Navigating Growth with Cairdeas Winery

Built out of a love for friends, goodwill, and of course good wine, their wine is considered some of the best in Chelan Valley today. 

But it hasn’t always been easy. 

Back in 2018, before Lacey Lybecker began working with The Winery CPA, she didn’t feel like an owner. 

“I felt like I was just doing everything. Yet, I never got anything done. I would have to block out a whole day to get through the last 6, 8, 12 months of transactions. It was always something that I put on the back burner. Before working with The Winery CPA, I just never got anything done.”

One of the first things The Winery CPA did when we first came on board was take some of these financial tasks off of Charlie and Lacey's plates - like monthly bookkeeping and payroll - to free up more time for winemaking and sales. 

And according to Lacey, she didn’t have much faith that it could be done well, initially. 

“At the time, we weren’t delegators. We always thought if it was going to get done well, then we had to do it ourselves. And that’s just not the case.

Especially with payroll. I had a really hard time delegating payroll, because in my head it was so complicated. But The Winery CPA turned it around right away, and it was exactly what we needed. 

It was a huge relief that I could outsource to someone else and it would actually be done well, better than I could do it, and it’s just done automatically every month.”

As time went on, Lacey and Charlie began to see the value in outsourcing, rather than the expense. 

“At the time, we were hesitant to spend money on an outsourced accountant each month. Now, we’re at the point where we see the value in the investment.

With The Winery CPA on board, I can now delegate areas of my business. I have the information to run my business at 10,000 ft. level and feel like an owner. I didn’t feel like an owner back then.” 

Fast forward to 2021, and Cairdeas Winery has grown even more. 

When COVID-19 hit in 2020, like most wineries, the family-owned winery had to close down their tasting room. Yet, their wine club sales actually grew. 

When they were allowed to reopen in 2021, they began doing table reservations rather than “belly up to the bar” type services, which led to a more relaxed pace, and higher order values. 

Through outside-the-box thinking and a strong focus on hospitality, they have been able to increase their customer loyalty through COVID-19 and significantly increase sign-ups for their wine club. 

And with that growth, came even more need for an experienced CPA. 

Since 2020, Lacey and Charlie have leaned on The Winery CPA to stay on top of things through their accelerated growth with monthly advisory meetings. 

We’ve helped Cairdeas Winery identify key metrics to measure - in everything from employees to production costs - to make sure they are on track with their goals. 

We’ve put an incentive plan in place for their employees based on those key metrics, to make sure employees are motivated by what matters to them. 

We’ve also helped Lacey and Charlie write a business plan and do financial modeling for a potential second tasting room in Seattle. 

Now, we’re getting ready to dig into production and sales planning to make sure that the production plan meets their sales goals. We want to make sure that they have the right wines to sell at the right times to the right channels. 

Like most small business owners, Lacey and Charlie have finally found the right partnership for their business to help them grow well into the future. 

“We looked for someone for this role for years but never found the right fit. We knew right away that it was the right fit with The Winery CPA. It was going to be a comfortable, easy relationship. I can ask any questions, and you weren’t going to make me feel incompetent. 

Now, we’re moving quickly, we’re growing quickly, and you’re right there with us to give us the information we need as it’s coming through at warp speed,” says Lacey.

And now they have advice for other small wineries out there: 

“I’ve told people already, 'just hire The Winery CPA.” Just do it.”