[01:45] What was your first experience with a computer?

My sister introduced me to it and logged me into an AOL browser. She showed me the games and web searches available. It wasn’t until much later when I got my first tower from my mom that I got interested.

[04:26] What was your career path in IT?

I landed my first IT role in high school. I was the A/V technician. It taught me to maintain analog machinery and manage equipment. That got me into the technical aspect of IT, and then I went into college for administration and support. I continued my learning on the business side, and though I didn’t finish, I learned from those around me.

[07:40] How much do business and financial speak influence your role?

Probably a good 80% of my day. Looking at costs and cost cutting. I learned a great lesson from a store manager when I was working at Walgreens about looking at goods cost versus gross left; looking at the whole picture.

[08:55] How does that flow through to the rest of the company?

At Juice Press I brought onboard a third-party aggregator that would take all our online orders and push them into the POS. It saved labor and updated inventory, streamlining it all into one platform.

[12:07] How did you find that aggregator?

It was used at the previous company I was at.

[13:55] How did you sell it to upper management?

Juice Press brought me in to handle their day-to-day and cut costs, making things easier. I presented it to the higher ups and they went with it.

[15:39] Did it increase your budget? And how did you present the ROI?

It did, and basically, it was showcasing hours saved combined with food on the shelves and less wastage.

[17:54] How big is your team? How many locations do you have?

There are 80 locations and my team is me.

[18:38] Tell me how you manage that.

I use remote software to key into my corporate employees’ computers so that I can solve any problem no matter where either of us is. I’ve also implemented the cradle point solution in stores, allowing me to review what devices are connected. Everything runs off a 4G/3G box, so power outages are less of a problem. There’s 300GB per store allowance. I am in the process right now of hiring another team member.

[22:20] Are you having a hard time finding people?

I’ve hired several people in my career but I will say that this time it’s harder to find people that want to do the work that is available. Everyone wants a management role. In my market, I need someone that can do everything and travel. I need an IT Swiss army knife. Sometimes you just need to hire someone straight out of college and mold them into what you need.

[25:50] Did you learn anything in college that helped you on the job or was it all in the field?

In the field. I’m someone that learns by doing.

[27:30] When have you had to step out of your comfort zone in business?

Every day. I’m not afraid to tell someone that I don’t have the answer, but I will find out. I have no issue putting in the research.

[28:57] What were you scared of but forced yourself to do to advance your career?

With my last company, I was tasked with changing our ERP system. Once it was installed, I thought my job was over. It’s an accounting tool that isn’t my department, but then I got hit with “when will it be up and running?” I spent the better part of a year working on getting it up and running properly. Then it was discovered that it was also a CRM, so I had to get that up and running. Then, it was also a commissary module. Suddenly, I’m managing three projects with a team of two. It was a real struggle some days.

[32:43] What did you learn from that?

You have to be adaptable.

[34:16] How do you know you are in the right place when you are looking for a new job?

Don’t be afraid to come out of your comfort zone. I also look at whether I vibe with the interviewer.