Over at ManageYourBar.com today I spoke about a recent experience I had in a bar where I calculated the bar was losing $200/hr through theft. This wasn’t a flash in the pan, most bars have a level of theft, but the difference between profit and loss can be how you manage loss and what your threshold is for allowing it to happen at all.

What’s your threshold? The most profitable bars follow three simple steps to maintain their profits

I recommend you head over and get the 3 steps here

A friend of mine Chris Lenahan is no strange to opening bars. He’s got quite a few under his belt at this stage. He’s also the man behind many of the big bars in Las Vegas.

What’s so great about Chris is that he shares what he does so openly and for his latest venture. a dueling piano bar, he has videod every step of the planning process, pre-opening and opening of the bar. This is really informative stiff and great for anyone thinking of getting into the bar business.

All of his updates and videos can be found on our Discussion Forum Here

Unfortunately, being in the bar business puts you at a greater risk of robbery than virtually any other profession and that means that you need to be prepared and ready (if that’s ever possible) should the unthinkable occur. Your first priority will obviously be to protect yourself and your staff and there a number of steps you can take to make sure that no one is harmed and the chances of the perpetrator being caught increase.

Here are the top ten things to do in the event of a robbery: [...]

Many bar owners steer away from offering more than a handful of quarter bottles of wine or the occasional wine by the glass due to lack of knowledge or experience with this drink of the Gods. However, ignoring the opportunities that wine offers your business means you could be turning away business without even knowing it.

One way to increase your customer numbers midweek or during the slow season is to host a wine tasting event. Now I know what most of you are saying: “We don’t know enough about wine to host a wine tasting”, or “I wouldn’t know where to begin…”!

But before you knock this idea on it’s head, consider the following:

1. A Wine Tasting Event allows you to create awareness in the community of your wine list and drinks menu. You may end up introducing new customers to menu items they never knew about before. [...]

I was recently asked my advice by the owner of  a small town center pub in Yorkshire, England (at http://www.thebarblogger.com/askbarry) about what to do to increase footfall in the premises despite the presence of a large chain pub on the same street that had dropped their prices considerably.

Here are the strategies I gave him: