Featured Content
Where do you go next in your career? It’s a scary question to ask. With so many directions to go in, it’s hard to know where to begin. It’s a question I’m also trying to figure out myself. One of the many options is to become a brand ambassador. It’s a dream that a lot of us have, and it can seem like a pretty magical career. Have you ever been to a brand sponsored event for bartenders? The brand ambassador is like a rockstar sometimes. But the job isn’t all parties and company credit cards, it’s a lot of hard work too.
My guest today Keli Rivers, she’s been in hospitality for 26 years, all over the world. She helped open many bars including Whitechapel here in the city, and she’s now the brand ambassador for Sipsmith Gin. Keli shared a ton of great advice about how she navigated the transition from behind the bar to representing a brand and category that is really important to her.
Hear what she had to say about her career and how she made the decisions that led her to where she is today. You can listen to our conversation in the player or wherever podcasts are found. Don’t forget to hit subscribe and check out our homepage for much, much more. I’ll see you next time!
We’ve talked quite a bit about mental health in the bar industry on this show recently, and I don’t think it’s a subject we’ll put to rest anytime soon. Bartending can be an incredibly taxing job. The sheer number of interactions we have with people every shift is mentally exhausting enough, not to mention all of the other challenges we face on top of that. Long, odd hours, low pay, physical labor and alcohol abuse can lead to mental health problems if we don’t take care of ourselves. But what can we do, and how do we begin to change?
My guest today is Brenna McHugh. She’s worked in the industry for more than ten years as a bartender, national spirits judge and brand ambassador. Recently, Brenna completed her Master’s in Counseling Psychology from the Wright Institute in Berkeley, CA, with the specific goal of supporting mental health and career longevity in our industry. She currently works as a counselor at an inpatient substance abuse treatment center and leads talks and events about industry-wide mental health issues.
Brenna shared so much helpful advice on mental health in the bar industry. So be sure to listen to our conversation in the player, or wherever podcasts are found. Please share this with your friends and colleagues in the industry too, this is advice that can benefit everyone. Check out our homepage for much, much more and don’t forget to hit subscribe. I’ll see you next time!
Personal finance is something that many bartenders struggle with. It’s a pretty terrifying subject that many of us, myself included, don’t even want to think about. Most of us don’t make a lot of money and we live in places where everything is expensive. Our financial struggles are further complicated by an unpredictable tip-based income that is often delivered to us in cash. This all traps many of us in a seemingly inescapable paycheck to paycheck lifestyle.
It’s really difficult to save any money, and if we have some kind of emergency situation, we are forced to make difficult decisions. It’s hard to even know where to begin saving and moving towards more financial stability.
My guest today is personal finance and credit expert Sarah Brady. Sarah worked as a server in San Francisco for many years. She now works to help people in our industry improve our financial wellness. Sarah writes for Credit Karma and Lending Tree, teaches workshops and offers one on one coaching to help build budgets, improve credit and buy affordable housing.
Check out our conversation in the player or wherever podcasts are found, and challenge yourself to try out one piece of advice that Sarah suggested. I guarantee you will thank yourself in the future.
Sarah will be sharing more tips on money management for industry folks on Wed December 4th. The event will be hosted by Jigger & Dash and sponsored by Woodford Reserve. Check out jiggeranddash.com for more info and be sure to check out our homepage for much, much more. Thanks so much for tuning in, I’ll see you next time!
I may have enjoyed the depth of field more than the wine, but that’s ok.
Another great month with some important advice for working bartenders. We discussed: The guest’s perspective, kicking people out and some mental tools for a more peaceful mind. I wanted to do another quick recap of what we learned so far. After all, repetition is the best way to remember something. But if you haven’t listened to the past few episodes, make sure you do. We’ve had some amazing guests on the show.
In Episode 17, we learned from content creator and professional bar goer, Hannah Chamberlain, the importance of welcoming your guests and other things we might not have noticed from our side of the bar. In Episode 18, we learned about industry veteran Joanna Lioce’s experience kicking people out of one of the oldest bars in San Francisco. And in Episodes 19 and 20, I shared some mental tools that help me stay even when dealing with challenging guest interactions, including compassion for others and remembering that this particular situation will pass.
Check out this recap in the player or wherever podcasts are found. There’s a lot of great advice for working bartenders in there that you can use on a daily basis at your bar. We have some great stuff coming up too, including an episode about personal finance, so be sure to hit subscribe and stay tuned for that.
That’s all for this week, but be Sure to also visit our homepage for much, much more, and let me know what you think or if there’s anything you want to hear more of. Feel free to leave a comment or shoot me a message through our contact page. I’d love to hear from you! Also, be sure to sign up for our mailing list, I’m going to start doing more with that, sending great advice to your inbox about once a month.
Cheers!
Some mental tools to keep in your well.
Hey everyone! I thought I’d do another quick episode on some more mental tools that can help you get through your shift at the bar. Last week we talked about using compassion as a tool to help you handle situations with rude customers, but this can be a difficult tool to grab when customers are really behaving badly. It’s hard to have compassion for someone when you are very triggered.
In these cases it’s helpful for me to use another tool. Basically, I ask myself if I’m going to remember this situation a few days from now and then remember how I’ve forgotten all the other situations like this in the past. The idea is to just slow yourself down a little bit so that you don’t have to be overcome with stressful feelings which will wear you down over time.
Outside circumstances will never be exactly what you want them to be. Even if they get close, ideal situations won’t last forever. This is especially true in the ever changing hospitality industry. Check out my advice on my own experience with this in the player or wherever podcasts are found.
Be sure to hit subscribe and stay tuned for more, we have new episodes every week. Make sure to also check out our homepage, and please let me know how this or any of the other advice in this show has worked out for you. Leave a comment or shoot me a message on the contact page. Thanks so much for listening, I’ll see you next time.