Nicole Anderson strives to make an impact by showcasing brands that she loves and growing her business. As an entrepreneur and influencer, she uses her 10+ years of experience as a marketing strategist to expand her reach.
She is also a wine enthusiast and learned to craft her own wine. After trial and error, she landed on a product that won rave reviews. Her collection of curated boutique wine collections was brought about by her desire to offer tranquility to women, combined with a great experience. When she couldn’t find what she wanted, she created it herself. That’s when UnWined was born.
How would you describe yourself to others in the business? What do you do?
I am a Millennial Serial Entrepreneur, Wine Enthusiast, and World Traveler.
How did you build your brand? What inspired you?
UnWined was birthed from my love of wine which has grown over the years. As a young millennial, I constantly searched for brands that resonated with me and my friends. I remember walking up and down aisles of wine stores aimlessly, staring at labels but never feeling drawn to anything.
One day, out of pure curiosity, I decided to research how to craft my own wine. This search led me down a Google rabbit hole. After finding so much information, I decided to give it a shot and dabble in flavored wines. After several trials and errors, I made a product worth sharing with my family and friends. I was shocked at how well received the first batches were! They really liked it and wanted me to make more for them. That’s when I knew I was onto something.
As a marketing strategist by trade, with 10+ years of experience, my wheels began to spin. I thought about how I could develop a brand that represents experiences where women can find pleasure and tranquility in a glass of my wine. Thus, the creation of UnWined was born.
How does your brand work?
UnWined is a boutique wine collection designed for the women of today. My wines are carefully curated to enhance those moments where wine is a subtle release. As women of the 21st century, we tend to wear many hats. We’re 9 to 5 warriors, mothers to the future generation, and courageous entrepreneurs changing the world. UnWined is the brand that speaks to those women and their everyday experiences.
We currently have 4 wines in our collection:
- Finally After 5 – Peach Moscato
- Mama Needs a Break – Sweet Red Blend
- Girls Night In – Mango Moscato
- In my Feelings – Pineapple Riesling
What is your giveaway idea that might speak to our readers?
Many times, life changes and inspiring ideas come to you in a small still voice. You may have an idea or dream that you’ve been thinking of for a while. Don’t doubt yourself, take a leap of faith, and pursue your passion! There will never be a perfect time. Sometimes, you have to just start somewhere and figure it out as you go. Push past the fear, because there’s greatness on the other side of fear.
What challenges did you go through while building your brand? What challenges do you face daily?
I entered this industry a bit naïve. All I had was my love for wine and my passion to share my creations while building a sustainable business. I had minimal knowledge of wine. Mostly information obtained from years of visiting wineries and attending wine tastings.
Having created wines myself now, I also understood the fundamentals around how wine is made, but mass producing and distributing it was a new challenge. Navigating the red tape of wine regulations and standards was a daunting maze in it of itself.
Additionally, being young, black, and inexperienced, brought more barriers to my dream. Over the course of 2 years, I approached over 25 wineries seeking a strategic partner to bring my vision to fruition, and none of them chose to work with me.
I had several moments where I became discouraged and questioned whether this dream was attainable for me, but I was determined to make this work. I knew that this seed was planted in me by God, so it had to work.
I vividly remember meeting a woman who was a collector and distributor in the wine industry. She was well revered, and I was thrilled at the opportunity to meet and network with her. I just knew that she was going to be my golden ticket into the wine world.
When I met with her, we talked briefly and after I explained my brand and my vision, she flat out told me it wouldn’t work. She said that no one really drinks sweet wines and that the idea was “cute” but she wasn’t interested.
At that moment, to be honest “I felt dejected” especially receiving this feedback from a woman I respected and was so anxious to meet. However, I decided to turn this negative into a positive and used her words as fuel to keep pushing.
Steve Jobs once said, “I’m convinced that about half of what separates successful entrepreneurs from the non-successful ones is pure perseverance.” So, I did just that. I persevered and continued to believe in myself and my brand. Two years later we have officially launched, and I am happy to say that the outpouring of love and support has been insurmountable. Essentially proving people DO like sweet wines, and are loving my brand, UnWined. 😉
How do you manage your business finances?
As of now, this has been a true American startup story. UnWined was my brainchild and has been completely self-funded.
Tell us about your future vision for your brand. What is your dream about taking it to the next level?
There are so many amazing things in store for UnWined! UnWined isn’t just a wine, it’s a lifestyle. It’s about accepting that we all need to take a moment to slow down and relax from the grind of life and allow ourselves the time to indulge in the things that make us happy.
I want to share this brand and provide women with outlets to express their indulgences, so our next venture will be moving into offering merchandise. Such as cute and comfy graphic tees, wine glasses, and other fun wine accessories.
We are also committed to expanding our line of wines. I want to take our customers down a journey and introduce more unique flavors and share different styles of wines that they may not have explored before.
What message would you like to give to anybody who has a plan of creating something of their own and making a living through it?
The best advice that was ever given to me was to “make my cases match my dream”. What my mentor meant was to aim high and believe in yourself. I encourage any entrepreneur pursuing their passion to be diligent and never give up.
We always hear that entrepreneurship is hard work, but the reality is it’s not so much the work that deters people, it’s continuing to persevere even after the closed doors. Believing in yourself when others do not because often the most brilliant ideas are the ones no one initially considered. So stay the course and keep moving forward, your “yes” is closer than you think.