Advice For My Younger Self (& Women Getting Started In The Bar Industry)
Mar 06, 2025
In honour of International Women’s Day, we caught up with Diageo’s NSW Reserve Brand Ambassador, Whisky Nerd and self-confessed Spice Girls tragic, Kelsey Blacksmith. Kelsey shared her thoughts on succeeding in the industry as a woman and advice that she’d give her younger self if she were starting her career today.
The biggest mistake I made and that I see is doubting yourself. Don’t be afraid to back yourself.
There is an old and remarkable statistic that I remember seeing that says that most men will apply for a job when they meet only 60% of the qualifications, but women only apply if they meet 100%* of them. This stat might seem like a cliché, but I’ve seen it in action over the years and probably acted it out myself once or twice. What I’ve learned is that you must have confidence in yourself and go after what you want, even if that means lying to yourself a little. The worst thing that could happen is that someone will say no, or in an extreme case, you might have to deal with some rudeness. Not the end of the world! On the other hand, you might get everything you ever wanted! (Source)
You don’t have to struggle through unsupportive environments.
You don’t have to struggle to succeed. The work might be hard, but the environment shouldn’t be. There are people out there who provide a supportive environment and want to see you succeed.
Don’t stay in an environment (be that a company, a bar team, whatever) that doesn’t nurture you personally and professionally. I think sometimes women expect it to be hard and stay in environments that don’t serve them.
These days, you don’t have to put up with it, you don’t have to be the only girl in the bar or fighting an uphill battle to justify your presence. If you’re expecting to get a hard time from your team when you get to work, that should be a red flag, and you should be thinking about looking for a new place to work.
Seek out other women and people in the industry that you admire and ask for help.
Most successful people will be happy to help and mentor younger professionals. There are some guidelines that you want to follow. A quick online search of how to approach a new mentor will give you some more detail, but in general, remember that these people are busy, so you need to be coming to them having thought things out.
Approach this kind of conversation with specific goals and questions.
- How can I achieve X?
- This is what I want to achieve. Where should I start?
- What should I do if I want to do Y?
- I admire what you did here. What should I do to replicate that?
Also, remember that this kind of mentor relationship is a relationship first and foremost, meaning they don’t always work. It’s possible that you meet with someone and don’t click. That’s totally normal!
Don’t stop looking for that support; approach someone else, or better yet, approach several people to begin with.
If that’s intimidating to you, that’s understandable, so a good introduction would be to join some women’s hospo industry groups. Once you’re in the room with people, I’d go back to the first point of backing yourself and go and talk to them! It might be scary, but the juice is worth the squeeze!
Here are some women's Hospitality groups I’d recommend getting involved with:
- Mix Haus
- Women in Hospitality
- Pink Boots Society
- Our Whisky Foundation
- Badass Bartender Babes - Facebook Group
Closing Thoughts
One final thing to remember is that other women in the industry are not your competition. Someone else doing well doesn’t mean that you’re doing badly, and it doesn’t make it harder for you to succeed. If anything, the opposite is true.
The chances are the person you’re seeing succeed has worked hard for that success, so rather than comparing yourself, a better use of your headspace would be to get in touch with them, congratulate them on their work, and maybe even make friends with them! Having successful people in your circle only helps to make you better.
If you want to stay in touch with Kelsey, you can reach out to her on Instagram: @kelsey_ontherocks
Instagram: @diageobarac
Facebook: Diageo Bar Academy
