You don't need everything organized before reaching out. The first conversation is meant to be exploratory — we're trying to understand your business, not audit it. But knowing what we'll ask about helps the conversation move faster and leads to a more accurate scope.
Your entity structure
Start with the basics: how many legal entities are involved in your operation, and what type is each one? A single-entity winery is straightforward. A business with a production entity, a separate brand entity, and a holding company is more complex — and the compliance picture reflects that.
We'll ask about your entity names, states of formation, and how they relate to each other. You don't need a formal org chart, but knowing the answer to "how many entities do I have?" before the call saves time.
Your existing permits and licenses
If you're already operating, you hold permits and licenses. Knowing which ones — and roughly when they were last renewed — helps us understand your current compliance baseline.
For federal permits, the key ones are your TTB permit type (DSP, BWC, importer, wholesaler) and your permit number. For state licenses, a list of the states where you're currently licensed is enough to start. You don't need to pull every license document before the call — just know what you have.
The states where you operate or sell
Compliance obligations follow your markets. The states where you hold licenses, sell products, or ship direct-to-consumer all carry their own requirements. A business selling in five states has a different compliance footprint than one selling in twenty.
Bring a list of the states where you're currently active — licensed, selling, or shipping. If you're planning to expand, note the target states as well. This shapes the scope conversation significantly.
Any immediate deadlines or open items
If there's a renewal notice sitting on your desk, a filing that's overdue, or an agency inquiry you haven't responded to — tell us at the start of the call. Immediate deadlines change the conversation from exploratory to urgent, and we need to know that upfront.
We can't always take on work with very short timelines, but we'll tell you directly if that's the case. It's better to surface a deadline early than to discover it mid-engagement.
A rough sense of what you need help with
You don't need a formal scope document — but having a rough sense of what you're looking for helps. Are you looking for someone to take over your ongoing compliance calendar? Do you have a specific project (new license, label submission, catch-up work)? Are you not sure and want help figuring it out?
Any of those is a fine starting point. The clearer you are about what you're trying to solve, the faster we can assess whether and how we can help.
The first conversation is low-commitment. We're trying to understand your situation and give you an honest assessment of what's involved. Come prepared with the basics above and we'll take it from there.