My business worked... until I found out it was illegal

Regardless of what idea you pick, if you're going to start any business you need to do it the right way.<p>First - research your business idea. A google search for "selling beer online" would have quickly lead you to many articles like this: <a href="http://billybrew.com/the-ins-and-outs-of-shipping-beer" rel="nofollow">http://billybrew.com/the-ins-and-outs-of-shipping-beer</a> which detail where and why shippping beer is illegal.<p>Second, if you're selling someone else's product it's a good idea not to register a domain with their exact product_name.com. You're extremely lucky that you weren't sued. Find out if they put any restrictions on letting you re-sell or being an affiliate.<p>Third, research the method you intend to use to sell your product. In the future depending on your product you may choose to go a payment processor or a complete solution. Do your research and see what other people with similar business models are using. You also got extremely lucky with ebay, because selling alcohol is against their terms of service too: <a href="http://pages.ebay.com/help/policies/alcohol.html" rel="nofollow">http://pages.ebay.com/help/policies/alcohol.html</a><p>So, I think in part, the reason your business was successful was because you were doing several things that are completely illegal, out in the open. You were the only choice for that audience because going the legal route to sell that beer online isn't easy and is probably costlier.<p>Fourth, you will be running a business. That means taxes, registering your business, managing the income and expenses, etc. Find a book on setting up your business or google for any of the thousands of blog posts on that topic and you will find lots of step by step guides that tell you exactly what you need to do and what specifics you need to know for your state.<p>That's the easy stuff. The hard part will be finding a worthwhile idea, digging in, testing the idea and then sticking with it. You've got your work ahead of you. Good luck.

Take heart: if it was lawful to send Heady Topper (or Pliny or Dreadnaught) across state lines, there'd be no market for your service anyways; there is so much demand for those beers even in their home markets that the interstate distribution problem would be saturated with offerings.<p>(If you're wondering, most people get their out-of-state beers by 1:1 exchanges. There's probably a market for solutions that make those swaps easier!)

This book has a lot of great advice for how to find and develop a niche business: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003YH9MMI/?tag=dedasys-20" rel="nofollow">http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003YH9MMI/?tag=dedasys-20</a> - it's very much written for people starting with a minimal budget, wanting to do something small/niche.<p>I think the important thing is to keep trying stuff until something sticks. Good luck!

Which part was illegal? Selling beer online? Or the trademark issue?<p>If its just the trademark issue, then just change the name and carry on.

Max, I looked into this as a meadmaker several years back. I've been brewing mead for about 20 years now, and wine and beer for about 8 years. Everyone who's sampled my brews really wants to be able to just buy it anytime they want. After much prodding I looked into it.<p>Your mileage may vary as I've kind of given up on these ventures because they are very cost prohibitive to get going. So take the advice for what it's worth.<p>First, you want to be a retailer; you must be licensed. This is VERY expensive and you have to purchase 100% of your product from a licensed Distributor. If your local distributor doesnt carry the beer you want to sell, you're SOL. You can request it, but Distributors need a LOT of demand to get new products on their list. Distributors arent monopolies by nature, usually most markets will have multiple distributors so you might be able to shop around, but smaller markets will be limited.<p>As a manufacturer, if you were to brew your product to sell it's easier but much much more expensive. When I priced everything out to just have required equipment it was over $200,000 and that was shopping around for used equipment (over $500 for all new equipment). But even then, you need to get special licensing to sell your product across state lines. Up until I think 2004 or 2005, all mail order sales required in-person orders (visiting a winery for example) This has thankfully changed but other issues still remain.<p>Many states will not allow alcohol to be shipped in under any circumstances. Some states have requirements on alcohol percentages.<p>Beer tends to ship one of 2 ways; either you're visiting the breweries website and ordering direct from the brewery Or beer of the month clubs. Again, even the BoM clubs tend to be one of 2 categories; either a single bottle of beer as a "sample" which is covered by different regulations and is easier to do. Or as a "middle man" type operation where the "club" is connected to multiple breweries that are already licensed to sell. At which point they just operate as order takers and have no licensing requirements to perform this service.<p>However, there's a few caveats. If a brewery went through the expense and hassle to get the shipping licenses; they dont need you. Those that havent been licensed for shipping either cant because of costs involved, or have been denied for whatever reasons (horror stories abound when it comes to BATF licensing and license maintenance).<p>With the budget you're talking, I'd have to say you'd need to double it just to get a lawyer involved so you dont suffer ATF raids or even jailtime for breaking rules.<p>Bottom line: you were successful because you completely bypassed city, county, state, and federal regulations. You were the only provider so you had zero competition. You are incredibly lucky that you got tapped on the shoulder by a brewer that said knock it off rather than face an ATF raid and prison sentence.<p>For $5k I doubt you'll get very far in the licensing business (most of them locally sell for $50,000 or more for retail licenses)

Well, to some extent you already proved that there is a market for extending the reach of micro breweries which I would agree is a significant problem. Have you considered starting over using a different (non trademark infringing) website? Then you could even expand and sell other hard to find craft brews.<p>That being said...I would be very careful about the legalities of what you are doing. A trademark lawsuit sucks, but a visit from the ATF would be far worse.

Are there Vermont syrups or cheeses that have far flung demand? Perhaps a Vermont of the Month club if interest in Vermont itself is high enough.

Great job finding a niche in the beer industry, sorry it didn't work out this time. Do what you already did: find a product or service that you think people want, test your theory, and build a business around it. Sell something you have an interest in and your enthusiasm will shine through, thus increasing your odds of success.

Max,<p>This is a tiny niggle, but your list items need an empty line between them; otherwise they all end up on the same line like your list of admirable traits. :)

I really hate saying this, because I find it offensive in general, but: Google is your friend.<p>Any kind of research would have turned up these problems. If you live in Vermont you probably should already have an inkling that the state laws can be touchy about alcohol.<p>Before starting a commercial website, one should be moderately current in copyright and trademark law. You very likely broke both.

Were they interested in a partnership? Sounds like you were increasing their sales. I'm guessing you were paying retail price to resell it, too?

I'm not sure why the intelligence of your girlfriend was necessary for an introduction. It's having my question whether or not I should have been perhaps announcing the same of my own introductions, with that of a similar degree in my wife.

A couple of great resources for information and inspiration about entrepreneurship: - Inc. magazine. - "Mixergy" podcasts - free on iTunes, and $25/month for access to the entire collection.<p>Good luck.

Oh god, US bigotry and puritanism is the worst I ever encountered. I wonder how many jobs could have been created with a more relaxed and less religious-fascist look on life.