Michael Sargent

The choice is yours

So you have decided to take a pub. You now understand the structure of the industry but you still need to be sure that you find the right pub, one that you will be happy in and that will earn you money. All sorts of pubs can earn profits but a pub with an unhappy licensee is rarely successful.

The perfect pint

To a newcomer to the trade, coping with the beer cellar often appears to be one of the most daunting tasks to tackle. In practice, it is not. The technology is simple, there are sources of advice readily available and the mystique is soon assimilated.

Running the business

The previous chapter has explained how you should present your business to the public, how you establish your image and how you project your inn or pub as the best place for your target customers to eat or drink.

Keeping the law

The innkeeper is faced with a mass of legislation: that which is related specifically to licensed premises in addition to the many and various laws governing small businesses.

Profit from food

The growth of food sales in pubs and inns has been one of the phenomena of the past thirty years. These sales now represent a significant proportion of the publics spending on food eaten outside the home.

So you want to run a pub

The dream of many people over the years has been to give up their nine-to-five job and take a pub or country inn. Their vision was of foaming tankards of ale, of delicious freshly prepared food and customers queuing to get into their car park at opening time. The reality was often very different.

What type of pub do you want

If you are taking your first pub or considering your next move within the licensed trade, it will be to your advantage to have an overview on the structure of the trade. If you are to negotiate a worthwhile deal for yourself, it will be in your interests to understand how the system works and what are the prime objectives of the companies letting and selling pubs and inns. Only with this information will you be able to make a judgement as to whether the deal you have struck is the best one available.

Staff and customers

If the most important people in your pub or inn are your customers, then the next most important are your staff. The men and women that you employ have to fit into the pattern that you have established as the most effective for your particular establishment. They should be capable of reflecting your style, whether out front or behind the scenes. They should have a talent and an aptitude for the business.