We've seen higher and lower profits, but these tend to be the averages. The reason the profit drops is attributed to the chaos that develops as a company gets bigger. Many corporations are being told to cut their catering budgets. Because of this they are looking in the yellow pages for alternatives to their present caterer. If you primarily do social catering the need for a display add is less.
Social catering is more of a word of mouth growth experience.
An owner working an event should place themselves on the staff list of most events. They should be billed at the same rate the staff gets for the work. Many owners bill the client at a premium for their on-site leadership. It all depends on where you sell catering and who you are selling it to. It depends on what's at stake.