Today we’d like to introduce you to Gabriela Bernal.
Gabriela, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
Riven Distributors was started by my parents, Ricardo and Martha Bernal, in 1980. My father always dreamed of being the president of his own company and my mother has always supported his ideas. They both wanted something of their own, something they could one day leave their children. At that point, my father was working for another paper and plastic distributor and told the owner of his idea of starting a new company. To his surprise, the owner was happy for him and offered to help him in any way he could. My father is and always will be very grateful to him as he was so giving and had so must trust and confidence in my father.
As most business owners know, running a business and raising children is very difficult as you always have to give 100% of your time to both tasks. With this in mind, my brother and I were pretty much raised in Riven and needless to say, that is where I always saw my future. We spent several summers at Riven as my parents did not quite have the income to send us to summer camp. Eventually, we would work summers here once we got to the appropriate age. Both my brother and I started at the bottom and worked our way up. My parents never wanted to just hand things to us, they believed that if we worked hard, we would better appreciate the company that they built. This also served as a learning lesson for both of us, as being an owner requires you to know every little aspect of the whole company and starting at the bottom is just the way to learn about everything. It also gives us more appreciation for the work our employees do.
My brother graduated from high school and came straight to work here. I wanted to go to college so I attended FIU while working part-time here and majored in Business Administration and then started working full time once graduated. At this point, my mother retired and I filled in for her. I was then married and wanted to start a family. My husband also joined our team and started from the bottom as well. While on maternity leave, I created our website. As all business owners know, you can never really leave work behind. Once I had my second child, my maternity leave was much shorter and she would come to work with me and so would my mother, to help me out.
My husband is now a part-time sales rep here but also has his own security company. My brother, after working with us for a bit over 20 years, decided to part ways and work for another company dealing with electrical supplies, nothing to do with our business. It was an amicable part but regardless, it was quite a blow to my father and I as we would now have to fill in for him and take on a heavier load. We managed and it was a blessing in disguise as my brother did not have the same passion I did to work here and is much happier at his new job. As a result, my father and I get along even better as we both have the same vision for the future of our company. Working with family can sometimes be hard but our bond is unbreakable. Even after a long week of working together, we still get together every weekend for at least one meal together or some type of family adventure.
I am extremely grateful for the struggles my parents endured at the beginning. If it weren’t for their sacrifice and hard work, I would not be sitting where I am today. For us, family is everything and our employees are like family.
Has it been a smooth road?
All business owners know it is never a smooth road. Just when you think you have everything under control, you are somehow bombarded with chaos. However, this chaos is what keeps it exciting. Although our business hours are 8am-5pm, our days always start much earlier and end much later. Trying to keep a balance between work and family is always hard and even more with work hours that vary from day today. Not knowing what your day will hold for you or what problems you may encounter, getting through the day and resolving any problems along the way, leaving the office with a sense of accomplishment is always my goal.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Riven Distributors story. Tell us more about the business.
Riven Distributors started out as a paper and plastic distributor serving the smaller stores in Miami. Throughout the years we have added printing and specialize in printed bags and packaging now selling throughout North, Central and South America. We dedicate ourselves to providing our customers great products and even better customer service. Our sales reps are trained to not just go out and make a sale, they must help the customer in any way that they can. If we can’t help the customer directly, we always point them in the right direction. I am proud of our employees and their dedication to help make our company what it is today.
How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
We started out selling paper and plastic products. However, thinking in the future, we are pushing more of our paper products as it is a more eco-friendly alternative. Plastic will most likely be banned in the future and we are prepared for this change. Customers are looking for a “green” alternative and we have them.
Contact Info:
- Address: 9869 NW 79 Ave – Hialeah Gardens, FL 33016
- Website: www.rivenonline.com
- Phone: 305-591-8753
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: @rivenonline
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