The Hive Mobile and Event Bartending

The birth of every business is usually tied to a unique life event or story. That is no different for The Hive Mobile and Event Bartending. For 13 years, Bridgette Baldwin happily dedicated her career to bartending. While she enjoyed the industry, life had bigger plans for her. After becoming a mother, she quickly realized she could not continue working until 4 am to only stay up well into the morning to take care of her daughter.

Making the difficult decision to leave bartending behind, Bridgette quickly received requests from friends to bartend at their weddings, parties, and other events. Initially taking it on as a part-time gig, she instantly saw that there was potential for so much more. In 2019, Bridgette took a leap of faith and invested money into what is now The Hive Mobile and Event Bartending. Her business was immediately filled with success which she attributes to her use of social media and digital marketing.

The demand to book The Hive was so high that it led Bridgette to bring on additional staff to help her fulfill commitments. Much of the success they were experiencing was due to their attention to detail and excellent customer service, which is something that Bridgette is extremely proud of. The Hive Mobile and Event Bartending was the buzz in the event scene and continued to be into the start of 2020. While the pandemic impacted the business financially, it also offered Bridgette a chance to take a deep look into the operational side of things. Being mostly focused on booking events and the creative side – Bridgette realized that in order for her business to succeed long term, she needed to get serious about everything from finances to inventory management. She just didn’t know where or how to get started.

In discussing her needs with Amber, Bridgette applied for the PRIME – Program for Investment In Micro-Entrepreneurs initiative. PRIME is a program of Prestamos that offers no-cost training and technical assistance to help strengthen economically disadvantaged businesses that are minority-owned, in a rural area or lack adequate access to capital and other essential resources for business success. The assistance Bridgette received through PRIME allowed her to get access to one-on-one coaching and guidance from Alex Magallanes, Business Coach at Prestamos.

Alex helped support and inform her marketing strategy to strengthen further the digital presence of The Hive Mobile and Event Bartending. She was also able to receive assistance in building a website that has now generated additional business. The website is performing so well that through analytics and data, Bridgette found that it was performing better than other websites of the same types of business. Organization and systems was something she really wanted to work on to become a more effective entrepreneur. Through the help she received from Alex and Prestamos, she was able to increase her business and increase her staff from three to five people.

“Prestamos has been amazing and helpful in so many ways. It has been inspiring to have a team of people helping me when they don’t even know me.” said Bridgette of her experience with Prestamos. The Hive Mobile and Event Bartending is only growing. As a Black woman-owned and women-staffed business, Bridgette appreciates the support and closeness of her team. Looking to the future, Bridgette hopes to acquire a small venue to host events.

Prestamos exists to help nurture and grow entrepreneurs through their journeys. We are a mission-driven entity that operates under the non-profit Chicanos Por La Causa, which provides communities with resources ranging from health, education, financial services, housing, and advocacy. Prestamos continues its efforts to advance our work to provide high-quality financial products and consulting services for small businesses that lead to impactful economic development projects. We invite you to research our website to learn more about our efforts and apply for a business loan.