CEO of Berrylicious Bistro Cafe talks about her life as a businesswoman
Irina says being in a position like this comes with a lot of responsibility, not only for the business but also the people who work for the business
Desiree Gases
Irina Gorgina Ngando is the CEO of Berrylicious Bistro Café. Irina finished her school career in Angola and then moved to Namibia where she attained a diploma in business management. She is also a paralegal practitioner and has various certificates.
She says she has three jobs at the moment. “I am in sales for a South African medical company, I work as the CEO of Berrylicious and thirdly as a mom to my two sons and my partner.”
Irina says being in a position like this comes with a lot of responsibility, not only for the business but also the people who work for the business. It has also brought a new environment to her life. She’s able to learn from and teach the people she works with on a daily basis.
“All in all, this position has been fulfilling,” she says.
“My typical day starts at 05:00, getting my sons ready for school. Once they’re sorted, I start creating recipes for the menu of the following week as I start to prepare the food for that day around 08:00 with the help of my team. Around 10:00 I get to the café which has already been open since 07:30. We start to serve the hospital staff including nurses, janitors, receptionists and surgeons until about 14:00.”
She spends the rest of the day at the café until mothering duties take over again.
When it comes to the business, Irina is most proud of how far they’ve come.
“Being in the food industry means keeping up with trends and constantly evolving our recipes and we have done so gracefully by learning from one another and that has helped Berrylicious develop a solid clientele that we are proud to call ours,” she says.
Irina’s hobbies include anything that makes the people around her happy. Another one of her hobbies is organising her entire house all the time. Irina says she didn’t have the best childhood. “Perhaps that’s why I work so hard to ensure my kids have the best memories in their childhood.”
Her biggest accomplishment has been getting to where she is now, she says. “The mindset that I need to get things done has always been a driving force.” Other accomplishments include opening her own café and the fact that she’s a mother.
Irina says if she could tell her younger self something, it would be that “everything you do is in your mind; when people tell you that something is easy, it’s only because they aren’t doing it with you. If you’ve made up your mind then you can do whatever you set your mind to, with or without the help of people”.
Irina Gorgina Ngando is the CEO of Berrylicious Bistro Café. Irina finished her school career in Angola and then moved to Namibia where she attained a diploma in business management. She is also a paralegal practitioner and has various certificates.
She says she has three jobs at the moment. “I am in sales for a South African medical company, I work as the CEO of Berrylicious and thirdly as a mom to my two sons and my partner.”
Irina says being in a position like this comes with a lot of responsibility, not only for the business but also the people who work for the business. It has also brought a new environment to her life. She’s able to learn from and teach the people she works with on a daily basis.
“All in all, this position has been fulfilling,” she says.
“My typical day starts at 05:00, getting my sons ready for school. Once they’re sorted, I start creating recipes for the menu of the following week as I start to prepare the food for that day around 08:00 with the help of my team. Around 10:00 I get to the café which has already been open since 07:30. We start to serve the hospital staff including nurses, janitors, receptionists and surgeons until about 14:00.”
She spends the rest of the day at the café until mothering duties take over again.
When it comes to the business, Irina is most proud of how far they’ve come.
“Being in the food industry means keeping up with trends and constantly evolving our recipes and we have done so gracefully by learning from one another and that has helped Berrylicious develop a solid clientele that we are proud to call ours,” she says.
Irina’s hobbies include anything that makes the people around her happy. Another one of her hobbies is organising her entire house all the time. Irina says she didn’t have the best childhood. “Perhaps that’s why I work so hard to ensure my kids have the best memories in their childhood.”
Her biggest accomplishment has been getting to where she is now, she says. “The mindset that I need to get things done has always been a driving force.” Other accomplishments include opening her own café and the fact that she’s a mother.
Irina says if she could tell her younger self something, it would be that “everything you do is in your mind; when people tell you that something is easy, it’s only because they aren’t doing it with you. If you’ve made up your mind then you can do whatever you set your mind to, with or without the help of people”.
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