Shamus Jones of Brooklyn Brine: Don't Get Precious with Your Passions Listen to your business to help it grow.

By Linda Lacina Jan 25, 2016

Listen to Ready For Anything podcast Episode 7, with Linda Lacina and Shamus Jones with the audio player below.

Picklemakers know their own. They've got Popeye-like forearms thanks to lifting massive glassware cases and cucumber bushels day in and day out. There's usually a faint scent of vinegar surrounding them. And while they're a special combination of wired and exhausted, there's a light in their eyes.

That light is passion, and it's something that helped Shamus Jones of Brooklyn Brine build his independent food business literally by hand, spending nights with his team in a shared kitchen washing and chopping, blasting Slayer in the background. In five years, his company has grown from producing 100 jars a week to an expanded operation producing more than 15,000, with clients as far as Japan and Australia.

In this lively chat, Jones shares the key decisions that drove growth, including a conversation with craft beer founder Steve Hindy that helped him embrace automation. He also shares the importance of networks, listening to a business and the dangers of being too precious with your passion.

Linda Lacina

Entrepreneur Staff

Linda Lacina is a special projects director at Entrepreneur.com. Her work has appeared in the Wall Street Journal, Smart Money, Dow Jones MarketWatch and Family Circle. Email her at llacina@entrepreneur.com.

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