Protect Your Money | Protect Your Business

Real talk: if you're already catering events, you're already in the room where the money is. You just might not be the one collecting all of it.

Here's what I mean. You land the wedding. You land the corporate lunch, the graduation party, the retirement send-off. The client already picked you, already trusts you, already signed the contract. And then who do they call for the bar? Somebody else. A separate vendor gets that check while you're the one who did the hard part — getting booked in the first place.

That's not a small gap. That's real revenue walking out the door every single event.

So here's the move: add bartending to what you're already offering.

This isn't reinventing your business. It's not some big scary pivot. You already have the client relationships, you already know how to run event logistics, you already show up prepared. Bartending is just one more line on the invoice — and one more reason a client books you instead of stitching together three different vendors to pull off their event.

And honestly? Clients want that. One vendor, one point of contact, one less thing to coordinate. That convenience is worth money, and you can price it that way.

But — and this matters — don't skip the certification part.

Alcohol changes the liability picture. That's not me being dramatic, that's just the truth. One bad incident at an event without the right training or coverage can cost you way more than the bartending gig was ever worth. This is exactly the kind of thing that falls under Protect Your Business — get the skills and the certification before you start serving drinks, not after something goes wrong.

If you're in the Chicago area (or anywhere near it), Bar Academy is worth a look. Hands-on training, an actual certification, job placement help, even support launching a mobile bar if you want to take it that far. It's sponsored by the Breedlove Entrepreneurship Center, Learning for Life, and YWCA — and classes run evenings and weekends, so it can actually fit around the events you're already booking.

Check it out here

You don't need a new business. You need a new skill and a piece of paper that says you're qualified to offer it. If you're already at the party, you might as well be behind the bar too.

Stay informed. Stay in business.