May 15, 2017

Meet Joseph Sanchez of Cocktail Minglers in Long Beach

Local Stories

Today we’d like to introduce you to Joseph Sanchez.

So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I’ve been in the service industry for my entire working life. I’ve worked at many restaurants and bars considered to be fine dining and casual in all positions (host, expo, server, bartender). From high volume night club bars to crafted cocktail lounges I’ve learned a lot when it comes to serving guests at a bar. But to this day, I’m still learning and trying new things when it comes to making an experience for a bar guest.

How I started my own business is kinda funny. I was bartending at a restaurant located in Long Beach and was asked by a fellow bartender form a different establishment if I would be interested bartending a private birthday party for her gay male friend. I meet with the gentlemen host and discussed what the event would consist of and the price for which the service I would provide. He told me that he would provide everything just as long as I poured the drinks and engaged in conversation with his guests. Here was the catch though, I had to do it with my shirt off (mind you I was younger and in way better shape back in the day).

I did the party and afterward came home to my girlfriend who was in shock when she saw a bunch of glitter all over me. She asked me what happened and I replied that all these men attending the party were throwing glitter all over me and trying to pinch my nipples all night. Hahahaha but I do have to say all the guests tipped me really well and I made a small fortune that night. But while I was there at the party I realized that I could have done this event so much better. All I had to work with was a table and a few bar tools. Not much.

So, I started to think about what it was I could do different if I could do another private event. That’s when the whole idea of bringing the bar to the hosts home and making an awesome experience for them and their guests would be so cool. You wouldn’t have to drive anywhere and you could party for however long you wanted. Well maybe until the cops come hahaha. So, a second opportunity had come my way and I was asked to do another private event. This time I was going to be ready.

I designed and built my own foldable bar. I also got all the bar tools and mixers necessary to make this event awesome for the host and their guests. I didn’t have a lot of money so I had to borrow some in order to do all of this. I did the event and it was a success. The only thing was I didn’t know how much to charge. Thank god, the host was very generous and paid me very well. But I was still in the hole. I started to let people know by word of mouth that I could do private events. I started to get really busy just with people that I knew referring me.

Now that I was busy with events, I needed to get my pricing down. My girlfriend had got me an iPad for Christmas. I use the app numbers to do all proposals/invoicing and send out my contracts. Which having a really good friend of mine who I grow up with being a lawyer and drawing up my contracts was awesome. I made money every event but kept taking the money made and placing it right back into the business. I began to get so busy that I outgrow my small bar and needed larger ones. I also needed help. So, I built bigger and better bars that still collapsed put this time I made them for 2 bartenders to work at the same time. I also called upon a really good friend of mine, Jonny Hauso to come in as a partner and help me with everything.

Jonny is one awesome bartender and a great hard working guy. If it wasn’t for him I would have had to turn down business. He too has put a lot of hard work in making this business run and where I lack he is strong. We make a great team and push each other to strive for more. We both have placed a lot of time in making our business a brand name that people can trust.

We have now done events for Nike, Edelman PR, Hurley, Ovation TV, 7 for All Man Kind, Guess, Red 8, LGBT, Graystone Mansion, Beverly Hills Car Show Concours D’ Eleganc, Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center, Duesenberg Guitar Showroom, Shell Oil Co., Sweet Arleen’s, a bunch of Non-profits organizations, privately own venues, numerous weddings attending 500 guests and below, birthday parties and mixers. I would like to say that we have learned a lot (hard and easy) doing well over 130 events. And now we are confident when it comes to helping guide our guests to have the best experience with our services provided.

We still strive for growth and are learning through each experience we encounter. We have short term and long term goals to reach. After building each bar, I think of new ways to make it better. I am now attending a welding class in order to overcome a barricade with working with metal/aluminum. The next bars I build will be lighter and have inter changeable panels for different looks to match whatever theme or color the event calls for.

As a business, we finally have enough bars, tools and product to do a 500-hosted guest event. I have a team of people I trust to help make all these events a success. And we have built a returning business clientele list along with adding to that list every event we do. What I have learn is that the work never stops and you can become as successful as you want if you put the time, hard work and risk necessary to get you there.

I want to thank you for your interest in our business. I’m really excited about this opportunity. I feel like our hard work is finally paying off. I question myself everyday whether I’m doing the right thing. And your interest in us only makes me want to work harder and become more successful then what I can envision. Thank you.

