Meet Trudy Hanna

We were lucky to catch up with Trudy Hanna recently and have shared our conversation below.

Trudy, so glad you were able to set aside some time for us today. We’ve always admired not just your journey and success, but also the seemingly high levels of self-discipline that you seem to have mastered and so maybe we can start by chatting about how you developed it or where it comes from?
Funny from my years dancing ballet! Being from a small town in South Carolina where there were limited people of color, especially in ballet, I had to develop the skill of challenging myself and staying focused. Despite the obvious racism, my parents supported me which allowed me to pursue my love of ballet and hone my self-discipline.

Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
PIE Imports, LLC was created from my love of making wine with my sister as a child. We would pick wild blackberries and muscadine grapes in my home state of South Carolina and make wine in a club she and I created with our childhood friends in our neighborhood. Also, gardening with my grandmother fostered my love of plants and the soil by seeing how the soil or earth can be altered in order to promote a successful garden. I went on to major in Biology which furthered my understanding and interest in the science of cultivating and engineering in the winemaking industry and how the beverage enhances our senses. I am motivated through PIE Imports, LLC by providing coordination of and managing wine tastings. Our services will also provide assistance in any needs a customer will be looking for in the areas of food pairing. The further vision, mission, and motivation for me is to bring awareness to the lack of as well as increase the presence of minorities and women in the wine business.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
The three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge is to expand our market reach by targeting new states for distribution and developing strategic partnerships with additional corporate clients and distributors. Another is to diversify our product portfolio to strengthen our competitive position and cater to a wider range of customer preferences. In scaling the business, we are also aiming to continue enhancing our operational efficiency, investing in technologies/software to improve our key processes and reduce cost. It all boils down to our goal of increasing our presence and journey.

What is the number one obstacle or challenge you are currently facing and what are you doing to try to resolve or overcome this challenge?
Hiring a team One of my biggest challenges right now is recruiting a skilled sales team with expertise in the wine industry and effective communication skills. To do this, my business needs increased capital for competitive compensation, training, and ongoing education to attract and retain top talent in this competitive distribution sector.

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