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[Neil Johnson Contribution Level: 2]

Now… I have a friend who I would like to help… but I really do not know how to go about it…

He and his wife own a tavern… the tavern is located in a small agricultural town of 900 people, they run power ball lottery, slot machines, they sell sandwhiches, wine, beer (and soon to be liquor) the bartenders double up as security, they have been working 10 years in this business at 14 hours a day 7 days a week, with vacations, and etc… this business is there livelihood and I can tell he and his wife worry all the time about what’s going to happen next… I really feel for them..

I would just like to hear some tips on how they can cut down the amount of time him and his wife are working at the bar… so that they can focus on business growth, and so they can enjoy life a little bit without having to worry to much…

Of course I would be really careful not to come off like a know it all when suggesting tips… But you know… it frustrates me to see these people struggling like this.. And to know that they have been doing this routine for 15 years! It seems tough..

So any suggestions from smart people would be appreciated.. thanks!

[Cheryl James Company: Talk Fusion Global Contribution Level: 3]

Neil,
I've got just three words for you: Wine Library TV
http://tv.winelibrary.com/
80,000 viewers a day!

[Neil Johnson Contribution Level: 2]

Neil,
I've got just three words for you: Wine Library TV
http://tv.winelibrary.com/
80,000 viewers a day!

Great site! ... I like Dr. Vino.. great stuff... he is a wino to the heart.. Good vid... It only makes me want to brush up on my knowledge of vinticulture..

[Lauri Beamish Company: Amway Contribution Level: 1]

Hi Neil,
I feel for your friends. I had a bar and for 10 yrs. it ruled my life completely. I did learn a lot about from the experience and realize a lot of the mistakes I made now that I can look back on it. If you ever meet anyone wanting to buy a bar you'll have to tell them to buy my book. LOL. (just kidding. Haven't written it yet).

It sounds like they're doing some good things as far as having several income streams (sandwiches, lottery, etc.). In a small little community of only 900, there's only so much money to spread around. If they can come up with something they carry that either no one else does, or that people would rather come and get there, that always helps. For us, we didn't want to pay the 3% or whatever to take credit cards so we put in an ATM. Not only that, but on an ATM you don't get the non-payments, stolen credit cards, etc. that you do if you just take Visa or Mastercard. Their bank, etc. may be willing to put one in for free or next to no cost if they don't have one already.

Another big profit center is cigarettes. Even though people have to go outside to smoke in most states now, if they're smokers they still want cigarettes. All you have to carry is the most popular brands, Marlboro, Camel, a couple of menthols like Kools and Salems. There are a lot of people that never smoke accept when they are drinking. Why not buy them there instead of letting them go somewhere else? It's not unusual for a bar to make almost 50% on their money with cigarettes.

Another thing that helps is their own website. I don't know how many people in the community are very much on the web, but it would be great if people could go to their site and see what events were coming up, etc. http://www.bit.ly is totally free. Not only that, but anyone visiting the community can find it when they are looking under "nightlife" or "bar" or "tavern". They may pull in a few "out of towners". If they can get people involved in their "events" it's even better. For Monday nite football for example, one bar puts on dinner every Monday nite, but different people sign up for the Monday nights. At the end of Monday night football they have a drawing for like $500 or something like that. The only people that get entered are the ones that cooked or brought food for Monday night. I saw on my slow nites like Tues. and Wed. that some of my customers were gathering at the end of the bar to watch American Idol. I started having an American Idol nite, put it on the Big Screen, made a thing out of it.

One other thing I would suggest is they need to take time to socialize. I'm sure in such a small community they are already well known. Offering a free beer to a local person they do business with or something along those lines always spreads good PR. A lot of times there is a different "feel" to it when your friends go to the other person's place of business and offer it there than it does if they just buy them a beer when they come in. They also want to draw people in that don't normally patronize them. The idea of making it known that they will help with any parties, etc. is also a good one. We had a few companies that would rather have a good down home Christmas party at our little dive bar than all the best places in the San Francisco Bay Area.

I wish your friends luck. It's a tough business. They really need to pay attention to where their money is going, what's really selling, etc. I really didn't want to mention this, but if they can get good, reliable, young attractive girls in there, that always draws in the business. LOL. (I better go. I'll end up writing my whole book right here).

[Neil Johnson Contribution Level: 2]

thanks for the good advice Dean and Laurie.. much appreciated...