Her Story
About Arnetta
Arnetta Bradford brings 15 years of experience in the restaurant industry to her role, with seven years at her current establishment in Hope, Arkansas. Her career path stems from a foundation of service modeled by her mother, leading her to also serve as a youth pastor and regional manager for international programs. Bradford holds an associate's degree in general education along with a bachelor's degree in organizational leadership completed last year, and she is finishing a master's degree in organizational leadership next year. She has held leadership positions including past president and current board member of the Chamber of Commerce, membership in the Downtown Network for the state, and chairwoman of the Arkansas Black History Commission by appointment of the governor. Bradford attributes her success to faith, grace, and the guidance and leadership instilled by her mother from a young age. Her core values center on faith and people, reflected in her motto of people over profits, and she remains active in volunteering at schools and community activities while offering advice to others not to quit and to remember their why.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Arnetta
01What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to grace and God's grace, and the moral things that were instilled in me at a very young age, and the guidance that I got from my mom, and of course the guidance I continually get from God. I would say definitely, I have to attribute that success to Grace, and to my mom's guidance, and just the leadership that she instilled in me.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best career advice I've ever received is don't quit. Things take time, whether it's the restaurant business or building clientele or customers, it just takes time, it takes relationships, and all of the things. My mom was one that would always tell me that, don't quit.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
I would absolutely tell them, make sure you don't forget the reason why. Why are you doing this? Figure out that why. You need to figure that out, so that you can make sure that what you're doing, you're doing it from your heart. Because if it's your why, despite whatever comes towards you, or tries to deter you, you're remembering why you're doing it, and that should sustain you enough to keep you going forward, and not to quit.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
Biggest challenges in the restaurant industry are food costs that have gone up pretty high, figuring out how to not take prices to a level where people cannot afford it. Opportunities include being offered to expand into other cities, looking at making a decision on one as early as next month, and last year we extended for our second location onto our college campus. Also opportunities from the governor to better serve in leadership as far as the state goes.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
For me, values is always, first and foremost, is my faith. My business was split, actually. We did not start off that business with business loans, or a big family that was able to come in, or anything like that. It was just literally me and my husband personally working, and really leaning on God to open the doors, because the name of the business is Hebrews 11 and 1, and so it's bathed in faith. So faith is a huge value for me, but outside of faith and Christ and things of that nature, people. I value people. My motto is people over profits.
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