Until recently, if you lived in NYC and brewed your own beer, there was no place to purchase your supplies. That tidbit drove Benjamin and Danielle to take the plunge into small business ownership and start Brooklyn Homebrew.

Accomplished chefs thirsting for a change, they bought business planning software and started filling in the details of their vision.

“We spent several months putting together a formal business plan and while we’ve already changed it, that process helped us understand the steps required to make it a reality,” Danielle said.

The first change of plans came when they attempted to secure start-up funding. Turned down for a bank loan, they were quickly forced to get creative. Instead of going the credit card route, they sold vouchers for $100 in (not yet existent) product for $80. With some help from the local homebrewers guild in getting the word out, they sold over 100 vouchers and had their seed money. And they’ve been growing ever since.

“Word of mouth and Google have been our best friends,” said Danielle.

Without any prior web experience, Danielle built the company website and blog using iWeb and MobileMe. And she’s been equally pleased with the learning curve for their Point of Sale and Accounting software.

“I did a lot of research to find out what was well-reviewed and then I downloaded the trial version. And Checkout was super easy to learn. I started using it and it made sense,” said Danielle.

“For the accounting, we needed a package that could grow with us, for when we have employees and need to run payroll,” added Benjamin. “We also took advantage of the free Windows copy for our accountant, which was a major selling point.”

Another factor in driving their software purchase decision was cost. Based on their initial research, their business plan included certain assumptions.

“We budgeted $1500 for software and spent less than half that. That allowed us to spend more on inventory and equipment,” said Benjamin.

Besides the 90-hour, 7-day work weeks, how has the reality of owning their own business differed from what they envisioned?

“It requires more patience than I’m used to,” offers Benjamin. “Working in a kitchen, I’m used to instant gratification. Now I need to think things through, instead of reacting.”