Today we’d like to introduce you to Shay Dollyy.
Hi Shay, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
Back in 2017, I started out in the restaurant business as a host/server and suddenly wanted to start a career in bartending and eagerly wanted to dive into the world full fledge! I knew that bartending in restaurants would take a while so I wanted to begin private bartending and doing small catering gigs.
Starting my own business had always been a dream of mine so I knew this was something I had to do on my own and immediately Take a Sip Bartending was born. For the past five years, I have put my blood, sweat and tears into building a professional bartending business. From first watching youtube videos and making homemade drinks to serving famous celebrities and being booked for hundreds of private events and special occasions. I was even able to bartend on t.v. this year! Connecting with so many different people has been the core of my continued success by using referrals and recommendations to create long-lasting business relationships with many people around Los Angeles and the surrounding cities. Using my extensive cocktail knowledge I have built over the last few years, it has allowed me to unlock a creative side of myself I honestly never knew I had. Since starting my business, I have also grown so much as an individual, I have grown so much confidence in myself, I now understand what my purpose is. I have grown my team to five (including myself) and creating opportunities for people to follow their dreams and make a living for themselves. I have team members that came with experience and some that had zero but like myself have grown into amazing mixologist! Going into this new year, I am rebranding as Take a Sip Event Bartending and continuing to expand my team while still servicing clients with the phenomenal upscale luxury experience they are always expecting. Never forget, “Once you Take a Sip, you will definitely want more!”.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
My main mantra with being an entrepreneur has always been “nothing worth having comes easy”. With owning your own business, there are always ups and downs. A lot of times, the bad outweighs the good but with everything I do, God has always made a way. I have very strong faith and I pray A LOT when the bookings aren’t rolling in. I have to always remember that hard work is the main key to success. Over the years of private bartending many problems arise, maybe the client wasn’t honest about how many people were going to show up or maybe there is a problem with the location. I have a million drunk stories and I could go on for days about how many times I have had to serve someone a margarita when they didn’t know what they wanted to drink or how the bar set up was so small I could only serve shots. I could also talk about the COVID-19 pandemic almost caused me to think I would never step behind the bar again but God obviously had other plans. I’ve learned a lot about adaptation; every event, every location, and every client experience is different so I definitely have had to learn how to adjust to many different situations. I enjoy the challenges and helping my team navigate through them as well.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Take a Sip Event Bartending is a luxury private bartending service. Our team provides a full mobile bar experience; using extensive cocktail knowledge and first-class professionalism to create an outstanding time for you and your guest! When booking with us, we ensure that we are equipped with all the tools we need to serve exactly what people need. We continue to raise the bar when it comes to creating cocktails by using premium ingredients and top-shelf alcohol. Team Sip tends to treat our guests and clients like family and always brings an incredible vibe. From curating personalized specialty cocktail menus to having ice service, we ensure everything is handled at the bar.
Any advice for finding a mentor or networking in general?
Social media has been a big tool in gaining clientele, recently I have started getting into drink content on TikTok, which has been super fun for me. I’ve always done a lot of outreach via instagram and Twitter when people are having events I like to reach out and introduce my business to those that are unfamiliar, this has gotten me a lot of bookings over the years. Also, just networking in person is really huge for me, always speaking about the brand and handing out business cards as much as I can to whoever will accept one.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @takeasipbartending
- Other: TikTok: @takeasipeventbartending
