The
best advice I’ve ever received was from my father when I was 12 years
old and willing to listen. He told me that with my personal
characteristics, I could, if I set my mind to it, do anything I chose.
This advice instilled in me a great sense of confidence, and despite the
fact that sometimes I was a little nervous, I stepped out and did what I
wanted to do when I wanted to do it. I think it really often is up to
the parents to help build confidence in their children. It is a very
necessary part of growing up.
When I look back on the
years when I was exploring career choices and discovering my true
entrepreneurial spirit, my choices seem rather eclectic. I was barely in
my teens when I began taking a bus from my hometown in Nutley, New
Jersey, to New York City, where I worked as a model. This work was fun
and lucrative. It demanded a certain optimism and a drive that not
everyone possesses. Still, by the time I married and finished my college
studies in history and architectural history, I was tired of modeling. I
wanted to build a career, and I longed to do something more
intellectually stimulating.
Armed mainly with my
father’s encouragement that I could do anything I put my mind to, I
considered my options. I had no capital to start my own business. I did,
however, have a great desire to work hard and learn. So I went to Wall
Street and joined a small brokerage house where I learned to be a
stockbroker. It was an outstanding education in business and often was
very exciting, but I never developed a passion for it. I loved houses
and landscaping and decorating, so I thought real estate might be a good
career for me — but I left the business without ever hosting an open
house or buying a single property! However, even my brief time in real
estate held an important lesson — I learned that the true work of any
job may be much different than what you imagine.
Even
before I found my entrepreneurial spirit, one thing I did know was that I
enjoyed cooking and focusing on the home. I began baking pies and
selling them at a local market. I opened a small gourmet food market
called the Marketbasket where I sold my own foodstuffs as well as those I
commissioned from local women. Then I took a bigger step: I started a
catering business. From the first event, I knew immediately that I had
found an enterprise that combined several of my talents, my interests,
and some of my business experience.
Catering paved the
way for me to find my true passion. If you want to begin the journey to
discover your entrepreneurial passion, you must first analyze your own
interests, strengths, weaknesses, and desires; and then you must
consider carefully how hard you want to work. I have always found it
extremely difficult to differentiate between what others might consider
my life and my business. For me they are inextricably intertwined. That
is because I have the same passion for both. Simply stated, my life is
my work and my work is my life. As a result, I consider myself one of
the lucky ones because I am excited every day: I love waking up; I love
getting to work; I love focusing on a new initiative. There are many,
many people who have inspired, taught, influenced, and supported me
during the years that I have been visualizing, creating, building, and
managing my own entrepreneurial venture — but I’ll never forget the
favor my father did me when he instilled in me the tenacity I needed to
build a career based on what I love most.
Photo: Courtesy of Martha Stewart
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