The ninth annual “Women Making History!” event took place on Thursday evening, February 26, 2015 at Moosylvania Marketing in Maplewood. This year’s theme was “Talk & Taste: Turning a Food Passion into a Business.”
The evening consisted of brief comments from three women business owners whose experience in business ranges from three to 30 years, drinks provided by the Maplewood Chamber of Commerce, and fourteen tables of women-owned or managed food businesses offering samples.
Rachelle L’Ecuyer, director of community development for the City of Maplewood served as mistress of ceremonies introducing hostess Sharon Ayres of Moosylvania Marketing, and three women business owners.
Kathy Kuper and her family started The Big O Liqueur, a producer of handcrafted ginger liqueur three years ago. The mission of the company is: Have a Little Fun, Make a Little Money, and Give Back to the Community.
Kuper said, “One year ago, I looked at my husband and we weren’t having any fun. Sales were flat, and we weren’t making any money. We were ready to quit. Our son walked into the room and said, ‘You’re not looking at this the right way!’” They stuck with it and just got into the New Orleans market.
Jane Callahan started Pie Oh My! after years as a lobbyist for a national non-for-profit based in St. Louis. She said, “I loved my colleagues, I loved the mission of the organization, but being a lobbyist is tough work. You work for months and months and you don’t see any progress, and there is no measurable outcome. Now I go to work in the morning, I make something with my hands, and say, “I made this for you” and we get to make people happy. It’s really very gratifying.”
Linda Pilcher, owner of Something Elegant Catering, started her business nearly thirty years ago after ten years of being a therapist for people with eating disorders. She provided five key takeaways from her long tenure in the food business:
- We all have fears about how to do things. Just do it so you don’t have to look back and wonder why you didn’t do it sooner.
- Find a mentor. Find someone in a field you are interested in and get to know them, do things for them, and learn everything you can from them—it will carry you a long way.
- Surround yourself with good people—my staff is terrific.
- Know that every experience that you have, everything you do, will lead you to something else that will benefit you no matter what you’re doing.
- Be passionate–love what you’re doing.
