Lesson #3: You Do Not Need to Be a Pro to See Your Business Grow
“My first vivid memory is watching mom in a restaurant kitchen,” recalls Ray. “She was flipping something with a spatula. I tried to copy her and ended up grilling my right thumb. I was three or four.”
Oprah Winfrey calls her a “super chef,” but Ray has had, in reality, no formal training as such. Instead, she insists that since the moment she was born, cooking has simply been a way of life for her. “Everyone on both sides of my family cooks,” she says. As such, Ray gained much of her knowledge and technique by just watching and doing in her family’s restaurants.
“I learned everything about cooking basically at home and in restaurants,” says Ray. But it was never a formal learning process there, either. “A lot of people ask me where I learned how to cook,” she says. “My mother never showed me how to peel a potato. There was never, ‘Try this, you’ll like it.’ There was just dinner: ‘Here’s what you’re eating.’ You didn’t have to ask how to make it if you were in the kitchen, and everybody lived in the kitchen.”
Ray’s strongest critics are from those in the industry who see her lack of formal training as a disqualifying marker for a true chef. But Ray – and her millions of loyal fans – disagree. And, indeed, Ray’s success has proven that it did not matter where she got her education. Whether it was from a top ranked culinary institute or her grandfather’s kitchen, Ray knew her way around a kitchen.
Ray’s grandfather on her mother’s side was the family’s main cook. He not only cooked all of their meals, but he personally grew all the ingredients in his backyard. That way, Ray came to understand the value and nutrition of using fresh ingredients.
“My cooking comes from my grandfather and my mom,” says Ray. “They were both amazing cooks. My mother so blows me away.” With a reference to her top-rated television show, Ray says, “I don’t know if she could do everything in 30 minutes or not, but she is definitely great, and she knows every dish. There is nothing she can’t make.”
Ray also credits her other family members with helping her get to where she is today. “My dad is a great Southern cook, but it takes him, like, six hours to grocery shop,” she says. “He is fussy to the point that it’s ridiculous.” Likewise, Ray credits her brother, a martial arts teacher with teaching her patience, and her sister with teaching her baking, although she admits it still is not her forte. “It’s like the only thing that has ever made me cry besides pain or hardship,” says Ray.
Aside from her family experiences, Ray also spent much time working in the restaurants managed by her family. They were never five-star restaurants, but the business of running them was the same nevertheless. And it was that experience that Ray took with her to prove her critics wrong.
Lesson 3 You Do Not Need to Be a Pro to See Your Business Grow
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Love the quotes.
Love the organized success topics broken down into chunk bits with headings to grab your attention. It's akin to a newspaper where you scan the headlines and hone in on what's interesting or relevant to yourself.
Interesting selection of personalities. NOT JUST CELEBRITIES. Super.
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Kim CastleWith nearly two decades in the advertising and design business, with clients like Domino's Pizza, General Motors, Direct TV, Pedigree, Wolfgang Puck, Higher Octave Music, Hollywood Celebrity Products, Disney, and Paramount, as well as thousands of entrepreneurs around the world define, structure, communicate, and position their business for greater profits, BrandU(R) co-creators Kim Castle and W. Vito Montone discovered that entrepreneurs could experience the same power that big brands command for a fraction of the cost with the world's only process-based results-drive Integral approach to business creation. BrandU(R) is helping entrepreneurs grow with the power of extreme clarity from idea...to brand...to market(TM) and helping one million entrepreneurs become successful and whole so that they can make a difference in the world. Are you one of them? If you want to experience clarity all the way to the bank(TM), get started now at http://www.brandu.com. - Visit Kim Castle's Website |
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David BarrDavid Barr is the President of Venture Opportunities, Inc. David has been a professional business broker/intermediary since 1980 focusing on General Business Brokerage and Mergers and Acquisitions representing client transaction value from $400,000 to $20,000,000. Mr. Barr has handled the sale of over four hundred and fifty companies. David earned a university degree from the State University of New York majoring in economics and business. David holds the Mergers and Acquisition Master Intermediary and the Certified Business Intermediary designations from the International Business Brokers Association. He is also a Senior Business Analyst and a Texas licensed Real Estate Agent. For more information about David and Venture Opportunities, visit www.bizdealmaker.com. - Visit David Barr's Website |
