Meet Tam Torre

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Tam Torre. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Tam below.

Tam, looking forward to learning from your journey. You’ve got an amazing story and before we dive into that, let’s start with an important building block. Where do you get your work ethic from?

My work ethic comes from my Mom. I was 6 years old when my parents divorced. My mom worked sometimes 3 jobs to take care of my sister and I. I started working with her at 12 years old throwing newspapers in Queens NY. Once i got my first paycheck, i knew working was the way to buy myself whatever i wanted. As i got older i realized working isn’t always fun but had to be done. Once i got to high school i was accepted into a program called co-op where you juggle school one week and working a full time job one week. Co-op was designed to give us real life experience in the workforce. And it was really cool because we were special in the eyes of the other kids in school. My first real job was being a bank teller and i was over the moon happy! It opened my eyes to so much being in that environment at the ripe at of 16. Working as a bank teller really set the tone for the jobs to come afterwards. I then went on to work at Radio City Music Hall, JFK airport, alongside being a women’s clothing designer and a flight attendant.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

So, in 2013 i founded a Luxury beverage catering company called Barstars NYC based out of NYC. We just celebrated 12 years in business on March 7th and really I love to tell this story because its truly a testament of letting your creativity lead you into living out your wildest dreams. I was working a 9-5 as an executive assistant and needed someway to get my pinned up creative energy out while making some extra cash. I decided i’d take a quick course at a bartending school that i found in the back of a newspaper. The week i graduated from that 4 week course, i was hired at a very seedy bar in Brooklyn, NY. It was a neighborhood place that was always packed. It started out pretty slow for me but once i found my rhythm and people got to know me, that’s when the private inquires started coming in. I would literally show up at private events w/my small amount of bar tools and some business cards i made online. Then my friends and family began to tell people about my services and how good i was. I booked my first private wedding where over 200 people showed up. I was excited and mortified at the same time. It got so crazy where guests came behind the bar to help me, they washed glassware for me, etc. THAT was the moment where i realized i needed help and a team to help me grow this business. I like to think i’m a pretty organized person but this is where i had to tap into really being multi-faceted but boy this was fast! I dived into bartender culture which led me into the ever evolving beverage industry. This was my sweet spot! i started meeting people, learning about spirits in a more intentional way, attending conferences and even having people ask me to teach them how to build a sustainable bartending life. All of these things were happening so organically and i loved every minute of it because it never felt like work. And even still today it doesn’t feel like work for me which keeps me very hands on managing the business. We have so many exciting projects that we’ve been workin on with scaling the business and i can’t wait to share it soon. Private events are still a huge part of our success as we have corporate partners like NYU and Brookfield properties who outsource our services for quarterly and annual events each year.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

I’d say three qualities that were most impactful on my journey are:

1. Being honest with yourself about what you can handle. (don’t bite off more than you can chew, no one starts at the top!)

2. Staying ahead of the curve, don’t let anyone “outsmart” you! (always stay open to learn but become an expert in as much as you can to ensure yourself as an asset and trustworthy in your field)

3. Always Move with Morals, (make decisions based off your ethical compass, not money or notoriety because those things will come or they wont.

If you are early in your journey of entrepeneurship, the best advice i can offer is to give yourself grace. Try not to look at what others are doing and just zone in on your level of genius. No matter what the industry is, what ever YOU create and bring will be so special and incredible you’ll automatically stand out! Just look at how many breads are offered in the bread aisle at any supermarket, there’s something for everyone. No one starts off super successful, while there are some rare cases where that has happened, most business owners will tell you they failed all the way to the top and it was totally worth it. So giving yourself grace and staying in your zone of genius will help you to not get discouraged while still building.

Looking back over the past 12 months or so, what do you think has been your biggest area of improvement or growth?

The biggest area of growth in the past 12 months are in two areas for me. Losing my dad and moving across the country.
These two things have shown me just how very brave and strong i really am. While i liked to believe i was really strong physically having completed a half marathon, a 3 mile obstacle course, flight attendant school and other physically demanding tasks, these two have taken the lead. Dealing w/ loss while moving across the country simultaneously has to be one of the most taxing things i’ve done to date. Did i mention i moved across the country w/ a very active puppy? I have been stretched in ways that i didn’t even know was possible. The upside here is i have an incredible support system within my family and friends. They are consistently praying for me and with me, rooting for me, sharing w/me and just being overall amazing humans. While i continue to expand in this new chapter of my life, I only hope to get better and better and inspire whenever and however i can along this journey.

Contact Info:

Image Credits

Barstars NYC staff members and myself have taken these pics onsite various events.

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