A Brewmaster's Balancing Act

What I've learned from over 40 years of searching for work-life balance.

WHEN MY GREAT-great-grandfather owned the Louis Koch Brewery in St. Louis in the 1870s, he and his employees went home for dinner every night. In those days, before refrigeration and interstate transportation, breweries were local businesses whose sales and delivery people didn't need to travel.

Times have changed. One of the reasons I left my career as a consultant in 1984 to start a beer company was to cut down on travel. Clients all over the U.S. made it nearly impossible for me to have any worklife balance. I soon learned, however, that balancing work and life as an entrepreneur can be even harder.

I started Boston Beer Company in 1984 thinking that someday, my small brewery might sell as far away as New Hampshire. When demand for Samuel Adams exploded, I found myself traveling every week again. I could have limited the distribution, but this was the opportunity of a lifetime. I went for it.