Today we’d like to introduce you to Fernando Contreras.
Hi Fernando, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I’ve spent most of my adult life working in retail eventually making my way into retail and sales management. Coaching and helping others succeed has always been at the forefront of my career so when I had the chance to make a big move in my career I decided to take a leap and move across the country from Omaha, Nebraska. Moving right in the middle of Covid with a wife, three children, and three cats to live somewhere I had only briefly visited on vacation just a year prior seemed crazy at the time but the opportunity to sort of get away from long and late retail hours and commission sales was too good to pass up. I am currently the Operations Manager at Leaven Kitchen where we provide fully licensed, commercial kitchen space for small food businesses throughout Atlanta. My days are spent ensuring that the kitchen is fully functional and providing support in any way I can to 80+ food entrepreneurs. Part of what appealed to me about making such a drastic move was being able to have an actual impact and to help support black, brown, and women-owned small food businesses by removing some of the barriers they often face in trying to get their businesses off the ground or growing their business to the next level. Those things mean very different things for different people and that’s something I’m conscious of in how I manage each individual relationship.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
I would say no. I feel very fortunate to have had the opportunities that I have had in my professional career but I feel like they were definitely hard-earned along the way. Having no formal education beyond high school had always been somewhat of an obstacle for many years coupled with my own insecurities. The strong desire to win and succeed I think is in most people and being passed up for promotions and the like really had me in down on myself early on in my career. I also dealt with a great deal of anxiety and mental health issues in my early twenties that made even day-to-day tasks difficult and as a result created even more sort of self-inflicted obstacles. For a very long time, I felt that my own mental health issues were a huge hindrance in my professional and even personal life. With the help of my wife and family, I was able to get the help and meds I needed to get past those issues and while it’s always there, I have been able to cope with those issues and setbacks and lead a normal life. Imposter syndrome has also been a big part of my adult life and even today, I sit and ask myself “What am I doing here?” “Why do these people trust me with so much responsibility.”
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
As Operations Manager, I handle the day-to-day operations at an 11,000 square foot shared kitchen facility. Along with those responsibilities, I also teach Food Safety classes for Servsafe certification. My specialty I would say is being in tune to people’s diverse needs. Even going back to my sales management days you need to understand that there isn’t a one size fits all approach to working with different people. It’s a constant balancing act as well because ultimately you work for a for-profit business whether it’s a shared kitchen or a huge retail store and the ultimate goal, even now is revenue and sales.
I am known for handling things as efficiently and professionally as possible. If you have a problem, that problem now becomes mine and I make it my priority to solve whatever that issue may be. I am most proud of my work ethic and self-motivation. It was instilled in me from a young age watching my Mother and Step-Father work their butts off day in and day out. Watching my mother do everything she could to see her children happy I think has brought out that motivation and work ethic and I try to do the same for my children now.
I think what sets me apart from others is being able to learn things quickly and being able to pivot and adapt to changes or challenges that come up. I know the in’s and out’s of every single piece of equipment in the building, can jump on Canva and craft a very well-put-together flyer, or troubleshoot the number of issues that come up every single day. The thing about working in a place like a shared kitchen where people pay to use your things is that those things need to work. It’s my job to ensure those things happen and I think I do it very well.
Is there something surprising that you feel even people who know you might not know about?
I’d say the fact that prior to working at Leaven Kitchen I had no food service experience at all. I’ve been working here for three years now and definitely know how to do my job and I believe I do it really well but I took all my pasts experiences with just being able to quickly learn on the fly and ultimately helping people and applied all of those skills into my current role. Today I can quickly teach anyone and everyone on how to use professional food service equipment and teach a complete course to get them certified in food safety where three and half years ago, I was coaching kids in their young twenties on how to properly and effectively sell computers, TVs or appliances and convince folks to by extended warranties.
Pricing:
- $275 monthly starting rate for each small business
- $155 Servafe Manager’s Certification Course and Proctored Exam
Contact Info:
- Website: www.leavenkitchen.com
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/fernando-contreras-3b1330146/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIXDviYXrcHuwIoUoF0rdtw
Image Credits
Leaven Kitchen, Fernando Contreras, Justin Schaeffer
