Maria Indenbosch of Humanity Wine Co. on creating the company you want to work for

Describe Humanity Wine Co. in a few words?

We deliver high valued, family owned wines to your doorstep while changing the lives of abandoned youth by donating 50% of our profits to capacity building programs. 

Humanity Wine Co. yearns to change the landscape of business as we know it. Leading abandoned youth to rise to the call on their lives. 

Our ‘WHY’ is the driving force behind the wine we bring you. We teamed up with wineries and winemakers that do not just make wine to sell, they make wine to change lives. Why change where you buy your wine from? Because every child deserves a chance to make something of themselves and with one bottle of wine at a time we can help change the world through their lives.

What made you take the leap to start your own business?

I couldn’t find the kind of business I’d be proud to work for solving the world’s greatest issues, so I created it.

Did you always know you wanted to be an entrepreneur?

I always knew I would do something big, but never was I seeking to become an entrepreneur. It’s in the treads of my makeup.

Take us back to when you first launched your business, what was your marketing strategy to get the word out and did it go as planned?

Email my donors, send snail mail to all my donors and contacts, and social media. The snail mail was a great success – everything else, not so much.

We always learn the most from our mistakes, share a time with us that you made a mistake or had a challenging time in business and what you learned from it?

When I thought that we could throw money into advertising and immediately see results. We lost tens of thousands of dollars with nearly nothing to show for it. Don’t go up against your competitors if they are spending hundreds of thousands on ads each month, you won’t win. Get creative and do the hard work!

When hiring for your team, what is your go-to interview question? Please share any hiring tips you can share from your experience?

What kind of company are you looking to work for?

What kind of company culture do you want?

Hire your weaknesses.

What’s next for your business? What can we expect to see over the next few years?

Growinb our sales team to 6 agents. You can expect to see us donate half a million in revenue to our charity partner.

How have you managed to stay grounded this year?

Prayer, walks, rest.

Do you believe in work/life balance? What are some of your best tips?

I believe in staying focused on one thing. If you choose to work for 5 hours or 8 or 10 a day … only work during those hours and have your time allocated wisely. When you need to be a mom, be a mom 100% of the time during that time. When you need to be a wife, be a wife and don’t look at work.