We recently connected with Courtney Burk and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Courtney, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by sharing your thoughts about the pros and cons of family businesses

I grew up in the family restaurant that is still in operation (nice work, fam!) and has been for close to 40 years. My first job was refilling coffee and water when I was too young to work the register. I learned a lot about people through my experience in the industry and watched the dedication and hard work my family put into their business every day. And it comes as no surprise that I fell in love with the industry at a young age. Waiting tables was something I was good at. Really good at in fact. And the family business pushed me into a hospitality career that spanned over fifteen years. I worked and eventually managed restaurants in college while pursuing my degree in Creative Writing. When I made my way back to the Southeast side of Michigan, I came back to the family business. The experience I gained helped launch their bar program, but all the while, I was still writing. I took unpaid internships at magazines and wrote freelance pieces throughout my time in the family restaurant and when I took my first steps outside of that.

The family business pushed me in ways I never expected. The hardest part, was making the decision not to continue along the path of the family business. To branch out and follow my own passions. Especially since the restaurant industry is something I know and hold very dear. But it’s in good hands, and because of that, I’ve been able to focus on writing about the industry both freelance and full-time. The family business shaped my career path and I’m excited to be able to give back to it in a variety of ways.

Courtney, 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’m a freelance writer who also works for Featherstone Agency as a marketing strategist and copywriter. My work primarily focuses on the hospitality industry, food, beverage, and occasionally I’ll dabble in poetry and fiction.

To read some of my work you can head to www.courtneyburk.com, receive my newsletter in your inbox by subscribing at https://courtneyburk.substack.com/, and follow me on Instagram and twitter @spoonfulof_ink.

Any resources you can share with us that might be helpful to other creatives?

Grammarly. It’s an app I have installed on every device and extension because I am prone to spelling and grammar errors. I write freeform and oftentimes have to switch between narrations or voices depending on what I’m writing — so this app is a lifesaver.

Twitter. It’s the social media platform where writers live and showcase their work. Magazines and editors put calls for pitches here. There’s also an incredible literary magazine community that has calls for submissions, workshops, and a variety of literary opportunities.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

Sharing stories. There are a lot of clients and passionate individuals I have the opportunity to be in community with. It’s the moments when I’m in a four-hour coworking session, creating all the copy for a campaign and listening to them tell the story about how they found the particular bit of denim, or the vivid memory that resides within the flavors of the dish they created, or the importance of ethically sourcing ingredients and the impact on the neighboring people — those moments are the most special. And honestly, why I love to write.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.courtneyburk.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/spoonfulof_ink
• Twitter: www.twitter.com/spoonfulof_ink
• Other: https://courtneyburk.substack.com/