Getting in over your head......job related

[El Diablo]

sdp,

"Never ever take any kick backs or swag from purveyors - if you do they own you."

If it's under the table stuff, I somewhat agree.

But I don't know a single bar owner who doesn't take free promo liquor from distributors. They definitely don't own you for taking that stuff - it's marketing for liquor companies.

[jtown1010]

I think you should try to be friendly with your employee's as long as they do their job, and only really be a hard-ass when they make the same mistakes multiple times. I worked in the service industry at the end of high school and all through college. The managers that I would really bust my ass for were the ones that treated me with the most respect, if a manager was basically always talking down to me I would do my job as well as possible to avoid them, but wouldn't go out of my way to make their job easier. You have to be tough but fair IMO, and 98% of your employee's will try to rob you blind to hook themselves up with cash and their friends up with free food. I know of some restaurants that won't let the kitchen staff talk to the service staff, so they just use expeditors for the food. I have no idea how you could cut down on the drinks being given away other than using airplane bottles, I've heard about that but never saw it personally. It sounds pretty weird and potentially expensive unless you're really getting killed from servers/bartenders giving out free drinks.

[AJackson]

I don't have any club experience, but a lot of restaurant experience. Without question, if it were me, I would hire a kitchen manager, it's just too much to run both the front and back of the house, expecially when so much of your revenue is in liquor.

The only other piece of advice I can think of is to make sure every employee is fully focused on giving your customers the best possible experience. It makes all the difference. I know it seems like a common sense type of thing, but too many places out there treat their customers like they are a burden.

[IggyWH]

Just wanted to pop in and say best of luck to you guids, although I strongly doubt you need any luck on your side. You seem, to me at least, to have what it takes to be successful in anything you do.

If I'm ever in The Lou, I expect an invite [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

[BPA234]

I have a lot of years in as a business owner. I can tell you that your panic/anxiety feelings are standard. But, you might as well dispense with them right now. Those feelings serve no productive purpose. Further, your life quality will suffer. The only regret I have from being in business was not realizing that fact sooner.

At the end of the day, many things will happen while you're in business. The only thing you will have total control over, is how you deal with it.

You're going to make mistakes and learn a ton. IMO, you should focus on having a good time with what you're going to be doing. If you weren't capable, you wouldn't be where you are and your partners wouldn't be backing you.

Regarding business advice, you know you're industry, so you should be in good shape in that regard. There are a few things that I think carry in any industry.

1. Know and understand your costs, both fixed and variable, and their impact on your operation.
2. Track everything
3. If you're managing people, focus on being the positive, high-energy boss who we all prefer to work for.

[Zeestein]

sick brag IMO

Congrats on getting this opportunity, and even if everything goes wrong it's just a wrongturn - just go back

so jealous

[guids]

[ QUOTE ]
quids,

I have a fair amount of experience in this industry, so will have plenty of suggestions as this thread develops.

Suggestion #1: Hire hot chicks.

Suggestion #2: Assume that every single person involved in this is trying to rob you blind.

[/ QUOTE ]

I guess I should expand a little. I just got done cooking a massive feast testing out my recipes etc..going to cater a friends football party tommorow to test everything out and get comments.

I will be running front and back of the house, Im hiring a "kitchen manager" in that Ill have two workhorses in there everyday following the hand book that Im comming up w/ for prep, and a lower paid cook to get the food out, we are only serving from 11am to about 9, mainly sandwiches, a few pastas, etc, and about 15 apps. We are located next to tons and tons of offices, we also arent expecting to make tons of profit off the kitchen becuase nowadays when you have a place like ours the liquor just makes the 150k/yr we hope to make off the restaurant seem like peanuts.


