Scaling Mountains and Growing Businesses, with Mary Crafts

Mary Crafts has a 100% all-in zest for life. As the founder of Culinary Crafts, Utah's largest off-premise catering company, and 20-time winner of Best Of State, Mary has created thousands of impressive events throughout the state for over 35 years. Mary is a masterful caterer and a resourceful businesswoman who has served thousands of clients, including many A-list celebrities (Oprah Winfrey and Sir Elton John, for example), two presidents of the United States, and hundreds of Fortune 500 companies. During the 1980s and 90s, Mary hosted a cooking show on KBYU TV that established her reputation as a food celebrity in Utah. Mary has been called a trendsetter in her industry and an ambassador for all things related to food and events.

Mary’s involvement in community non-profits, business networks, and education has put her in the spotlight as one of Utah’s most influential women. Recently Mary received The Hero Award from Silicon Slopes Magazine and the Pathfinder Award from the Salt Lake City Chamber of Commerce. She has also been named “One of Utah’s Coolest Entrepreneurs,” is a recipient of Utah Valley University’s Kirk Englehardt Ethics Award, and is one of Utah’s businesswomen who received the “30 Women to Watch” award.

Mary's current endeavors include hosting her weekly podcast, "Crafting a Meaningful Life," as well as offering her expertise as a keynote speaker, business and marketing consultant, and team builder. Mary is thrilled to share her hard-won life lessons with others as only she can, with her insatiable zest for life and heartfelt badass attitude. To stay in touch, tune in to her podcasts or visit her website at www.MaryCraftsInc.com.

What the podcast will teach you:

• Why Mary’s current mission in life is to help people overcome their fears and achieve success through her podcast “Crafting A Meaningful Life”
• Why Mary achieved a dramatic health and fitness journey at 50 years old, and why she decided to challenge herself and her fears by hiking Mt. Kilimanjaro at 65
• Mary shares her experiences climbing the mountain and the steps she took to prepare herself for the physical and mental challenge of making it to the summit
• What challenges and obstacles Mary faced as a business owner at around the $1 million in revenue mark
• How Mary’s role evolved over time as she ran and grew her business and how she leaned into her strengths during that evolution
• How Mary learned to take risks and bring in more employees despite her reservations that her company couldn’t afford it, and why delegation was the secret to her success
• Why designing and implementing repeatable systems was a difficult but necessary step for Culinary Crafts
• Why planning your business’s finances is a key step for growth, and why it is important to maintain control at all times
• How Mary lost 40% of her business in just two months after the 2008 economic crash, and how she weathered the downturn through good credit and honest business dealing
• Why integrity is the most powerful asset and important resource you have at your disposal as a business owner

Resources:

• Website: www.MaryCraftsInc.com
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/mary.craftshomer
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/marycrafts/