Joann Roth-Oseary President Someone’s in the Kitchen, Tarzana Founded 1980 Joann Roth-Oseary started her business – where else? – in the kitchen. Thirty years later, she has grown her Tarzana catering and event-planning company into an award-winning, multi-million dollar business. When she isn’t serving clients, she donates her time and professional services to area charities, including the AIDS Project Los Angeles, Jewish Home for the Aging and the Search Foundation. Roth-Oseary’s personal and professional accomplishments have been recognized by numerous organizations; she recently received the 2017 Steve Kemble Leadership Award for her achievements in the event-planning industry. Why start a business? Having always been a working woman, I felt it was time to channel my passion into my own company. How did you build it? From the ground up. In the beginning, I bought the food, I cooked the food, I served the food, I loaded the vehicles, unloaded, washed the dishes, did everything myself. Thus I know everything about what is right and what is not in an instant, and know and respect how hard my employees work to that same end of perfection. Would you do it again? Yes, yes, yes, yes and yessirreee! How being a woman helped you: Women know how to not only lead from the head, but from the heart as well. This attribute has served me well. Challenges of being a woman in business: Not once, never. I have always conducted myself to the highest possible standards and have been a respected member of the community, both within my own profession and the community at large. Hardest day: The day of the Northridge earthquake, for sure. Those repercussions reverberated economically for years, and those were the hardest days of hanging in there while I saw many of my colleagues fold and run away. Best day: My best day forevermore was the day I married my beloved husband Yossi Oseary. Best business advice you ever received: Run your company in a lean and mean fashion and always be on top of your cash flow and sales. Advice for aspiring female business owners: Get in there and hang in there. Follow your passion to the finish line.
