I run a small catering business with my siblings.
We all started out in the food industry when we were teenagers. There was a prominent pizzeria down the road from our house that employed many of our city’s teens as their first job until it was closed down a few years ago. I started as a dishwasher and eventually landed a job as a cook. When it was time to apply for college, I decided to go to culinary school instead of traditional university. It was tough and I couldn’t get scholarships to cover the immense cost, but I was still thankful for the experience. I learned more about cooking in those three years than I could ever hope to in three decades of self-learning using cooking videos on the internet. When my siblings and I decided to go out on our own by starting a catering business, we visited a local entrepreneurial center to get advice. We learned of how we could go about getting a business loan and where we could look for kitchens to rent. Being a partner in a business like this can be daunting sometimes, but I feel thankful for the wealth of information that we received from the entrepreneurial center here in town. For those who are first starting out on their journey as new business owners, it’s hard to beat. If you need office or shop space to rent, they can refer you to companies that rent out commercial properties. I have a friend who found an artisan loft for rent through an entrepreneurial center in a different state. He’s a professional glass blower.