We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Jose Rodriguez. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Jose below.
Jose, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Alright, so you had your idea and then what happened? Can you walk us through the story of how you went from just an idea to executing on the idea
The first thing I did was started researching, as I needed to gather as much information as possible to start developing what my establishment would look like. I really enjoy the process of building something from scratch, giving it little details that make it unique, that make it one of a kind. I researched all the arcade bars across the country that I could find and I read about their history. I focused on the games they had, the decor, on whether or not they played music. If so, what type of music was it decade specific, new release, did they have a DJ, etc. I looked for trends in the industry on what people were wanting, at the time craft beers were really taking off so I started to learn more about craft beers.
I focused time on reviews for different establishments, I wanted to see what they were doing right and what pit falls they faced. Reviews can be tricky as I have come to learn because most of your guests that have a great experience don’t take the time to write a review. On the flip side, if guests have a bad experience they will tell everyone and anyone. While it’s important to know what guests think about your establishment, you have to learn not to take reviews too personal. Remember that the customer IS NOT always right, however the customer IS always the customer and they are the reason we are in business. Read the reviews, make the adjustments as necessary and keep moving forward.
Once my research was completed, I started selecting the things I liked the most and I started designing how they would come together. I came up with a name for the establishment which was extremely important because so many names miss the mark on what the business does. I also wanted to stop calling it the bar, for some reason it felt more real if I called it by its name. I picked 3 potential locations for the establishment, learned about the area and other businesses that we could compliment. I came up with a menu, hours of operation, training procedures, color schemes and on and on…
Finally the most important part, the financial execution… opening a bar is not easy and it’s definitely expensive. It’s even more expensive when you don’t have any money saved or financial backing. Loans were not available to me at the time, so I went to a friend who made a small investment but nowhere near what we would need. The only option I was left with was going to work and so I did for the next 5 years. I worked a full time job and 2-3 part time jobs at one time to save as much money as I could. I waited tables, bartended, dealt cards for fake casino parties and chased birds (different story for different day). If the job paid and it was legal, I was willing to do it. On top of that I limited my spending, cancelled cable tv, limited my phone plan, stopped dining out, no dates, no vacation, we just saved, saved, saved. After 5 extremely long years, we had enough saved to invest on this dream.
How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?
Consistency!!! You have to be consistent in everything you do. It takes time to build your clients, so if you are constantly changing things up your guests don’t have time to become acquainted with your brand. My goal in trying something new is to give it at least 3 months. After that time, if whatever you are doing isn’t working for your business it’s time to start changing things up.
Another way to build your reputation is making sure your clients know they are valued. Get to know them on a first name basis, ask them for feedback and truly listen to what they have to say. While you might not be willing or able to make all the changes they suggest, its always good to take things into consideration. Last but not least, make sure your staff thanks every client that spends money at your business and the ones that are “just looking”. It sounds simple, but I’ve been to so many places where the staff does not thank the customers. A small thank you, can go a long way towards building a great reputation.
How do you keep your team’s morale high?
Managing people is one of the biggest challenges when you own a business. It’s a relationship that’s built on trust, but that takes time to build. You also have to remember that it’s a Two-Way Street, earning your staffs trust is just as important as them earn yours. I found that communication is key to building a good foundation of trust. It takes time to build your clients, especially in the service industry. So managing those expectations with the staff is extremely important, don’t be afraid to share your plans to bring in more clients and brainstorm with them on what you can do differently, after all they have an open line of communication with the clients.
Keeping morale high can be difficult when you’re a new business. No matter how great you think your business is, at the end of the date the staff is here to make money. If they don’t make that money with you, then they are going to find somewhere else to make it. Working in the service industry feels like going to the casino at times. You might make $300 in tips one night, then lose $30 worth of gas the next night. So celebrate those great tip nights and discuss plans of action to improve the not so great tip nights. Show your staff that you care, it will go a long way to keep a high morale.
Image Credits
/Users/joserodriguez/Desktop/Headshot.jpeg Jose A. Rodriguez /Users/joserodriguez/Desktop/FlashBack OKC/Logos/FBRP Logo.png FlashBack RetroPub Logo