[ HAWAII AT WORK ]
DENNIS ODA /DODA@STARBULLETIN.COM
John Bryan combines theater and theatrics to run a Jamba Juice.
Jamba manager
a performerI've always wanted to perform, but finding or creating a performing venue in Hawaii that allows you to support your life is not easy. So, I'm fortunate that I also enjoy my job as general manager for the Jamba Juice store in the Waikiki Trade Center. It also allows me to indulge many of my passions.
As GM, all of the operations of the store are either performed by or delegated by me. Thankfully, my co-workers are also interested in the good of the store. My responsibilities include hiring and training staff, scheduling, ordering supplies, stocking, cleaning, organizing the stock and trouble-shooting (computers as well as personnel).
I still perform when I can and am still very involved with my mentor, Ron Bright, in many of his theatrical endeavors. I am a choir director and singer at two different churches. And I am in the Army National Guard's 111th Army band.
I own a condo in Aiea and an eight-month-old red doberman pinscher named "Chaika Shaka Zulu, the Toast of Honolulu." So even the dog is theatrical! I'm a New York-born, Hawaii-raised, pidgin-English and Japanese speaking, Caribbean kamaaina.
Running a Jamba Juice in Waikiki means being exposed to a very diverse and unpredictable market. Our store is directly affected by world events and crises. Parade days, weekends and holidays are usually great, but horrors like war and SARS do affect our sales as they do any Waikiki business. This is why we get creative and offer special services such as curbside delivery for people on the go and hotel delivery for neighboring hotel employees who can't get away. This new service has caught on quite well.
I think the key to running a store is choosing your battles and focusing on the things that really require your attention. I've found that giving energy to stuff that would normally just work itself out and fade away, gives those little problems a reason and an invitation to stick around. I believe in befriending my staff and respecting them as individuals, and, therefore, earning their respect.
To have such a great job that also allows me to indulge my artistic interests is a piece of heaven on earth.
The normal day for me starts between 6 and 7 in the morning with recapping the previous day's sales and setting up the store for the new day. Just interacting with customers and making smoothies are two of my favorite aspects of the job. And you can ask any of my team -- I fully indulge my singing and dancing interests at work.
So ... give up my day job? No way!
Hawaii At Work features tells what people do for a living in their own words. Send submissions to: business@starbulletin.com.
