Mocktail CEO links sobriety, spreadsheets, and growth

Laura Taylor, 54-year-old founder and CEO of Mingle Mocktails in Berwyn, Pennsylvania, describes how quitting drinking in 2015 reshaped her work and business. In a day that starts around 2 a.m., she balances “yucky” tasks like budgeting with the creative push

At 2 a.m., Laura Taylor is already awake—reading on her Kindle, occasionally ordering something on Amazon, and thinking about the company she built from a personal turning point.

Taylor, 54, is the founder and CEO of Mingle Mocktails, based in Berwyn, Pennsylvania. Her days are shaped by the choice she made in 2015. when she quit drinking. and by the lesson that followed: it wasn’t just her body that needed changing—it was the way she navigated work and social life when alcohol wasn’t there.

“My goal was always to be a working woman — to wear power suits, have a corner office, and be financially independent,” Taylor said in an as-told-to conversation. “I did a pretty good job achieving that.”

Her last corporate role was at Tableau Software. She says she struggled with alcohol there, and that in a work-hard, play-hard environment it became a crutch. When she quit in 2015, she became “very sensitive to how hard it was to navigate social and work situations without it.”

That sensitivity, she says, pushed her toward a different kind of creativity. She started making her own mocktails and found that they made her “feel” better—then she began to look for a business built around that shift.

“I started researching the space and sensed that the ‘better-for-you’ trend was coming for alcohol. Once I had that idea, I couldn’t let it go,” Taylor said. She launched Mingle Mocktails two years later and hasn’t looked back.

2 a.m. — reading and shopping

Taylor often wakes up around 2 or 3 a.m. and stays there long enough to drift into something gentle and familiar: a Kindle page, a late-night browse. She doesn’t always buy what she plans to, either.

“Occasionally” she buys something on Amazon she “probably don’t need,” she said. Recently, she ordered “a pencil holder because I decided my desk needed an update.”

After that, she goes back to sleep.

6:30 a.m. — attend to the dogs

When she gets up, the dogs come first. Taylor says she and her husband have been married for almost 30 years; their kids are grown; their two dogs get her full attention in the morning.

She lets them out, makes tea—her go-tos are Bigelow French Vanilla Chai or Lavender Chamomile—and eases into the day slowly.

Over the last year, she has embraced what she calls “the art of puttering.” That early window is the only part of her day that feels completely open.

She sets aside 15 minutes to sit with her tea and read from a daily prayer journal, or meditate for a few minutes using the Insight Timer app. She says she doesn’t always remember what she reads or thinks about, but the ritual matters.

Then she walks the dogs for about half an hour. “Getting outside is essential for my mental freedom,” she said. After that, she showers and gets to work.

8 a.m. — work begins

Most of Taylor’s work is done in a home office. She’s learned to check her calendar the night before, so she’s ready for the commitments coming the next day.

Her days mix investor updates, sample programs, warehouse calls, performance reviews, and production forecasting.

Mingle Mocktails, she says, has grown quickly. That growth has come with a practical pressure point: she says they have “run out of product several times in the last year.” Because of that, production forecasting has become a huge part of her daily schedule.

“If that goes wrong, it’s a full fire drill — of affected customers and logistics,” Taylor said. She describes how she learned the hard way that cutting things too close isn’t worth it.

11 a.m. — creative tasks

Once the “yucky stuff” is handled, Taylor turns to what energizes her. She tries to balance budgeting and financials with work she enjoys more—supply chain and operations.

She likes order, spreadsheets, and planning. Then, once she gets through the tasks she resists, she rewards herself with creative work.

She has an “incredible marketing team. ” and she says that’s where she gets the most joy: talking about new product lines and what they’ll look like and feel like. She cited Mingle Mood. her functional beverage line. along with packaging and merch. and even “silly things” like Valentine’s Day stickers.

Not every piece of creative work, she admits, moves the needle. But it keeps her energized.

12:30 p.m. — lunch and back to work

Lunch doesn’t follow a strict schedule. Some days, she has a bowl of watermelon. Most days, she forages—“a handful of almonds, or whatever’s in the fridge.”

She doesn’t batch emails or follow a rigid productivity system. Instead, she prefers to respond throughout the day.

She’s also read about people who empty their inboxes every night, and she admires them from afar. For her, she says, work and life blur in a way that feels healthy.

3 p.m. — checking in with family

Taylor works closely with her family inside the business. She says her husband runs sales and finance alongside her, while she oversees marketing and operations, and their son oversees operations and logistics.

Working with them, she says, taught her a grounding lesson: her son is the only person who will truly call her out.

“If I’m too harsh in a meeting, he’ll tell me,” Taylor said. “I don’t always like hearing it, but I value it deeply. Having someone you trust enough to tell you the truth keeps you grounded.”

6:30 p.m. — wrapping up work and dinner

Taylor usually wraps up work around 6:30 p.m., though not always. Some nights her reward is small and practical—like going to T.J. Maxx to look for desk accessories. Other nights, she works a little longer.

The division of roles also shapes dinner at home. Taylor says her husband has become the cook because of their company’s setup, and she supports it because she considers cooking “a waste of time.”

She says she’s happy with a frozen dinner if it means she can get back to work. He loves grilling, and she’s supportive of that arrangement.

7:30 p.m. — winding down

Taylor says she protects rest fiercely. She prioritizes walks, naps, and downtime over social commitments.

She goes out one night on the weekend and keeps the other night quiet. Sunday evenings are for puttering again—resetting the house and her mind before the week starts.

After dinner, she almost always has a lime Popsicle. “They’re non-negotiable,” she said.

To wind down, she watches shows like Below Deck—“pure fluff,” she said, “and that’s exactly what I need.”

10:45 p.m. — bedtime

Every night before bed, Taylor reads. She always reads fiction on her Kindle and says she goes through books quickly—sometimes two a week. She reads romance, murder mysteries, relationship dramas, “whatever keeps me turning the pages.”

She’s “always on” her phone, but she says she’s made peace with that. If something isn’t urgent, she won’t respond immediately. That mindset, she said, has reduced tension between her work and personal life.

Mingle Mocktails Laura Taylor mocktails CEO Berwyn Pennsylvania Tableau Software alcohol-free business production forecasting small business leadership better-for-you trend marketing team