Meet Shanice Sample
We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Shanice Sample. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Shanice below.
Shanice, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today. Any thoughts about whether to ask friends and family to support your business? What’s okay in your view?
As for me, I come from a really big family, and for the most part, I can say they are supportive the majority of the time. I have a variety of events, and for the public ones, I am always extending the invite or hiring a few relatives to work events here and there. Depending on what I need, for example, if I needed an investment, I can definitely say there is a small (and I do mean small, lol) number of people I would reach out to in this situation. Everyone doesn’t have money to spare or can see your vision, and I don’t hold that against anyone, so I have been selective and confident that the small group I can go to is always willing to help in any way they can, and I am appreciative of that.
When I first started out and asked this person and that person, or family in general, for help, it was really tough to get people to see what I see and believe in my vision. I have grown to learn that you have to give people more of a visual rather than just talking about it. The truth is, I have found once I start putting in the work, strangers were my biggest supporters in the beginning, then family and friends usually follow suit. Even speaking to other entrepreneurs, I have found this to be true! I can’t explain why, but it’s just set up that way. But one thing I can say is I am never offended or take it to heart.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights, and we’ve got a few more questions for you. But before we get to all of that, can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your background and context?
My name is Shanice Sample, sole owner of Bottles UP Bartending! I started with an amazing, crazy-at-the-time idea back in 2014 and have been pushing ever since! I discovered the bar scene at 21 years old. My first ever bar-related job was as a shot girl at a club in Toledo, OH, where I am from, and it was some of the easiest money I have ever made! From then on, I grew a love for the bar and that atmosphere, period. I worked in a variety of places. Some extremely nice, some would not be so nice for others, but I learned to be versatile in my craft as I have grown.
Bottles Up Bartending provides a mobile bar service for any event, any time of the year, and any occasion, including mocktail (non-alcoholic) setups. We have multiple packages a customer can choose from, or we customize a package that best fits that customer’s needs in our free consultations. We also provide cool bar products and other merchandise as well, all via our website, and it is continuing to expand.
It’s so interesting because, at the time, I was preparing my business plan, and the question my mentor asked was, “What problems does your business solve?” I responded and said, “Well, one thing I do know, whether it’s a trial or triumph, good day or a bad day, sad or happy, a drink will be had!” We laughed, and she said to me she couldn’t agree with me more. So for me, whatever emotional state a person is in, we can provide that temporary fix and create a fun, lasting experience. Being a mobile service, packing up equipment takes the stress off a client to get to a venue on time, or forgetting cups, straws, wine corks, etc., or even eliminating travel time. We provide that convenience, and I get great feedback, and it’s a great feeling.
Bottles Up Bartending is definitely a unique business that is in a lane of its own. I believe it’s because we have multiple avenues in our business and are not in a box or only provide one kind of service. By selling products, holding classes, and our various packages, including a few other projects in the making, we are confident that at this moment, we are set apart from the rest.
One thing I am proud of is overall the start. If I didn’t believe in myself and my ideas to get started, I would have never known how great it would have been, and I am super proud to have taken that step! To see the growth locally, our social media followers growing, and the opportunities coming our way, and our features in these awesome magazines leaves us speechless and motivates us to keep pushing!
I’d personally love to continue meeting new people, growing my connections, receiving messages with questions I can answer for anyone, and just overall continue to expand and reach all of the levels and new heights that my business can possibly reach! BOTTLES UP!
Can you share one of your favorite marketing or sales stories?
OMG, actually, this is something that is coming up! I have built a relationship with a local radio station sales representative. I was speaking with her one day regarding how I can use radio to get more business and use different marketing techniques. We came up with doing a radio ad, but the twist is using my voice for the commercial! I was nervous at first, and then I was like, no, I got this. This would be so cool and different and something I can add to my resume. I always had a love for broadcasting since being on the radio in high school, so this brought back nostalgic moments, and I cannot wait to hear the finished project and see how much this helps my business.
How do you keep your team’s morale high?
First and foremost, get to know everyone on your team individually. As an owner, you owe that respect to people working for you. Treat everyone the same, and lay out the expectations and what the goals are for the business from the beginning to eliminate confusion as much as possible. Knowing your team’s strengths and weaknesses is a must. For the industry I am in, this is required for me to be sharp on. The volume of guests I serve varies from each event. For larger events, I have to prepare to send more seasoned bartenders or servers, and don’t push someone too early in situations because it will lead to disaster. Trust me, it has happened, and at that moment, I had to realize that my decision-making process had to become more realistic, calculated, and doing what is best for the business and knowing who my employee is at all times.
Keeping good energy starts with you setting the tone as a business owner. My team and I have a group chat where we communicate. I send positive quotes, funny jokes, and overall try to keep people motivated and let them know I appreciate them as well. We may meet up and go out for drinks or at my home because this girl definitely knows her way around the kitchen and the bar, and that is a great combination for bringing people together and creating good vibes!
