From Hookahs to Highballs: How The Perfect Pour Was Born

It all started at a hookah lounge in Northern Virginia.

I was working 12-hour shifts—making drinks, prepping hookahs, and, more often than not, dealing with difficult clients who made the job more stressful than it needed to be. At first, I loved the fast-paced environment and the creative side of mixing drinks, but over time, the late nights, low pay, and high stress started wearing me down.

Eventually, I hit a breaking point.

I asked myself:

“Why am I spending all this time making someone else rich, while I’m burning out for pennies?”

But then came the big question:

“How can I do this on my own?”

In my mind, starting a bar meant a massive investment, a physical location, food and liquor licenses—the works. It felt like a pipe dream… until I realized maybe there was another way.

So where do you go when you need answers and inspiration but don’t want to read boring articles or attend seminars?

TikTok.

I typed in:

“How to open my own bar”

and started scrolling. After what felt like hundreds of videos, I stumbled upon someone who shared how they left their bar job to launch a mobile bartending service. My eyes lit up. That was it. That was me. I found my answer.

The very next day, I brought my laptop to work. During some downtime, I opened Canva with one mission:

Design the perfect logo for my new business.

I spent hours going back and forth between ideas, colors, fonts—and finally, The Perfect Pour was born.

From there, it snowballed. I created my Facebook and Instagram pages, uploaded my new logo, and wrote out everything I could about my services. But even with a name, a logo, and social media, I was missing the most important part:

Clients.

I started scouring Facebook groups, just trying to find that first opportunity. Then, I saw a post from a woman looking for a food caterer. Something told me to shoot my shot.

I commented:

“Hey, I know you’re looking for a food caterer, but by any chance, do you need a bartender?”

A few hours later, she replied:

“Hmm, I hadn’t thought about it… That’s a good idea. Let me get back to you.”

Later that same evening, I got a DM:

“Hey, are you available this Saturday?”

I jumped out of my seat like I had just scored a game-winning goal. That was the beginning.

I booked that event, gave it my all, and made sure they got The Perfect Pour experience. Since then, it’s been a wild ride. One event turned into two, then five, and now—one year later—I’m licensed, insured, fully up and running, and writing this blog post on the website I built myself.

I just sent out three new proposals today, and I’m almost ready to call it a night.

Am I exactly where I want to be yet? Not quite.

But I’m proud. Because I know I can achieve the vision I have for myself and for this business—because I’ve already proven that I can.

Here’s to pouring dreams into reality.

— Axl