Donna Wadsworth is the owner of Savoury City Catering and Events, a 10-year-old catering company that has 18 permanent workers.
She has translated her passion for cooking into a growing business. The labour of love has always involved long hours and a lot of multitasking, but about eight months ago she hit the wall. That's when she realized her business needed help.
"I thought I'd go out of my mind," Wadsworth said. "I was angry, upset and bitter. My business was controlling me, and I wasn't controlling it."
Wadsworth is a member of the Forum for Women Entrepreneurs. She reached out to the organization for help to find a business coach to help her work through the growing pains. She hoped to find someone who could also play the role of therapist.
"I said, I don't need somebody who's going to tell me leadership skills and this and that, I need somebody who can listen to what my soul and my gut is saying, and what my head is saying."
After interviewing several business coaches, Wadsworth found the perfect fit and began working with a coach on developing a clear direction for the business.
The process has led to some big changes for Savoury City. Wadsworth is planning to bring in a new software system, Caterease, designed specifically to help caterers manage proposals, food orders and accounting.
She also plans to involve her entire staff in a strategic planning session and start rebranding the business.
"That's all part of our plan for the new year: a big rebrand, a refresh, knowing who our market is and exactly where we are in the market and not trying to be all things to all people."
ON Homemade messaging | "As far as our rebranding goes, we want to get the word out that we're kind of a mad group here. We make everything from scratch. We bake our own breads in-house, we cure our own meats. We're setting up our own charcuterie room. We do all of that ourselves, and we need to tell our story better."
