Small Business Owner at Dena’s NEAT Spirits Glasses, a retailer of the world’s finest spirits glasses and a subsidiary of my company Small Specialties Gourmet neatspiritsglasses.myshopify.com

📊Built this specialty spice and associated products company. I am the principal company contributor for HR program development and sales execution, operations strategy, pricing, and revenue growth tactics. Co-created the company product portfolio, ingredients selection, and repackaging. My leadership sustained company growth until the negative impact of the Covid-19 crisis.Notable Accomplishments:📌Built an operations foundation and sales capability that supported the company's expansion so that it became the holding company for other diverse businesses that were successful in jewelry design and sales, fine wine education and distribution, and digital signal processing for music innovation.📌Dramatically expanded the jewelry business, controlling the selection of stones, overseeing the design process, and building the wholesale and retail sales channels. 📌Attracted and retained a loyal customer base by executing a multi-channel marketing and sales effort both online and through industry events.📌Introduced an effective inventory strategy that benefited from tight control of all aspects of the manufacturing and sales cycles. 📌Drove revenue growth by developing an overseas sales relationship in Asia that allowed the company to have an exclusive importer relationship with an organic farm in Vietnam. 📌Created pricing models and oversaw recipe creation that drove market differentiation and business success.📌Contributed to efforts that resulted in our signature blend Roasted Garlic Sea Salt being named product of the month by Intermezzo magazine.

📊Built a specialty travel company that achieved profitability in the first year. Our business dealt exclusively with youth athletic tournaments around the country and specifically the housing (hotels) for these events. I contributed to building a company website that was robust enough to handle more than 1M credit card transactions. My highly effective HR operations and business management processes helped retain all employees during a recession period, and the company was profitably sold in 2014.Notable Accomplishments:📌Directed sales efforts that secured a 7X growth in the number of soccer tournaments by enhancing relationships with C-Level Executives, Chambers of Commerce, and Convention & Visitor Bureaus around the country.📌Attracted and retained employees by researching and unveiling an unlimited PTO and benefits program beyond the normal scope of a company of this size and age that included Health Insurance premiums that were company paid, a 401K plan with a company match, and ongoing performance training.📌Developed a comprehensive onboarding program that ensured staff was ready to contribute immediately to company success.📌Reacted swiftly to changing market conditions, collaborating with the CFO to refine our annual budget, schedule expenditures, and analyze any variances.📌Contributed to the development of automated software-driven processes that refined the business's operations and logistics to the point where the company could handle the booking of up to 15,000 hotel rooms in a single weekend.📌Created profit models that ensured that cash flow was strong, negotiating favorable payment terms with the CVBs, Tournament Directors, and GMs of hotels.

📊Promoted to Branch Manager after outstanding sales and customer service success in a full- service travel agent role. I oversaw HR, payroll/bookkeeping, and servicing corporate & personal travel customers. In my role, I developed new corporate clients in the Raleigh marketplace and ensured existing clients renewed contracts with us. I was Worldspan certified in the Global Distribution System used by travel agencies and airlines worldwide, providing training to staff to ensure they remained current on this core system.