At least once each semester the inevitable happens; we wind up being without a guest speaker. Entrepreneurs are busy people who sometimes have to cancel out on things not directly related to their businesses; and I failed in multiple last-minute attempts to get a “backup” on overly short notice.

Yet such challenge is actually welcome in the Midwest Entrepreneurs class; as long as it happens but once or twice a semester… It gives me the chance to reinforce one of the most important (general) things that business students can learn: The need to adapt to changing circumstances (and the need to be persistently ready to do so).

So that is what we did… And, as I almost invariably do, I turned to an old friend in this time of need: Spike TV’s Bar Rescue (http://www.spike.com/shows/bar-rescue).

If you are not familiar with Bar Rescue, the series stars consultant—and now entertainment entrepreneur–Jon Taffer, a no-nonsense former bar and nightclub owner who has owned, flipped, or somehow otherwise “rescued” nearly 1,000 such businesses in his career. Taffer and his crew of expert bartenders, chefs, and designers is brought in by bar owners–entrepreneurs–to save their declining and often severly neglected and dysfunctionally run businesses. After a period of surveillance and consultation and training meetings, Taffer brings in local contractors and other service providers to renovate and update the facility (based on his extensive bar/restaurant marketing and management expertise).

And that is exactly what happened in the episode that we used to remedy our no-speaker woes last week… The dysfunction- and remarkable-turnaround-laden episode of the series that rescued Midwest Entrepreneurs last week was entitled “Hard Heads and Softballs.”

http://www.spike.com/full-episodes/cxzdea/bar-rescue-hard-heads-and-softballs-season-4-ep-438

Below, class blogger Austin Johnson summarizes what takes place in the episode as well as what we can learn from it. As you will see, an extra challenge for this particular entrepreneurial business is the very unique layout of the facility and the property it sits on; coupled with dual and potentially clashing target market segments.

And thank you Jon Taffer and Spike TV for rescuing us yet again!!

Regards,

Prof. Gabel

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Todd Chester and Scott Mack invested in a bar together in 2012 called the SRO (Standing Room Only). This bar has been in Anoka, Minnesota since 1976, so it had been a successful bar for a long time.

The owners added their own names—“Mac and Chester”—but still have the original SRO sign because it is well known within the community. They both thought this would be a good business decision.

What makes this bar unique and challenging is that it consists of not only a bar but twenty-three acres of land, two bars, and four softball fields. The softball fields are a great thing to have because it will be appealing to a lot of people. Families can come to the games and order food or drinks from either bar.

Unfortunately for Scott he didn’t think he would have to worry about the behavior of Todd. But, as we saw in the video, while Scott is working out on the softball fields trying to help the bar, Todd is in the bar drinking and acting like an idiot with his friends. There are some very poor business decisions being made by both of the owners; like giving away drinks, letting bar patrons do burnouts with their motorcycles on top of benches, and then setting the benches on fire (and standing around and watching them burn).

Not too surprisingly, when Jon Taffer shows up, the bar is losing money; about $6,000 a month. This means they aren’t making a profit in order to pay their bills. If you can’t pay your bills how are you supposed to run a business?

Also adding to the problem is that the management situation is very poor and the workers have no organization, which gets in the way of efficiency. If the bar is crowded the workers need to be getting the drinks out as fast as possible and with the right ingredients. It also becomes obvious that the employee’s weren’t trained properly.

Todd is afraid to tell his friends to stop destroying stuff and being rowdy because he says that they are the ones keeping the business going during the “off season” (in the colder months when softball cannot be played on the fields outside). Todd feels that these customers are the business’s truly loyal customers. However, it seems that they might only be going their so often because Todd gives them free drinks. This still shouldn’t trump the fact that he is destroying his bar and putting his family at risk to loose everything.

After Todd leaves the establishment and lets his wife manage the bar, they start to make a lot of improvements. Taffer remodels the bar and brings in professional helpers to make the menu more appealing. They also train the employees at SRO so that they are better prepared to serve their customers. The proper training and remodeling of the bar is a great opportunity for SRO, but they must keep up the work. They can’t let the bar get out of hand again and I think with the right management it will be a successful bar. The Standing Room Only sits on a lot of land to attract customers and now that Todd and his friends aren’t destroying everything I think they can become a better business.

Austin Johnson