Jim Button

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[00:00] SPEAKER_00: It's Calgary's podcast on the Canada's podcast network.
[00:07] SPEAKER_00: Bitten Button is co-founder of Village Brewery, a strategist with Evans Hunt,
[00:13] SPEAKER_00: a member of the board of directors of Beer Canada.
[00:16] SPEAKER_00: Jim has been on a sabbatical for a year while he deals with terminal cancer.
[00:20] SPEAKER_00: Welcome to the show Jim and thanks for taking the time today to be here for our listeners.
[00:25] SPEAKER_00: Nothing but time for you Mario. Tell us a little bit about yourself, where you're from,
[00:31] SPEAKER_00: and the story behind how Village Brewery was founded.
[00:34] SPEAKER_01: Group and military family born in Germany moved Italy,
[00:38] SPEAKER_01: Krilymi Kivek, Kolek, Alberta,
[00:40] SPEAKER_01: Ottawa, Ontario all by the time I was in grade four.
[00:42] SPEAKER_01: So I quickly learned how to make friends and I had to fight a lot.
[00:47] SPEAKER_01: So I've always been that guy that quickly made friends and build bridges and I ended up leaving
[00:53] SPEAKER_01: Ottawa to go to university in Guelph, went to college, got a gig as a welder, did a stint as a
[01:00] SPEAKER_01: whitewater rafting guide, ended up finally getting a job in advertising, living in Toronto for
[01:05] SPEAKER_01: both seven years, then moved to Calgary in 93 and started a gosh, one, two, three,
[01:11] SPEAKER_01: part of both five businesses and one of them being Village and it's been a wild ride in a great
[01:17] SPEAKER_01: adventure. Did you need financing when you first started Village? Village was a really interesting
[01:22] SPEAKER_01: project because there hadn't been a new brewery built in 15 years in Alberta and we had six guys
[01:27] SPEAKER_01: that ended up coming together that were really long in the tooth in the industry and so we put
[01:33] SPEAKER_01: the money up ourselves, we decided to go out and find 50 people that were already engaged in the
[01:38] SPEAKER_01: in the city doing great things and so asked them to be become investors. So that's how we got our
[01:44] SPEAKER_01: next level investment. We honestly didn't really need it but it was a perfect way to engage
[01:49] SPEAKER_01: Calgarians and to make this a meaningful operation. Tell me a little bit about how business has been
[01:55] SPEAKER_01: for Village since it first started. We've had growth, good growth every year, so from that perspective
[02:01] SPEAKER_01: it's been great. The other number that's really important is that the amount of money we've been
[02:06] SPEAKER_01: able to give back to community because we give 10% of our ploddle on back into community, that number
[02:10] SPEAKER_01: has gone up. That part's been great but the amount of effort and work and thinking and
[02:16] SPEAKER_01: redirections and process changes and things that have had to happen along the way because the
[02:21] SPEAKER_01: industry has changed so significantly since we started. The rules have changed in terms of
[02:27] SPEAKER_01: scale. When we started you had to build a brewery that could produce a million and a half
[02:33] SPEAKER_01: bottles of beer. Now you don't have to have that expense. When we started you didn't have, you had
[02:38] SPEAKER_01: to build it in light industrial. Now you could build it in neighborhoods. Our strategic setup
[02:43] SPEAKER_01: has been challenged because hundreds of breweries in the province now and they're in really
[02:51] SPEAKER_01: cool, funky spaces while we're off hidden into an industrial space. So, challenges of business
[02:56] SPEAKER_01: are no different than any others but it's been great for Village so far. Where do you see Village
[03:01] SPEAKER_01: being in the next couple of years? We're going to continue trying to maintain our growth.
[03:06] SPEAKER_01: I think you have to that old advantage of you have to grow or die is true. Vow has been about
[03:11] SPEAKER_01: quality and not about size. We've always been about margin, notable volume. So, we're going to continue
[03:17] SPEAKER_01: harping on our margin as an imperative. We're going to start probably trying to look at
[03:23] SPEAKER_01: how to do things a little bit differently and look at what's changing in the market. You know,
[03:29] SPEAKER_01: there's some crazy stuff coming down in the market right now with things like cannabis. You know,
[03:33] SPEAKER_01: that's really going to change the amount of spirit companies in Alberta has increased.
