Tip or Treat: 7 Halloween Bartending Tips

7 Halloween Tactics to Make you MORE Money this Holiday Season while Bartending

YES! This is my favorite time of year! As a kid I had Haunted Houses in my garage. Today, I still think of the BEST possible costumes I can come up with!! But as a bartender with a Mobile Bartending Business…Expect a lot of Halloween Parties!

Below is a small list of great tips for all my fellow Mobile Bartenders that you can implement during Halloween!

Halloween Bartending Tips:

1. Dress Up! If you are NOT dressing up for Halloween parties…you’re CRAZY! Not only is it fun (and more casual, but your clients/guests will LOVE it. (Just make sure you ask if you can dress up first) Try something related to bartending or your task behind the bar. This year I am going to be a Mad Scientist mixing up some crazy concoctions! (Yes, you may steal my costume idea!)

2. Add Dry Ice: This is awesome! Every martini I make, I put in a REAL glass and add a small coin-sized piece of Dry Ice. The effect is amazing! Your guests will love it and it will keep your cocktails a bit colder!

3. Charge More: It’s basic Supply & Demand here people! When you have more party requests…up your rates. You can only be at one place at one time, bless only the highest bidder with your presence.

4. Unique Tip Jar: I love to decorate my bar with cobwebs, an ugly rat or snake, and a unique tip jar. Try something like a witch’s cauldron or one of those cheesy candy bowls with the motion-sensor hands. Let people have FUN while they give you money (yay!)

5. Include Halloween Inspired Recipes: I have include a great website that has a huge list of Halloween Drink Recipes. Click Here to check those out now: http://www.drinknation.com/theme/Halloween

6. Include a Menu: Put those fancy drink recipes on a menu of some sort and display proudly on your bar. Find one of Grandma’s ancient/gaudy picture frames, print out your recipes, and add some cob-webs to the frame. BOOM!

7. Bring a Camera: Chances are, your party will be a dress-up Halloween Party. Well, here is the BEST way to capture leads for your business: Take group pictures of guests as they approach the bar. For them to get the pictures, they must e-mail you…so make a list of their names and e-mails…and now you can promote to them! Oh, and you can also add these pictures to your website!

Got any more Tips?

Have any costume ideas, tip jar suggestions, or anything else that could help the other bartenders out there? Post a comment and let me now? Also, did my tips help, or do they suck?! Let me know your thoughts! Other than that, I hope you have all booked a lot of events for this October (and yes Nov. 1st for those Saturday party-planners)

Cheers,

James Wedmore
Mobile Mixologist

VIDEO POST: The Logo Contest WINNER!

Yay! We have a winner for the Business Logo Contest! Watch the video below to see if you were the winner!

Also, the video is very informative in terms of how to create your professional bartending business logo!

Enjoy!

If it don’t make dollas, then it don’t make sense!”

Mobile Bartenders: How Much to CHARGE?

An e-mail from Sherron…

I am currently beginning my own private party bartending because this is something I’ve always wanted to do. I’ve been researching your site for information, but I haven’t found any information on what should be charged as for parties or events. Can you give me some information on prices and what not as of charging for parties or events? I don’t know where to begin in that area of a price to charge or even what profit I could make.

I get this question all of the time! And it is a great one. In fact, I even devote an entire chapter (and quite a long one) to Mobile Bartending Rates and how you should find the rate that works best for you and your customers. I have soo much that I want to say on this topic that I felt that I had to turn Sherron’s email into a blog post. If there is ONE article that you should read on my blog…THIS IS IT! So, I hope you are ready to get your hands a little dirty, ready?

CHARGE WHAT YOU WANT:

As a business owner, you have the POWER to choose your rates! You do not have to have “competitive” prices, and you do not have to charge the same week after week! And frankly, you must ask yourself this question: “If I charge my client $XXX.xx, is that WORTH it to me?” If the answer is “no”…than you are NOT charging enough! I know that isn’t exactly the answer you wanted, but as long as you have the mindset that you can charge WHATEVER you want, you will be successful!

PREMIUM RATES=PREMIUM SERVICES

People really believe that they get what they pay for! You proudly show off those $200 jeans that are cost no more than the Target brand. Your clients will proudly flaunt their premium bartender that is always booked and in high demand, even if you charge WAY more than the competition.

YOUR RATES ARE NOT FIXED:

On my bartending website, I NEVER display my rates…why? Because they change depending on my mood! That’s right, when a client calls, I am actually interviewing them! If they live in a “bad neighborhood” or they sound cheap or rude, etc, I increase my rates! I am always booked every weekend, I do not care if I don’t book them! Someone else ALWAYS comes along!

WHEN DEMAND INCREASES, SO DOES YOUR RATE:

There are days, months, and seasons of the year where your services will be in higher demand than others. You can only be in one spot at a time, right? Well…increase your rates, when this happens. (BTW, for all you beginner mobile bartenders, we are turning the corner onto the BUSIEST time of year! The FALL is crazy and it ends with a bang with Christmas and New Year’s…so get ready! Oh and my product: Bartend-4-Profit identifies all fo the major holidays and seasons where you should be increasing your rates!)

