Julie Rose, who runs a thriving New York City business called Sweet Feast, is such a person. She and her partner, Arnie Bieber, provide snacks and beverages for theatergoers at Lincoln Center and the Brooklyn Academy of Music, and also run a café in Central Park, Julie was working part-time for a caterer, hoping to become a film producer, and had been a jazz pianist and composer of musical theater, when she heard that Lincoln Center was looking for someone to run its food concession. She submitted a detailed proposal and, to her surprise, was hired.

"Starting the business cost me just five hundred dollars. I had done a lot of research on all the best caterers and discovered that the one who did the most business didn't have better food. It was the presentation that was so importan! So I bought a gorgeous platter, lovely coffee urns, and lots of silk flowers. Oh, and food too. The flowers have become our signature. Pricing wasn't too difficult. I asked a friend, who said you charge two or three times the cost of goods. Coffee and liquor are marked up more.

"I used to think business was disgusting. It isn't at all. Owning your own company is creative, inspiring. It's not the money that drives you. It's the fun and the recognition and the excitement that come with being good at what you're doing. At a certain point, the money does become more important, though, because you want to keep doing what you're doing. And then you're responsible for the livelihood of other people. At various times, we have between twenty and thirty employees working for us!"