Bon Appétit
Story appeared in the 2018 issue of QMS Connections Magazine.
BY HAYLEY PICARD, COMMUNICATIONS MANAGER
ALUMNI COLLETTE COLEMAN (1983-1987)
“If I’m an advocate for anything, it’s to move. As far as you can, as much as you can. Across the ocean, or simply across the river. The extent to which you can walk in someone else’s shoes or at least eat their food, it’s a plus for everybody. Open your mind, get up off the couch, move.”
Collette Coleman Co-owner of the Granville Island Catering Company
Empathy. It is a simple word that can mean kindness and compassion. Yet in a practical sense, exercising empathy can provide us with a powerful ability to communicate with others in any possible situation. For Collette Coleman empathy is a key life lesson she took from her time at Queen Margaret’s School which has enriched her life immensely, personally and professionally.
As co-owner of the Granville Island Catering Company, Coleman interacts with clients from all walks of life, and takes pride in listening to her clients closely. “Each party we execute is individual,” explains this alumna. “I love working with our clients to explore what they want for their guests, and build a special event around their budgets.” Coleman attributes her mantra of ‘walking a mile in someone’s shoes’ directly to her time at Queen Margaret’s School.
“We employ 36 people and they, along with my clients, are my favourite part of the job. Everyone walks away feeling good about our events. I feel so energized that it takes hours for me to come down. It’s so much fun.”
“When I first came to QMS, I thought I would be one of the poor girls,” she shares. “I discovered that everyone was the same. The school wasn’t about showing off, it was about being yourself and that everyone deserved respect regardless of their social situation. It has stuck with me that preconceived notions about people can be so wrong.” Since then, Collette has endeavoured to keep an open mind. This skill has served her well throughout her career which began in the tourism sector.
Collette was bitten by the travel bug while on a QMS spring break trip to Russia and Finland. The cultural experience, travelling with 100 students from schools around North America, reinforced QMS’s lessons on empathy. Following graduation, the pull to explore and broaden her global perspective remained strong, so Collette became a successful travel agent, working in the industry for 24 years. Yet, even busy travel agents need extra income to fund their insatiable love of globe-trotting, so she began moonlighting for a friend’s catering business.
After 17 years as a part-time server, chef and office administrator for Granville Island Catering, Collette was offered the opportunity to become co-owner. The decision to become self-employed has provided her the ability to hire experts in the field of catering, reward them financially for their skills, and create emotionally reciprocal work relationships. “We employ 36 people and they, along with my clients, are my favourite part of the job,” enthuses Coleman. “Everyone walks away feeling good about our events. I feel so energized that it takes hours for me to come down. It’s so much fun.”
This sense of joy in her work and Collette’s ability to build strong interpersonal relationships has set the tone for her business life. Though her company invests resources to create an online presence through a website and social media platforms, Granville Island Catering receives roughly 99% of its clientele through word-of-mouth. How? Collette and business partner Ingrid de Haan go out of their way to foster a culture of appreciation for their customers and the referral business that comes as a result.
Every employee within this boutique catering company works hard to exceed their clients’ expectations. The fruit and vegetables that are transformed by Granville Island Catering Red Seal chefs are hand-picked by Collette from a neighbourhood market on West Broadway in Vancouver. This commitment to excellence has reinforced her clients’ confidence in her company’s brand. “I don’t think you can buy advertising that works like word-of-mouth,” admits Coleman. “This model has been very successful for us.”
The desire to provide a personal touch to her events, engage in a meaningful way with the greater Vancouver community through charity work, and nurturing her team through positivity are all part of Collette’s daily routine. She is committed to seeing each job, each request, through her clients’ eyes and delivering their vision, and it is this empathic approach, first learned at QMS that sets her apart and defines her as a sustainable and successful entrepreneur.