About Jake

The idea of labeling myself feels intimidating. In my eyes, adding definition creates limitation. Change is a part of life and I favor going with the flow rather than fighting against it. Throughout life I've always considered myself a "Jake" of all trades, pursuing my interests and expanding my knowledge in various ways, but doing it my way. While this is a rough reflection of my past, in no way does it produce an accurate label to who I am as a person.

Since I was a child I had been fascinated with how businesses work. Why dad constantly left for work, what does he do and how?  From a young age I remember developing lots of questions regarding what work was and what it meant to be a contributing member to society.  Fortunately for me, my family worked at a company whose founders were the true definition of an American Dream come true. Two brothers from Michigan started a metal service company out of scrap yard, supplying local customers with much needed materials. This wasn't just a traditional business, this was family, and the customers became a part of that family. The Family growing at Alro Steel were so dedicated that when things would seem most dire, Al Glick would stand on the freeway flagging down semi trucks to get his customers their orders. That level of dedication and exceeding expectations grew Alro Steel into its current powerhouse state of 60+ locations ranging from Steel and Plastics divisions. As being a part of that "work family" and growing up so near, it was impossible not to learn something from it and I loved it. Family get togethers often lead to discussions of work, which would afford me the opportunity to analyze scenarios from outside the "box". From making suggestions, to attempting to design tools that would improve the quality of work, it fed my curiosity.

When my father was home from work, he was always there for us. A strong family man, there isn't much he wouldn't do for us. My experiences with my him as a youth are sewn into my memory, from ice fishing, family get togethers including him doing the worm on the dance floor, to playing video games together. The latter of which has become an interest that has wavered little throughout my life. Video Games continued to be an important factor in my life and to this day still are. I am a Twitch content creator and Epic Games Partner. The positive lessons and values I've learned through my father and life in general I try to apply to my content. While I admit we're there to have fun and play video games, those values remain the "rules" of my stream and community. While I would like to boast about how I have taught these kids in this gaming community so many lessons, it's these great kids around the world who have taught me. Using code "1HG" when purchasing items or games through Epic Games powered stores provides a kick back of money for me. I greatly appreciate any use of the code, as most of my Twitch and Epic Games earnings are funded back into the community and stream.

My mother was my best friend. From music, to the arts, my mom taught me to find beauty in not only the little things, but in life. Often we would go on shopping sprees to goodwill and hunt for items. It was during these shopping trips that I started to develop an eye for items. I began to notice things of value in the store that I had personal interest in and my mom helped fuel that hunt. As a May baby, I'm a Taurus and naturally have an expensive taste, but this allowed me to get items for cheap. On the other hand, I was happy just to own a playable vinyl record. One day in goodwill I was hunting through vinyl albums and noticed a bright yellow album cover edge. During this time I was exploring Rock n' Roll music and fell very much in love with Jimi Hendrix's work. I knew exactly what album it was. Another guy was also sifting through the albums and dead in the center of us.. the Jimi album I was looking for. He got to the album first and proceeded to tell me how he is going to buy it because people will buy it at a higher value. I grew a distaste for the idea of selling items when right there was a kid who just wanted to Experience Hendrix. I vowed never to allow my greed to outweigh someone's interest in an item and to this day when I'm looking for items, I take this story into consideration.

3.) values, exceeding expectations, honesty, kindness

5.) Professional Journey, How Alro shaped me, deli gave me insight to potential, sub shops knowledge, alro ability to manage inventory, otr for logistics issues

My first job was a Deli Clerk at a Piggly Wiggly. When I had the interview it began to rain and I didn't have a ride there. I rode my bike 3 miles in the rain to show up on time for my interview and the manager was so impressed with my willingness to get there despite conditions that I was hired immediately. It was not an easy job for someone just entering the workforce as you would think. As I later learned the Deli Manger wanted out and was secretly grooming me to become manager. Without knowledge of her intentions, the workload became so unfair that I felt the need to leave. Upon leaving and learning of her leaving too, it gave me a secret boost in confidence to learn I had what it took to be a manager after my first job. 

My passion at this point in life had been food and while I enjoyed working with food in the Deli, it wasn't quite a restaurant. Soon I found myself in a similar situation at a Quiznos. When I started at this sub shop, I was also going to WCTC for a few credits towards Culinary Management. The sub shop owners knew I was going to school and tried to get as much knowledge as they could from me. While I was employed with them I had a lot of fun interacting with customers and gaining my footing for the fast casual restaurant style. I quickly grew a crowd of regulars and would make custom subs for them of which would give several upcharges in benefit to the company. The subs were so good that the customers didn't mind paying the extra. The company was struggling to hold on and shortly after my employment ended the location closed its doors. I often still think of this family and wish them the best.

While I would like to paint my life as a hardworking member of society, it was after Quiznos that I started to hit speed bumps in life. I was kicked out of my house just before turning 18 years old, got into trouble with the law, and began rebelling. While it seemed in the moment things couldn't get worse, I landed a job with Jimmy Johns. Similar to how much I learned at Alro, I was about to learn a lot about running a restaurant successfully and what it took to be the best. The management at Jimmy Johns was superior and held high standards. Subs so fast you'll freak wasn't just a Company saying, it was the goal behind serving every customer. We would make subs so quick that the sandwich would be in your hand before the cashier could hand you your change. Jimmy Johns was the first company to accept me into their management team and teach me everything needed to succeed. The Operations Manager once asked me if I was trying to take his job from him, that's how dedicated I got to the success. Often I would be asked my the area managers to cover shifts for other store Managers, who had last minute emergencies.

cousins

Jersey Mikes

Alro BB

OTR w/friends

Zoup

OTR solo

Doordash

Kentucky

Life

7.) Proof of work, reviews over years 94% restaurant satisfaction, catering reviews, Jake's Deals reviews, continuous improvement 4.)provide pictures

2.) How I got to do deals, personal hobbies, collections, identifying items and their value, restoring products to give new life, woodworking, hemp jewelry, hand sewing, candle making etc

Music/Arts

6.) How I help, deals in bulk that allow me to pass savings on, also recovering unique items that were destined for destruction, making deals so you don't have to.

8.) Benefits, less waste

9.) Contact and call to action