John Jeffery
Bently Heritage Estate Distillery
Minden, NV USA
"Mistakes aren’t things that went wrong—they’re just things that happen and you grow from them."
Career Roadmap
John's work combines: Food, Science, and Working with Others
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Day In The Life
Skills &
Education
Advice for getting started
If you're interested in something, find the people who are involved in that thing and reach out to figure out how you can work together. People are always willing to work with you if they know that you'll put in the hard work to learn, grow, and develop whatever it is you're working on. For my industry specifically, I suggest that you read a lot of books and get to know process and the industry. Know it better than everyone else, be passionate and knowledgable, and let that show.
Here's the path I took:
High School
Bachelor's Degree
Exercise Science and Kinesiology
University of Illinois
Graduate Degree
Food Chemistry
Michigan State University
Life & Career Milestones
My path in life took a while to figure out
1.
I grew up in Chicago and lived there for the first 25 years of my life before moving away with my family—we’ve moved about 12 times since then!
2.
I got my undergraduate degree in kinesiology with a focus in exercise physiology from the University of Illinois.
3.
I worked in personal training and real estate for a while, but was considering moving on due to the instability surrounding the clients and income.
4.
After moving out of Chicago because of the economy, I developed an interest in food chemistry and found a professor who was working on agricultural economic development in Michigan.
5.
That professor was ignoring my emails because his program was at a standstill, so I showed up at his office and convinced him to let me participate and develop the program with him.
6.
After graduating from the food chemistry program, I was doing a lot of product research and development consulting work.
7.
One of the companies I had previously consulted for recommended me for this Bently Heritage Estate Distillery startup project in Nevada, so I took the opportunity.
8.
The Bently Heritage Estate Distillery started operating in early 2018 and I currently work as the head distiller.
Defining Moments
How I responded to discouragement
THE NOISE
Messages from Society in general:
That's a big risk. It's not okay to make mistakes.
How I responded:
A lot of people think that mistakes are these horrible things and you should avoid them. I believe that mistakes aren't things that went wrong—they're just things that happen and you grow from them. I didn't end up as head distiller because I planned it out and worked towards it. I got here because I made a lot of mistakes, which allowed me to try a lot of things, learn, and grow. Life is boring without risk. Anything worth having is worth leaving safety for.
Experiences and challenges that shaped me
I was working in real estate in Chicago when the housing market collapsed. At the same time, I was tired of living in such a huge city with my young kids. So, my family and I moved and I pursued a career change.
I had to leave my family behind in Chicago for 6 months while I figured out graduate school in Michigan. We've also had to move around a lot because of the nature of my job. It gets hard but I'm now at a job where I can remain in place for a while.