Getting to the top: Successful businesspeople share advice

When Kim Owens started working as a hostess at a restaurant during college, she was undecided on a major. She wouldn’t have guessed back then that she’d enjoy a long and successful career in the food industry.

Working your way up in the corporate world is no simple matter. It takes patience, ambition and perseverance. But it can be done. VEGAS INC caught up with three Southern Nevadans who have risen through the ranks in their professions. Their backgrounds are varied, but they learned similar lessons along the way.

Kim Owens

Regional manager at Del Frisco’s steakhouse

Kim Owens found her passion for the restaurant business when she started working as a hostess at a Bennigan’s Irish Pub while attending the University of Lousiana at Lafayette.

“I love the people aspect, the coordination it takes to make a perfect shift and helping people learn and grow,” Owens said. “It’s a people business, and we just happen to serve food.”

After two years at the pub, Owens got married and moved to Maryland with her husband. She landed a job as a server at Cacao Lane Restaurant and worked her way up to general manager.

“It was never a dull moment. Every day was something new,” Owens said.

In 2000, Owens applied for a general manager position at Del Frisco’s steakhouse in Las Vegas.

“I love the steakhouse environment, and Vegas just seemed like a really exciting place to live,” she said.

Owens got the job and held the title for nine years before being promoted to regional manager six years ago.

The magic of the restaurant business has yet to wear off.

“You have guests coming in from all walks of life,” she said. “You can see the happiness on their faces when they take the first bite of steak. It’s like throwing a party every single day, and all of your friends pay to come.”

The most important lesson she has learned during her career, she said, is how to work with employees.

“If you treat the employees the right way, show them respect and hold them highly accountable, they’ll go above and beyond,” Owens said.

Jim Rees opened the first Hash House A Go Go in Las Vegas in 2005. “It fits well with the hotel and casino scene, because we serve three meals a day at big portions."

Jim Rees opened the first Hash House A Go Go in Las Vegas in 2005. “It fits well with the hotel and casino scene, because we serve three meals a day at big portions."

Jim Rees

Partner, Run Restaurants LLC (formed to own and operate Hash House A Go Go restaurants nationwide)

When Jim Rees started working in the food industry during high school, he wasn’t thinking about making it a career. Stints at a grocery store and as a dishwasher were just a way to earn extra cash.

“I didn’t really plan on staying in the food service business,” Rees said.

While at Oregon State University, Rees waited tables, hawked goods in concessions stands and worked in catering services. His affinity for food followed him into the Air Force, where he ran officers’ clubs, restaurants and bars for four years.

By the end of his military service in 1976, Rees had decided the restaurant business was his calling. He landed a job with the Gilbert-Robinson restaurant firm and oversaw restaurants in Missouri for the next 10 years.

In 1986, Rees went to work for Hard Rock Café America, which ran Hard Rock franchises in the western United States.

“I became vice president of operations, and we built 16 cafes in the course of 10 years,” he said.

When the company was sold in 1996, Rees came upon Hash House A Go Go, a breakfast-based restaurant founded in San Diego.

“I reached out to the former partners and put together a deal with them to open the first Hash House restaurant in Las Vegas in 2005,” Rees said. “I came to Las Vegas because I felt like it would be a good market to test the waters. It’s such a breakfast market.”

The restaurant opened a Henderson outlet in February, its fifth in the valley.

Rees said the most important lesson he has learned along the way is respecting his employees.

“Having had the experience of being at virtually every level, I keep in mind what my employees are doing for me,” he said. “Everyone wants to work in a place they are proud of.”

Gabriel Bristol grew up in an abusive home in Spring Lake, Mich., never thinking much about the future as he struggled to take life one day at a time. Today, he’s president and CEO of Intelicare Direct.

Gabriel Bristol grew up in an abusive home in Spring Lake, Mich., never thinking much about the future as he struggled to take life one day at a time. Today, he’s president and CEO of Intelicare Direct.

Gabriel Bristol

President and CEO of Intelicare Direct

At 12, Gabriel Bristol began making money to take care of himself by picking blueberries with migrant workers in summer. He spent a year as a busboy. At 18, he decided to leave his home in Michigan and start fresh.

“As a young adult, I had very few options because I did not have a high school diploma,” Bristol said. “I wasn’t in demand for very many jobs.”

When a friend suggested he join him at a local call center, Bristol reluctantly agreed.

“Even as desperate as I was, I looked down on that kind of work,” he said. “I kind of made an arrangement with myself that I would do it for a week or two, maybe until I got a paycheck or found something better.”

Bristol turned out to be a natural, becoming the top performer among about 50 agents his first week.

After saving enough money, Bristol moved to Los Angeles. He made the 31-hour trip on a Greyhound bus, carrying little more than a ripped garbage bag full of clothing.

“It’s funny now, but it wasn’t back then,” he said.

Bristol worked odd jobs and even donated blood to earn money, until he eventually was named a manager at Edgar Morris Skincare. Soon after, he was recruited to the customer service division of MetLife.

Bristol said that job opened his eyes to his value and self-worth after his bosses doubled his salary and gave him a bonus to try to keep him from accepting another job.

Now, as president and CEO of Intelicare Direct, which offers customer service support to companies, Bristol tries to help his 300-plus employees realize their potential, as well.

“If you appreciate yourself, you will be able to believe in yourself, and the sky’s the limit, regardless of your upbringing or hurdles,” Bristol said.

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