Leyla Apostolopoulos

I attribute my success to learning how to keep my cool, be patient, and not quit when things get really tough. Whether it's dealing with certain customers, coworkers, or stressful situations - and I do live in New York, so things can get really stressful - I've learned to handle all of these things without losing my mind, being rude to other people, or quitting. I'm definitely not a one-thing person. I like to do a lot of different things to keep me on my toes and keep me excited. So as long as I'm able to do all of them in a peaceful manner, that's a success for me. It's not about one specific achievement, but about how I've been handling everything together. My parents have been my mentors in this - they're both very hard-working people. My mom is still working at age 60 as the head of content of Greek content all over Europe, and my dad owns a business, a restaurant, and a bar that we've had in our family for 20 years. They've taught me to not give up and keep trying new things, and they're there for me no matter what I choose.

The hospitality industry is very inconsistent, I would say. There's no salary unless you're in a managerial position, and these people work way too much and don't make enough, so it's really not worth it. For bartenders and front of house people, it's usually mostly based on tips, especially in the U.S. I'm a pro-tip gal - I've seen it from both ends because in Greece it's not a thing. People work a lot there and don't make any tips, and you can see that their performance and heart is not into it because it doesn't matter if you give good service or bad service, you're going to make the same. While here, if you give good service, a lot of times you are rewarded, and that is encouraging. The conversation that I think is lacking is consistency for all parties, because everybody loves to eat - it includes every single person on Earth. Everybody goes to restaurants, nightclubs, bars, places where they get entertainment. It's very interesting how it's not taken as a very serious industry when I think hospitality brings a whole lot of money. It should be considered a lot more, at the same levels as tech or fashion. The hospitality industry is extremely important. So I would say it's inconsistent with payment, inconsistent with growing factors, so it needs to be discussed a lot more.