DON’T CHARGE BY THE HOUR:

I hate this! (Actually I love it! When my competition does this it makes me look sooo much better) Listen up guys, this one is important! never charge based on the hour, because no one should ever hire you for just an hour! You are charging based on the “EXPERIENCE!” YES! Your bartending experience that you provide your clients, for an evening of your services! So, instead of “Our rates are just $25/hour” say: “An evening of our bartending services includes 5 hours of bartending complete with all professional bartending tools and equipment for just $155.” If you take away one thing it is this:

Increase your Perceived Value and you can charge what you want! When you sell your client on an “Experience,” your Perceived Value will skyrocket!

DON’T FORGET ABOUT GRATUITY

Remember folks, this is just to get in the door! I inform all of my clients of the required gratuity. Standard rate is anywhere from $1-3/per guest (if they do not let me put out a tip jar) This means your gratuity should match or exceed your initial rate!

THE UPSELL:

Now your client is ready to book you! Rent them a bar ($30-60.00), glassware (.$50/glass) and servers ($130) to make even MORE money! This is your upsell!

PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER:

Ok, so if you are new into mobile bartending, charge less so you can break into more events and get the experience and confidence you need. Depending on your area and demand for mobile bartenders, something like $100-150 is a great starting out rate.

Once you have a Reputation, Experience, and Confidence, why not increase your rates to $175-$225 for just 4 hours and then an additional $35 for each additional hour they decide to keep you. And remember, you always have gratuity!! The Bartend-4-Profit System & Tip Attraction shows you how you can EASILY increase your tips and become an entertainer for your guests.

Well…does that help? It works for me and my staff, and it is helping tons of bartenders that I have helped and coached all over the country (and Canada!) Please POST your comments below and any additional questions that you may have.

For now, focus on getting ready for this Fall Season, Halloween parties are HUGE! So get out there, market your services and make some money!

To your Bartending Success,

James Wedmore
Bartend4Profit.com

Too Fast-Too Furious: Drunken Nights! (Part II)

And now, with out further adu, Part II of Jeremy Shirk’s(author of Make Money Bartending) blog post on increasing your speed as a bartender. Why is this so important? Well…the faster and more efficient you are as a bartender, the more tips! You can serve more customers and they wait less for their beverage. You’re happy, they’re happy…it’s a win-win! ENJOY!!

Becoming An Extraordinarily Fast Bartender - Part 2

ef-fi-cien-cy [i-fish-uhn-see]
n. pl. ef-fi-cien-cies

1. accomplishment of or ability to accomplish a job with a minimum expenditure of time and effort.
2. The ratio of the effective or useful output to the total input in any system.
3. The ratio of the energy delivered by a machine to the energy supplied for its operation.

As a bartender, if you can churn out drinks with minimum expenditure of time and effort� you will make ridiculous amounts of cash and have the option to work at virtually any establishment you like.

In Part 1, we spoke of ways you can increase you speed. All speed requires is the decision to� well� move fast. However, increasing efficiency requires more time and preparation than simply deciding to turn it up a notch� and that�s exactly why many bartenders collapse under the pressure of being thick in the weeds� because they fail to take the time to prepare their bar for maximum efficiency.

So how do you become more efficient?

1) Contemplation

Look at your bar surroundings:

Is there anything that can be improved?

Is there a certain action you hate doing, because it eats up so much time?

Now, while you may not be in a position to start reconstructing shelf and fridge space to suit your needs, such a minor change, like the location of your shot glasses, can make a drastic difference to the amount of effort you expend in during a shift.

And if you are in a position to influence bar reconstruction, do it if it will increase your bar�s efficiency! The bottom line is, become aware of your bar�s environment and make changes if necessary.

2) Preparation

Showing up 30 minutes earlier to prepare for your shift can make a world of difference to your night. Extra preparation time BEFORE your shift will result much less time and effort expended DURING your shift.

3) Systems

Systems allow you to execute without thinking, and that�s exactly what you want as a bartender. You shouldn�t have to �think� about where to reach for your grapefruit juice when someone orders a Seabreeze. It should be automatic. It should be second nature.

Have you ever seen a bartender buckle under the pressure of a mob of customers all screaming for a drink? Well, it�s not a pretty sight.

When every action is second nature, you can keep your cool easily, even when it gets crazy. Systems mean you follow the same procedure each time. You don�t do things randomly and sporadically, you do them the same, everytime! Everything from the way you set up your bar, to the sequential order you make drinks, etc.

4) Organization

While organization is a requirement of a good system. It�s important to stay organized throughout the night. Especially if your work alongside other bartenders.

Put things back in their place. Make sure you�re on the same page as your co-workers. It drove me nuts when I used to work with bartenders who didn�t put things back, or worse, because of their lack of preparation, have to come to my well/work area and grab a bottle.

As an efficient bartender, you will pull in the highest sales, and create the most enjoyable experience for your customers. Instead of dreading �the weeds�, you will welcome the craziness of working in a busy establishment because you know you can handle it.

~~~
The author of this article, Jeremy Sherk, is an expert, world-class bartender who has helped thousands of bartenders land their dream job and explode their level of cash tips.

Rather than hitting your head against a brick wall trying to succeed on your own, let him take you by the hand and show you exactly how to land the bartending job of your dreams making hundreds in cash per night! 100% Guaranteed! Click here now for all the details!

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