I wont be stuck in the kitchen all day, Ill be in and out throughout the day pitching in as needed, doing more quality control than anything else, otherwise Ill be out on the floor. My goal is to have everything so standardized, and clear (recipe cards, handbooks, etc) that a retarded monkey can do the job correctly (as Im sure Ill be hiring a few). the restaurant is my pet project.

at night, of course, our cocktails waitresses will be smoking, and showing T and A, our night time bartenders will mainly be guys, as Im bringing on some childhood friends to help out. I have a pretty no BS atitude, and they know that if there are improprieties they will be fired or worse.


kick backs from vendors, we will be taking "kickbacks", camel will write us a huge check at the end fo the year if they are allowed to sell there, our liquor distributors are paying from construction work in exchange for their logo (red bull) being up there, and Anheuser agreed to pay for some major Djs (tiesto, skribble) in exchange for letting them advertise the event and put up signs, which blows my mind as we get to keep the cover charges, pretty sick imo.

I have tons of little tricks to keep theft down, I know everyone is out to rob me, and not matter what I do I cant help it, but Im going to do my best to keep that close to 0%, security cameras, random drawer checks all night long, seperate drawer so they can make change out of it because the register will not have a NS button, if I see a drawer open and its not in the middle of a transaction they will be warned than fired, etc etc.



I am actually looking forward to working 19 hour days (8am to 2am ish), one thing that I know is I thrive when Im hustling. When I first started playing poker, I went from working 40 hour weeks in HS, to not working at all, and going to college, I have more energy the more I do, my mom says Im like a ball rolling down a hill, either Im a complete useless bum or go crazy w/ work.

[guids]

[ QUOTE ]
I think you should try to be friendly with your employee's as long as they do their job, and only really be a hard-ass when they make the same mistakes multiple times. I worked in the service industry at the end of high school and all through college. The managers that I would really bust my ass for were the ones that treated me with the most respect, if a manager was basically always talking down to me I would do my job as well as possible to avoid them, but wouldn't go out of my way to make their job easier. You have to be tough but fair IMO, and 98% of your employee's will try to rob you blind to hook themselves up with cash and their friends up with free food. I know of some restaurants that won't let the kitchen staff talk to the service staff, so they just use expeditors for the food. I have no idea how you could cut down on the drinks being given away other than using airplane bottles, I've heard about that but never saw it personally. It sounds pretty weird and potentially expensive unless you're really getting killed from servers/bartenders giving out free drinks.

[/ QUOTE ]

I will not be friendly with my employees, by nature, Im not exactly a friendly person, I give people respect, and I can make people laugh, and am brutally honest, which kind of suits what Ill be doing I guess, and basically my partners approached me because of it. My main partner is a restaurant owner, that I helped setup a point of sale system for.



You know the scene in Casino, when he is describing how the casino operates

Since the players are looking to beat the casino, the dealers are watching the players. The box men are watching the dealers. The floor men are watching the box men. The pit bosses are watching the floor men. The shift bosses are watching the pit bosses. The casino manager is watching the shift bosses. I'm watching the casino manager. And the eye-in-the-sky is watching us all.



Thats basically what I got, the chinks in teh armor are going to be are bartenders, I have people watching them at all times during the night, people I trust, and I have people watching them, and people watching the watchers, or at lest the way Im setting up the staff, and I have more cameras than any club should need, and the registers time stamp each transaction w/ some software, on the cameras over tham (price, change, date, time etc).

[guids]

[ QUOTE ]
Just wanted to pop in and say best of luck to you guids, although I strongly doubt you need any luck on your side. You seem, to me at least, to have what it takes to be successful in anything you do.

If I'm ever in The Lou, I expect an invite [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

[/ QUOTE ]

Yes, of course, once I get the actual leased signed etc, I can expand on teh location, grand opening a little more, and you guys can just PM me etc if you are in the lou.

[guids]

[ QUOTE ]
El D could you elaborate on suggestion 2,

are you referring to his partners as well or just the employees he's hiring?

[/ QUOTE ]

in some cases, its both, partners/employees etc. In my case, Im putting up cash, not nearly as much as them. I get an equal share of the profits though because they wont be there much if ever, Im not worried about them 1. Ill know right away if they are stealing 2. its not worth it for them as the company is in my name etc, and if Im going to make sure that the exit strategy allows me to shut the place down any time I want (losing my investment obv), closing the operation down for 2 to 3 months while they go through all the liscencing etc is my ace in the hole, but like I said it will be impossible for them to steal. In 90% of cases (and Im lucky here), you have to worry about your partners just as much as someone of the street.