Career Options
On a roll in the booze businessThere's no doubt about it -- entrepreneurs must juggle a lot during their first few years in business. With so much to do, however, new entrepreneurs can risk burnout. ROGER PIERCE |
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 [ 2006-03-29 ] |
Ranked as Canada's Top Bartender, Gavin MacMillan (left), has launched a bartender training company called BartenderOne and a new book.
"It's exciting when your phone finally starts to ring and the business starts to come in, but you need to pace yourself," advises entrepreneur Gavin MacMillan.
MacMillan owns BartenderOne (www.bartenderone.com), a hospitality training facility, and The Movers'n'Shakers (www.themoversnshakers.com), Canada's largest team of entertainment flair bartenders.
Currently ranked as Canada's top bartender, he's worked in 13 countries and tied for second place the 2003 3C World Bartending Championship.
In his latest company, BartenderOne, MacMillan puts his considerable talents to work training great bartenders. "From a university student who wants to graduate debt free, to someone throwing a party this weekend who has never before mixed a drink, we train based on the needs of hospitality industry employers," he says.
His unique bartender training program boasts an internationally recognized curriculum so graduates can work in Canada and abroad.
"Being a great bartender isn't about knowing 500 recipes, it's about being able to create and serve that one drink that will take your guest's experience to the next level," MacMillan says.
He's definitely on a roll. Maran Graphics and Thomson Publishing approached him in June of 2005 to write a book about home bartending. "It was a lot of work and not a lot of money, but the carrot was the worldwide exposure that it would give my company," MacMillan says. "We published the book in just five months."
Blessed with tons of energy, MacMillan has recently learned how to avoid entrepreneur burnout. "Many small business owners take on too much, working themselves to the bone trying to get their businesses going," he says.
"I was working all the time. A good friend of mine intervened, and he now removes the batteries from my Blackberry for a day each week to force me to spend some time relaxing."
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