February 14, 2005
In its nine-year history, the Lakes of Muskoka Cottage Brewery has endured a variety of challenges but just keeps growing.
The brewery was launched in Bracebridge in 1996, and found immediate success, receiving an award for Best Canadian Ale at the Great Canadian Brewing Festival. However, this was followed by the tragic loss of co-founder Kirk Evans in a traffic accident. In the following years, his business partner Gary McMullen persevered to make his dream, and that of his deceased partner, become a reality.
Being only 26 years old when McMullen and Evans started their business, McMullen claims that the importance of the Community Futures Development Corporation's role in communities is that they are prepared to take greater risks on loan applicants. For McMullen, Muskoka Community Futures Development Corporation (Muskoka Futures) business financing that built confidence among chartered banks and shareholders.
Christopher Thorpe of Muskoka Futures cites creation of jobs, use of local suppliers, support for other small breweries, an exceptional product, and support of the Young Entrepreneurs Program as reasons the Lakes of Muskoka Cottage Brewery is worthy of a Community Futures award.
Since its inception, the Brewery has been able to grow, survive and build awareness of its brands in an extremely competitive beer marketplace. Beers produced by Lakes of Muskoka Cottage Brewery have pushed out well-established international brands at various beer competitions.
“The Brewery ‘exports’ Muskoka to the rest of the province,” says Thorpe. “It also creates jobs with unique and technically demanding skill sets in rural Ontario, such as brew masters, improving the labour force in this small town.”
In an area with relatively few employment opportunities not related to seasonal tourism, the Lakes of Muskoka Cottage Brewery has created eight full-time jobs and also employs extra seasonal staff. These jobs require skilled professionals to perform the duties of brew masters, or marketing and sales representatives for the company.
The beer marketplace is a highly competitive arena, and small microbreweries of this type often fail to build sufficient market share for success. McMullen saw the struggles of his company, and became instrumental in the creation of the Ontario Small Brewers Association (OSBA), which now boasts a 28-brewery membership. The OSBA has been active in pressuring government to help these small breweries by reducing regulations and taxes, to create a more competitive business and stimulate the economy in the communities they operate in. The association has also become the focal point for quality, marketing and lobby efforts of like-minded small brewers.
As an indication of the importance of a mentor for aspiring entrepreneurs, McMullen has been very active in the Young Entrepreneur Program. He offers students a tour of the brewery and shares his experiences, hoping to instill the belief that they can succeed when starting a business.
In this way, Gary McMullen is a man who has helped his community, aspiring entrepreneurs, and even competitors while creating a successful small business in a highly competitive field.
By Steve Lake