Interview with Entrepreness Diane Paulson of Organic Nation Spirits

« Read the full blog

July 2, 2010 by Tina | Comments (0)

Diane Paulson is the passionate, energetic, and powerhouse co-owner of Organic Nation Spirits, a company that creates the highest quality spirits using organic and locally owned products. Since starting her business in 2008 with her husband, Organic Nation Spirits has received awards and recognition on the national radar. Their awards include a high rating of 87 points from the Beverage Tasting Institute and two silver medals in San Francisco for its 100-percent biodegradable packaging. Read on to find out more about Diane and Organic Nation Spirits.

Nice to meet you, Diane! Can you tell me a little bit about yourself?
I’ve been in Oregon for about 35 years now, and I raised a daughter as a single parent for 15 years. I had a master’s in education and became a teacher for a while. I also had previous experience as a social worker and real estate broker before my husband and I started Organic Nation.

What inspired you to begin your own company in distilling spirits?
My husband and I were exposed to tasting spirits in a liquor store in 2006. After that exposure, our interest in spirits kept coming to us in a series of events! We would go on tours, research about the micro-distillery industry and gained a genuine interest in spirits. The real estate industry was dry so we thought to begin our own spirits company. We wanted something much more interesting and challenging. Even though we had no idea what we were doing, we were able to learn and make it work for us! Since all the women in my family are entrepreneurs, I think I have something in my bones where it fueled me to start my own business. I love trying new things and in this industry there is never a dull moment. I love dealing with the myriad of various situations in this business and it has been very fun and interesting!

What are some tips that has helped you be a successful entrepreness?
I’ve noticed that having the courage to try something new is very important in being successful as an entrepreness. Everyday is different when you own your own business, so people who always have to be in control won’t be as successful. If you’re thinking about owning your own business, you have to assess your personality first. Ask yourself; do I have the personality to be an entrepreneur? Am I able to handle chaos? That is the essence of being an entrepreneur so you must assess your style before you begin your own business.

How do you manage multiple projects at one time?
I cannot live without my day planner! I have to write down all of my ideas and tasks and see it on paper. Having this built-in system gives me a sense of accomplishment as I cross off each task. I understand how I must organize myself to succeed and I know what my working style is like. After you understand yourself and what your work ethic is like, it allows you to be more open-minded to learning new things everyday.

What have you learned about yourself that you didn’t know before you began Organic Nation Spirits?
At the age of 57, I’m aware of what kind of person I am. Through this business, I learned that I need to be the person in charge. During my previous careers, the men were the ones who gained more tension and credibility, but now it’s me in that position and it feels great!

What is the most rewarding aspect of your job?
The most rewarding aspect of my job is the challenge of teaching men who don’t like to work with women, to learn how to work with women. The spirit industry is male-dominated, and the corporate structure is male-dominated. It’s great when we all learn how to work together instead of against each other.

What are some tips that you would recommend for people who are interested in learning more or beginning to experience spirits?
First thing I would recommend is to go and tour a micro distillery. Find out who is making the spirit, get to know them and purchase their product. Understand how the spirit is made, and also understand the strength as well. That is something to be serious about because people tend to underestimate the strength of the spirit. Micro-distilleries are available in all states, so it’ll be easy to find one located near you. This is an emerging industry and it’ll be great if more people educate themselves about it!

For Organic Nation Spirits, our goal wasn’t to try to make a health food. We were very invested in not participating in polluting our environment, and we want to create a quality product with quality ingredients. Organic ingredients are the best ingredients, not only for us, but the environment as well.

What are things people tend to overlook when choosing spirits?
People don’t take time to educate themselves about spirits, and they tend to buy the one that they’ve been marketed to. There are so many great spirits out there that are safe for the environment and us. In our current state, we need to think about our choices because it affects everything around us. It’s more important now than it was fifty years ago to make conscious, educated decisions in making efforts to support our local community and protect our environment.

Oregon is at the forefront for organic food and drink. What are some upcoming projects that you have going on for Organic Nation?
We are very excited to have some organic rye whiskey aging in the barrels right now. The whiskey should be ready in November and we’ll be selling a limited run. We’re also experimenting with a ginger spirit, and possibly a coffee vodka at some point. We’re also working with wineries to make brandy. As a small company, we have a lot more room to be creative so it’s exciting to experiment with many different ideas. Our passion is to provide the highest quality spirits with organic and locally owned products that Oregonians love. Ask for Organic Nation Spirits wherever you travel to and most likely we’ll either be there or will be distributed there!

View more photos on Organic Nation Spirits’ Facebook!

Leave a Reply