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The slay isn’t opening the bar. The slay is keeping it running
Or when you stop just putting out fires and start building a system.
Opening a bar sounds romantic. Lights, music, glasses on the counter, friends at the bar, the feeling that you’re “living the dream.”
Reality is less cinematic. And that’s exactly why it’s more interesting.
The truth is, opening a bar is the easiest part of the whole story. The real work begins the moment you unlock the door and realize it’s no longer about you — it’s about people, systems, processes, and decisions made every single day.
If I had to give one piece of advice to anyone thinking about starting their own business today, it would be this:
from the very first bar, think as if one day you might have ten.
Not because you actually want ten.
But because if you don’t think systemically from the start, you’ll end up trapped inside your own business.
A one-man show is not a business. It’s an expensive hobby.
A lot of people confuse entrepreneurship with self-expression. They open a bar and suddenly do everything: bartender, manager, buyer, HR, marketer, psychologist, maintenance guy. They feel irreplaceable — and at the beginning, they often are.
But then there comes a moment when they’re still irreplaceable — not because it has to be that way, but because they designed it that way. And they can no longer change it.
Because if your bar only works when you are physically standing there, you’re not running a business.
You’ve just created a very complicated, poorly paid job with no vacation.
A business doesn’t start with a cocktail recipe.
It starts with the question of whether you can leave for a week and the operation still runs.
If it can’t, something is wrong.
And usually it’s not the staff — it’s the system.
Company culture is not a slogan on the wall
Company culture isn’t a sentence in a presentation or a poster in the back room.
It’s how people behave when no one is watching. In crisis. Under stress. When the bar is full and something goes wrong.
Ours stands on three simple pillars: tolerance, common sense, and communication.
It sounds banal. It works brutally well.
No question is stupid. What’s stupid is not asking.
If someone doesn’t know something, it’s not their failure — it’s the failure of a system that didn’t explain it properly.
And if people in a team are afraid to speak up, it will show sooner or later — in the mood, in the service, in the numbers.
People need to know why, not just what
One of the most common management mistakes is giving tasks without context.
“Clean the area in front of the bar.”
“Watch the cleanliness.”
“Be nice to the guests.”
Sounds clear. At first glance.
But people aren’t robots. And work isn’t a list of commands.
If they don’t understand why they’re doing something, they’ll only do it while someone is watching — or they’ll do it mechanically, without ownership or responsibility.
This is exactly what Kim Scott warns about in Radical Candor: if you want people to do good work, it’s not enough to tell them what to do. You have to help them understand why it matters.
Why do we clean the exterior in front of the bar?
Not because someone “said so.”
But because first impressions are made before the first word is spoken.
Because people are subconsciously extremely sensitive to cleanliness.
Because we are obligated to the building owner.
And because even the best drink tastes worse when you feel like you walked into a dirty space.
When people understand this, everything changes.
Cleaning stops being a chore and becomes a source of pride.
And that’s exactly what Kim Scott means: a good leader doesn’t lead through fear or commands, but through shared meaning.
Radical candor means having the courage to speak directly — while genuinely caring about people. When you explain the reason, you show respect. You say: you are part of the whole, you understand the context, you’re not just an executor.
And then something important happens.
People don’t start doing things better because they have to.
They start doing them better because they want to.
And that difference can’t be forced by orders — but it can be built through trust.
Customer service: everyone talks about it, few do it well
Everyone says customer service is important.
And yet, it’s exactly where things most often fall apart.
Customer service is not an extra smile. It’s a discipline. Sometimes an uncomfortable one.
It means not wearing a “bad face” even when you’re having a bad day.
Greeting people out loud, not mumbling under your breath.
Asking “How are you?” and actually listening to the answer.
It means knowing how to do small talk — and knowing when to stop it.
At peak time, the best service isn’t a philosophical debate, but making sure the beer is on the table in five minutes, not twenty-five.
Common sense often beats any training.
And yes — addressing a regular guest by name works.
It’s not a trick. It’s human.
As Dale Carnegie wrote: the sweetest sound in the world is one’s own name.
Mistakes are inevitable. Loyalty is born in them.
Every business makes mistakes. No exceptions.
The difference between an average business and a good one isn’t whether mistakes happen — it’s what happens when they do.
Peter Drucker put it simply:
“The best way to predict the future is to create it.”
In practice, that means customer relationships aren’t built in perfect moments, but in crises. That’s when a business shows who it really is.
A wrong reservation, a full bar, stress, a guest unhappy before even sitting down — these are the moments where trust breaks or strengthens.
Most businesses start defending themselves, explaining, shifting blame.
And that’s exactly how they close the door.
There’s a concept known to good marketers and service psychologists: the service recovery paradox. It says that a customer who experiences a mistake that is handled quickly, honestly, and generously often leaves more satisfied than one for whom everything went smoothly.
A guest whose issue is acknowledged and resolved leaves thinking:
“Yes, something went wrong. But I know I can rely on this team.”
That’s the moment a customer becomes a fan.
Not because everything was perfect — but because they saw character.
And character never shows itself on smooth nights. It shows in chaos.
As Warren Buffett said:
“It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it.”
But the opposite is also true. Sometimes five minutes and one right decision are enough to strengthen your reputation for years.
A mistake is only a problem if you deny it.
If you accept it, fix it, and take responsibility, it becomes the strongest trust-building tool a business has.
And paradoxically — loyalty is born in imperfection.
Don’t micromanage. Delegate.
If you feel like you have to do everything yourself, it’s not a sign of quality. It’s a sign of mistrust — in people, in systems, or both.
Micromanagement creates an illusion of control, but in the long run it leads only to exhaustion, frustration, and the feeling that you’re constantly in the business, but never above it.
Delegation isn’t about avoiding responsibility. Quite the opposite.
It’s about distributing it correctly.
You remain the one making final decisions. But you leave operations to people who can do them better, faster, and with less emotional load.
That’s why it’s crucial to surround yourself with professionals:
– an architect who thinks in space, not emotions
– a lawyer who sees problems before they arise
– a designer who knows visuals speak before words
– a marketer who understands attention
– a dramaturg who knows good programming isn’t accidental
– a photographer who captures atmosphere better than a thousand sentences
Not because you know nothing — but because they know more in their field.
You carry responsibility. They carry expertise.
When those two meet correctly, you get a business that doesn’t eat you alive.
As Peter Drucker famously said:
“The best executive is the one who has sense enough to pick good people to do what he wants done, and self-restraint enough to keep from meddling with them while they do it.”
Loosely translated: pick good people — and then don’t get in their way.
No one will hand you solutions on a silver platter
In a job, you have a manager. You try solution #1, #2, #3… and when the problem gets too big, you pass it up.
In business, there is no one above you. The ball stays with you.
No one will come tell you how to do inventory, schedules, cash flow, HR, marketing, safety regulations, or hygiene. No one gives you solutions for free.
You either find them — or pay someone who already has them.
It’s tough.
And at the same time, deeply liberating.
Learn. Constantly.
There is no single book, course, or article that teaches you everything.
It’s a mix of trial and error, thinking, talking to experts, conversations with people who are just a few steps ahead of you — not miles away.
And a lot of reading. Constantly.
There is no single source that teaches:
inventory
checklists
health & safety
accounting, taxes, cash flow
marketing
HR
scheduling 40 people across three venues
authority and respect
leading meetings
interviews
difficult conversations
stock management
It’s a combination of:
– trial and error
– connecting past experiences
– discussions with experts
– conversations with people just slightly ahead of you
– courses and training
– reading other people’s stories
– and most importantly: books
