We were lucky to catch up with Jose Martinez recently and have shared our conversation below.

Jose , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What do you think it takes to be successful?

When you take the leap to become your own boss there are so many things you will encounter… some are expected, others are complete surprises.

I will say in order to stay afloat in the restaurant or hospitality business, you must be committed.

You must be committed to yourself – trying to integrate work into your life without becoming completely overwhelmed. You must also push through periods of burnout – usually pushing to take time to yourself, resetting, and keeping things that are important to you close.

You must also be committed to your business. It’s incredibly easy to loose track of what YOU are working towards. Be committed to your margins. Be committed to your staff. Loosing focus when you are bogged down with decision fatigue is easy. Keep those who keep you working towards your goal rewarded and keep them feeling valued.

Finally be committed to your clients. Your clients are the ones who will keep you afloat. Do not loose focus on why you set out on this adventure. Sometimes you need to take a moment to recenter and remind yourself why your grinding. The burnout will happen, the self doubt will set in, and only you have the ability to keep moving toward the “prize.

I heard in a podcast in 2017 a quote that I often have to remind myself of amidst burnout and decision fatigue… Sarah Blakely once told NPR ” the entrepreneurial ideas are most vulnerable in the infancy stage when egos quickly take over.”

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

What did you want to be when you grew up? An astronaut? Firefighter? Police officer? Not Jose, he knew from a young age he wanted to be a chef.

Confectionately Confections is his dream coming to life!

After formal culinary education at Johnson & Wales University in Charlotte, NC and years of on the job training with Walt Disney World Parks & Resorts Jose ventured out into the world to change the catering and events scene here in central Florida, one unforgettable event at a time.

If you are looking for unique “foodiecentrique” catering with personable, honest, diverse and professional staff, then look no further.

Confectionately Confections (C2) was founded in 2015 as a home-based cottage bakery where Jose sold his fresh baked goods at local farmer’s markets around Central Florida. After realizing his passion was more than just desserts Jose expanded offering full service catering in 2020. C2 is here to break the mold of ordinary event catering, after all, they “don’t serve 1980’s banquet food”. With so many options in the event planning process, rest assured that Jose and the team at C2 will ensure every “I” is dotted and every “T” is crossed. The team of friendly faces that produce these unforgettable events has been hand selected to make your dreams a reality!

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

Picture it…. 1912… oh wait this isn’t the start of another one of Sofia’s Sicilian stories… No, but seriously, picture it…. March 2020…. the world is currently shutting down in preparation for something most have never experienced – a global pandemic. You just left your full time serving position with one of the world’s largest entertainment companies. You’re sitting on a couch watching the first cases break news in China. You think to yourself “this was a terrible time to jump into starting a catering company.” I started small – doing personal chef style services preparing meals for friends around the area. I had no idea what the coming 30 days would bring.

Fast forward a few weeks – grocery store shelves were bare. Events were put on a permanent hold. Folks were stockpiling toilet paper, dry food items, water, you name it = all in preparation for the unknown.

We went from societal “norms” to staying in, becoming full time plant parents, adopting four legged fur babies, and learning new skills and hobbies.

Parents went from full time mortgage brokers and corporate moguls to full time parents, full time teachers, short order cooks, housekeepers, and masters of unimaginable amounts of laundry. All while trying to balance work, keeping food on the table, keeping kids fed, and balancing wine down Wednesday on Zoom and “virtual happy hours”.

When events went to a standstill (and I was still without a job – pandemic in full swing!) I realized people needed help. It was no longer fun to grocery shop/order grocery delivery, prepare, cook, serve, and clean up. Here I was – cooking up a few families meals each week… and suddenly neighbors were referring neighbors, next thing I knew we were full scale! Serving 20, then 30, then 70 families weekly. I couldn’t have asked for a better time to get the ball rolling! This unknown was actually a blessing in disguise.

While so many were struggling to keep their doors open – I was able to flourish….

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

Consistency is key!

Implement consistent communication, processes, posts on socials, and execution of your business. Whether you are a creative, providing a product, or performing a service be sure each client received the same service every time.

Clients seek consistency, the more consistent you are in your operation the more clients will thrive.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.c2cateredevents.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/Confectionatelyconfections/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Confectionatelyconfections/
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@c2cateredevents