What do you do?

I import food. I get pretty much what people look for. But mostly, I am the information booth for all the immigrants. They come here, regardless of where they’re from. ‘You know where this is, what that is.’ I help them know where to go.

How did you get started?

When I moved into Brandon when all the immigrants were coming here. I was looking for the same things they were looking for.

What does your job involve?

I do wire transfers of money. I do all the ordering. Payroll. All the management jobs.

What’s the best part of the job?

The people. The people come from about seven countries. The Philippines, Ethiopia, Salvador, Honduras, Colombia, Mexico, China. I don’t get a lot of their (Chinese) customers.

What are the challenges?

The language. I speak Spanish, but I don’t speak whatever dialect they have in Africa. They come here and they want to talk to me, but I don’t understand, so it’s hard.

Karla Ortega runs Karla’s International Foods at 937 Rosser Avenue in Brandon.