An Inspired Chat with Jon Thorsen

Jon Thorsen shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.

Jon, really appreciate you sharing your stories and insights with us. The world would have so much more understanding and empathy if we all were a bit more open about our stories and how they have helped shaped our journey and worldview. Let’s jump in with a fun one: Have any recent moments made you laugh or feel proud?
Since I’m answering this right after the holidays, I’d have to say a moment that made me feel proud recently are the messages I get from customers. First there are the ones telling me how much they enjoyed the wines they ordered, how they enhanced their holiday meals and how they shared them so enthusiastically with family and friends. And then the proof arrives – messages from new customers telling me how their father/cousin/friend shared a wine they bought through Reverse Wine Snob and loved it and now they are ordering too! There’s nothing like good old word of mouth.

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
Reverse Wine Snob is built on the principle that wine doesn’t have to be expensive to be good and that everyone should be able to enjoy it without snobbery. The Reverse part of our name means we’ve turned wine snobbery upside down! We’re enthusiastic for great wine but we have also have an open mind and a reasonable budget.

We’re coming up on our 15th Anniversary of Reverse Wine Snob and over the years we’ve helped millions of people find great wines without breaking the bank both through our reviews of widely available wines at stores like Costco, Trader Joe’s and Aldi but also through our winery direct Insider Deal program bringing wines from mostly small, family owned wineries to our readers at massive discounts.

This has been a labor of love but even after 15 years, it feels like we’re just getting started! We recently introduced our Inexpensive Gourmet Insider Deals bringing gourmet food items (that pair wonderfully with wine) to our audience as well. Just like our wine deals, this includes mostly small, family-owned producers that would be very to find on your own. This has been extremely well received and has included things like salami, chocolate, olive oil, balsamic and pasta plus much more to come!

Okay, so here’s a deep one: Who taught you the most about work?
Time. To get good at something takes practice over time. Whether it be a sport, a musical instrument, art, a business skill. etc. as you grow older and reflect on the things you’ve accomplished or haven’t accomplished you realize one of the big defining aspects of those two groups is how much time you put into it. And I don’t mean obsessive amounts of time, but just small consistent progress over days, weeks, months and years. You realize that consistency in these things, just putting in a small amount of work each day or week builds progress and it is like a wave in the ocean. It’s building under the surface for a long time, without much noticeable going on up above. But as it nears the shore you finally see the fruition of all the time and effort you put in as it raises up higher and higher. You also realize it’s never too late to get started on the next wave!

Was there ever a time you almost gave up?
The first 10 years or so of the site was hard. I was basically working two jobs – my full-time corporate career while trying to grow Reverse Wine Snob on the side – plus my wife and I had three young children. Reverse Wine Snob was always well received, but there was very little revenue which made it hard to devote enough time to it. That said, my goal was never to make money off of it, I started it as a labor of love, there were just other priorities above it. I thought about throwing in the towel many times. Instead, I just slowed down when I needed to and kept on plodding along until the site was big enough to become my only full-time job.

Sure, so let’s go deeper into your values and how you think. What truths are so foundational in your life that you rarely articulate them?
Integrity. Both in my business and just life in general. It seems like this used to be a given – everyone understood the value of integrity and in fact, relied on it day to day without necessarily even articulating it, myself included. And I think the not articulating part of it was a mistake. I look at our current administration for example and the complete lack of integrity and in many cases the derision of integrity and what it has led to. And I think the solution is each person not only acting with integrity, but talking about it and demanding it of our elected officials.

Before we go, we’d love to hear your thoughts on some longer-run, legacy type questions. How do you know when you’re out of your depth?
Honestly, I just assume I’m out my depth all the time. There are so many people smarter at every aspect of what I do, whether it it be wine tasting skills, SEO tactics, wine knowledge, email marketing, social media, etc. I try to learn from everybody and just synthesize all of it into what works for my business. Test, prioritize and build!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.reversewinesnob.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/reversewinesnob/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/reversewinesnob/
• Other: https://www.threads.net/@reversewinesnob