Small Business Today Magazine AUG 2014 SIVER STONE EVENTS | Page 10

EDITORIALFEATURE

Elizabeth believes that it takes a great team of people to create an amazing
event experience! Photo by Gwen Juarez Photography

disposable income (especially on catering)
and Elizabeth’s sales fell over 60%. A large
portion of her loss was attributed to a client she had been working with for three
years. It was a national bank that had been
opening multiple locations across two
states and her company handled all of
their grand openings. Overnight, they shut
off all marketing and opening operations
leaving Elizabeth high and dry.
In the summer of 2009, Elizabeth was
about two steps away from closing the
doors. She hadn’t been able to pay her
rent in months and was struggling to pay
her employees. Fortunately, with the help
of the Lord, everything changed. Elizabeth
recalled, “The Lord blessed me that September. Just when I thought I could not
take another step, I received a call from a
client who needed to clear out their bank
account for an event that was for the following year. They paid 100% upfront for
an event that was to happen the next year.
What a miracle!”
Silver Stone has grown significantly during
the last three years. They obtained a contract with the Asia Society Texas Center in
the Museum District to be the preferred caterer at the venue. In addition, they opened
the Jade Stone Café there. Silver Stone also
secured a contract with SCI (Service Corporation International) to provide catering

services in their funeral homes to bereaved
families. This diversification has allowed Elizabeth to more than double her sales in a
very short period of time.
This phenomenal growth created a
need for expansion. Recently, Silver Stone
Events doubled their current space and
added a beautiful client showroom. The
growth has been primarily due to word of
mouth and Elizabeth has been able to rely
on referrals because of the exceptional,
over-the-top service and quality in everything that the Silver Stone team does.
When Elizabeth first began catering, she
started out with one employee, Judy Jackson, who was her mother’s housekeeper. Judy learned to cook from Elizabeth’s
mother and knew all the recipes and how
to prepare them in her head. She began
helping Elizabeth one day a week which
eventually led to five days a week. Affectionately referred to as “Ms. Judy”, she is
still working at Silver Stone 27 years later.
Elizabeth and her team consider Ms. Judy’s
philosophy and vision the backbone of the
company. Judy often remarks, “If you can
not do it right, then do not do it”, a belief
practiced by Elizabeth and her entire team.
Elizabeth shared, “My team is the greatest that I have ever had. I love to come
to work and so enjoy those who I work

8 SMALL BUSINESS TODAY MAGAZINE [ AUGUST 2014 ]

with.” Currently, the company has 23 full
time staff that include: general manager, 2
senior event planners, 2 junior event planners, production director, staffing director,
food and beverage director, accounting
director, 2 training directors, receptionist,
chef, baker, 8 line workers, and a social
media planner. With an average of 30 to
35 events a week, the responsibilities of
each staff person are enormous. From
loading trucks to ensuring that each event
has the proper equipment and food as
well as managing the wait staff pool of
over 50 persons, every employee plays a
very important part in the success of the
company.
Over the years, Elizabeth has been committed to growing her company and her
employees. In addition to always staying
abreast of industry trends, one of Elizabeth’s biggest assets has been the hiring
of consultants. She recalled, “Wh [H^Z[