How We’re Learning to Cope with Burnout as Entrepreneurs: Real Talk from Red Rocks Spirits

Coping with Burnout While Building a Spirits Brand: Our Story

Let’s be honest: burnout doesn’t care how passionate you are. You can love what you do, believe in your mission, and still find yourself totally depleted. At Red Rocks Spirits, we’ve felt it firsthand.

In this episode of UNDISTILLED, we (Ashley and Willis Blankenship) get real about our personal experience with burnout—what it looked like, how it crept up on us, and the ways we’re learning to cope without compromising everything we’ve built.

This isn’t a how-to. It’s a here’s-how-it-really-is.

What Burnout Feels Like as Entrepreneurs

When you start a business, especially in the spirits industry, there’s this constant hustle:

• Late nights at tastings

• Days filled with back-to-back meetings

• Weekends spent loading gear for festivals and events

• Social media, sales calls, inventory, deliveries... rinse and repeat

And when you're building something you believe in—like Red Rocks Vodka or Red Rocks Cut Cask Whiskey—it’s easy to justify the grind. Until your body, mind, and spirit say enough.

“We didn’t realize we were burned out until everything started feeling heavy—even the things we loved.” – Ashley Blankenship

Recognizing the Signs of Burnout

Some signs we ignored until they became unavoidable:

• Constant fatigue, even after sleep

• Dreading work you used to enjoy

• Disconnection from family, friends, and each other

• Resentment toward the very business we built

Burnout doesn’t always look like collapse. Sometimes, it’s just slowly losing your spark. And in an industry that’s all about good times and connection, that can feel like failure...but it’s not.

How We're Coping with Burnout (Without Giving Up the Dream)

Burnout didn’t mean we had to walk away. It meant we had to shift. Here’s what helped us start reclaiming our energy:

1. Setting Real Boundaries

Not every event is a "yes." Not every email is urgent. We’ve learned to prioritize time off, slow mornings, and not working just because we could.

2. Redefining Success

We stopped measuring success by volume and started measuring it by how we feel—are we proud, are we connected, are we enjoying this?

3. Getting Comfortable with Rest

Rest isn't laziness. It’s strategy. It helps us show up better—for each other, for our customers, and for our business.

4. Talking About It

We recorded this episode of UNDISTILLED  because if we’re feeling it, others are too. Talking about burnout doesn’t make you weak. It makes you honest, and that’s our whole brand.

Why This Matters to Us—and You

We’re not just selling vodka or whiskey. We’re building something real:

• A Colorado spirits brand that feels authentic

• A business that supports our family

• A lifestyle that aligns with who we are

And that only works if we’re healthy enough to sustain it.

If you’re feeling burnout creeping in, whether you’re a bartender, a parent, a founder, or just someone trying to do it all—this is your reminder: You don’t have to keep running on empty.

Listen to the Episode

🎧 Tune into this episode of UNDISTILLED to hear our full story, including:

• How we first realized we were burnt out

• What burnout looked like in our marriage and our business

• What we’re still learning about balance

• Tips that might help you protect your energy, too

Let’s Keep It Real

Follow us on Instagram at @redrocksspirits for behind-the-scenes moments, podcast updates, and the ups and downs of small business life. We’ll keep sharing the real stuff—not just the highlight reel.

Because we believe the best stories aren’t distilled—they’re told undistilled.