We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Rachel Hengst. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Rachel below.
Alright, so we’re so thrilled to have Rachel with us today – welcome and maybe we can jump right into it with a question about one of your qualities that we most admire. How did you develop your work ethic? Where do you think you get it from?
I think work ethic is instilled in people from a very early age. I grew up in a big family of 6 kids. In order to keep the household running fairly smoothly, everybody had to do their part. You were in charge of a specific task or chore and you made sure you did it when you needed to, If, anyone forgot to do their chore, you would hear about it! You can’t expect anyone to do your work for you and if anything gets overlooked you should take the initiative to deal with it. My parents wouldn’t put up with any willful ignorance either. “I don’t know how” was never an acceptable excuse to get out of something especially when there were plenty of people in the house who could show you how. I carried those lessons whit me into the workforce. I credit my parents and my siblings for the work ethic I have today.
Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
About a year ago I decided to take an opportunity to switch careers from Prop Designer in the live theater world, to Retail Manager. The opportunity came at the perfect time and I am so lucky to work with amazingly smart and business minded people. I consider myself an artistic and creative person. I was doing a lot of creative things when I worked in theater from painting, building, and designing to sewing and crafting. I did that for about 10 years and I loved it but it wasn’t realistic for me financially to continue on that path. I was a little worried about leaving behind such a creative job but I soon realized that in my new role I had more time and mental energy to put towards the art and crafting that I loved to do in my free time. I was able to use my creative juices towards artforms and projects that I love. I also quickly realized that you can find creativity and art in any job. I am the Manager of two stores now and they carry very different brands and products that need to be merchandised properly. One of the ways I have found to be creative is by merchandising and buying new products for the stores. I was given a lot of freedom by the owners to set up the stores how I saw fit and create a image and feel for each location. We recently expanded one of the stores to double the size and it was so fun to reorganize and rearrange all our displays and products to better showcase our amazing brands.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
Three skills or qualities I have been so thankful to obtain and possess over the years is: commitment, willingness to learn, and faith in God. Those three things have helped me tremendously not only in my professional life but also my personal life. Commitment is so important because it shows that you will get the job done no matter what. I’m sure most people would rather hire someone who wants to commit to a position as opposed to someone who is unsure and flaky. Willingness to learn goes along with humility. I am always willing to learn a new skill to make me a better employee or manager. I have never and will never claim to know everything because, as they say, pride comes before the fall. My faith in God and my journey as a believer has been a constant comfort to me in times of big changes or struggles. Whenever I have a big project to do or decision to make, I pray that God will lead me to the end result that He wants. God’s plan for me is always the best choice.
Do you think it’s better to go all in on our strengths or to try to be more well-rounded by investing effort on improving areas you aren’t as strong in?
Most people know the quote “A jack of all trades, is a master of none.” But a lot of people don’t know the full quote which is “A jack of all trades is a master of none, but often times better than a master of one.” When I learn the second part of that quote it really made me feel better about being a self-proclaimed “jack of all trades, master of none.” I used to feel like I was mediocre at a lot of different things but felt insecure about not mastering a lot of those skills. But when I learned the second half of the quote it made me remember all the times I was able to help someone, or fix a problem, or create something because I had basic knowledge of something or possessed some skill in some field or another. It made me feel less incapable and more well rounded as a person. Some of my skills I have mastered over the years or would like to master in the future but I think its never a bad idea to try out a few different things just to see how it enriches you as person, and how it may come in handy someday. All my years working as a designer and builder has equipped me with the skills to build displays, solve problems, create something out of nothing, and see potential in everyday items.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/coronadomercantile/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100093696141759
Image Credits
Photo of me is taken by Chelsea Johnson. The rest of the photos are taken by Rachel Hengst
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
