, and now building the connection with the customers.
What are your top three productivity tips?
Do what makes you happy often so your never saying you wish you were doing that instead of working. For me that's surfing or spending time with my daughter and wife.
Set up your calendar well and block out time
When you're in the zone, make the most of it.
Your three favourite apps on your phone?
- I'm basic as- Spotify (I always always have music on)
- Youtube (Love consuming cool creator content)
- Sushi Honba (Burleigh locals know)