I recently wrote this article for Merchant Processing Resource, an independent resource for merchant processing and merchant cash advance, where my contributions are posted as part of The Small Business Corner.  I wrote this particular article to pay tribute to all of those women who are not business owners, but whose  contributions as Homemakers lead the way for many of us who followed our dreams to become business owners against all odds.  Since Mother’s Day is just around the corner, here it is one more time. 

Culinary Byte$...A Mother’s Day tribute

I was raised in a household with a mother who was known in those days as a Homemaker, a woman whose career choice was to raise her children in a way that included parenting skills such as cooking, sewing, medicine, sports and psychology.  If you fell off your bike, Mom administered first aid.  If you were invited to the school dance, Mom made your gown.  When you broke up with your boyfriend, Mom said you were too good for him anyway.

By now you are probably questioning, how relevant is this to the small business corner?  Here’s how.  I owned and operated a successful small business for twenty-three years.  It was a retail store.  It required skills in marketing and human relations, as well as budgeting and cost saving, and character traits such as perseverance and diplomacy.  Although I graduated from various colleges with a variety of degrees, none was in business management or marketing or anything else that would prepare me to be the successful retailer that I was.  No, I was not successful because of any formal training that I received, but rather from the example set by my mother, a Homemaker who showed me how to stretch a dollar when I tagged along to the grocer, the Green Stamp redemption center or the downtown Salvation Army outlet.  She taught me how to persuade my dad to give me the keys to the car, what to say to keep my other siblings from fighting, how to get the front seat on the long ride, how to sell the most Girl Scout cookies, and most of all--- not to give up.

Thank you, Mom, for all the lessons without which I would not have enjoyed the successes and learned from the failures.  Happy Mother’s Day to all Homemakers everywhere!

Buon Appetito e Buona Salute, Chef Angela Bell 

Beyond the Bulll (an "eat smart" kitchen)

233 W. Main St., Central, SC 29630
http://antiaginggastronomy.blogspot.com/
https://www.facebook.com/ChefAngelaB

https://www.facebook.com/BeyondtheBull