How to Approach a Bar / Club Owner

As a promoter/owner of a number of venues, I'm often approached by people that want to work for me.

I love to see that there are so many hungry people out there looking to cash in on promoting, but what I have noticed is that many people have NO IDEA of the right way to do it.

Like with most things, there is a right way and a wrong way that you can approach an owner and since so many people don't realize these (obvious?) things, I thought I would post a few easy ground rules:

Be Professional: You're looking to work for someone, show them you're professional if you want them to hire you.

Come Prepared: When you come to meet with the owner, be prepared to answer all their questions, have a promoting resume, give them something to remember you (business card, leave behind presentation, something)


A few important things NOT to do:

Don't approach the owner/manager during business hours: They are extremely busy during this time and they are not happy to have people bothering them about jobs while they are working. To an owner, if you don't know that its a bad idea to bother them while they are working, then you are not the kind of person they want working for them.

Don't Be overly Aggressive: It's good to be persistent, but don't be too aggressive. I've had people get in my face and get pushy while asking me for a JOB!

Don't Promise the World...and not deliver: Be realistic with what you can do for them or what you are offering. I know that most people are going to BS their resume a little or exaggerate how many people they can pull to a party...i do that stuff too. But just don't make insanely unrealistic promises because you'll just be wasting your time and their time and if you do that, you'll burn that bridge with that owner and there's a good chance they'll tell other owners about you too.

Good luck!