We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Britany Vinson a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, so we’re so thrilled to have Britany with us today – welcome and maybe we can jump right into it with a question about one of your qualities that we most admire. How did you develop your work ethic? Where do you think you get it from?
I get my work ethic from my parents. I saw them work so hard to provide, take care of our household, and make sure we had everything we needed. They allowed us to play sports and try new things but we had two rules to follow.
1. We had to start what we finished.
2. We had to work hard and give 100% at everything we did.
When I was younger I did not appreciate it but I am grateful for them being so hard on me because would not be who I am or where I am not without having a strong work ethic.
Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
I am enjoying my journey as an entrepreneur in a field I am passionate about. I truly enjoy making people happy with FOOD! The opportunity to serve people with the creative art of cooking, seeing them smile and feel less stressed because of a meal or service we provided, is truly a blessing. I am giving ALL GLORY to GOD because I wouldn’t be where I am without his Grace, Love, and Guidance. My resume consists of a Bachelor’s Degree in Hospitality Administration from Stephen F. Austin State University, a Gourmet Cooking and Catering Degree from Ashworth University, and an Associate Degree in Culinary Arts from The Art Institute of Houston, where I graduated with Honors and a Chef Certification. I have more than a decade of experience in managing a restaurant.
In 2014, Tome went from a dream and vision on paper to a legal business. We started out only doing catering for parties/ events from 50 people to 1200 people. We started in a 500 sq. ft building, and in 2 years, we outgrew it and moved to a 3500 sq. ft kitchen. This vision has been to feed the multitudes just as Jesus fed the 5000 in the Bible. We strive to cook and serve in an Extraordinary way. We make 95% of all of our meals from scratch daily. In 2016, we expanded to add a drive-thru window for customers to order breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Over the last 10 years, we have evolved to feed the multitudes through many different avenues. We have two Brick-and-Mortar restaurants, Catering services, 18 Vending machines, sell meals wholesale, and School meals. Our vending machines are unique as we do not sell processed foods, only homemade meals we make and sell in our express drive-thru! I am so grateful for the opportunities we have had over the past 10 years to serve our community, and I look forward to what God has in store for the future of Tomé.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Top 3 things thing I have learned:
1. Being willing to learn from good and bad situations. I worked in corporate America for 10 years and got paid to learn how to run my own business. I learned how to lead and how to NOT lead! Be teachable and be willing to work under other people so you can learn from their mistakes.
2. I can either have control or growth but I cannot have both. I had to be willing to relinquish control of every area of my business so that my business could grow bigger. I have be to able to trust my leadership team to do their part for us to get to the next level
3. Learn how to pivot. I started out only catering but when Covid happened we lost 100% of our catering. So at this point I had 2 options: either pivot or close down and quitting was not an option. So we pivoted our business model to add our 2nd drive thru and started doing vending machines. Life will forever change so we have to be willing to pivot when needed.
What’s been one of your main areas of growth this year?
The greatest area of growth for me in the last 12 months has been in 3 areas:
1. Letting go of my past hurts and unforgiveness and truly forgiving everyone. I do not ever want to allow my past to affect my present or future.
2. The importance of Self-care! I have committed to doing at least 1 thing per week to take care of myself. I have learned the hard way that I must take care of myself so that I can fully do all that God has called me to do.
3. The power of perspective! I choose if my glass is half full or half empty by the perspective that I choose to see. I have worked really hard to see the silver lining or positive side of all things that are happening in my life.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.EatTome.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tomecatering/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tomecatering
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