We recently connected with Kaley Hartpence and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Kaley, thanks for joining us today. Coming up with the idea is so exciting, but then comes the hard part – executing. Too often the media ignores the execution part and goes from idea to success, skipping over the nitty, gritty details of executing in the early days. We think that’s a disservice both to the entrepreneurs who built something amazing as well as the public who isn’t getting a realistic picture of what it takes to succeed. So, we’d really appreciate if you could open up about your execution story – how did you go from idea to execution?
Owning my own catering business was always just a distant dream in the back of my mind, one that never seemed to get to the point of being “the right time or place” to execute. That is, until Covid 19 hit. Prior to the pandemic, I was the event coordinator and catering director for a major restaurant group in the Tampa Bay Area. In April of 2020, I was laid off due to the pandemic, and like many others, I was left to pick up the pieces and decide where I wanted to take my career from there. That’s when I decided to start doing research on what it would take to create a catering business, specifically specializing in custom charcuterie boards, boxes, grazing tables & workshops. From there, I learned I would need to continue my Serve Safe Certifications, be in a commercial kitchen space, along with maintaining insurance and liability, just to name a few. I also quickly realized that just having an Instagram and Facebook page wasn’t enough to sustain the flood of order inquiries I was receiving. I turned to my sister and brother-in-law, who own Edge One Media based out of Portland, Oregon, where they created a custom logo and total branding for my business, along with a website to help my inquiries stay organized and my responses efficient. Altogether, it’s been a major learning process and such a rewarding journey so far. I’ve hit the ground running & haven’t looked back!
Kaley, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
I’ve always been drawn to the food & beverage industry for as long as I can remember! I worked my way up in the industry from hostess, to server, to bartender and was eventually given the opportunity to be the event coordinator and catering director for a large restaurant group in the Tampa Bay Area. From there, I really learned the ins & outs of planning all types of events, big and small, and all of the organization and set-up it takes to execute a high-end catering event. This inspired me to take my creativity & knowledge to the next level and create my own catering business, specializing in custom charcuterie boards, boxes & grazing tables.
I truly consider this business to be a creative labor of love. I personally select every component from various local markets that are specifically known for gourmet food products, fresh produce & florals. All of my charcuteries are customized to meet my client’s desires, whether they’re planning an outing at a park or a day out on the boat and would like their charcuteries boxed and ready to transport, to having a few friends over for snacking & catching up and would like their charcuterie displayed on a platter or hosting a party where they’d like a grazing table to be the centerpiece of their event, there’s truly something for every type of event, big or small! Each charcuterie is made to order and delivered right to your door, by yours truly!
In addition, every order comes tied with fresh florals, a couple of serving utensils and a custom menu to help guide you through every item that is featured on your platter! I truly believe providing fresh florals and custom menus are the perfect touch to take the presentation to the next level. It’s all about the details for me!
How did you build your audience on social media?
Building a presence online was one of the hardest parts of building my business and honestly can still become challenging with the ever-changing algorithms. After talking with friends who are also small business owners, I took their advice on really leaning into utilizing influencers for a way of marketing! To put it simply, I reached out to influencers in my area and asked if they’d be interested in trying my product in exchange for posting stories and hard posts on their social media platforms. This truly took my following to the next level, and just from one influencer posting a great review on their page, I gained over 200 followers just from that one post alone.
Where do you think you get most of your clients from?
Honestly the best source of gaining new clients has been word of mouth & networking. In the beginning, I would donate my products to different network and charity events to really just get my name out there! There’s nothing like organically marketing your products!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.gatherroundgraze.com
- Instagram: @gatherroundgraze
- Facebook: Facebook.com/gatherroundgraze