Stephanie Dremonas
Pete's Fresh Market
Chicago, IL USA
"Everybody has a story that you can learn from."
Career Roadmap
Stephanie's work combines: Business, Food, and Working with Others
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Day In The Life
Skills &
Education
Advice for getting started
Connect with people and find mentors to learn from. I attribute a lot of my success to learning from mentors. If you're nervous about finding a mentor, it really just starts with asking a question. Just one question about a person's job or experience opens the door for more connection. A lot of people think that they should only speak to people in their own industry or people at senior career levels. I don't agree. You can learn something from anybody.
Here's the path I took:
High School
Bachelor's Degree
Real Estate
Marquette University
Bachelor's Degree
Finance, General
Marquette University
Life & Career Milestones
My path in life has been direct
1.
My father started a produce stand in the 1970s in Chicago, Illinois—it eventually grew into Pete’s Fresh Market.
2.
I initially had no interest in joining the family business, and went to Marquette University to study biomedical science in the hopes of working in sports medicine.
3.
After my freshman year of college, I didn’t feel like biomedical science was the right fit for me anymore—my godfather encouraged me to reconsider going into the family business instead.
4.
I decided to change my major and graduated with a double major in real estate and finance, plus a minor in psychology.
5.
After graduating, I was still hesitant to join the family business, so I got a job with a real estate company instead.
6.
A year later, my father convinced me to join the business—I started by working with his real estate portfolio and then gradually transitioned into managing operations as well.
7.
Years of experience and hands-on learning has brought me to where I am today, helping to run my family’s stores as an executive officer.
Defining Moments
How I responded to discouragement
THE NOISE
Messages from Myself:
The family business is not for me. I'm not interested.
How I responded:
I had no interest in joining my family's business. I wanted to go into sports medicine instead. Once I got to college, I realized it wasn't a great fit for me. I sought advice from my godfather. He encouraged me to reconsider joining the family business. He saw that I wasn't happy and knew I had the acumen for business. He was right! I switched my major and found that I really enjoyed my business and statistics classes. Something I had initially written off ended up being the best path for me.