About Podcast
Scaling a niche online course by 500% in under two years might sound impossible, but for Troy Trewin, founder of Grow A Small Business and serial entrepreneur, it was just the next challenge. Based in Hobart, Australia, Troy has turned his experience in accounting, technology, and the distilling industry into a blueprint for scaling educational products. His work with distilleries, including New Zealand Whisky Collection and Lark Distillery, has positioned him as a leader in transforming traditional industries through strategic planning, infrastructure, and education.
In this episode, Troy takes us behind the scenes of how he and his team launched The Distillers Institute, an online education platform for aspiring distillery owners. From assembling a complementary team with deep industry expertise to building courses that guide students from initial feasibility to operational readiness, Troy emphasizes the power of systems, business infrastructure, and strategic delegation. He shares how they scaled their first course from 60-80 students to nearly 400 in less than two years, leveraging platforms like Kajabi, offshore support, and clear operational blueprints. Troy also reveals his approach to replicating this model for future ventures, including regional launches and brewing-focused courses, all while maintaining a capped weekly workload for founders.
Key Takeaways:
- How to assemble a high-performing leadership team with complementary skills and shared equity.
- Strategies for building and scaling online courses that guide customers from awareness to implementation.
- The importance of business infrastructure, back-office systems, and operational playbooks for sustainable growth.
- Leveraging mentorship, professional development, and financial literacy to make smarter business decisions.
- Techniques for regionalizing and replicating a business model for maximum impact with minimal founder input.
Join us with Troy Trewin as he reveals how to scale niche educational products, build high-performing teams, and create sustainable systems that multiply impact without multiplying workload.
- Challenges of Entrepreneurship: Learn how personal experiences shape business ownership and highlight the risks involved.
- Strategic Business Decisions: Understand the importance of shifting business models for growth, like moving from service to product-based models.
- Building a Strong Team: Recognize the value of assembling a skilled, diverse team to support business success.
- Creating Scalable Models: Learn how to structure operations for scalability, using online platforms for education and business growth.
- Leveraging Technology: Understand the role of tech and outsourcing in streamlining operations and boosting efficiency.
Special Guest: Troy Trewin, Founder of Grow A Small Business and Co-Founder, The Distillers Institute
Location: Hobart, Tasmania AUSTRALIA
Air Date: October 13, 2024
Websites:
- The Distiller’s Institute: website home to the company Troy co-founded. “The Distillers Institute is the only dedicated distilling business course in Australia to help you plan, start and grow a distillery.”
- GrowASmallBusiness.com: website home to the company Troy founded with a focus on providing support to small businesses with “…5 to 30 team members to grow their company to the next level.”
Software:
- Kajabi: an online platform that empowers knowledge entrepreneurs to “…create all kinds of content to showcase what you know best, including online courses, coaching programs, podcasts, memberships, and more.”
- Google Docs: a free online, cloud-based word processor offered by Google that enables real-time collaboration on documents.
Podcast:
- Grow a Small Business: Troy’s podcast with new episodes available every Monday and Thursday.
Producer & Host: Alicia Butler Pierre
Audio Editor: Olanrewaju Adeyemo
Sound Design: Sabor! Music Enterprises
Video Editor: Gladys Jimenez
Show notes: Erika Ve Revilla
Sponsor: Equilibria, Inc.More About Guest, Troy Trewin:
Since late 1999 Troy has started or acquired and grown 15 businesses with 29 business partners in Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom in technology, alcohol (beer, whisky, gin and vodka), retail, accommodation, food, online education, social enterprise and construction. The areas of expertise he brings to a business and Board include strategy, management, technology and finance.
Currently Troy Chairs three of the five Boards he sits on and provides coaching to a handful of CEOs and founders of interesting, fast-growing businesses in various sectors.In 2004 Troy founded the Grow A Small Business community, which now has a weekly business podcast, and monthly meet-ups of business owners in Hobart and Launceston, Australia
More About Host, Alicia Butler Pierre:
Alicia Butler Pierre is the Founder & CEO of Equilibria, Inc.. Her career in operations began over 25 years ago while working in various chemical plants and oil refineries. She invented the Kasennu™ framework for business infrastructure and authored, Behind the Façade: How to Structure Company Operations for Sustainable Success. She is the producer of the weekly top 2% Business Infrastructure podcast with a global audience across 70+ countries.Alicia is also an adjunct instructor of Lean Principles at Purdue University and serves as the USA Chair of the G100’s Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises. The Process Excellence Network recognized her as a Top 50 Thought Leader in Operational Excellence. A chemical engineer turned entrepreneur, she’s designed and optimized processes for small businesses, large enterprises, non-profits, and government organizations alike.
More About Sponsor, Equilibria:
Equilibria, Inc. is an 19-year-old boutique operations management firm. We build the business infrastructure necessary for fast-growing businesses to scale with less pain. With a range of services and products, entrepreneurs can get the operational support and resources they need on demand. 