[03:40] SPEAKER_01: Crafters, stilleries are on the rise. Meta-ries are on the rise. The rule changes with other breweries
[03:46] SPEAKER_01: being able to have access to our market is on the rise. So, I think we've got enough
[03:50] SPEAKER_01: strategically to tackle but our goal is always to increase our input into the community and
[03:56] SPEAKER_00: therefore increase our part of mind. As an entrepreneur, what are some of the good points of doing
[04:02] SPEAKER_01: business here in Calgary? I love Calgary. I was drawn to Calgary. I didn't, you know, it wasn't
[04:07] SPEAKER_01: any other reason to come here other than I saw this as a great city. When I was judging the
[04:11] SPEAKER_01: cities where I wanted to live, one of the things I would do is I'd phone up and ask the other people
[04:16] SPEAKER_01: in advertising and marketing if I could take time to speak with them. Well, Calgaryans would take
[04:20] SPEAKER_01: the time to speak with you. And then after the conversation, it's here. I have to introduce you
[04:24] SPEAKER_01: to someone. So, the network philosophy, the collaborative philosophy, the we're in this together
[04:30] SPEAKER_01: and I could come from my frontier attitude or a heritage attitude or a agricultural attitude. I'm
[04:36] SPEAKER_01: still here. It's very different than in markets like Vancouver and Toronto and Montreal where
[04:42] SPEAKER_01: they're trying to screw each other here. They're all trying to say, if you succeed then I'll succeed.
[04:46] SPEAKER_01: You know, it's not as clean as that but that belief system is there. People wave you in the car to
[04:51] SPEAKER_01: let you in. Still, there's not as much as when I moved here and you know, they look in the eye when
[04:57] SPEAKER_01: you walk and say hello to the street and I love this city. So, I think from a business perspective
[05:02] SPEAKER_01: that carries through, I'm not going to lie. Some of the tax challenges and economic drivers have
[05:09] SPEAKER_01: been challenging but we're still leaps and bounds ahead of so many other cities in the world.
[05:15] SPEAKER_00: What are the most difficult challenges entrepreneurs would face in Calgary these days?
[05:21] SPEAKER_01: I think the economics are certainly interesting and I'm not even going to say there are
[05:25] SPEAKER_01: challenges. I've given speeches where I've talked about how the challenge in the energy industry
[05:32] SPEAKER_01: isn't necessarily a bad thing. It's unfortunate. I wish it didn't happen. It's a foundational
[05:39] SPEAKER_01: industry for our province in it but we've relied so much on it that other industries haven't
[05:47] SPEAKER_01: flourished and when we're down in that area, so many of the people that have left those
[05:53] SPEAKER_01: jobs have become much more real. They're following their passions, they're trying new things and
[05:58] SPEAKER_01: I think that wider base over time is going to be spectacular for the city. But in the meantime,
[06:05] SPEAKER_01: we're watching restaurants and bars having a hard time existing and or closing. We're watching
[06:11] SPEAKER_01: you know, there's others opening. So, you know, again, I'm not going to be a doom and gloom but it
[06:14] SPEAKER_01: is tough right now with some of the rural changes, the tax changes, the business laws, the environment,
[06:22] SPEAKER_01: the overall malaise around energy industry. Those things are all are tough right now.
[06:29] SPEAKER_00: Now, we do some of our best work outside the office. When you were working day to day,
[06:35] SPEAKER_00: was there a place in Calgary close to where you lived or worked, where you'd like to go to recharge,
[06:41] SPEAKER_01: get inspired or just think about your business? You know, I have never spent a lot of time in an office.
[06:47] SPEAKER_01: I don't like the idea of an office, to be honest with you, and Village, I didn't have an office.
[06:54] SPEAKER_01: My role at Evan's home was always strategy and business development. And my role at Village
[07:02] SPEAKER_01: was always community builder. Those jobs, to be really frank, are outside the office. You shouldn't
[07:08] SPEAKER_01: be in the office. You should be out talking with people and meeting with people and building
[07:13] SPEAKER_01: bridges and making connections and making things happen. So when I was working, I didn't feel like
[07:18] SPEAKER_01: I was really working. But if I ever did really, really want to recharge, you could find me in the
[07:24] SPEAKER_00: woods or on the river, probably on the river. For our listeners who may not be aware, can you bring
[07:29] SPEAKER_00: them up to date and explain to them your personal journey right now? Sure, about five years ago,
[07:35] SPEAKER_01: they extended, appendicitis and accidentally found a baseball-sized tumor on my kidney,
[07:40] SPEAKER_01: took the appendix out through weeks later, took the kidney out. A year and a half later,
[07:44] SPEAKER_01: found that it had metastasized in my lungs and then it's metastasized in a whole bunch of
[07:49] SPEAKER_01: other organs. And so for the last three years, I've been on various chemo and immunotherapies.
