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23. A TIP TO THE BEGINNER.—HOW
TO MAKE MONEY.
Any one going into our lino of business starts, nat
urally, with the hope and intention of realizing profit;
hut it is not as easy as is generally supposed to make
money and become very successful, although, more or
less, every one imagines that he j)ossesses all the qual
ifications required to conduct a thriving business. I
have found it so, especially, with first-class bartenders,
head-waiters, stewards, and hcad-cooks; the reason be
ing that they think they have full knowledge of the
business, in all its details.. The fact that they are per
fect in their specialty is not a proof nor a guarantee
that they will be successful in managing a general
business. On the contrary, it is the men who are so
self-confident that usually fail. I have had in my
employ thousands of people, bartenders, waiters, etc.,
and among these have been many brilliant men in
their particular specialty or calling. But it is a sad
truth that only a small percentage of these men, who
have afterward begun business for themselves, have
succeeded. There are various reasons for their fail
ure. In some cases, these capable men were generally
over-conceited, and that characteristic is not sufficient
to give a control over all the different lines of our
business. It does not necessarily prove, at least, that
one has the qualifications to be a "boss." Others, such
as very clever bartenders, who worked for a number
of years in a first-class place and becoming very pop
ular, came to the conclusion that the large extra trade
there was entirely on their own account. They were
led astray by taking a notion that they ought to open
a similar estal)lishment in the vicinity, because they
were laboring under the conceited impression that all
their friends and acquaiirtances would follow them,
and give them exclusive patronage. I don't make these