Coffee Voyagers - Samuel

A healthy boss and employee relationship is crucial to a company growth. However, we often overlooked the importance of this.

A relationship that is built on trust, understanding and openness in communication can help both parties to achieve a higher productivity level. 

Being an employer a.k.a THE BOSS sounds like a cool title. 

The title do come with great responsible, range from 

Wearing different thinking hat to make importance decision, 

Be a listener to problems, 

Be the executor, 

Planner and etc.. 

Think a step or multiples steps ahead of anyone else.

It’s really a tiring job. 

So, today we gonna cover about your employer? 

How is he/she behave? What have your boss inspire you to be?

I am fortunate to meet my current boss from some freelance job posting two years back then. Started as a newbie in design but with the keen spirit to learn more about design and gain hands on experience. We have co-operated for two years. 

I believe that regardless who you work with, there might be some small hiccups arise. The key to conquer this is openess in communication. Never hold grunge or hide your thoughts. Be open about it, and always strive to make things better. And that’s how things should work. 

Here is a picture of Samuel!

1.jpg

He is a Coffee Voyager ( Yes, he work as a pilot before!), he likes to do a lot of things, always have a lot of interesting ideas, which is essential in develop a company, sometimes really serious but sometimes like a kid and here is his story. 

 The Coffee Voyager

“ I have always loved doing business.  My father was Jewish and his grandfather was  born in Europe and fled to America  during WWII to avoid the Nazis. I grew up with a dad who had done many businesses.  

I started  doing business when I was 15 years old.  I would buy and sell cars.  I loved classic cars and I would buy and sell these classic cars. Then later I worked in Agriculture, Forestry, Construction. 

I was a great student when I was interested and got A’s through High School  but was bored in College and dropped out of Architecture School after a couple years to try engineering, then Computer Science before finally graduating with a degree in Business and Aviation.

I believe that God has blessed me but this blessing is not just for me.  I was blessed to be a blessing to others.

I worked as a pilot and business owner.  However I was really interested in the Non profit world in helping people. So in 2008 I quit my job as a pilot and joined a non-profit to help people on the Tibetan Plateau. 

But I soon realized the the best way to help people  was  doing business.  Specifically a Social Impact Business."

Why Coffee?

3.jpg

I started out with the understanding that you needed know everything about coffee to be  successful but quickly learned that more importantly you needed  to understand business. So I went from only teaching people about coffee to teaching people about the business of coffee.  

At one point one of my best friends in Guatemala, whose family had been growing coffee for over 5 generations, started struggling. This became a major personal challenge.  Could the work we were doing help save my far-off friend. 

The Sustainable Coffee

4.jpg

Coffee seems fun so many people get into it that are not serious business people. 

I dream of a day when the industry is more healthy. And the people running their business are profitable enough that they can buy sustainable  coffee.

 If no one drink coffee anymore, what would you do?

5.jpg

Whether coffee or something else. I love teaching people and helping other succeed. I love consulting and coaching. If no one drank coffee I would start a  boutique consulting firm focused on helping people that had ok businesses but felt stressed out get their business and life under control and more healthy.  

Business affects peoples life so much and if our business skills and tools are laking they tend to have a horrible life. And they prestressed and eventually their family life suffers and then their health suffers. I have been through this my self and learned the tools to make business more enjoyable and healthy.  I love consulting with others and seeing their lives get better. 

What do you do during your free time?

7.jpg

Hiking, Mountain  Biking, Trading Stock, Reading Books, Flying Airplanes, Traveling, Prayer and Meditation

*Here's a cute picture to end the story :) 

1.gif
8.jpg