Microbreweries in the United States : A Concise History and Sample Business Plan

Abstract

The author describes his internship with the Kalamazoo Small Business Development Center. The center catered to two types of individuals: those starting business and existing business owners still in the early stages of development. Mostly clients needed help in obtaining financing for their business, meaning they needed to develop business plans or to strengthen their bookkeeping and records. Other problems included anything from marketing issues to a lack of training in the skills required to start a business and make an idea into a reality. Most of the author’s work involved research and assisting clients with their business plans. The second portion of the paper is a combination of the history of micro breweries and a study of what is required to start a micro brewery in the state of Michigan. The final section is a business plan for an imagined microbrewery, the Grand Haven Brewing Company. This section added detail to the issues a microbrewer faces, and developes the basic idea of what a business owner needs to do to be successful.