Anyway, he brought up a GREAT question, that I want to address!
WARNING: I am about to go into one of my infamous rants, bare with me!

Brandon writes:

I have a competitor in my area who is working for F.R.E.E. and just asks his clients if he can have a tip jar, how am I supposed to compete with that? I’m sure when Brandon first found this guy he was a little nervous. I am here to show you that this guy is not a threat and that we can totally blow him out of the water, so here goes.

1. Price Wars are Suicide!

Most importantly, you must never, ever, ever compete with someone on the level of price. You compromise

EVERYTHING when you do this, and no one ever wins (except maybe the client). Do not think for a second about lowering your prices or offering a free option. What our rookie bartender is doing is NOT creating a long-term, real business. As soon as he does his first party where he walks away with $36 bucks at the end of the night, he’ll start thinking differently about his price strategies. Hold your prices where they are (or increase them)

The real solution is to…

2. Out-Market Him!

Someone who is working for free probably doesn’t have a real business (or marketing strategy). I am assuming this is a bartender at a local restaurant who is throwing ads in Craigslist offering his services. You (as I know Brandon does) will have a top notch blog/website that is ranked high in Google, and you have created a fantastic marketing str

ategy that allows you to attract clients way easier than this other guy. So instead of worrying about changing your prices, think of other ways you can out-market him. Contact vendors and venues and build relationships. Go to local networking events, do a promotion in your local paper. Get a Google Adwords account (pay-per-click advertising) but do something!

3. Premium Services Call for Premium Prices!

You have to understand WHY people hire a bartender. They have money and they want to throw an amazing event. They don’t want their brother-in-law to pour the booze, and they want their guests to be impressed by a professional staff (you!). Personally, I would be very leary of hiring someone for .f.r.e.ee out of a Craigslist ad. People hire me because they see my website, my pictures and my testimonials. They know what they are getting. A bartender at no charge begs the question, “What’s the catch?” Bottom line, if you want to offer a Premium Service, you’ve got to offer a

Bartender Premium Service

Premium Price (that’s what your client will be expecting). Oh ya, and a lot of my clients don’t even want to do a tip jar option, so I add the tip to the final price–what is our competitor-friend supposed to do now? Trust me, leave the tire-kicking, bargain hunters to this other guy!

Bottom-Line:

All you can do is laugh at someone who is doing this. You are building a real, successful, long-term business, while this other guy is looking for a quick buck. That doesn’t work for very long. Don’t be surprised if he ends up calling you asking for a job! HAHA! Your solution is always to out-market your competiton! Set up a enewsletter, contact past clients, network for new ones, pass out more cards at your next event, just keep hustling and working hard (and smart!)!! All competiton does is drive me to excel even more, make it do the same for you! Hope this helps Brandon and anyone else who crosses this bridge.

Thanks for letting me rant,

James Wedmore
BartenderConfessions.com

P.S. I’ve got a flood of questions coming in from you guys (thanks!) I promise I am getting to all of them!!

But there are times we have to do things we don’t like and it can suck, right?!

Well, it’s time for a mindset change that I would like to share with you. Once I had this mindset shift, it really made things not just easier, but more enjoyable for me…which resulted in more money in less time…which is good!

Ok, you ready? It’s all about creating SYSTEMS in your business. Basically, you need to ask yourself, should I need to implement a system for particular things in my business? Yes you have too, I’ve been there and When you start to implement systems in your business, you are starting to work ON your business, not IN it. You should really only be concentrating on the things you enjoy in your business and create a system for the rest.

So, how do we create systems?

First, for about a week or two, all I want you to do is observe your actions. What are you doing each day, or week that you dread? What is taking up a lot of your time? And what are the reasons you end up like a snail crawling on your works? These are the things that you need a system for.

Let me give you an example: When I first got started Mobile Bartending, I would create a customized shopping list for each and every customer. That means I would write and email and spend 20 minutes coming up with everything I thought they needed for their party! 20 minutes!! It wasn’t until I created a “Sample Shopping List” that I could simply attach in an email to every client did I realize I had a system in place. It’s a simple system but it took me from 20 minutes of work down to about 10 seconds.

Once you have identified crucial areas that need to be systemized in your business, you need to ask yourself what you can do to make this quicker, easier and more efficient. Sometimes it is using technology and the power of the Internet or software to have it done for you. Othertimes you might need to actually hire someone to take care of this aspect of your business. I have a virtual assistant working for me at just $3.50/hour out of the Philipines, she helps me trememndously!!

I also remember that setting up for a big event would take all day! I literally spend 5-6 hours setting up, cleaning tools, and prepping everything I need…that is a joke! Now? 30 minutes! Why?! Because I found a more efficient system that removed myself from the process!

Just remember, do what YOU love, and systemize the rest-and watch you and your business grow! Realize every important steps that you should implement to increase the growth of your bartending business is a very wise alternative choice.