From Army Captain To Full-Time Entrepreneur | Chantelle Gervacio
Captain Gervacio provided assistance during the Army Chief of Staff’s visit to Kabul, Afghanistan.
My biggest identity crisis happened after transitioning out of my corporate job. Life was gravy until reality hit -- "Who am I if I'm not an employee?" Transitions force us to rediscover new joys by living life with intention.
There comes a time in every entrepreneur's life when enough is enough. It’s time for a change. The fear of the unknown seems minuscule compared to living an unfulfilled life. And the benefits of the safety net can no longer stand up to the sacrifices of playing it safe.
Chantelle Gervacio is the founder and owner of The Party Company Hawaii, which creates memorable dessert table experiences. This year she recently transitioned out of active duty as a Army Captain for a new pursuit — spending more time with her children and building a business she enjoys. I have the pleasure of working alongside Chantelle (she's Oak + Pine Society Member). We're in different industries, but share the same goal. To design life on our terms.
Designing life on your terms means living with intention. Looking at life through this particular lens is a skill. What are you passionate about? What are your boundaries? Where are you on this journey? And who do you want to become?
Chantelle's story is a prime example of living with intention:
Discovering your passion despite the hecticness of life.
Creating new opportunities by making change a priority.
Celebrating all wins and defining success.
Without intentionality, life happens to you, and it's easy to give up before you start. Chantelle made the hard decision to relinquish her active Army Captain identity to pursue a new adventure, entrepreneurship.
In this interview, Chantelle shares her journey with you.
Captain Gervacio is being recognized with an award by Major Mckinney, Commander of the Pacific Flight Detachment from Pearl Harbor, HI. Her biggest project was managing the resourcing, contracting, and installation of bremer barriers to increase the force protection of the Commander of the International Security Assistance Force C-20F aircraft.
Michelle: What was your key driving force to become an entrepreneur?
Chantelle: Although I had an amazing career in the Army and will always miss it, as a dual military couple, I was not willing to sacrifice any more time away from my family, especially my kids, for the next 10+ years.
I’m so proud of my kids, not like they had a choice, but for having to deal with the 5 am wake up calls, deal with our work schedules that also involved travel, and being the first kid to be dropped off and last kid to be picked up. My oldest son is very independent and has been without his parents at times.
Towards the end of my career, I was just not having fun in what I was doing and was ready to move on and focus on what made me happy. I wanted more flexibility, to be more in the present, and to be able to spend more time with my kids and enjoy them growing up. I also feel like I found something that I can be of service to other people who appreciate the time and hard work that I put into my dessert tables.
Michelle: What did life look like before you were a full time entrepreneur?
Chantelle: Life has always been very busy and on the go. My husband and I were both juggling our Army careers working 50+ hours a week with two kids, sports practices during the week, games on the weekends, and me planning, working, and setting up dessert tables on the side.
Driving in traffic to work, before work started, during lunch time, and on the drive home, any available downtime that I had, I would be thinking about all the ideas I had and later writing them all down. I always thought about what the next dessert table was going to look like, what type of desserts I had to order, what kind of props and dessert table stands I would use, and the layout of the dessert table.
In between meetings and lunch, I would be coordinating with local dessert vendors, picking up props or items to be used, or ordering items off of Amazon, Etsy, etc. After an exhausting week and my event was on a Saturday, I’d be up late Friday nights to early Saturday mornings doing final preparations and packing up my car, getting maybe 3 hours of sleep so I’d be ready to go in the morning.
After 12 months in command, Captain Gervacio hands off the guidon to the Deputy Commander when then hands off the guidon to the incoming Company Commander.
Michelle: How do you define success?
Chantelle: I define success as finding something that makes you happy and doing it. On a personal level, I define success as achieving my goal or overcoming a challenge I didn’t think I could achieve. On a team level, I define success as everyone working together, each person has their strengths, towards their goal whether it be 1st place in a race or just a group project.
Michelle: How did the idea of your business come about?
Chantelle: It all started with my oldest son’s big 2nd birthday luau that was to occur in Hawaii during my husband’s R&R leave as he was currently deployed while my son and I was in North Carolina.
My son absolutely loved Toy Story and I thought “how fun would that be to incorporate all the characters” and next thing I know, I’m buying anything and everything that I see “Toy Story” which was all packed in a huge green rolling duffel bag on our way to Hawaii. My family helped me in the planning and finalizing vendors for the party.
I remember writing down multiple to do lists from the reception table, guest tables, stage area, games, entertainment, bar area, and dessert table of all the things I had in mind. It was overwhelming, but I loved every second of it and on the day of the event, both of our families helped set up and made it all possible. Looking back on photos, it was truly a very memorable event especially since we had not been home in a while.
In 2015, I remember on our long road trip from North Carolina to Arizona, as I was headed to attend a 5 month-long Army course and be separated from my family once again, I spoke to my husband of all the great ideas I had about my party planning idea. Talking about all my ideas got me so excited and I just couldn’t stop thinking about how I was going to put this in action and what my son’s next birthday was going to look like.
First Lieutenant Gervacio, Executive Officer, assigned to 21st Chemical Company at Fort Bragg, NC, leads her unit during a company run.
Michelle: The most satisfying moment in business?
Chantelle: The most satisfying moment is when someone contacts me requesting my services and then at the event when everything is set up, that look on their face when I brought their vision to life and the guests are enjoying the sweet treats and party favors. Each event is a learning experience for me to do better next time to know how much to purchase or what to pack or how to streamline processes within my business from planning to setting up on the day of the event.
CLICK HERE to follow The Party Company Hawaii on Instagram.
Everyone has an inspiring story to share and our members are proof. Our society creates opportunities for women who are designing life on their terms. We’re accepting new members until this Saturday (June 27th). When doors close, they won’t reopen until January 2021. CLICK HERE and join us today.