What advice would you give to a young person seeking a career in the licensed trade? Ordinarily I wouldn't hesitate but this week it has me thinking.
To be frank, with a few minor exceptions, things in the trade have been pretty grim since Christmas.
Last week I drove past a local landmark pub to see it closed and notices pinned in the windows. It seemed they couldn't make it work. Then I visited a friendly licensee who showed me round her pub, the best positioned pub in town, and unleashed a tale of woe; of underinvestment and deceit. How the pubco, the licensing officers, the council and the police prevented her from operating. It all seems so depressing. It gets worse. The past couple of weeks have been quiet.
It doesn't help that the weather is foul, people are reluctant to come out, the credit squeeze is biting, people are paying off their debts. The reasons not to come out are many and various. A few idiots will say it is entirely due to the smoking ban. It isn't, but it is a factor. It seems that every way you turn the whole industry is in a state of collapse. This week we've had our letter informing us of the price increases this year. As expected the malt costs, and others, have pushed the prices up and it isn't going to be well received in some quarters.
So what kind of idiot would take on a career, and a lifestyle, so headed for disaster?
Well, I would for one. After seeing the landmark pub in its sad state of neglect I then drove two miles to discover a pub I had been expecting to be boarded up years ago now packed with people eating. Okay, it was entirely devoted to 'gastropub' but the operators could see the vision and had seized it. Well done.
I've heard it said that "if I could have all the money I've spent on beer, I'd spend it on beer". Hear hear. I'd do it all over again and I don't think I'd change a thing. My advice would probably be:
- Don't leave it too late. Retiring to a pub is sheer lunacy. It is a tough demanding job.
- Spend at least a year behind the bar of a successful pub to understand what works
- Dare to be different
- Allow no one to do what you do better
- Turn problems into challenges.
It is certainly difficult to be upbeat all of the time. You probably need to be part of a supportive family. But the sheer adrenaline rush of a busy pub, the opportunity to bring joy to people, the excitement working with a good team delivering what you do best still thrills me. I reckon when I do tire of that then I'll hang my boots up