We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Veronica Linares. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Veronica below.
Veronica , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Before we get into specifics, let’s talk about success more generally. What do you think it takes to be successful?
In my opinion the single most important key to success is self motivation. You will not get far if your inner drive is dry or lacks creativity, Capital, education, and experience are helpful but without the discipline to know you have to get up and chase your dreams you will be sadly disappointed. Being successful means a lot of different things to a lot of different people. We began our journey with simply wanting to create our own company. My husband and I took a lot of risks and we did it quickly. We have to oftentimes remind ourselves that “willingly taking a dive headfirst into the unknown takes some serious courage.” and the rest is history!
Veronica , before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
My name is Vero and I have been working and studying the Hospitality/Restaurant industry since 2005. I earned my B.A. in Hospitality Management at Kendall College here on the Chicago campus. Within my career I have worked in fast food concepts that you may recognize such as “Pizza Hut”, and fast casual like “Smashburger” & most recently “Roti”. Today my husband and I run and operate, La Calaca LLC, a dream of ours from many many years ago.
Jonathan is my husband who alike myself has worked in the industry since 2001. He began his career in a brand called “Panda Express” who I bet you know! After 10 years of serving and training he shifted his career into fine dining, working for “Lettuce Entertain You” as Kitchen Manager for Ema and Sous Chef for Aba. Jonathan is what I love to call a multitasking genius! Managing teams of kitchen staff and cleaning staff he also embarked in creating his own restaurant cleaning business, and if you should know anything about Jonathan it’s that no task is too big for him and just like me, he enjoys some great Mexican Food.
I have been a trainer and educator all of my life! I genuinely believe I have been put on this earth to grasp concepts and share them with people who like myself are willing to take the leap but are terrified of the unknown. Chicago is my hometown and my roots stem from a latin community called “La Villita” born and raised in heart of the city, I know a thing or two about Mexican Food. This project stemmed from a true love of Food, Flavor, and Mexican Culture.
So Join my family and I on our path to start and grow a food truck business in the best city on Earth! Chicago hold on tight, this ride is going to be long!
Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?
This is my favorite thing to share. Why, because being self motivated also involves constantly educating yourself and being open to new ideas and changes that are happening all around you. In high school I read my very first manager book and it was the size of my palm. It was a quick read which is why I loved it! It’s called the One Minute Manager. Truly helped me hone my skills. This book taught me not to waste time, keep things short, and sweet, and always focus on the bigger picture. My favorite film of all times and then soon after book as well, is The Secret! I tell everyone that I can about it because it truly does work! Teaches you all about how to manifest all things positive and how you can shape your life simply by setting your mind to it! I’m not much of a believer in a lot of things but this has proven true to me time and time again! Of course I also had my fair share of reads about my industry with books like, Good to Great, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Rich Dad, Poor Dad, and How to talk to anyone! So if I can encourage anyone to take a break it would be to fill your brain with the power of knowledge!
Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?
Growing up one of the most common things I would hear would be “you have a go to school, so you can have a great job!” or “if you don’t go to school you will end up with a low paying job.” I had to take the idea of stability, consistency, and reliability and throw it all away! I had an entrepreneur mindset but I had no idea who to look to for help, or guidance. I had to unlearn that getting a paycheck was a necessity, or that only the rich got rich. I had to change my mind about money almost instantly. I had to teach myself financial literacy to get the hang of how things worked for others outside of my circle. I had to surround myself with people that knew more than me, and most importantly I had to take risks. Now all of this to say I still haven’t made it, but I’ve figured out a way to be my own boss, make big moves, and protect and invest for my family. So, to this I say don’t become a slave to a job you hate, do only what you love so you never have to work a day in your life! It’s great on the other side, but it’s not easy to cross over. You have to set your mind to it and through all valleys and mountains no matter how high or low you must keep truckin’!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.lacalacallc.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lacalacallc/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lacalacallc/
- Linkedin: Veronica Linares
- Yelp: lacalaca