I love meeting new people and learning about how they navigate their finances. I especially love hearing stories of people following their dreams while doing so financially responsibly. I’ve done two articles in the past – looking at a friend who plays music full time in a band, and looking at an author friend that was in between publishing books. I’ve got a good friend who has recently moved into a new role – working full-time at a brewery. He’s got a really cool story and I wanted to pass it along! Similar to brewing beer, you have to follow a process, and that’s how this post is laid out.

His background

Tyler, like most of us, didn’t have a great sense of what he wanted to do post college while he was there. Like many of us, he choose a practical major, for him it was finance. Sensing that he was good at business and numbers, Tyler ended up graduating with a degree in Corporate Finance and set out to find a job in the working world. Tyler is from the state of Georgia originally, and as such, was able to take advantage of the Hope scholarship, a scholarship funded by the lottery that allows students to go to college for free. Tyler graduated with no student loan debt, which is something he made mention of as helping to set him up for long-term success. While in college (and post 21 years old), Tyler also discovered a great love for two things: good coffee and good beer. It took Tyler a few months to find a job post college, but eventually landed a good job working as an analyst for a local university.

Step 1: His dream

Although seemingly everything was going well; a good paying job, no student loan debt, a great degree obtained, Tyler a few years into the corporate working world found himself not loving it. A lot of us don’t love our jobs, but this was a little different for Tyler. He found himself spending more and more time around beer – whether hanging out at breweries, travelling to see breweries, reading about beer, talking about beer, trying new beers with friends, he was spending a lot of time and energy around beer. He wondered what it would look like to do beer full time and decided that it was something he wanted to try. He didn’t love the corporate world and thanks to no student loan debt to worry about that would keep him in the corporate world for a large paycheck, he decided that it was his dream to work at a brewery.

Step 2: His preparation

What I really liked about Tyler’s story is the fact that he didn’t just quit his corporate job right away and start looking for any brewery job he could find. Instead, he made a plan for a career change, and it was one that took him a few years to achieve. That’s right, after deciding he wanted to work full-time at a brewery, he didn’t achieve his goal for about 4 years. He knew that a brewery job would likely result in a pay cut, especially one from his corporate job. He also knew that the right brewery job would be hard to come by – he wanted to make sure it was a good position at a good company that was a good fit for both.

After naming his dream to work full time at a brewery, Tyler set goals for himself that would allow him to realize his dream. Firstly, he realized that in the long run it would benefit him to get a MBA (Masters of Business Administration). Tyler hadn’t fully defined his dream; he just knew he wanted to be at a brewery. To expand his options, Tyler figured more education would help; whether to get more of a back office job or maybe even for one day to start his own brewery as an entrepreneur. Tyler also realized that a pay cut would mean less money coming in, and so he also set a number for himself of an amount to save up in a savings account. Finally, he set a goal to continue networking in the brewery space, both in his own city and the surrounding area, and to get some more knowledge and experience about the industry.

Step 3: His path

After defining his dream and setting goals to help him achieve them, Tyler set out to take action on his goals. For more education, Tyler took advantage of the fact that he was working at a university to get tuition reimbursement for a MBA. The MBA program at his school is actually pretty expensive, so Tyler leveraged that tuition reimbursement and earned a MBA from a public university in the area. By doing so, along with his pay and some side hustles, Tyler was able to graduate (once again) debt free from school. This whole process took about 2 or so years and Tyler spent most of his time either working, at school, or studying.

For more brewing experience, Tyler, through a connection, got a job at a local brewery in town. He worked first as a beertender, and then as a manager of the event space. This job was very part-time and flexible, the true sign of a side hustle. What’s cool about getting a job in the industry was that Tyler a) earned money to save up b) got experience in a brewery and c) was able to network with beer makers and beer lovers (who were often one and the same). Tyler did this for a few years and it really set him up to achieve his goal of working full time in the industry.

As Tyler was still working full time, and had a side hustle, he was able to save each month until he reached that number in his savings account that he had hoped to. This is a great call – as he knew he’d take a pay cut, he wanted a nice cushion in place to protect him financially.

All throughout his journey, Tyler was preparing, whether financially, educationally or socially, for his dream job.

Step 4: Making the jump and where he landed

I just love how much planning and preparation Tyler put into meeting his goals and achieving his dreams. This whole process took about 4 years, and Tyler stayed diligent the whole time. Of course he had some tough times, but stayed focused on his dream. Finally, after earning a MBA, reaching his savings goal and feeling knowledgeable enough in the industry, Tyler started looking for jobs.

Having already made lots of connections in the industry, Tyler had a great head start in finding a job. Although just like any job, he had to search around, apply, and interview before landing on the right one. His current employer, a brewery outside of Asheville, North Carolina, had a lot of good things going for it. It is a relatively newer brewery, but one that’s quickly made a name for itself with quality beer. Tyler saw an opportunity to get in with a growing company with a promising future and went for it.

Tyler has been there a few months and really loves it! He’s working as a tasting room manager, which gives him exposure to basically all aspects of the operation. He’s learning something new everyday, and loves coming in every morning. The people are great, and the beer is even better!

As mentioned, he did take a pay cut, but has continued to side hustle to ensure that ends meet and that he can pay his bills. Having worked and made good connections in the finance world, he occasionally does some side consulting work a few hours here and there. He’s able to do that remotely so it doesn’t interfere with his day job. Although he doesn’t like to think about it, Tyler did mention that he had a good backup plan and could easily jump back into the finance world, especially with his experience and a MBA. Tyler really planned this whole thing out well!

To wrap it up, I wanted to summarize by calling out the 4 things that he did that really impressed me.

• Made a good plan – Tyler had a dream and named it. He knew what he wanted to do and also set a plan in place to make it happen. His plan took a few years to execute but in doing so, Tyler was able to responsibly achieve his dream.
• Leveraged his current situation – whether it was getting tuition reimbursement through his employer, or making money while learning about the brewing industry, Tyler took full advantage and made the most of each situation.
• Didn’t burn bridges – whenever making a change, Tyler left the old situation on great terms. As such, he was able to get great recommendations if he ever needs them, and also has a great network to fall back on/keep in touch with.
• Has a safety net but focuses on his financial future – surprising to me when we chatted, Tyler noted that even though he setup a large savings account, he hasn’t dipped into it despite taking a pay cut. Between his current job and a few side hustles, Tyler has been able to live off his earnings. Of course he’s had to make a few sacrifices and scale his lifestyle back a bit, but he still saves and puts money a little money each month into his retirement plan.

I love chatting with friends that are following their dreams, especially those that are doing so in a responsible manner. Thanks Tyler for sharing your story!

Know anyone else following his or her dreams responsibly? Reach out over email via the contact us page on the site, I’d love to learn more!