We all know making money in operations in the bar business is hard. Unless you’re in a multi-venue operations role or working for a five-star hotel, you’re usually bottom of the barrel when it comes to earnings. Ironically, the romance of the job is propped up by external brand trips more than your bar offering free staff pizza on Mondays.

As a result, the established life cycle of an independent bar owner reads like this: a bartender wins a few competitions, makes a name for themselves, does some bar shows and convinces a wealthy investor to open their dream bar, usually with about 5-20% sweat equity (if you’re lucky). And you accept, because you’re broke, so you have nothing to bring to the table. Sweat equity? Basically, indentured servitude based on the money you should’ve put in to actually own your business.

The newly hatched startender-cum-bar owner opens said bar. The community rejoices and supports wholeheartedly, award nominations flood in, and our freshly minted business guru is spending the next nine months on the road talking about their concept, their ambitions and how you should be running a venue.

You have to ask when this person has time to be a bar owner if they’re always on the road? And why? Because their bar owes $400k to investors and they can’t afford to pay themselves a decent salary. The startender is like a broke aristocrat with a self-printed title. All experiences are different, but I’ve heard enough stories that it would be reasonable to say 60% of startender bar owners have experienced some variation of this timeline.

This is where the brand money comes in. You’re a bar owner. Your day rate has gone up, you have a name, awards and a cool concept so your guest shifts are valuable to brands. Suddenly, you’re travelling all over the world, beautiful hotels, Michelin-star meals. You’re living a champagne lifestyle with a lemonade budget.

IMPOSTER SYNDROME

But this isn’t your money, it’s the brand’s and it could be going to the next hot startender on the circuit. This realisation leads to impostor syndrome, anxiety – now you’re drinking too much, and the spotlight has become an escape from reality. Remember when you dreamt of opening your bar?

So here we are, trapped in a loop where optics trump operations, ego overshadows equity, and success is defined by stage time, not bottom lines. Maybe it’s time to stop conflating influence with ownership because bars run on cash, not claps. Our responsibility is to not let the next generation of bartenders fall for the same bullshit. First, stop pretending you have all the answers about how to be a good bar owner – your bar operates differently to one even in the city next door. Instead, be honest about running a bar business. Young, ambitious bartenders need knowledge about contracts, taxes, wages and how you managed to convince an investor to plug cash into your dream. Transparency is key. Second, recognise that the current status quo misleads the audience into believing that this system is the right way to do business. This only leads to the aforementioned anxiety and pressure for everyone involved – you as an influence and the audience who will realise that nothing you’ve said has prepared them for the reality of being a bar owner. If you’re spending more time and making more money from guest shifts and seminars than running your business, you’re not a bar owner, you’re a catering bartender with a motivational speaking side-hustle.

Brands can be a good way to make some money but we have to be honest. I make 50% of my money working with brands – I hope I will save enough to one day open my own pub.