Dana Buzbee

As the manager, I was responsible for hiring and training new employees, making the weekly schedule, and managing and motivating a younger staff of employees to be productive and engaged in work. Outside of general management responsibilities, I would watch people playing escape rooms and send them hints along the way. There are 5 very detailed rooms, and I had to know each one backwards and forwards. Each room has 10-20 complex puzzles, and putting everything back in place 100% of the time was imperative to the job. This required a lot of memorization and attention to detail, as I was also responsible for catching mistakes made on resets by other employees. I was also responsible for maintaining a tidy work environment, and keeping the individual escape rooms and props clean. I also did some marketing and social media on Instagram and TikTok.

Im thankful for the experience, as it was completely out of my wheelhouse. I learned a lot, but ultimately working at an escape room is just not a good fit for me. I enjoy working in a fast paced environment, with more human interaction. There was A LOT of downtime, and some entire days without games. I thrive in a fast paced environment, where I’m able to be on my feet and interact with more people during the work day.

I would take care of the plants at all growth stages, and prepare them to go to the East Austin Succulents retail location. As a manager, I was trusted to complete tasks on my own, and use my knowledge and discretion to make decisions. When I would get to work each day, I would assess what needs to be done that day and start working. Example tasks include: keeping track of the watering and fertilizing schedule for 8 greenhouses, closely inspecting for disease and pests, taking cuttings of plants and prep for propagation, bumping plants into bigger pots, pulling dead plants, picking weeds… I would also work with the online team, to package and ship online orders. Along with meticulous detail, this included: printing labels, wrapping plants, packing orders, and dropping packages off at the post office.

I lost my job as a server in March of 2020 due to COVID.

To avoid getting bored during quarantine, I started buying succulents and making arrangements.

About a month into quarantine, a neighbor saw my arrangements and wanted to purchase one as a gift.

That turned the lightbulb on for me.

I decided to take the risk and start a business shortly after.

I got all the permits and equipment, and started selling my plants at a farmers market in September 2020.

In January of 2021, I applied for a more competitive 3 day/week market, and by December of 2021, I was the "Manager on Duty" for the artists of the market.

MOD duties included: making sure vendors properly set up their tents and weights, that they had proper and up to date sales information, being a keyholder to the building onsite to access restrooms and AC. At the end of the market, after I was packed up, I had to clean the restrooms and make sure the grounds were free of trash and debris, and I would report to the head of the market with a recap of the day. In addition to running my own business and making sales, my job as MOD was to make sure the market ran smoothly as a whole.

I was the "go-to" for all issues and questions regarding the market, all while managing my own business' booth.

In March of 2022, my sales had gone down slightly and I had to pivot and create something new.

In April of 2022, my sales exploded with my new product.

By the end of 2022, I as doing markets 3 days/week, selling in 2 different stores, and selling in a 36 day Christmas Bazaar.

2023 continued to go well, but in May of 2023, I hit a crossroads and decided it was time to move on.

The decision to quit was mainly influenced by my desire to move out of Texas.

While I sold my business and prepped for my move to Wilmington, I got a job as a manager at East Austin Succulents.

TLC opened at the beginning of 2018. I'd describe the food as, "Texas Comfort/Seafood". The menu has all kinds of stuff, with the seafood boils and oysters being most popular. A brunch menu was available on Saturdays and Sundays, in addition to the regular menu.

This was my first experience with a tip pool, and working without bussers. While I was a server, we worked together as a team to make the shift run smoothly. Sometimes this included helping out in the bar as well.

Take food and drink orders, run food and drinks to tables, pay attention to section and be visible to customers, maintain a stocked wait station, maintain a clean dining room, manage bathroom cleanliness, polish and roll silverware, polish glassware.

I helped open this restaurant, and was quickly became a trainer for new hires.

Chuy's is an established, very busy Tex-Mex restaurant that is local to Austin. I worked at the original location on Barton Springs Rd. The food is made from scratch, as well as the drinks.

I started at Chuy's in 2011 as a host.

A few months into working, I became the host trainer.

Shortly after that, I was promoted to a cocktail server and food server.

Not long after that, I was promoted to trainer for both cocktail and food servers.

In 2013, I became a bartender to pick up shifts, but still mainly worked as a server/server trainer.

I left Chuy's at the end of 2017 to try something new in a new restaurant.

• Organized racks and shelves to maintain store visual appeal, engage customers, and promote specific merchandise.
• Handled cash transactions efficiently while adhering to company cash handling policies, ensuring accuracy in all financial exchanges.

Counter service BBQ restaurant.

• Organized racks and shelves to maintain store visual appeal, engage customers, and promote specific merchandise.
• Handled cash transactions efficiently while adhering to company cash handling policies, ensuring accuracy in all financial exchanges.