What a year it has been for Gather and Forge personal chef company. 2020 was a year that that I think we can all do without but there was some definite wins along the way. For us, it was a roller coaster of a year and with many ups and downs, we came out on top, thank to all of you!

As we all know, 2020 brought us an unprecedented moment in time where people were forced to shut their businesses down and what came of that was some serious financial implications that people just didn’t need. There is very obviously something changing in the business climate that we must take note of and I believe that we are going to see a change in the way we do things and I also think that we are going to see a big uptick in the way people choose to spend their time inside of their homes. Gather and Forge was uniquely setup for this exact moment. Right when the pandemic hit, we were stuck with an onslaught of emails requesting that we give back peoples’ deposits for their upcoming events.. That total almost put us out of business and was in the amount of roughly $80,000. $80,000 was depleted from our bank account in just 10 days and with no end in sight, we were scrambling to figure out ways to continue on doing business. It was not until 10 days after that we found out that we were going to be able to continue doing business and that is when the magic happened, which is ironic because it forced us to change some things in the business that we were already in the pipeline. We moved quickly and built up another revenue stream, Family Meal by Gather and Forge- A meal delivery service that had been in the works for almost a year but we were so busy that we had never made the full transition.. that service still moves on today and has luckily been profitable since the beginning of the pandemic. We started to get inquires for very private dinners almost as soon as the lockdown was lifted and that was our saving grace. As June rolled around, we were back to busier than ever and we were able to stay afloat until our finances balanced out. This was one of the toughest times in my life and also scariest being a business owner. We had to make sure that the people that wanted to stay behind and work were taken care of and that they felt financially comfortable moving forward with us so that is what we did and I didn’t take a single penny from the business for 3 months. This is where the next lesson came for me, always make sure that you are prepared for the unexpected.

As we forged ahead and continued to fight, I was forced to put my apron on and get back in the kitchen full- time. A little rusty, I realized during this time how resilient WE as a team were and how lucky I was that I had said team. When orders started pouring in, there was this felling of massive support from all of the customers that we had cooked for in the last 6 years. People wanted to support us to get through to see the light at the end of the tunnel and of course it was gratefully accepted and much needed. The feeling that we were going to actually make it came around in about July when we had breached a pervious record and August was looking to do the same. During this time, we stashed away cash in the wake of what could have been another shutdown by our government so that we were not blindsided again, at the very least, so we had a little cushion for what was to come next. But that didn’t happen and numbers kept climbing and we kept on fighting the good fight through the entire rest of the year. December 2020 came along which was usually one of the biggest financial months for us in the entire year and we didn’t quite see numbers jumping like they had been the rest of the year. I think this was due to lack of corporate parties and the eliminations of gathering together as a whole but can’t be certain that was the case. Out of thin air we received an inquiry from a previous customer that had used out in home dinner party service in the summer that would end up saving our year entirely. We got an order for 250 deliveries all in one swift 4 day period. What could have been one of the worst Decembers that we have ever had, quickly turned into the best December that we had ever had on the books. The irony of this happening is that the woman that had reached out was one of the customers that we had refunded when the first lockdown was implemented. By doing the right thing and being an honest business owner, we had acquired a customer that has given us our largest invoice to date since conceptualizing Gather and Forge Private Chef Services. It was a blessing and was felt through the entire company, we had just beat the record for best year in Gather and Forge history and I couldn’t believe my eyes.

Since the beginning of the pandemic we have learned a lot and some of those lessons will forever be burned into my brain and some I would love to forget. One thing remains true though, do the right thing and good things will happen in return. There are going to be tough decisions that you have to make when starting a business but there are also never ending lessons engraved so deep in your head that you might actually be glad this kind of thing happened. It taught us about survival and how to fight tactically in business. It taught us that our customers truly did love us and that they were here to help keep Gather and Forge afloat until help arrived. It was a year that confused me because of the betrayal that was shown to me through people that used to call me their “friend”. I had somebody that worked with Gather and Forge completely steal my concept, all the way down to the exact services offered. What this year taught me most is that there are always going to be tough times, but you can soften the blow of those times with a little preparedness and on the flip side, it can completely ruin your life if you are not prepared for these times.

Gather and Forge Private Chef Services are thriving as we move into the latter half of our 6th year being in business. We are still doing business as usual, just now we wear masks and carry hand sanitizer everywhere we go. We are still the number one chef company in Austin, Texas and will continue to strive to be the best each and every single year we operate. People are still booking in home dinner parties with us and with some minor guidelines we are able to render our services out more safely and honestly more efficiently. The meal prepping service that we offer has gone through its ups and downs but still remains a profitable revenue source for us to continue to use to grow the business. All things considered, I would say that we can carry on moving into the year of 2021 confidently knowing that we got stronger in the previous 12 months and that we will fight until there is nothing left if we must.

Most importantly though, I have to thank the Gather and Forge team for being rock solid in these times. Michelle, you have single handedly been one fo the most important women to ever come into my life and I appreciate you for that and everything that you do for the Gather and Forge company. You are a soldier and a true rock for us and words cannot describe how thankful and grateful I am for you. Anthony and Dan- the two of you have become invaluable to the company and without you, I don’t think we would be where we are at today. Hopefully that feeling is mutual and we can have a kick ass 2021 together. We move forward and advance into becoming the best private chef company in Texas with a vision of creating a platform where we can all continue to thrive.

-Ryan