[07:55] SPEAKER_01: And about a year ago, last February, it was so arduous that I was, you know, I probably had about
[08:01] SPEAKER_01: 10 surgeries in about three months. So as of last February, I've been on disability and haven't
[08:06] SPEAKER_01: been working. I obviously like to pay attention to what's going on, but I'm not engaged in any day
[08:12] SPEAKER_01: to day work. It's really tough times, it's got it's really interesting times where I'm actually
[08:18] SPEAKER_00: my meditative skills have increased 100-fold. You give a lot of talks and speeches about your
[08:25] SPEAKER_00: personal journey. What's the key message you have for people in those talks? Well, it certainly
[08:31] SPEAKER_01: starts with, you're not promised tomorrow, people in business. If you've got an idea, go for it
[08:36] SPEAKER_01: today. The other big thing that I've learned through this was really making sure you're enjoying
[08:42] SPEAKER_01: yourself along the way. What advice would you give entrepreneurs who want to start a business in
[08:47] SPEAKER_01: Calgary? Don't wait. Go for it. Be smart about how you do it. Think about the real fundamentals of
[08:54] SPEAKER_01: that business. Make sure you've got the right partners to be the end of your year. These days,
[09:00] SPEAKER_00: do you have a specific routine or ritual that you take on each morning? When I was working, I would
[09:06] SPEAKER_01: get up and go. Now my ritual is I get up, I meditate. I have a great breakfast, I go for a walk,
[09:14] SPEAKER_01: manage a few phone calls here and there, and then I have an app. The last two months and the next
[09:21] SPEAKER_01: two months, I'm pretty much in a recluse. Do you think entrepreneurs are wired differently than
[09:29] SPEAKER_01: other people? It's less about being wired and I think it's more about the question of, does
[09:34] SPEAKER_01: somebody have a really interesting idea or do they see an opportunity that they can leverage
[09:38] SPEAKER_01: to make some money and have some fun along the way? Are you reading any books or listening to
[09:43] SPEAKER_00: any books right now and which ones and why? The three or five books I've read in the last
[09:49] SPEAKER_01: two or three weeks were the unbroken Tuesdays with Mory, the tattooist of Auschwitz,
[09:56] SPEAKER_01: and the thread, because I was thinking about this the other day, the thread between all of them,
[10:02] SPEAKER_01: you know unbroken about this Olympic athlete that went into the war in the 40s, became a pilot,
[10:10] SPEAKER_01: crashed over the ocean, had to survive. They're all about people that have been in these tough
[10:13] SPEAKER_01: situations, but found inside themselves a way to be able to get through something. And so I think,
[10:22] SPEAKER_01: those are the books I've been reading and I think people should pick books that they think they
[10:27] SPEAKER_01: might be able to find inspiration out of as opposed to just a self-help book from a business
[10:32] SPEAKER_01: expert who's going to tell you the exact same thing that everybody else told you.
[10:35] SPEAKER_00: Now I just wanted you to reflect on something here. When you were working and what was your
[10:44] SPEAKER_00: work life balance like and on reflection, what's your advice for people on how to deal with
[10:51] SPEAKER_01: that? I'll tell you I worked 70 to 80 hours a week for probably about seven or eight years because
[10:56] SPEAKER_01: it was helping build Evans Hunt and I was helping start Village Brewery and I was building festivals
[11:03] SPEAKER_01: and movements and I was trying to help build a better city through my volunteerism.
[11:11] SPEAKER_01: And I started a sport league, I've done it for 25 years where we play, you know, 90 people play
[11:16] SPEAKER_01: different sport every Tuesday. So I organized that as well. So I did a lot and I coached two kids
[11:23] SPEAKER_01: in soccer for 17 seasons and I was married. I think many people will look at me and say you are
[11:30] SPEAKER_01: a bit of an overachiever or you do too much. And when I look back at it, I loved it all. And if I could,
[11:37] SPEAKER_01: if I could have another 10 hours a day, I would pack those up as well. Looking back now, I think I
[11:45] SPEAKER_01: could have been just as happy. Had I given a bunch of other stuff away and just did the exact stuff I
[11:51] SPEAKER_01: loved doing. And so I think if I was going to give somebody some advice, find out the things you
[11:56] SPEAKER_01: love doing in business and farm out the rest. Because if you can do this stuff you love, you will
[12:04] SPEAKER_01: be so good at it and your business will thrive because of it. But if you pick up the stuff and I know
[12:10] SPEAKER_01: as a small business, you know, I remember I know what it's like to do all the jobs. But as soon as
[12:17] SPEAKER_01: you can, find somebody else to do the stuff that you don't like to do because you'll thrive and
[12:22] SPEAKER_01: you'll be way happier. Was there any kind of dream job you would have liked to have done or
[12:28] SPEAKER_01: still would like to do? My favorite job of my life still was a way water rafting guide.
[12:34] SPEAKER_01: A. I love being on the river and B. I love watching how happy people were that they got the biggest
[12:40] SPEAKER_01: excitement of their lives. Is there a favorite word quote or sentence that you like to use?
