As the brains behind Cream Group and the London hot spot Cirque le Soir, Ryan Bishti is an obvious success. Not only has he created successful ventures in the cutthroat world of nightclubs and restaurants, but he’s kept his venues viable during the crunch of the COVID-19 pandemic and the chaos of Brexit. Now, as the threat of a recession looms on the horizon, he has plans to weather the storm.
We caught up with the globe-trotting Bishti to learn the secrets behind his success.
Tip No. 1: Discover Your Passion
The first step to success is to find a business that motivates you, Bishti says. For him, that meant nightclubs. While at university studying psychology and marketing, he spent many nights in London clubs. After finishing, he took a public relations job, but it wasn’t a great fit.
“I was just a PR guy, but I wanted to become a manager. It was what I dreamed about,” he recalls. “But when I finally got a chance, I realized I was in over my head. It was a sink or swim situation, and I didn’t quite know what I was doing. I clung to something that I’d heard years before: Fortune favors the bold. That became my guiding light. I knew that I had to do big, bold things, even though I didn’t necessarily have the right experience. I learned more from doing that than anything else.”
That zeal drove him to start Cirque le Soir. Although it was originally meant to last only a few weeks, it quickly became a permanent fixture in Soho’s high-end clubbing scene. After Cirque took off, Bishti continued to let his fervour for hospitality guide him.
He used that success as a springboard to build his empire. He started Cream Group and began creating high-concept clubs and restaurants in the UK, Dubai, and China.
Tip No. 2: Stay Inspired
While following a passion is a good start, Ryan Bishti is quick to point out that there has always been another catalyst behind his success. He explains that every entrepreneur or small business owner needs an inner motivation.
For Bishti, it came from a familiar source.
“It was really my dad who inspired me the most over the years,” he says. “I saw him go from working in a bank to following his dream and starting his own band. One day, he decided he had to do what he loved, and he ended up becoming one of the most successful blues musicians in the world. He turned his passion into a business, but it wasn’t overnight. It took a long time. There were a lot of late nights and a lot of coming home early in the morning, but he was ultimately successful because he stuck to it, and I’ve never forgotten that.”
Thinking about his father helped Bishti find the resolve to keep going when things got tough. The same way his dad gave up a steady paycheck and the comfort of working regular hours, Bishti has benefitted from getting out of his comfort zone and trying new things.
“Anybody can do the same things, but that doesn’t lead to special results,” he says. “You have to stay inspired and work hard if you want to be great.”
Tip No. 3: Know Your Core Audience, but Keep Expanding
Every business will have up years and down years, but a recession can make it extra challenging to stay afloat. Ryan Bishti was able to keep his venues going through hard times by employing two crucial tactics.
First, he focused on his core clientele. He knew that if he could provide a service they couldn’t find anywhere else, they’d keep showing up.
The second tactic was to make his clubs and restaurants attractive to both newcomers and those on the periphery.
“Regarding inflation and what we’re facing now, it’s scary, but we’ve seen it before,” he says. “In some of our nightclubs, we cater to the one percent, and they aren’t always affected by economic slowdowns. We try to keep that in mind and make sure we’re still giving them the full experience they’ve come to expect.
“The other clients who attend are different,” he adds. “They come from a more carefree, younger generation. But they’re important. It’s the mix of the two generations that come together that we need to keep things interesting. So, we make it a priority to ensure that the younger folks have reasons to come and enjoy our properties. I think that’s why we persevere. We cater to a mix of demographics in a very special way, and we ensure that there is something for everyone.”
Come pandemic or recession, Ryan Bishti soldiers on. He’s already planning his next venture. “I have some great new concepts in the pipeline I’m very excited about,” he says. “Never seen before anywhere in the world, and I’m very eager to show the world what we have planned. It’s neither nightlife, nor restaurants, nor bars, and it’s something that hasn’t been done before. So that’s one of my primary focuses.”
