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Personal Chef Industry

Hi, my name is Stacie and I live in Columbia, MD. I have been racking my brain for a year and a half (my daughter is now 6 months) for a home-based business so I can spend more time raising my daughter and have really been excited about the personal chef industry. I love to cook (and have get-togethers whenever possible so I can cook) and I am very down about my current job (publishing) and my awful daily commute. I just found this site and am going to talk with my husband tonight about purchasing the materials. But, I'm so nervous! Like I said, my daughter is only 6 months old... my husband just finished a masters program and is looking for a new job. We have a nest egg that we could lean on if we need to... I just don't quite know what to do now. I have so many questions and doubts. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks,
Stacie Lemick

Hi Stacie,

This is my second kick at the cat answering you (the first time my 2-year-old wiped it out and sent Explorer spinning off into some kind of Help loop).

Anyway, your comments struck three thoughts in my head (so I'll write quick - I don't want to lose any of them).

1. - Presumably, your current job offers some kind of benefits and security while paying the bills. It may be prudent to wait a bit until your husband finds a job that provides those same sorts of things (also, you should wait until you determine if it's a job that he's going to be able to keep).

2. - It is important to remember that you are starting your own small business (in an industry that is not yet universally know or understood). There are no guarantees you will make a profit or any money at all. Ever. Be careful to be sure that the nest-egg is something along the lines of a Great Condor nest-egg. Or wait until money is flowing in regularly from another source (i.e. hubby). I wouldn't be able to do this myself (I wouldn't take the rist) if it weren't for the fact that my wife has a fabulous, established career she loves.

3. - As for the home-based aspect of this industry it's important to keep in mind that you are legally obliged to do all food prep and cooking at the client's house. Otherwise the health department could eat you up (not to mention that your liability insurer may not be legally obliged to cover you if you are operating illegally). The home-based part of this is paperwork, marketing, etc. As for your daughter, most recent surveys suggest clients do not want you to take the kiddywinks into their homes, plus there is the potential distraction a child can cause. So you had probably better be prepared to have someone else look after your daughter while you're out cooking.

Now that you are possibly thoroughly discouraged, take heart! Yes, get the package. Be a member. Find out what all is involved and what you are going to have to work toward while continuing to put in time at your (to quote Meredith) soul-sucking job. Use the information to culinarily (is that a word?) make your own life easier. Practice on friends and family. Plan to take a year to ease into it.

You may find your job is easier to deal with if you have a goal that is achievable through knowlege - that there is an end in sight (I was going to say that sometimes the light at the end of the tunnel is the one you lit yourself - but that's like a greeting card thing).

Just my thoughts. Contact me at gord@escoffier.net if you want to chat more about the organization and the materials.

Gord

[This message has been edited by Gord (edited May 31, 2000).]

Gord, dude, you're leaving me with nothing to write....

(If I had $5 for every time I wrote "Gord's right"...)

Seriously, though -- I love what I'm doing and would highly recommend it -- but won't kid you by promising that you'll be raking in the bucks, especially in your first six months.

There are folks who are doing it without leaning on a spouse/partner's income and benefits, but most of them are finding this really difficult. Since your husband's going to get a job anyway -- don't do anything drastic until he does (and the bennies kick in).

In the meantime, go through the archives to get a good feel for what's going on, get the training materials, and continue to build the nest egg. If I screwed anything up, it was in underestimating how long it would take me to get the business organized and set up. (Of course, if I didn't insist on painting every room in the house, digging new gardens, getting involved in volunteer work, and picking up consulting jobs, I might have been a little quicker )

And by all means, give me a holler -- I was just up in your neck of the woods this weekend at Maryland Hombrew...meredith@whiskforhire.com

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Meredith
Whisk For Hire
Kensington, MD

Well thanks, Meredith. But you notice I have to quote you? It goes both ways.

Gord

Alright now you two - Meredith and Gord - quit breaking each others arms patting each other on the back.

But they are both right. Do not jump in until you are comfortable with all that is going on around you. But also don't suffer from analysis paralysis. Do your study, do your homework, make sure everything is in place then just do it!

Remember too, while you are looking into all these things if you want to chef a day with Meredith or us (Meredith I'm not speaking for you but I know you) then all you have to do is give us a holler.

Good Luck!!

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Jim Davis
The Really Good Food Co.
A Personal Chef Service