Fencing? Cookies? Whats the connection?

You have been reading this blog for a while and you know that wheeling chef was started at a time when I needed cash to cover the entry fee for a tournament.  Once I made that goal I decided I needed a new Epee and I made that goal too. Now It seems that wheeling chef can do more for me then just help fund my fencing habit.
It's my business.

Several people have asked me just how I got into fencing and how selling cookies relates to it. Well here it goes. I had just moved to Atlanta and was watching Murderball for the 200th time and decided to see if there was a team in Atlanta that I could go watch. I searched the internet and found the Shepherd Center and a listing of what sports programs they offered, they had the usual, wheelchair basketball, road racing, murder-ball etc but they also had fencing, I was intrigued, perhaps the idea intrigued  my inner pirate! So I emailed the the team captain and thus my fencing adventure started, once I got involved with the sport I started working out and drilling every day. In May my first tournament came up and I realized the competitions had a price tag attached, a rather high one when your on a limited income. So I decided to resurrect an old idea.

I graduated from  The Florida Culinary Institute in 2009 with a Bachelors degree in Culinary/Hospitality Management. The job market was less then welcoming so I decided that I had to do something, if nothing else to avoid boredom. So I started baking shortbread cookies and making toffee, I had some success but it wasn't the grand-slam I had hoped for. I shut down the cookie business for a bit while I dealt with some personal issues. Eventually I found myself in Atlanta on a fencing team and in need of supplemental funding, so in August 2010 I relaunched  wheelingchef.com, dusted off my twitter account and started selling cookies. Now here it is January 2011 and what started as a way to help offset fencing costs and what I called an experiment is turning out to be something I can sink my teeth into and build into something. All of this is happening so fast, and I couldn't have done any of this without the support my friends and family have given me. I've said it time and time again, but thank you all for helping me turn my dream into reality  

Be careful what you wish for

Wow a year  I had no idea no idea what wheelchair fencing was, or that it even existed. Six months I had no idea I could make things happen for myself with cookies of all things. The sport has given me a self confidence that has been hard to come by for me at times, i'm in better shape then I have been in a long time and I'm finding that I enjoy the challenges that come with the sport.  This last year hasn't been easy, in fact there have been several occasions when I wonder just what in the heck I was thinking, but thanks to the support of friends ive been able to put my head down and keep going! At practice on Saturday coach said he would like me ready for the World Cup event in Montreal Canada at the end of April. Its a big step for me and its what I have been working for and I am excited but at the same time i'm nervous, many of the people i'll be fencing have been fencing for 20+ years. It will certainly be a learning experience, but it tells me the hard work I am putting in is paying off. Its what I've been working for but the scope of what I am about to take on is daunting!

  A trip to an international tournament has a slight drawback, like everything else in this sport there is a price tag. I wll need to re-equip to the international standard, to properly equip myself for these events it will cost just under $1000 and that translates into 200 dozen shortbreads! It can be done its going to take a lot of work to make it happen but its nothing i'm not used too.
I will keep you all posted on how the preparations go for this next phase of my fencing journey!

Where do I go from here?

Not to long ago I was asked if Wheeling Chef was just established as  fund-raising activity or was it an actual start up. That question gave me pause, yes Wheeling Chef  was started as a way to supplement my income, then took on a bigger role when I discovered wheelchair fencing. So yes Wheeling Chef was started as a fund-raising activity, but then again aren't all business intended to raise funds for those who own them?

I've thought alot about what and where I want to take Wheeling Chef  and what I really want to do is help other disable people supplement what income they do get  with employment at the wheeling chef. I've thought hard about how to do this and it can be done. The recipes can  be broken down into simple steps, with modifications the whole process can allow individuals with varying disabilities to work the production line.
Why do I want to even consider something like this?
Social security benefits don't go very far and never have. Once i've paid rent, food and utilities there is not much left in the bank account, a part time job goes a long way in putting some money in ones pocket.
I saw on this mornings news that unemployment has actually decreased, that great, but according to a  Bureau of Labor Statistics the Unemployment rate for persons with disabilities is 65%
If I can help a person gain a sense of self worth by giving them a chance to earn a paycheck then I'll do it.

With all the talk over the past year about getting Americans back to work,easing the burden on the Social System  and stoking the fires of the engine of small business to get the economy  going again. One day I will find a "business angel" To  move what was an experiment out of desperation into a unique business that provides a great product and offers a hand up to rather then a hand out to others, and of course help me make a living.

A new year and a new focus

Happy New Year to you all. I hope you all had a great holiday season. The early part of the month was slow for me and I was wondering how it was going to end up. Thankfully took off and I had a really good month. Thank you to all who purchased cookies over the holidays.

 A new calendar brings with it and inevitably I found myself reflecting on the past year. Lets see I discovered wheelchair fencing, started my cookie business, had some ups and some downs, met some cool people gained a slight bit of fame   and  found myself enjoying life, all in all a good year! Fencing has helped me find a side of me that I thought I had lost, the business has given me the means to fence and a feeling of self confidence and self worth that i've lacked at times. Oh did I mention that I started a blog  where I sometimes share a little too much?

Ok enough of the review onto my new year and my new focus.
I started wheeling chef as a way to earn a little extra cash, and as a way to keep from going crazy without gainful employment. I still need the cash that it brings in, and I still get a bit stir crazy but I'm enjoying the freedom that the business is providing me. To that end I'm determined to grow this experiment of mine into a growing concern, make more connections, add handmade candies to the mix and maybe a few other things, and grow it to the point where I can eventually use the business as a way to provide work experiance and a little extra cash to other disabled individuals, more on that as it develops.

Another thing im going to focus on this year is my fencing and training. Ive been fencing for a year now and with each practice I get better, there have been time when I wonder just what I have gotten myself into with this unknown version of an obscure sport supported by selling cookies. I will keep rolling down this road and this year break the top 15 in mens national rankings and take a top three in a national event.

These goals may be a bit lofty but they are attainable, after all I built a cookie business from a cute hobby to a going concern in just 5 months :) 

as always thanks for reading and if you want cookies visit http://wheelingchef.com/4.html