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Name: Charese John

Business: Revive Events & Catering , a catering company

Industry: Food & Beverage

Location: District of Columbia, U.S.

Reason for starting: I started Revive Events & Catering because I realized I could successfully run and operate a catering company on my own; because I have done it for several other companies. I had been working as the Director of Catering for 2 other large companies which generated over 1 million dollars in sales. As Oprah says,  “I had my Aha Moment!” Why continue to make others successful without investing in yourself.

Related: Read about another foodie entrepreneur here. 

How do you define success? I define Success as the perfect intersection of preparation and opportunity. There have been many times that we have been successful based on the growth of revenue generated. I consider our band to be successful because we are constantly growing and we find ourselves in circles that we were not considered in previously.

Biggest success: Our Biggest Success was when I realized that we were considered a competitive full service catering company. We went from doing local lunches to catering for President Obama’s second term Inauguration. We serviced over 3000 guest in one day.

What is your top challenge and how have you addressed it? One of my top challenges is sharing with my team a vision of being the best when our environment is not looking the best. Greatness is not achieved when one reaches the top, one must be great prior to others recognizing it. I constantly share this challenge with my team by telling them “You always have to prepare for greatness!”

Related: A Dose of Inspiration from Bessie Coleman

Who is your most important role model? I consider Marcus Samuellson to be my most important role model as I have had many over the years. My first professional cooking experience came from his kitchen as he emphasized the importance of greatness in the details. Cooking daily in a 3 star fine dining restaurant, no detail ever went over looked! I still hear his words in my head over 15 year later. I believe it’s were my intensity for greatness was birth and nurtured.

[box_light]Website   www.Revive-DC.com 
Facebook   www.Facebook.com/ReviveSpecialEventsandCatering [/box_light]

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Edited by The Story Exchange