As The World Reopens

As the world reopens, the service industry is coming back to life. Bartenders will be highly sought after as some people will not be returning to their old positions. You can take advantage of this situation by becoming the best bartender in the room.

I have heard of so many businesses looking for employees, but there seems to be no one willing to get out and work.

I guess I am one of them. After almost 20 years in the service industry, I have finally called it quits.

Leaving a job that I had enjoyed for so many years was equally difficult and easy. But how could that be? How can something that appears to be very opposite of each other be similar?

There are a few simple explanations and I will try not to be too complex.

First of all, it was easy because family always comes first. I had been working every summer since 2003 at the same bar/ restaurant. Most of the time I clocked in approximately 36 hours in three days. There were times where I would exceed that and there were times that I worked more than three days.

My weekly schedule in the summer was as follow:

Thursday - sad Buck because I knew I had a long weekend ahead

Friday - get in to the bar early to set up and mentally prepare

Saturday - get in the bar even earlier to set up and prepare for a double shift

Sunday - get in to the bar just as early as Saturday to set up and prepare for a double shift

Monday - full day of recovery

Tuesday - Off

Wednesday - Off

Thursday - Sad Buck again :-(

That left me with two days off to spend with my family. Two days to be present! The type of present that doesn’t mean watching Netflix with the family, while at the same time crushing some Clash of Clans. The type of present that has you looking into your child’s eyes while they are telling you of an adventure they just made up. Or the type of present that surprises your wife when you grab her hand to take a family walk. Those are the times in which I am grateful to have back.

When I was younger (18-25 years old), I really enjoyed the thrill of bartending and making a ton of money. And I did what I had to do to pay the bills. As the years progressed I realized that money wasn't everything.

Especially after reading a book by Ramit Sethi - I Will Teach You To Be Rich, I started to think in terms of what being Rich really means.

I think I am already Rich, and that doesn’t mean that I have tons of money. I have a great family, great friends, a fantastic job, and something that other people take for granted; a lot of love.

True story - My youngest son asked me for a fortune cookie the other day that was on our counter. And the fortune read:

“An ounce of gold is not worth an ounce of time.”

I thought for a second about how ironic it was that I had just retired from bartending for that same reason.

I put the fortune on the refrigerator with a magnet and when I get home later today I’m going to post a picture of it (it better still be there :-\) so you believe me. But how crazy is the world that we live in? How insane is it that nature finds a way to comfort us?

I guess it is all in the way you perceive things because I’m sure some might have ignored the message in the fortune cookie or not have read it at all. Perhaps some might have just opened the wrapper for their child and didn’t bother to read it’s message.

And I am eager to share all of my bartending experience with anyone who wants to be the best they can be in the industry.

I have proven techniques that have made the bar and myself a lot of money.

My time behind the bar has passed and I will pass the torch on to all of you. Because for me, it’s so much better to burn out, than to fade away.

If you’re ready, I will teach you how to make the most amount of money bartending, by doing the least amount possible.

Get on the BOAT!

-Buck