Oh, those recession blues! A tight job market means employers are demanding more from their employees…and getting it. Extra hours, weekend work sessions and ‘home’ work are the order of the day. At the end of a crazy work week, people are looking to have some fun and blow off steam and according to one veteran of the business, that’s where nightclubs come in.

During the ‘80s and ‘90s Peter Gatien was the acknowledged King of the New York Night, owning four high-profile nightclubs including the legendary Limelight, a party palace that was the regular hangout for celebrities like Madonna. While Gatien’s career ended in 2003 with a guilty plea for tax evasion, resulting in his deportation to his native Canada, he still knows a thing or two about successfully running what he calls a ‘recession-proof’ business. However, before you quit your job, cash in your 401K and get the party started — read on. This is not a business for amateurs or sissies!

1.Throw the party, don’t join the party. This is a business — so that means keeping an eye on the bottom line. When Gatien opened his first club at age 19 he made the mistake of partying with his customers. The club was packed every night, but before long Gatien was bouncing checks and the business was bleeding red ink. It was an important lesson for the budding entrepreneur. From then on, no over-indulging on the job. “I don’t consider myself a mercenary,” Gatien says. “I consider myself a practical person.”

2. Pay your dues, do your homework. The nightclub business is all about style and keeping ahead of curve. Getting some experience in the worlds of fashion, art and music are great ways to hone your ‘trend’ spotting chops. It took Gatien 20 years of hosting events and clubs in places like Florida and Georgia before hitting it big in New York.

3. An event every night. Keeping a club at the top of the hot list takes work — including making every night into a special production. Gatien kept the crowds coming by constantly changing themes and music genres. “It was almost like setting up a Broadway play every night,” he says. “There’s a lot of details that go into making a night organic and making it last for years.”

4. Get your work done when the sun shines. This is a business and business gets done during daylight hours, so make a schedule and stick to it. “My real work started at 11 in the morning when we organized the parties, the DJs, and had creative discussions with the different staffs,” he said. “Where I was most valuable was in the daytime.”

5. Be visable. This is your club, so you need to set the professional tone and set service standards with your staff, so make sure you are on-site regularly. Being in the nightclub business may sound glamorous, but between keeping to a daytime business schedule and supervising the actual operation the hours are long and rigorous. The short life of many clubs can be directly attributed to owners who ignore this reality.

6. Delegate intelligently. Even it you aren’t directly hiring bouncers, bartenders and waitstaff, make sure you communicate clearly with the person who is. “My thumbprint was pretty much in every aspect,” Gatien says and that’s sound advice for anyone who wants to get into the club business.

7. Diversity pays. One of the reasons that club-goers flocked to to Gatien’s clubs is the rich diversity – punks, rappers, socialites, gays and goths were all welcome. Building a loyal, paying clientele depends on making a diverse population feel comfortable and welcome.