Donāt do it? Jk.
Youāre staff is the most important thing. They will make or break you. Finding good people is incredibly hard. But youāre in Houston and have a bigger pool to pull from than I do.
1. Be there physically. Youāre presence is important. To keep employees honest and customers really like interacting with the owner.
2. Watch you cameras. Religiously!
3. Track your inventory. Get the bar app or something similar to track your booze. I weigh my bottles every morning. I make my bartenders do a bottled beer count at the beginning of every shift. You need a good bar manager. I went thru 5 managers in 2 Years before I just gave up and did it myself.
4. My biggest problem has been kitchen loss. You need a good kitchen manager to take care of ordering/inventory/staffing. Iāve gone thru 8 cooks in 2-1/2 years. Most cooks/chefs are alcoholics with drug problems. That doesnāt necessarily mean they canāt do the job well. Just something to be aware of.
5. I would recommend getting a general manager that can oversee the foh, boh, and your golfing stuff.
6. Absolutely be aware of TABC at all times. They will be in several times in the first 6 months. They will also do stings. They are horrible. Make sure your bartenders and servers are not over serving. Thatās where they like to get you
7. Have a standard set of policies and procedures for employees. They need to read and sign. That will help protect you when they fuck up.
Which Point of Sale system are you using? Iām fairly proficient in all of them. I run Toast at my bar. Iāve reprogrammed it 7 times, so Iām almost an expert now
If you have any questions, need any advice, or just need to vent, Iāll help as much as I can. One thing that has helped keep me āsaneā is talking/bitching with other bar/restaurant owners
Good luck! I wish you the best!