Business for Punks!!!!! (A Book Written by a BrewDog Founder!)

Hi! This time, I want to introduce a book that I have recently finished reading. I mentioned the book in my earlier post, but at that time, I could not fully talk about it because I hadn't finished it at that time. But now I have! Yes! For a non-native speaker of English, it is actually an accomplishment to be able to say that I have read a whole book written entirely in English. And it's not a skinny book for beginners, you know? There's nothing wrong with skinny books for beginners and people who read those kinds of books, by the way! But finishing an English book which is read not by English learners like me, but also native (and mature) English speakers is making me feel so good about myself.

Ok, now let's move on to really talk about the book... The book is called, "Business for Punks," and it also has a subtitle which says, "Break All the Rules - The BrewDog Way." The author of this book is James Watt, and he is a co-founder of BrewDog. And yes, BrewDog is a brewery, and it was found in Scotland in 2007.

Now, let me talk about how I came to pick up this book in the school library. In order to get to this, I should first talk about how I was introduced to BrewDog and their one of their products. It was on Christmas Day last year that I tried Punk IPA for the first time ever. Before that, I had never heard of the company or their products, to be honest, which now I think was a total shame. My boyfriend and I went into a so-called "British pub" which was newly opened in his neighbour. We both love drinking, so you know, a new place to have drinks, and we needed to check that out. So, we went there, and on the menu, I found a beer called Punk IPA, and it really dragged my attention. It looked like it had a cool label on it, I am a beer lover, and I love punk in the first place. I love punk music, and punk spirit in general. So, it was natural that I ordered it, and gave it a shot. I have made lots of mistakes in my life, but sometimes, surely, I do make great choices. I didn't have lots of information about the beer; I didn't know about the company, and I had not idea how the beer would taste like. But oh my gosh, it was delicious!!! I had not had a beer which had a taste like Punk IPA! It was very hoppy, and... just so good! (I am so sorry, I am really bad at describing tastes...) I knew that I would come back to the store for that beer from the moment that I had the first sip. It was that good! I looked up "BrewDog" on Google, and found some information about the revolutionary brewery. You won't be bothered to look up online to gather some information about the product you just happned to encounter, or the company whose making it, unless you're interested in them so much, right? So... yeah, that was how I came to know BrewDog and Punk IPA.

Then, how did I find the book? To be honest, that was nothing but a coincidence. As I entered the school library on the third of February (I know the exact date because I tweeted a photo of the book on the day I encountered it. lol), I caught something blue, which seemed to me was similar to the shade of the label of Punk IPA, in the corner of my eye at the bookshelf next to the entrance. I looked back. And it was actually a book written by a co-founder of BrewDog! I don't know why this happened, though. I mean, why would I know why it happened?! lol I didn't know James had written a book on his business philosophy, and the school library does not know about me, and what I'm interested in obviously! But thank... Umm, I don't know whom I should be thankful for... lol But uh... thank you, whoever up there, and have a control over destiny or whatever you call it for letting me discover this book!

Alright, so if you think my personal anecdote is so boring, I have a good news for you! All the rumbling is finally over, and now it's time to go over the core messages which James is telling to the readers. I can't just go one by one, of course, so I'll do what I can do to introduce (only) a few of the essence of his words of wisdom.

First, he teaches us that we shouldn't be starting a new business. Instead, we should start a revolution, or "crusade" in his word. It's about your passion, mission, and how you want to make a change in this world, rather than creating a mean to get profits, and earn money.

"Businesses fail. Businesses die. Businesses fade into oblivion. 

 Revolution never die.

 So start a revolution, not a business."

I am not a specialist in business, nor do I have a plan to start a new business, but I can't agree with this enough. Some people say they want to start a business, own a company, and so on. Ok, I get it... if you're like 5 years old. But they're actually much older than that. They want their companies, but they have no idea or mission. I have been pointing out that that is not how it works, and how you start a project, but now I can verify what I am saying even more because of, and thanks to this book.

Second, James talks also about the importance of founding your brand, and creating your fandom (i.e., marketing). When you buy a product, it's not just about the product, right? The image of the brand that makes the product always follows. You buy a product not because it has a good quality, but also you support that brand. People love brands that they feel they can relate to, and people love brands that are engaging, and willing to be open, and close to them. If a company has a clear, straight passion, mission, and philosophy, they will build fandom. And fans want to support the company and the brand. They will proudly buy, and use the companies products, talk about them online, which is a good way of spreading your brand and products without having to pay a lot of money. If you have a clear vision, good product, and a well-established brand, each fan of you will automatically be ambassadors.

"By engaging and connecting with consumers, you can recruit them to your crusade. By properly laying the foundations, they become actively complicit in your mission, and in turn help you succeed." 

"Customers want to buy into a business that they can believe in; they want to buy from a business that bleeds, loves and laughs in the same way they do and that stands for the same things to boot."

As I mentioned in my earlier post, I love wearing makeup. And I feel like I see many cosmetics brands are following this rule. Customers are fans for each brand. They are not just looking for good mascaras, brow products, etc. They want products that have that logo they love on them. They don't just trust the products; they also trust the brand. And when a brand launches a new product, the loyal fans are waiting, and craving to get one. Ok, so I just wrote about cosmetics industry, but you can do (or should be doing, I should say!) the same thing in every business.

And lastly, James tells us that if you're ever thinking of starting a business on your own, you need to be goddamn strong. And this means you need to take risks, be selfish, and be unreasonable sometimes to protect your mission and passion.

"On many occasions you are going to have to be ruthless, brutal, cold-blooded and cynical. This is OK. As long as it is done for the long-term good of what you are trying to achieve." 

"I love ignoring advice as much as every stupid muppet loves giving it to me. My advice, to those seeking advice, is don't even bother. Advice is for freaks and clowns. The thing about being driven is you need to know your own way." 

James says that everything you do needs to be motivated, and backed up by your mission. People will come up, and try to give you advice. But they don't know share the same passion and mission as you do, they don't really care about your company, and they're not going to take any responsibility if something (bad) happened to your company because you followed that piece of advice. But you care about your company because your life depends on it, you are going to have to take responsibility for anything that happens to your company, and you have the passion and mission. So, you should go, and do whatever what you believe in. Never try to please everyone. Stick to your mission, have faith, and work hard. That's what James is saying.

Alright! I won't give away too much information about what is written in the book, so if you want to find out more, you need to go get that book yourself. I actually want to say more to be honest, though! lol But before I start leaking more information, I probably finish this post. I really, truly enjoyed this book. My heart was pounding when I was reading this book! For real. My inner... uh, no, I think I am openly punk... Whatever. My punk spirit was very satisfied. And guess what? This book made me love BrewDog even more! I am being loyal, and I am actually writing about the company and their product on the Internet, so this is marketing too, right? lol

Ok, thank you for reading, guys! I hope I see you in my next post!