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Anne BarrAnne Barr has over 26 years experience in sales and marketing, six years as a franchisee. She has assisted over 367 business owners and purchasers to achieve their goals in career change, transition and exit strategy. She holds the designation of Certified Franchise Executive from the International Franchise Association, Certified Business Intermediary from the International Business Brokers Association and Board Certified Broker from the Texas Association of Business Brokers. Anne is active in professional organizations, networking groups and volunteers for non-profit entities. As owner/operator of four successful businesses, Anne has proven people skills and enjoys helping clients find the right "fit" in business ownership. Visit www.FranchiseOpportunitySpecialist.com for more information about me and my company. - Visit Anne Barr's Website |
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Casey GollanCasey Gollan, Business Coaching & Mentoring Programs. Add $1 Million to $10 Million in the next 1 to 3 years. Since 1996 Casey has to added hundreds of millions of dollars to businesses. Watch a free video see client results Business Coaching website. - Visit Casey Gollan's Website |
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Jeff FosterWebBizIdeas.com is a Minneapolis website design company founded to help people start an internet business by providing them with website, business, and internet resources that help foster the growth of successful online businesses and develop innovative Internet business ideas. We specialize in internet consulting & internet marketing. - Visit Jeff Foster's Website |
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David AchesonDavid Acheson is the founder of DCJA Consultancy. DCJA Consultancy is a management consultancy business specialising in B2B sales consultancy. They offer bespoke and packaged sales consultancy including Sales Optimisation Review, Interim Sales Management, Sales & Marketing Review, 1:1 Sales & Management Staff Analysis, Management Training, Solution Sales Training, Creation of New Pay Plan, KPI's, run Customer Feedback Campaigns, assist with Recruitment, Coaching, Appraisals and set up Strategic Marketing Campaigns. David spent his early career in accountancy and then moved into sales in 1982, working in Office Equipment, IT, Advertising, Training, Outsourcing and Consultancy. He has held many Senior Positions in SMBs and Global Organisations including Head of Sales Operations & Head of Business Development. His knowledge, skills and great experience of the Sales Industry has led to David making keynote speeches and running educational sessions to key businesses through organisations including The Chamber of Commerce and Business Link. - Visit David Acheson's Website |
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Leanne Hoagland-SmithAre your sales where you want them to be? Will you be one of the few who achieves sales or business success or one of the many who have failed to change? Are you tired of being told you are like everyone else? Then you may find my first book on sales of interest. Be the Red Jacket in the Sea of Gray Suits, The Keys to Unlocking Sales available at Amazon or at http://www.processspecialist.com/red-jacket.htm. This book is a reflection of my no-nonsense approach to improving sales to overall business results. If you are truly committed to making sustainable changes, then I can help you secure a positive return on your investment because I focus on executable solutions not telling you the problems you already know you have. From training to corporate (group) coaching to executive one on one coaching, my approach is to assess, create awareness, build a goal driven action plan and then execute. The bottom line question is "Not do you or your employees know it, but do you or they want to do it?" Please call for a free strategy session at 219.759.5601. - Visit Leanne Hoagland-Smith's Website |
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Cheryl MatthynssensCheryl is a life skills coach, licensed Chemical Dependency Counselor and a 20 year entrepreneur. Cheryl's dedication to achieving a life of balance led to her expanding her teaching from the simple managing of life's daily challenges to adding financial well being as well. A direct marketer with DrinkACT, she is gaining ground in the online community with her concepts of making sure business owners, entreprenuers and employees have well rounded life styles. She opened up a small affiliate site - The Balance Guide- to help others find resources for mental and emotional well being. Visit Cheryl's blog to see more of the diversity beyond business she has began offering online at www.thebalanceguide.blogspot.com - Visit Cheryl Matthynssens's Website |
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