Today we’d like to introduce you to Gregory Tatavosian.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Gregory. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I am the founder and instructor of A-List Startenders. My career began on the campus of Eastern Illinois University when I started tending bar at a well-known college hang out. I would go on to graduate with a finance degree however it was my job as a bartender that would lead me down the path I’m on today. Over the next 12 years, I would go on to tend bar in some of Chicago’s premier bars and clubs.
I expanded my career in 2011 when I created A-List Startenders and began my pursuit of passing on my knowledge and experience to my students. With the help of my talented mom and sister who are both teachers in the Chicago land area, I created a unique and vibrant curriculum that keeps students engaged, motivated and having fun. Since inception in 2011, I have helped launch the career of hundreds of bartenders in the Chicago land area and various cities around the world such as Maui, Los Angeles, Miami, Las Vegas, New York, London, and Dubai.
My greatest achievements are my student’s success. I take great pride in watching them go on to be successful bartenders and dogs at the bars they work at. I remember my first class. I had a student who quit his job working security at the holocaust museum midway through the program. When giving me this news I knew what I was doing was serious. This guys financial life depended on me training him right so he could get a job in this new endeavor he embarked on.
Nothing made me happier the day he got hired as a bartender 2 weeks later at a famous hotel chain. His life changed and I was a part of it. That’s when I knew I was on to something and made the right choice to build the school.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
The first struggle I encountered was putting together the cash to build the school. The truth is, I was able to build the school with the tips I was making over the weekends. While I had enough in savings to acquire the space, I would work all night tending bar, go to home depot and buy 2 by 4’s and build more of the bar. The initial build-out took 3 months and almost all the work was done by myself and a former business associate who left the company 2 years later. After my former partner left the business it was definitely a turning point for me. I had to make it happen on my own and began implementing ideas I had to help the business.
Every day is a new challenge. It is up to me alone to make sure students are trained properly and obtaining jobs as well as keep the facility in order and handle all marketing. The first 3 years were especially challenging when no one really knew about my school. I focused all of the energy into the training and making sure students were getting a lot out of it. It has always been my philosophy to no matter what the bottom line is my students must succeed for me to succeed and I’ve tried to make it a habit to always go the extra mile.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the A-List Startenders story. Tell us more about the business.
A List Startenders specializes in bartender and mixology training. The majority of our business revolves around training new bartender prospects and we provide fun hands-on mixology classes on the weekends for the less serious student who wants to dabble in learning about culinary style cocktails. There are many ways we set our self apart from other bartender schools.
Our curriculum is exclusive, innovative, original and dynamic and delivered exclusively by myself. I push myself to be creative, innovative and detail oriented on how the practice sessions are conducted and material is presented to the students. The facility itself is unmatched in the industry. It is double the size of any other bartender school. No other school has 2 fully loaded and fully stocked 40-foot bars, POS registers, full-size classroom, CO2 powered soda guns and beer taps in every station. Another unique thing is we keep the class size to 10 students.
Each student receives their own station so at our school the students are getting much more repetition. I am in front of the class the entire time watching every detail. We also use real alcohol and are the only school to do so. Unlike other schools, at A List Startenders students do not finish still “Green” as they are required to tend bar in front of actual clientele utilizing everything they had been taught up until then in order to graduate. They have to show they are ready for the big stage. After graduation alumni then receive regular job referrals that we provide ongoing.
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
The first 3 years I was open at the school I was not paying myself. I survived by tending bar Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. Meanwhile putting in 12 hour days at least 5 days a week at the school. I grinded to make the school work to the maximum. There were times where I would go 4 months straight without a day off. Hard work and creativity has led to the success of the school.
The luckiest moment was when I found the available space and was able to acquire a lease. Let’s just say my credit wasn’t perfect at that time. Borrowing money wasn’t an option. I had my first class in Sept of 2011 with almost nothing in my bank account. I was lucky to have any students initially. While I wasn’t really making a profit, I was able to stay afloat and survive off my tips tending bar. A lot of little moments of luck but overall it’s been a grind.
Contact Info:
- Address: 4401 N Milwaukee Ave, Chicago, IL, 60630
- Website: www.aliststartenders.com
- Phone: 7736287470
- Email: gregt@aliststartenders.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/startendschool/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/startend_school?lang=en
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/a-list-startenders-chicago-2
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