Sam Taylor

I am currently employed as a private contractor for a company based in River North in the city of Chicago. My role with this company is Cafe Coordinator. I entered this role seeking a more in depth and professional career in the industry that I have quickly grown to love. The setting of this position is in a professional and corporate workspace. When I began working with this company, they had just recently completed the build of their cafe, and needed someone to iron out the kinks and coordinate their services, both independently and in conjunction with other employees.

My Main Contributions in this Role Include:

• Researching and Obtaining products from Independent Vendors and Wholesale Distributors
• Developing Relationships and Supply Chain Procedures to Ensure Smooth and Efficient Deliveries and Services
• Coordinating Deliveries and daily Catering
• Menu Creation and Implementation crafted to meet the diverse and unique tastes of my clients
• Making Specialty Beverages, mostly being Espresso and other Coffee and Tea Drinks
• Inventory Management and Ordering of Ingredients, Supplies, and Dry Goods
• Coordinated both Building and Coffee Machine Maintenance
• Training of Procedures to newly onboarded Cafe Employees
• Team Building and Revising Protocols for Efficiency and Consistency within a Team
• Event Planning, Preparation, and Service

My position at The Exchange Coffee Co. was an incredible experience. Having such a love for coffee is only what got me through the door. I joined the team in their first few months of operation. In the time I worked alongside them, business expanded greatly. I take a lot of pride in working closely with the owner of the shop to develop the best possible systems, practices, and recipes for the highest possible degree of customer satisfaction and business efficiency. I spent nearly a year in this position and I loved it; only resigning because of relocation. With this relocation I prioritized bringing my love for coffee and connection with community along with me.

In this position, I accomplished the following:

• Serving Guests High Quality Coffee and Specialty Drinks
• Maintained a Neat and Tidy Building and Premises
• Advised Ownership and Implemented Tasks, Strategies and Procedures Including Crafting New Menu Items, Efficient Scheduling, Proper Operational Procedures, Inventory Management, Customer Engagement, and numerous other tasks that come with running an Independent Local Business
• Mobile Events Serving from a Catered Espresso Bar
• Connected with my Community

In my time working with Tractor Supply Company, I further developed many skills and spent quite some time with the company.

Most notably I was responsible for:

• Order Fulfillment
• Receiving/Inventory
• Training and Establishing Procedures in a New and Upcoming Distribution Center Out of State

My position at Lowe’s was a great introduction to many new and practical skills, and it also continued to refine my customer service skills.

In this role I developed the following skills:

• Retail Experience
• Power Equipment Operation
• Stocking/Inventory/Returns
• Customer Assistance

I took a position in leasing which reflected my interest in real estate. In my position at Middletown Property Group I was tasked with contacting and meeting many people as I assisted them in the process of renting a home.

I grew from my time in this career by:

• Better Understanding how Sales and Commission based roles operate
• Learning Best Practices for Time Management
• Hearing and Meeting the Needs, Wishes, and Concerns of Individuals during stressful times
• Learning the importance of Social Skills and Network Building
• Preparing and Dispersing Official Documents

Local Agricultural and Property Maintenance!

My experience working with a local farmer helped me develop a lot of skills that would go towards a lot of my own personal interests and my desire to live with the most sustainable behaviors possible. My responsibilities in this position largely consisted of caring for plants and landscaping on farmland and public spaces.

• I made extra money and learned a lot while doing the following:
• Planting and Caring for Crops Indoors, Outdoors, and in Greenhouses
• Building Structures and Environments to Assist in Plant Success
• Groundskeeping for Contracted Rental Properties
• Beekeeping
• Mycology
• Caring for Animals and Raising Worms for Castings

This job was a promotion I received after working with the company throughout my highschool education, until I was of age for the position. My responsibilities here allowed me to develop many practical skills early in my adulthood.

I gained experience and certification on the following skills:

• ServSafe Certified for Food Safety
• Shift Leader Skills and Supervising a Team
• Restaurant Operations
• Customer Service/Conflict Resolution in Person and by Telephone

My first job!

In this position I really began to develop knowledge on the following skillset:

• Customer Service
• Cash Handling
• Food Safety
• Maintaining Restaurant and Grounds