Pairing wine and music for the local community
Walk into the WineHouse in McFarland, and it’s clear where the bar found its inspiration. Photographs of the late singer Amy Winehouse line the bar shelves; the upper level has an entire wall of framed record albums; and Tuesday vinyl nights – plus regular live music – give McFarland a great new nightlife option.
We’ve incorporated wine with music,” says Vicki Hyatt, who owns the bar with her husband Dan Hyatt. The pair started planning the business in mid-February 2023 and opened the bar on January 3, 2024. Working with the SBDC Vicki has been a real estate appraiser for 22 years, and Dan drives trucks for the City of Madison, so they were looking for support as they planned out their business. They connected with the SBDC after their lenderrecommended the team as a resource.
“We had no idea how to write a business plan, and we didn’t go to business school,”says Vicki. “Our lender said, ‘They’ll help you, and it’s almost a surefire way to get approved.’ I signed up for the Entrepreneurial Training Program almost immediately.”
The six-week ETP class focuses each class session on a specific area of starting a small business.
“Each class was helpful,” says Vicki. “I did a lot of market research, which helped me verify where to reach out for details.”
Vicki was proud of the business plan she and Dan wrote. “I was really impressed with it when we were done, and the bank had no questions,” she says. “That helped us significantly, as did everything with financial planning.”
The Hyatts worked with Anne Inman and student intern Jackson Damkot in the Accounting & Projections Clinic.
“That was phenomenal,” says Vicki. “We literally dove into this headfirst not knowing what to do, and working with SBDC and the ETP program was invaluable to us. Jackson asked us for specific numbers, and we got all we could, and when he sent the financial projections back to us, we said, ‘Holy cow, we wouldn’t have been able to do this.’”
The Hyatts also met with SBDC business consultant Amy Bruner Zimmerman, and Vicki says they hope to work with her more as they move from reactive mode to progressive mode.
When they started the business, Vicki felt confident that she would do well in customer service.
“I’m a sociable person, and I don’t have any problem talking to people,” she says.
Dan admits that he had no idea how things would go, but he was still up for the adventure of starting a business.
“Opening a brand-new business and trying to please people is not simple,” he says.“Being a new bartender, trying to get everyone on the same page with how we want to do things, and training everyone in the kitchen, was challenging.”
However, the Hyatts and their friends enjoyed their cocktail mixing practice sessions, when they had folks over to sample their concoctions, and Vicki and her mother figured out what menu items they’d serve by cooking up a storm and having family and friends taste everything.
“My mom is an amazing cook, and we came up with recipes that people love, like our flatbreads,” Vicki says. “I really enjoy cooking and coming up with recipes, and we’ve had really great luck with them so far.”
The Hyatts are members of the McFarland Chamber of Commerce and participate in community events like Winter Wonderland and Bands on the Boardwalk. They use social media to promote events and specials. The WineHouse is a true family business: One of Vicki’s brothers has helped with marketing, and her other brother is an entrepreneur who has
helped with every aspect of the business.
“We have had so many friends and family help us out,” Vicki says. “My sister-in-law took time out of her busy schedule to help us with our books and teach us to navigate QuickBooks, and every time my dad comes in, he jumps behind the bar and helps change out the wine bottles. A friend who does Action Coach suggested step-by-step tasks to increase sales, and our IT guy charges us a minimal rate.” Thanks to the support of friends, family, their community, and an ever-growing customer base, things are going well.
“For the most part, we are where we expected to be the first year,” Vicki says.
Long-term, they hope to see the business reach a stable place and have time to take more SBDC classes.
“All the classes look great,” says Vicki. “I definitely plan to leverage the SBDC in the future.”