Bars/restaurants: how to find new revenue streams

Covid forced most of us to scramble and figure out new business models to make it through. (For instance, at BeerMenus we experimented with a carryout and delivery marketplace.)

It was tough, of course. But a positive way to look at it is it helped us all become more flexible.

That flexibility can still help now, specifically by helping you identify alternative revenue streams—ways you can bring in more money in addition to your typical business model.

Nick Wendowski from Stone's Beer & Beverage Market has experience with exactly this kind of flexibility, so we picked his brain about how to identify where to look for alternative revenue streams. Here are takeaways:

When trying to open up new revenue streams, think about the systems and assets you already have in place. Is there anything within or related to those that you can leverage to open up a new revenue stream?
For Nick, considering this led him to actually become a distributor for a local craft ice cream maker. He didn't go out trying to figure out a way to distribute for an ice cream maker, but when he considered what he had—a delivery fleet with refrigerated trucks—he realized it was an obvious match.
Another way to find new revenue streams is to figure out if there are any areas of your business where: 1. you're getting some interest or "pull," and 2. where you're not necessarily proactively trying to grow that segment.
For Nick, an example of that is being a distribution partner for local universities. He never would have thought of proactively reaching out to universities to distribute to them, but when one reached out he thought "you know what, the other universities could probably be good fits too." And thus a small but meaningful university-servicing business opened up to him.

Check out the interview clip for more from Nick on finding new revenue streams at your business:

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