We had the good fortune of connecting with Henry Masters, Jr. and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Henry, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking
Risk is part of the everyday life of entrepreneur life. We take risk on new ideas, new product, new way or marketing those products and new ways to finance those venture. Starting out, the risk were big and most didn’t pan out the way we envisioned them to. But thats not a bad thing. The more we fail, the more we learn and the better we become. I wouldn’t change it for anything!

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
My name is Henry Masters Jr, owner and founder of SweetBeat Vodka. SweetBeat Vodka is made with the finest all-natural ingredients through a unique process in the heart of France. Distilled from French sugar beets, this super premium vodka with all natural flavors added is distinctly smooth and remarkably refreshing, One of the things I love most about SweetBeat is that it is such a great product that people are excited to sell and buy it. I’ve never had a sales pitch or tasting where people questioned the quality of the brand or if it would sell. That was important to me because I have a lot of friends in the beverage and hostility industry. Even with those relationships, it hasn’t been easy at all. It’s actually been an uphill battle. One of the biggest challenges I have with a product from France is financing. We have minimum run orders and 100% of the project has to paid for upfront. There are no terms. It takes at least 6 months for product to arrive, so that’s a long time to go without revenue. I wouldn’t change anything about it. Now we have our own mold and bottle ourselves as well! It was extremely hard doing it ourselves. But I wouldn’t have learned everything I did if I hadn’t done it that way. Today we are gearing up for the launch of our new bottle design and expansion into 35 markets in 2022-2023. This is a very exciting time in the life of SweetBeat Vodka. Can’t wait for this next venture.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
That is a tough question. It depends on the time of year. I’m very into Dallas sports so depending on the time of year, we would be at a Stars, Mavericks, Rangers or Dallas Cowboys game. For sun on the patio with views, we would go to Offthecuff, Stirr Dallas rooftop, Bottle Blonde or Happiest Hour. For a good steak/seafood dinner we would go to Dee Lincoln Prime, Nic and Sams or Javiers. For a great atmosphere and instagramable cocktails, we would go to Kitchen & Koctials for the show!! We have so many cool places to eat and drink in Dallas its hard to pick. We normally play it by ear everyday. Weather in Dallas or Austin, one thing we love to do is hit the lake and go to party cove!! It can get out of hand sometimes so we make sure to be responsible.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I am who I am today in part of the people that my parents surrounded me with growing up. Growing up you don’t realize just how much information and influence you are absorbing, until later in life. My parents put me in a very diverse lifestyle where I met all different people from all demographics. That allowed me to be able to communicate with a wide group of people and not just the ones that look like me. I was blessed with a great foundation to start off life with! I also owe a lot to Morehouse College in Atlanta, GA and the entire AUC community. Morehouse taught us a lot about being men and the best version of ourselves. Never settle and never be scared of challenges. Embrace those challenges and turn them into opportunities. That’s exactly what I continue to do in these uncertain times of a worldwide pandemic and a supply chain crisis. Create opportunities from challenges. There are so many people who deserve credit, but I just want to thank the great state of Texas for continuing to support us on our vision. It’s been an amazing out pour of support from every walk of life in this venture. Thank you

Website: www.sweetbeatvodka.com

Instagram: @sweetbeatvodka

Linkedin: Heny L Masters, Jr

Twitter: @sweetbeatvodka

Facebook: @sweetbeatvodka

Youtube: SweetBeat Vodka

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutDFW is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.