Interview with Sarah Kate: founder of Some Good Clean Fun, North America’s most-read site dedicated to non-alcoholic drinks
Release Date: 07/14/2025
why most people quit, and what I'd do differently if I were starting today
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Most people don’t quit because they fail, but they fail because progress doesn’t look the way they expected. In this milestone Episode 100 of Mocktails with Marina, Marina reflects on what it actually takes to stay in the game (in podcasting, business, and the non-alcoholic industry) when motivation fades and results aren’t linear. This episode blends strategy, personal perspective, and industry call-outs to unpack: Why most founders burn out or disappear The biggest myths about consistency, visibility, and growth What Marina would do differently if she were starting over...
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Dept in a Box Series: Menu & Product Management
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In today’s episode of Mocktails With Marina, we’re closing out the Department in a Box™ Series with one of the most important and most overlooked pillars of a profitable non-alcoholic business: Menu & Product Management. Whether you run a kava bar, non-alcoholic bar, bottle shop, kombucha taproom, sober lounge, or functional beverage café, your menu is not just a list of drinks. It’s a financial engine. A marketing strategy. And the #1 driver of your customer experience and business profitability. Inside this episode, you’ll learn: 🔸 Why your menu needs its own...
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Dept in a Box Series: Event Planning & Management
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Dept in a Box Series: Employee Manuals & SOPs
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Dept in a Box Series: Interviewing, Hiring, and Onboarding
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In today’s episode, we’re breaking down one of the most important (and most misunderstood) departments in every non-alc bar, bottle shop, or third space: Interviewing, Hiring & Onboarding. Most owners treat hiring like an emergency. A scramble. A reaction. But the truth is if you don’t build this department as a system, your business will always feel unstable. Inside this episode, we look at: • Why hiring is a department, not a task • How to interview for values, not just resumes • The standards that determine the quality of every hire • The onboarding mistakes that cost...
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Dept in a Box Series: Marketing
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In today’s episode, we’re diving into the second installment of the Department in a Box Series™ and this time, we’re talking about the department that keeps your non-alc bar, bottle shop, or third space alive: your Marketing Department. This episode isn’t a tutorial on content creation or how to run ads. It’s a high-level breakdown of why marketing must function as a real department inside your business, not as random posts, rushed flyers, or last-minute “I guess I should say something today” content. We explore: Why marketing is your 24/7 reputation system How a...
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Dept in a Box Series: Project Management & To Do's
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In today’s episode, we kick off a six-part series designed to walk you through the core departments every non-alc bar, bottle shop, or third space needs in order to function smoothly. This first installment focuses on the importance of Project Management & To-Do’s. NOT the mechanics of setting up systems, but the deeper reason this department determines whether your business operates with clarity or chaos. You’ll learn why project management is the foundation of a sustainable, scalable company… why most founders struggle without it… how forgotten tasks quietly erode...
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Questions from Founders: "How Do I Keep the Sunday Scaries Out of My Business?"
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realities of the non-linear path to stability and profitability
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Everyone wants the secret to success but the truth is, there isn’t one. In this episode of Mocktails with Marina, we’re getting brutally honest about what it actually takes to reach long-term stability and profitability as a non-alcoholic business owner. From balancing your nervous system to facing rejection head-on, Marina breaks down the five principles that separate sustainable founders from burnout-prone dreamers. Forget the 30-day success hacks and “10K in a month” formulas; this is about the real work: emotional regulation, consistency, community, and courage. Whether you’re...
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Questions from Founders: "How do I build a $1M/year non-alcoholic bar?"
Mocktails with Marina
In this episode of Mocktails with Marina, host Marina Castillo breaks down what it really takes to build and maintain a million-dollar-a-year non-alcoholic bar. Spoiler: it’s not about your menu but it IS about your people, systems, and culture. Marina reveals the five most common reasons bars plateau before hitting seven figures, including leadership imbalance, burnout, lack of systems, and disconnection from community. She shares how successful founders balance human touch with technology, and why treating your team like gold will always outperform another rebrand or menu revamp. If...
info_outlineIn this powerful episode of Mocktails with Marina, host Marina Castillo sits down with Sarah Kiriliuk, the founder of Some Good Clean Fun and sober lifestyle advocate behind the popular Instagram account @somegoodcleanfun. With her PR and media background and deeply personal journey through perimenopause, motherhood, and midlife transformation, Sarah shares how she went from wine-filled nights to becoming a trusted voice in the non-alcoholic beverage movement.
Together, Marina and Sarah explore the roots of mommy wine culture, the layered experience of midlife women navigating sobriety, and the health and hormonal shifts that make alcohol feel increasingly misaligned. They talk about the psychology of alcohol marketing, the rise of non-alcoholic alternatives, and the way community (and lack thereof) shapes sober curiosity, especially for Gen Xers and Xennials.
Sarah also opens up about how Some Good Clean Fun evolved from DIY shrubs in her kitchen to a growing platform on Substack helping women discover the art of mindful drinking, one mocktail at a time. She shares vulnerable stories about parenting, breaking habits, and what “clean fun” really means when you’ve stripped away the numbing agents and finally come home to yourself.
If you're a sober-curious woman, non-alc brand founder, or simply someone wondering what’s next after ditching booze, this episode offers emotional honesty, industry insight, and an invitation to rewrite the story of what celebration and presence can look like in your 40s and beyond.
👉 Want to connect with Sarah or check out her latest writing?
Find her on Substack at somegoodcleanfun.substack.com
Follow her on Instagram: @somegoodcleanfun
Visit her website: somegoodcleanfun.com
🎧 Tune in now to hear the full conversation and discover why Some Good Clean Fun is more than a brand, it’s a movement.