Re: The Bar & The Fear.
 

I'm launching my business in the next week or so, and I have experienced The Fear. Sometimes when I'm walking and just thinking about things, it hits me that I could have just wasted a bunch of my time and money on something that will be an embarrassing flop. Also scary is the fact that a year from now I could be making no money, or I could be making a ridiculous amount of money.

However, The Fear to me is more exhilarating than anything else. Knowing that I'm attempting to do something that nobody else has done is a feeling I know that I wouldn't be able to get at a normal job. I also appreciate that the only reason I have The Fear is because I have absolute freedom and control. As opposed to fearing an undesirable outcome being imposed on me, I have The Fear only because I've placed myself in a position where my own efforts will solely determine my future. I know I could be phrasing that better, but that's the best I can come up with right now.

Also, for motivation, I watch this video every time I get discouraged (not a rickroll): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pem0ZSsMQVA

Re: The Bar & The Fear.
 

When I opened my store a few years ago, I had a few restless nights dealing with this exact fear. Like any fear, it's a good motivator, as long as it doesn't paralyze you.

Don't stop listening to other people's ideas... they are pitching you some good ones. Never ever ever act on those ideas until you believe in them as if they are your own.

Re: The Bar & The Fear.
 

dont tourists just go to places based on location? more details please on the differences between locals and tourists.

Re: The Bar & The Fear.
 

[ QUOTE ]
dont tourists just go to places based on location? more details please on the differences between locals and tourists.

[/ QUOTE ]

location and word of mouth. People saying hey you have to check out XXXXX while you are XXXXX

Re: The Bar & The Fear.
 

El D,

"Some more details on the types of things locals vs. tourists are looking for."

The tourists are a lot more sophisticated thasn the locals, particularly as in regards to music. The locals are stuck in the 80's and they think that Friday/Saturday after 12pm needs to be hard trance regardless of the mood of the night. Last Saturday night we had a very good crowd that were enjoying themselves and drinking. We were playing a mix of funk/hip hop and medium house. At around midnight a few of the noisy locals started demanding hard trance. If we had done that we would have lost most of the room immediately. Like I said, it's a tricky balance.

In season we are open every night. The tourists are spread over the entire week and the locals come out on the weekend to mix with the tourists.

Some great advice and comments from you guys so far. Thanks very much for that, it's very appreciated. I'll get some pics up in the next few days for you all to check out.

The bar is in the Italian Alps in Trentino, about an hour from Trento. The valley I am in is called Val di Sole. It's next to Madonna di Campiglio which is a big winter ski resort.

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Re: The Bar & The Fear.
 

This seems very normal and I think that's one very reassuring thing. Make sure you understand that if you didn't feel this feeling then something would be wrong.

My biggest piece of advice is to try to stay both as organized and objective as possible.

Organization - Make a schedule and/or to do list. You should have a weekly agenda of big issues to tackle and then at the end of each day check things off the list and create a more detailed list for the next day. Meet with your partner on Mondays to talk specifically about your plan for the upcoming week. If you take the time to organize what you have to accomplish/discuss it will seem much more managable and you won't feel like there are a million things to do in no discernable order (which btw is very easy to have happen when you are dealing with a large amount of clients and most of your daily tasks relate to doing things to improve customer experience).

Staying Objective -
This is something that is not always easy to do but it really helps if you can do it. Everyone loves to give their input - customers, friends, family, etc., but it is you who has to decide on all the decisions.

Customers are going to be total [censored] to you. People are going to critcize decisions. Things are going to bad. Don't take any of these things personally. Leave your emotions at home, you will have time to reflect on your success/failure (emotionally) over the years to come.

Also, when things are going great it's easy to get wrapped up in it and stop working efficiently. The opposite is true when things are tough. Remind yourself that you are in charge of making good decisions and that is your only job. No matter what just focus on making those good decisions and good results will follow.

good luck!

tc

Re: The Bar & The Fear.
 

Taylor,

How old are you? 25-ish? That is a really awesome post and shows a level of insight and awareness that many people who have been in business 20+ years don't have.

Re: The Bar & The Fear.
 

A few thoughts.
1. Make your staff a family. Most of the problems that will kill your business will come from internal strife. This may require some firing of the bad apples early on, but establishing a fun, sexy work environment is crucial to your success.

2. Develop an invisible partner. For whatever reason everyone thinks that they can run a club/bar. I created an invisible investor who I could blame for any decisions that I knew were important but likely to be unpopular. (It is important to not overuse this though. I tended to use it primarily with promoters whose good will I needed.)

3. Establish promoters. Even if you aren't hooking up with some of the larger promoters (who will need more input in the flavor of the night), it's important to identify people who can consistently bring in bodies. Depending on their pull you can set up deals ranging from free drinks to a cut of the door from the people they bring in . I have found one effective (and fun) twist on this is to wander around during the day and hand out business cards to hot girls. Explain to them who you are and tell them that if they come by you will give them one free drink per hot girl they bring with them. (Inviting a hot bartender to come along on these trips can be fun as well.)

Another way you can use the promoters is to help with your locals/tourists problem. Once you identify locals who seem reasonably competent you can enlist them in keeping the locals from feeling out of place.

Hope some of this helps.

Re: The Bar & The Fear.
 

yeah i'm 23. i'm lucky though i feel like i've had a lot of business experience at a pretty young age.

the bar thing sounds really fun. please keep us updated on how it is going.

tc

Re: The Bar & The Fear.
 

the sponsering a team idea is a good one...

my softball team plays 3 nights a week, 2 of those, the 10-12 of us are the only ones in the bar at night, mondays and thursdays they would have literally no one in there if we weren't there..

cost them the price of a league fee ($700ish), but they've gotten that back 2 months ago...plus, we end up showing up there on nights we don't play, just because we feel comfortable there...

great business idea, don't know how it'd translate to italy, sponser a club team in soccer maybe??