Queer Women We Love, Red Hot Entrepreneurs, Wonder Women

Workin’ It 2010

November 8, 2010 Cheryle Burke, Kat Long

Some chefs spend years in pricey culinary institutes trying to master natural foods. Deborah Gavito, proprietor of the snazzy NYC vegetarian restaurant Counter, learned the art of cooking with seasonal produce and edible weeds from her grandmothers. Gavito’s early fascination with natural cooking has grown into a long-time dedication to local and sustainable foods: her first venture, an all-natural baked goods business called Body & Soul, debuted in 1993. She sold her scrumptious treats at the Union Square Greenmarket, where she developed an appreciation for family farmers, and earned enough dough (pun intended) to open Counter in 2003. As Counter’s proprietor, Gavito designs fresh vegetarian fare, biodynamic wines and cleverly named organic vodka martinis (one is called “The Angry Lesbian”). “I waited on tables years and years ago, but other than that, I’ve only worked for myself,” Gavito says. “I don’t think I could take orders from any one else.”

45 of 2010’s Red Hot Entrepreneurs

In this job market, we all need a career consultant who’s willing to go the extra mile for us. “Friends would ask me to help with their resumes, cover letters, interviewing skills, then it extended to partners, brothers and sisters, then it became colleagues of colleagues,” says Kim Bisset, founder and president of Boston-based Radiate Career Consulting. “Everyone would take me to dinner as a thank-you. I was gaining weight and not having time for the gym, so I made a Web site and started my own business. Now, I even have time to make it to the gym!” In addition to the variety of career coaching services she offers through Radiate, Bisset also hosts the cable show Employment for All in collaboration with Boston University’s Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts on Boston Neighbor- hood Network. Her success as an out lesbian entrepreneur, Bisset says, “has made me so much more aware of the importance of creating a diverse and inclusive workforce for everyone.”