Revenue cures everything in the business world.
People see themselves on camera. They're ashamed of the things that they do, so they have a choice: Either they accept responsibility for it, or they blame the show for it. It's a human reaction.
It's easy to be good when things are great; it's tough to be good when they're not.
Leadership is a trait; it's not a skill.
I was 12 years old and in summer camp. I started a company called Aardvark Industries, which provided basic services to camp counselors.
Failure is an awful thing, and when I look at the common denominator of failure, it seems to always be the same thing: excuses.
You give me someone with the right personality, and I'll give you a bar manager in three weeks. You give me someone who has been a lousy bar manager for 30 years, and in three weeks, you'll still have a lousy bar manager.
I've traveled the world, and as an America,n I get insulted when people say American businesses aren't respected overseas. Look at how our food and beverage companies do around the world. We are regarded as the best at this. A lot of what we do here is exportable, and I don't think there's anybody that does it better in the whole world.
Putting somebody else in crisis mode and causing them to make quicker decisions, urgent decisions, rather than prolonged, more logical decisions can be very advantageous. So, to be successful in business, you have to understand the power of confrontation and how to use it correctly.
Bars need to be conceived and built for the local audience, not the personal tastes of the owner. Huge mistakes are made with regard to market research and concepts. Research and capital are paramount!
In the worst of our recession, bars were making money. Every bar can make money. If they're failing, it's not because of the president or Congress or Ukraine. It's because of them. And if you own failure, then you'll own success.
If you can't build a relationship with your customers, you're in big trouble. If you can remember the numbers from the reports and spreadsheets you spent hours poring over in your office, but you can't picture the faces of your customers - you're in big trouble.
I think the greatest mistakes have been my greatest lessons.
Bar owners tend to be social rather than operators. Most bar owners do not manage their numbers. They do not have spreadsheets or reports to manage their budget, cost, or inventory. I would say 90% of independent bar owners do not even have a budget.
What I love about Vegas is that we have the mountains and the Strip. There is always something to do.
If I were to pick the life of someone whom I professionally mimic in many ways, it would be Howard Hughes, surprisingly.
Bars are about experience and interaction; so often, the people make the bar.
I really was going to run for Congress.
I believe that a cook in a kitchen isn't producing an entree: he's producing a reaction. The product is the reaction; the entree is just the vehicle.
A bar is a factory, a marketing organization, and a service organization all in one.
