If you’ve ever spent your Monday morning commute dreaming of restarting your career, this feature is for you. Every Monday we’ll talk to someone from a different job to find out what it’s really like.
This week we chat to publican Luke Bavester, 29, from the Sheaf Inn in West Haddon, Northampton…
Luc Bavester
People think my work is… You get up late, go down the stairs, pour some beers, go to bed and drink a few beers on the way. It’s a pretty common misconception that it’s like having a social evening with your friends every day. It’s not like that, especially if you want to do your job well. We have been recognized by CAMRA, the Campaign for Real Ale, after extraordinary work in the cellar, caring for our beer and cultivating our customers.
A normal starting salary is… Zero, if you are a landlord and owner. This is why people live above the pub for a while. It’s not a very lucrative career, especially if you own businesses: you won’t make millions, you have to watch the purse strings.
I am working on… 70 to 80 hours per week, sometimes more, sometimes less.
The best benefits are… Hours, for me. I can pick up my daughter from school every day. I can go out for breakfast if I want with my friends or my wife. But for many people, the schedules can be quite antisocial. Also in this industry you find real friends, people you can really talk to, and that’s a big part of the problem. You are also fed often – there is a tendency to give staff nice and healthy dinners, which I think is important.
The most important skill for doing the job well is… Resilience is a key factor. When you have a little quieter days, don’t lose the plot and think that the world is going to end, and knowing that you are going to be busy again. Focus on serving the people who are there well and don’t let things die down because it’s quiet.
Read the latest news from Live Money here
The biggest mistake I made was… Do not invest time in managing the cash flow of a business before starting one. I went into business thinking I would be really good at it and then the finances would work out. We often see people who do great work but it doesn’t work out financially. I wish I had business qualifications beforehand.
My worst day at my job was… I once caught a member of my team doing drugs at work. I really liked him – I’m a little too close to my team. And I had to fire him on the spot, and it broke my heart. It’s quite rare, but unfortunately not that rare when it comes to hospitality.
The best day was… The first Friday night the pub was absolutely packed with people and different people from all walks of life mingling and having fun. My aim had always been to put a pub back in the heart of the village as it had been closed for five years.
Training… If you want to get into the food industry, it’s very handy to have a set of formal qualifications, as this gives you a good foundation of knowledge. On the drinks side, there aren’t many formal qualifications you can get, with most being practical experience and time spent working in the industry. So find a pub you really like and put in the work, it’s the best way to learn how to do it. I agree with the principle that it takes 10,000 hours to master something.
I manage to save… A few hundred pounds a month in a private pension, but most of my savings go into bricks and mortar.
I hope to retire when… I’m around 50 years old. I’m 29 now. I aspire to become a grandfather, so not too young but not too old either. Right now I’m using the money I save to buy houses so I can set up my daughter and wife so that when we’re old we can live on rental income.