Has it been a smooth road?
I would have to say owning your own business isn’t very easy. It takes a lot of hard work, time and money to get things rolling. With every event we have done, we gain in either assets or knowledge. Overcoming my fears have been probably some of the biggest obstacles I’ve faced. Things that I used to stress out about when I first began are simple today. This is a constant reminder that every new obstacle that gets in my way now can probably resolved if I do the research on what it would take to get through it. I always ask everyone who I meet who is successful how did they do it. I would rather learn the easy way then the hard. But I have had plenty of hard ways of learning what to do and what not to do.

Some of my struggles were making a bar that would be bartender friendly and break down. This way I could serve guests fast, efficiently and store it with limited space needed. Creating a business name/logo, applying for a DBA, purchasing our domain name, opening a business bank account, getting an Employee Identification number, creating a website, getting custom made business cards that standout, creating email accounts, getting liquor liability insurance, hiring a book keeper all while doing events and working a part time job. But I had a lot of help with Jonny and others willing to give me good advice. That’s just the business side of it which I’m still learning.

As for the events themselves. I’ve had some crazy stuff happen but we have always found a solution and fixed it before anyone knew. I didn’t have ice delivered once to a corporate event. I planned on going and picking it up myself and save myself a few extra bucks. Bad idea, the event was located in LA and traffic was terrible of course. My entire team arrived late and I was there setting up by myself. By the time I had someone relieve me to go pick ice up, there was no way I would have made it in time. This was before I asked Jonny to become my business partner but had him working a few events with me prior. This was one of them. I placed my trust in him and gave him my credit card to go find any store possible and buy as much ice as he could to fit in his car. Hahahaha thank god, I had some really good friends there as well working a photo both who went to a restaurant next door and asked to buy some ice from them. It was just enough to get everything chilled (beer, wine, sodas). I was freaking out because the guests were starting to arrive and ask for drinks. And as soon as that happen, here came Jonny with 50 small bags of ice overflowing outta his small hatchback car. I learned very quickly you should always have ice delivered and not risk an unnecessary problem.

That is just the tip of the iceberg. I have a lot of stories like that but I do have to say we have always landed back on our feet. I now know that if there is a problem, don’t spend anytime pointing fingers instead come together as a team and find a fast and good solution quickly. Then when the event ends and neither did the host or guests notice anything different. That’s what makes you stronger as a team.

So, as you know, we’re impressed with Cocktail Minglers – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
Cocktail Minglers is a mobile bartending service that specializes in hosted private events. We supply everything thing needed to make our guests beverage experience standout from others. We make customized bids/proposals to tailor to our client’s expectations and requests in order to serve their guests best. We also create customized specialty cocktail drinks and menus for each event. We bring everything from small cocktail picks and napkins to entire bars, bar setup kits with everything needed to impress your guests with a bar experience as if they were going out. But this is all enjoyed at your own private residence or venue. We use all freshly juiced juices and ingredients to create an experience as if you were out on a night on the town.

We have been known for being able to provide this experience not only to small intimate parties but to large scaled events as well. We only provide knowledgeable bartenders, bar-backs and cocktail waitress that have been in the industry for a number of years. I am truly proud of my bartenders, bar-backs and Cocktail waitresses because they are the ones who are creating this awesome experience for our guests. We wouldn’t be able to do any of this if it wasn’t for all their hard work and amazing attention to detail. I’m also very proud of how far we have come by only doing events by word of mouth. We don’t advertise and it shows me that people must be happy with our services because I don’t think anyone would refer us if we didn’t do a good job.

I know I’ve been to numerous weddings and events and when you have someone behind a bar that doesn’t know what they are doing it really places a damper on the whole experience. This is only one reason why we stand apart from others. We always strive to bring more than what is expected from us. We always do extra to wow the guests. This way when the guests try and order an average boring cocktail, we can guide them to something new and delicious that they have never experienced before. Giving them more confidence in us to make their next cocktail one of our recommendations.

Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and least?
I love LA, it’s such a fast-paced city and there is always something going on. There are always new and inventive ways of doing things coming out of LA, especially cocktails. There is a lot of competition in LA but that only pushes us to become better. I don’t mind a little healthy competition. I think competitiveness makes us all better people. What I dislike about LA is that traffic is bad making my ice deliveries late sometimes. But I always place them two hours in advance of the event starting. Lesson learned.

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