Interview with Rick’s Café owner, Rick Welch
Rick’s Café is a bar located in Starkville, MS. This website, http://www.rickwelch.com, has links to all of his current businesses.
I enjoyed interviewing Mr. Welch, he has given me a lot of insight on being a successful business owner. I hope you learn a little bit from this interview as well. The transcript of the interview is shown below. I will be referred to as CM and Mr. Welch, RW, respectively.
I see you have three different businesses Rick’s Café, Cowbells, and DogPound printing. I am directing these questions towards Rick’s Café, except where specified differently.
CM: Tell me a little about yourself.
RW: I grew up in Meridian, MS. Came to MSU in 1986, received a degree in Industrial Engineering in 1991. Worked as an engineer from 1991-1993. Came back to MSU in 1993 to get an MBA but ultimately decided to open my own business (Rick’s Cafe) in 1994.
CM: How long did it take you to get your business up and running?
RW: It’s still a work in progress, even after almost 20 years. But specifically, it took about 4 months from the time I purchased an existing business until I remodeled a little and reopened it as Rick’s Cafe in January of 1994. I had worked in and managed a bar while I was in college so I had some experience in the bar business but even today I tend to learn something new every day.
CM: What challenges did you face when establishing your business? How did you overcome them?
RW: I’m really not sure if my business has ever been what you could classify as established, I think the secret is to keep a business like this ever evolving as the market dictates. My business isn’t the same Rick’s it was a year ago much less 20 years ago. I’ve learned to overcome the challenges by mainly listening to my customer base and giving them what they want (within reason). I am continually asking my customers what bands they would like to see and booking them when I can.
CM: What genre of music does your bar typically play?
RW: Various…again whatever the market dictates. One of the things I’ve learned to do here is try to vary the music throughout the week to rotate the crowd. A perfect week could be a rap band one night, country the next, maybe a jam band or rock band, then a dance night. 4 consecutive nights with completely different music can mean 4 completely different crowds. It’s hard to get the same person to come out 2+ nights in a week. I’m happy if I can get them 1-2 nights/week.
CM: Who is your target market?
RW: Again, I try to rotate the crowds but generally speaking 18-25 year old college students. I also try to book bands that will bring in the 25+ year old crowd as much as possible.
CM: How do you deal with unruly employees, if you have any?
RW: I very rarely have that problem. I did have an employee show up to work drunk a while back; he was fired immediately. A few years ago I caught someone giving away drinks, they were ultimately fired as well.
CM: What advice you would give to a person thinking about starting his or her own business?
RW: Be ready to work long hours and don’t think you are going to just hire a manager to do everything for you, at least not at first. I’m pretty hands-on though. I’ve worked for other people and I’ve worked for myself, I prefer working for myself but there are pros & cons either way. If you work for someone else you can usually leave your work there. I’m always thinking about my businesses.
CM: How do you motivate people to want to do their best at work? Is there a reward/punishment system?
RW: Very good question and, in my opinion, the toughest thing I deal with every day. It’s a fine line to walk trying to be a cheerleader, their boss, and their friend all at the same time. I mainly try to get them to “buy what I’m selling”. In other words, I try to get them excited like I am to do what they’re doing. A customer likes to be served by someone that is happy to be at work and likes where they work. My employees know that there are certain things that will get them fired immediately – short of that, if they make a mistake I try to talk with them individually and work our way through the mistake so hopefully it will not happen again. No one is perfect and everyone is apt to make a mistake, I would be a hypocrite if I thought otherwise because I make mistakes everyday – just got to learn from them and move on.
CM: Could you describe a typical day as the owner of a bar?
RW: I average 16-18 hour workdays, but some of that is because of my print shop. I usually get to work around 8 am and spend my morning getting my print shop lined up for the day along with ordering bar inventory and working on promoting upcoming events at the bar. I usually take a few hours off around 5 pm and come back in around 7 or 8 pm and help the bands and run the bar until the bar closes.
CM: How do you keep up with the changes in the industry?
RW: Talk to customers, talk to bar owners in other towns, talk to band agents…there are industry publications that I have subscribed to over the years, and lots of information online too.
CM: Do you see lots of fluctuation as far as sales in your business? If so, during what times of the year?
RW: The bar business is very seasonal here. It’s usually busy when MSU’s classes are in session and very slow during the summer and Christmas break.
CM: Your businesses are so diverse. What made you get into the t-shirt printing business?
RW: You already answered the question: diversity. The t-shirt business is less seasonal plus after 20 years of running bars I wanted to try something completely different.
CM: Which business would you say is your most fulfilling, Rick’s Café, Cowbells, or DogPound Printing?
RW: I still enjoy all of them but I’m very excited about DogPound Printing and it’s potential. It’s only 3 years old and we are already shipping shirts all over the world. I don’t have to entice people to come in my t-shirt business like I have to do with the bar business, we can ship the product to them. Virtually unlimited potential.
CM: Is there any advice or information you would like to share with new entrepreneurs or people thinking about starting his or her own business?
RW: Grow your business slow, steady, and smart. To fast can be dangerous. Also, I think it’s just as important, if not more, to keep your costs under control as it is to increase your revenue.
CM: How do you deal with competition in your industry?
RW: I would be lying if I said I didn’t watch my competition but you can overdue it and that takes time away from running your own and can drive you crazy. I’ve have competitors that are willing to lose money to take business away from other people which I think is egotistical and reckless. Bottom line is keep your prices competitive, always try to provide friendly and quick service, and try to find your niche. Take care of the customers you have and hopefully word will spread. Sometimes that works and sometimes it doesn’t.
