Teresa Groeneweg: an appetizing affair and Alaska chocolate fountains.

• Author: Stomierowski, Peg
• Position: VIEW FROM THE TOP - Interview

Teresa Groeneweg, mother of four, opened her catering business in her hometown of Anchorage five years ago and branched into chocolate fountains a couple of years later. Since her husband, Greg, is a firefighter, she always has a willing crew for taste testings at the firehouse. She'd been used to getting phone calls to cook for special events and decided to make a business of preparing exceptional fare from scratch.

Teresa is big on networking and moved into professional leadership locally when she felt she needed to branch out from her local BNI group into something more particular to the culinary field. She's active with the Anchorage chapter of the National Association of Catering Executives, and currently serves as the group's president.

ABM: How's the view from the top at An Appetizing Affair?

Groeneweg: I've never thought of myself as "at the top" of An Appetizing Affair; at the top are our clients. It begins and ends with them, from the first call or e-mail to the final "thanks!" When we provide what we promise, it creates this domino effect--they call us back, they refer others, those clients use us, etc. There's no better (or cheaper) advertising than word of mouth. That's why our clients are THE top! Our challenge is to keep them there, so customer service and fabulous food are priorities. In addition, when there's a referral, send flowers, drop off a bottle of wine, or deliver a gift basket. For the client who uses our services continually over a year, we may offer a gift. Be creative--think of it as keeping your name in front of your client.

ABM: What drives growth?

Groeneweg: Know your market. Once you're marketing successfully, examine untapped markets. Pursuing these might require you to be a little more adventurous, taking you out of your comfort zone. When we were approached to purchase an operating chocolate fountain business, it involved a fairly large expenditure, and we asked ourselves some questions: Will it enhance our current business? Is there a market for it? Can we take on the additional workload? Are we willing to take the time to learn the nuances? Do we have the financial capability to sustain us during this learning curve? We decided to take the leap and were pleased with the results, as it met our expectations by complementing our catering business, thus validating our...