We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Anitra L. Sayers a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Anitra L., looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Naming anything – including a business – is so hard. Right? What’s the story behind how you came up with the name of your brand?

My business name is derived from several things. Initially my planning business was and still is called Signature Events by Anitra. When I decided to expand into catering I wanted the businesses to be separate but still a reflection of one another. As a cook I have certain spices that are a go to for me. Like I will dash them on just about anything and then use other complimentary spices. Thyme is one of those spices for me. I used those 2 aspects to choose my catering business name. Signature, is from my event planning business, and Thymes, is well one of my favorite spices. Pretty simple I guess.

Anitra L., before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I am a traveling wedding/events planner and caterer. I do any size wedding and parties. My catering business specializes in gourmet seafood dishes, and soul food but we can do many cuisines. I love being able to create beautiful memories through decor, food, and events allowing my clients to relax and enjoy the moment. I think one of the things that set me apart is the relationship I build with my clients. I’m most proud of the fact that I’ve been able to sustain and even expand my business throughout the pandemic, uncertainty and now rising costs.

Can you talk to us about how your side-hustle turned into something more.

Planning parties was definitely a side hustle for many years. I would host and plan everything from birthdays to fundraisers for organizations until one day I finally realistically was my true passion. I immediately started working on setting up my company. The transition from volunteering to charging, and definitely charging what you’re worth was hard. I had to research, and study the industry from a business aspect and not so much as a creative, especially when it came to purchasing supplies and/or food. One of the biggest milestones was when I added catering. I started out doing a live cooking show on social media before eventually transitioning into meal prep and then full time catering.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

I think my still being in business is a huge example of resilience. I had been planning events as a hobby for well over 3-4 years. When I finally stepped out on faith and started my business professionally things were definitely tough. In the very beginning while getting my name out there, and building clientele I could go 8-10 months without anything booked. I also worked full time while still doing events, and actually lost an event at one point because I wasn’t able to devote the necessary time to my client’s needs. I kept building, working, I even kept my website up even though it was barely visible online, and I was losing $ paying for it each month. In 2017 I was able to leave my customer service position and do planning full time. Even after that point things were a little, I got married, had another baby and then the pandemic hit! At that point I was completely booked for about 8 months out. All those events either cancelled or postponed. Like many businesses I was left trying to figure out my next move. I was in my kitchen one day, making a meal for my family when the thought came to mind. Why don’t you cook live, let people see how you do what you do! I didn’t even do a lot a research because I knew I would talk myself out of it. A week later I was doing an online cooking show on Facebook and loving it. From that my box lunch business grew, and then my meal prep business grew..all leading me to expand into catering full time. I could’ve and thought many times about quitting but I didn’t give up. I continuously find ways to remain relevant, build and attract clientele.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.signatureeventsanitra.com
• Instagram: Signature Thymes Catering
• Facebook: Signature Thymes Catering
• Other: [email protected]

Image Credits
Javiously Photography