[12:46] SPEAKER_01: I always use if you want to go fast, go alone, if you want to go further, go together because I've
[12:52] SPEAKER_01: always felt that you're stronger and you build a better foundation by doing it with others. So
[12:57] SPEAKER_00: that's always been my mantra, my whole life. Flip side of that is there any phrase or
[13:04] SPEAKER_01: quote that you don't like to hear. But we haven't done that before. That's not how we do it around
[13:09] SPEAKER_01: here. That just drives me. As soon as I hear that, I'm, all right, I am going to really piss you off
[13:17] SPEAKER_01: because we are not doing it that way ever again until I find a better way. If you had to pick one or
[13:22] SPEAKER_00: two words to describe yourself and who you are, what you're like, what would they be and why?
[13:28] SPEAKER_01: I think I'm pretty positive and I think the power of positivity is everything.
[13:36] SPEAKER_01: And builder? Yeah, builder, I actually probably build, I like building things a collaborator too.
[13:41] SPEAKER_01: Oh, I have three words. Builder, collaborator and positive. I guess it's a three if I was
[13:48] SPEAKER_00: a loud three. Besides your health, obviously, is there anything else that keeps you up at night?
[13:53] SPEAKER_01: My family, you know, just worrying about worrying about them and making sure that they're happy and
[13:59] SPEAKER_00: healthy. That's my number one. Now, this question may have changed in terms of your perspective
[14:06] SPEAKER_00: in the last few years, but everybody has a bucket list these days and I wonder what's on top of
[14:11] SPEAKER_00: your bucket list right now? Now they're just small little family moments. It's dinner on Sunday
[14:18] SPEAKER_01: nights. It's my biggest bucket list is to be around to see 2020, you know, like those are
[14:25] SPEAKER_00: those are those are the bucket lists now. What's the best piece of the advice that you can pass on to
[14:32] SPEAKER_01: entrepreneurs or aspiring entrepreneurs? Don't give up. It all comes down to the tenacity,
[14:38] SPEAKER_01: the hustle, the grind, the grit, the relentless pursuit of your passion is the number one thing.
[14:47] SPEAKER_01: All skill level, all that stuff is almost irrelevant when it comes to sheer will of force
[14:55] SPEAKER_01: of wanting to make it succeed. I think that's the if you want to wrap up what an entrepreneur is to
[15:00] SPEAKER_01: me, it's somebody that's willing to do this treat hustle. So imagine this Jim, there's a small tropical
[15:07] SPEAKER_00: island just off of Fiji that only has one phone booth with no internet. You can use the phone booth
[15:14] SPEAKER_00: located there anytime to call the boat and we'll come pick you up. Now how long would you last
[15:20] SPEAKER_00: before you made that phone call? And what do you think you'd be doing while you were there?
[15:24] SPEAKER_01: First of all, I've been to Fiji and I'm super happy there's no electron devices. That's
[15:30] SPEAKER_01: another project I'm working on is I think we've just our balance with technology a bit messed up.
[15:35] SPEAKER_01: So I'm very happy you put me on to an island with no technology because that is perfect. So I'm
[15:40] SPEAKER_01: excited to be on this island now. I can visualize it. I would actually probably take that phone
[15:47] SPEAKER_01: and I'd phone some Fiji and say hey guys come on over to the island. We're going to
[15:54] SPEAKER_01: build ourselves a little adventure company and invite other people to come there. I'd probably
[15:59] SPEAKER_01: actually see an opportunity to build a business and I'd find a surfing store or something like that
[16:03] SPEAKER_01: and we would build, I'd invite some Fiji and I wouldn't call the boat for help. I'd probably just
[16:09] SPEAKER_01: call some cool people already help start a really funky little business. Is there anything you
[16:14] SPEAKER_01: would like to add Jim before you leave us today? So you're not promised tomorrow. So make the most
[16:20] SPEAKER_01: of it really hustle. More card to make your dream come true today is probably the the number one
[16:27] SPEAKER_01: piece of advice I'd give anybody looking to start a business these days. And one last thing is
[16:33] SPEAKER_01: a way that people can get a hold of you if they'd like to. Go to my blog and there's a little
[16:39] SPEAKER_01: connection piece on there or follow me on my Instagram and my Twitter through a Jim button.
[16:45] SPEAKER_01: Blog is gathered with Jim.com. I think those are probably the best ways. Thanks a lot Jim for being
[16:50] SPEAKER_00: our guest on Calgary's podcast. I've learned a lot about you, your career, your personal journey and
[16:56] SPEAKER_00: I'm sure our listeners have as well. Thanks Jim. Thanks Mario. Have yourself a brilliant day.
[17:01] SPEAKER_00: Hey there. Thanks for taking the time today to listen to Calgary's podcast on Canada's podcast
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