How a Value-Based Mindset is Getting New Dawn Through 2026
Key Points of New Dawn Distilling’s Business Culture
Value-Based, Influential Leadership: Leadership is built on openness, integrity, and transparency. This includes embracing collaboration (not sole credit), rejecting ego-driven gatekeeping of knowledge, and a continuous commitment to learning and sharing best practices to elevate the entire craft spirits category.
Self-Care is Strategy: Scheduling genuine downtime is a strategic necessity, as the best ideas often emerge during rest. Self-Care is a Business Strategy.
Prioritize Trust: Success requires Authentic Partnerships—working only with people who respect you and who you respect in turn—to build sustainable, trusting relationships and free up mental energy.
The journey of launching a new business is often portrayed as a relentless, caffeine-fueled sprint. The narrative is clear: success requires burning the candle at both ends, a constant "hustle" that demands you be perpetually "on." But what if that narrative is a lie, a recipe for burnout that ultimately undermines the very foundation you're trying to build?
As the holiday season comes to an end and I find myself reflecting on the past year, I am taking a moment to remind myself that I founded New Dawn on the radical idea that intentionality and strong values are the true ingredients for long-term success, both in the bottle and the balance sheet. These values are what center me as I look towards 2026 and imagine New Dawn’s future.
The Toxic Myth of the Perpetual Entrepreneurial Grind
When you start a company, particularly in a crowded market like craft spirits, the pressure to conform to "hustle culture" is immense. You're told you must outwork the competition, that every spare moment and day of the week should be dedicated to growth - pounding the pavement to get placements, managing the social media for brand awareness, networking and building relationships, and developing new products. This mindset, however, creates two immediate and critical failures:
Impaired Judgment: Exhausted minds do not make good decisions. The relentless pursuit of activity often replaces thoughtful, strategic work, leading to costly mistakes and mediocrity.
Built-in Toxicity: By embedding the expectation of constant sacrifice from day one, you are laying the groundwork for a toxic workplace. Scaling this culture simply scales the toxicity, leading to eventual burnout and the inevitable need for painful, expensive "reforms" later on.
When I started New Dawn I intentionally chose a different path, learning if you will from the toxic workplaces I left behind. I knew from the start that I didn’t want to recreate any of those spaces. I also eschewed the thinking that it was “just me” so it was okay to hustle at unsustainable levels since I would be the only one getting hurt and burnt out. It just didn’t make sense to me to base my company on a mindset that I was so relieved to leave behind. So I set out believing that if I was going to be successful and craft a truly exceptional, intentional product—one that takes time, patience, and meticulous attention to detail—I needed to operate with the same care from the outset.
Embracing A Value-Based Mindset
As an entrepreneur you really have the freedom to mold your company how you see fit. For me this has meant consciously and consistently rejecting the myth of the "always-on and always-open" entrepreneur and embracing a whole new value-based mindset around business, entrepreneurship, and success.
Influential Leadership
In my humble opinion, founding a spirits brand requires more than just a great recipe; it demands leadership built on openness, integrity, and transparency. And in this market where some might say there is an overabundance of options, it means moving past concepts like “authority” which so often really means “how we’ve always done it.” Like any successful entrepreneurial endeavor, making such steps involves deep emotional intelligence and strong communication to build trust and foster engagement in the pursuit of lasting impact and not just short term gains. Of all the values I hold, remaining an influential leader is often the hardest for me to hold on to. I oscillate frequently between wanting to step into my villain era, wanting to do everything myself (type A personalities to the front!), and staying the course. I’ve said it before, but it's also been hard embracing not knowing everything and being comfortable with cultivating partnerships with those who possess expertise I lack rather than gain doing the research myself. Yet, I recognize and have definitely had more fun realizing that collaboration, not sole credit, accelerates growth. Much easier for me to embrace is that influential leadership is also inherently open to learning; it rejects the ego-driven stance of having all the answers and instead seeks continuous education from distillers, industry veterans, and even consumers. Crucially, it means actively avoiding the tendency to "gatekeep" knowledge, instead choosing to share best practices and resources with the community, thereby elevating the entire craft spirits category rather than hoarding information for some sort of competitive edge. It’s why I insist on being so transparent about what goes in the bottle and how this industry works. I may get on my soap box in frustration but it's also because consumers deserve to know the truth about their spirits.
Authentic Partnerships
Speaking of partnerships, I don’t work with people I don’t like. Centering authentic partnerships is perhaps the most freeing value that I built into New Dawn. I have been able to free up so much mental space by eliminating the worry around, “Does this person respect me? Like me?” It’s a lie we tell ourselves that, “It’s just business, everyone doesn’t have to like/respect me so long as I’m getting what I need.” Under that model we’re just using each other and that means there is no trust and thus no real sustainability in the relationship. When you’re a one or two person enterprise you don't have time for that nonsense. You need to be able to trust people. So if the vibe is off, I’m out. It also means I don’t chase people down to work with them. When the planets align and the time is right, when we both have the mental, physical, and business capacity to connect, perhaps then we can dive into a partnership. Until then, I literally can’t waste my time running after someone, I’m wearing too many hats and have too much to do!
Self-Care as a Business Strategy
Every two weeks, in the middle of the day, I get my nails done, doctor's orders. No not my orders, I only prescribe whiskey these days, but back when I was working in toxic workplaces my therapist ordered me to do something that got me out of the house, was relaxing, and that forced me to take a moment to be present in my body like a massage or getting my nails done. This prescription to do something that I typically would have thought as frivolous or extra has now become an integral part of my business strategy, and not just because my hands show up so often in videos and photos. Twice a month I don’t think about New Dawn for about three hours. Twice a month I do a full check in of myself, how am I feeling both mentally and physically. I take note of when the hand and foot massage feels extra good because those are two places I hold a lot of tension. I reflect on how privileged I am to be able to take this time to myself now that I am self-employed. I revel in the feeling that I don’t have to worry about what my boss might say. I get excited about the colors and designs and take child-like joy in watching it come to life on the tiny canvases of my nails. The entire experience rejuvenates and restores. I always leave ready and willing to tackle the next challenge and on really bad days, renewed purpose to keep going. I listen to my mind and body and just take the break. Often, the best solutions and creative ideas emerge after these moments of rest.
The New Dawn Awaits
My decision to reject hustle culture and adopt a value-based mindset can appear from the outside like a perk of being an entrepreneur but really it's a fundamental business strategy driven by intentionality.
The name, New Dawn, signifies more than just a new day for my company; it represents a new approach to craft and commerce. I am building the company I know New Dawn will become from the very first day. By being intentional about New Dawn’s values and practices now, when it is small and nimble, I am creating a DNA that is resistant to the toxicity that often plagues growing companies. I am crafting a workplace valued for its contribution, not just its enduring nature. Making exceptional whiskey is a slow, patient endeavor. It requires time to mature, to develop character, and to reach its full potential. Shouldn't building the company that makes it be treated with the same respect for time and maturation?
I believe that by prioritizing well-being and strategic focus, I’m not just creating a great place to work—I am creating a better, more intentional product. New Dawn isn't just about a brand; it's about proving that sustainable success can, and should, be achieved with integrity, balance, and a clear, focused mind, from grain to glass.
