Worcester Business Journal

wbjournal.com | December 10, 2018 | Worcester Business Journal 3 Worcester Business Journal (ISSN#1063-6595) is published bi-weekly, 24x per year, including 4 special issues in May, September, October, and December by New England Business Media. 172 Shrewsbury St., Worcester, MA 01604. Periodicals postage paid at Worcester, MA. Copyright 2018. All rights reserved. Postmaster: Please send address changes to: Worcester Business Journal, PO Box 330, Congers, NY 10920-9894. Subscriptions: Annual subscriptions are available for $54.95. For more information, please email wbjournal@ cambeywest.com or contact our circulation department at 845-267-3008. Fax: 845.267.3478 Advertising: For advertising information, please call Mark Murray at 508-755-8004 ext. 227. Fax: 508-755-8860. Worcester Business Journal accepts no responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts or materials and in general does not return them to the sender. Worcester Business Journal 172 Shrewsbury Street, Worcester, MA 01604 508-755-8004 tel. • 508-755-8860 fax www.wbjournal.com A division of: Worcester Business Journal WBJ A er two years, I had nearly given up on my search to find a local, regular business col- umnist for WBJ. en, Renee Diaz sent me an email. WBJ relies on a rotating number of local professionals to write guest opinion and advice columns for its biweekly publica- tion, and you see them every issue in the 10 ings, Know How and Viewpoint recurring features. What I wanted, though, was somebody in Central Massachusetts who could write a column frequently, so the readers could get to know her/his tone and personality. ink of it as the Dear Abby of the Central Massachusetts business-to-business community, minus the reader letters. We did already have a frequent columnist, Ken Cook, who pens e Rainmaker column, but he isn't local to Central Massachusetts and his advice is typically limited to helping salespeople sell better. at is valuable insight, but not the type of personality I wanted to develop. On July 4, Renee, owner of e Queen's Cups bakery in Worcester, reached out about possibly teaming up to write about all the blood, sweat and tears going into launching your own business. I was ex- cited because Renee has this way of being very open and honest about her feelings and challenges, which creates compelling content. At the same time, I was cautious about getting my hopes up. I'd engaged with local professionals before about writ- ing a regular column, and they ended up balking at the time commitment. Still, aer a couple of email exchanges and a 30-minute meeting at e Queen's Cups (where I scored some cupcakes), the idea for Renee's column – e Struggle is Real – was born. When I read her first submission which ended up publishing in August, I was blown away. Renee's trade- mark honesty was on full display, and she craed a compelling narrative about herself to serve as advice for all entrepreneurs. Renee was taking WBJ readers on her personal journey, which would help them navigate their own waters. It is the perfect advice column. And the readers love it. WBJ now has published e Struggle is Real every month since August, and Renee's columns typically get 50x the pageviews as the other advice articles. In fact, her November I N T H I S I S S U E column – "Guacamole, pink cookies and why I provide extra paid maternity leave" – was the second most-read story that month and one top 15 most-read for 2018. Her December column on page 17 is again an outstanding piece and definitely worth your time. - Brad Kane, editor W A PLAN DESIGN WITH PERFECT BALANCE CLIENT: MUNICIPALITY This town was struggling with rising and uncertain pension costs due to decreasing asset returns and longer life expectancies. We delivered a solu on that helped them manage their expenses with balance and ease. Get the full story at hhconsultants.com/success Put our knowledgeable professionals to work for your business. We offer a full range of comprehensive actuarial, investment advisory and re rement plan consul ng services designed to iden fy, achieve and exceed each client's specific need. Each client's situa on is different and results may vary from those presented here NEWS & ANALYSIS DEPARTMENTS 4 Central Mass. In Brief 5 Flash Poll 12 Focus on The Business of Sports 16 The List: Top entertainment & sports venues 18 Know How 19 Movers & Shakers 20 Photo Finish 21 Opinion 22 Shop Talk: Shacey Petrovic & Patrick Sullivan, Insulet Corp. 10 An MBA decline As applications for MBA degrees dip nationally, local colleges are refining their programs. 17 Why I know all of my staff's birthdays The Struggle is Real columnist Renee Diaz has founded trusting in her staff more has created a better life for her and her company. CORRECTION: In the Nov. 26 advice column Know How entitled "Four year-end tax planning tips," the author of the article is incorrectly listed as Ryan Kittredge, a financial planner with Carr Financial Group. The actual author of this piece is John F. Shoro, a tax-planning attorney with Worcester law firm Bowditch & Dewey. The little column that could Editor, Brad Kane, bkane@wbjournal.com News Editor, Grant Welker, gwelker@wbjournal.com (Real estate, higher education, health care) Staff Writer Zachary Comeau, zcomeau@wbjournal.com (Manufacturing) Contributors Susan Shalhoub, Livia Gershon, Sarah Connell Research Director, Stephanie Meagher, smeagher@nebusinessmedia.com Research Assistant, Heide Martin, hmartin@nebusinessmedia.com Production Director, Kira Beaudoin, kbeaudoin@wbjournal.com Art Director, Mitchell Hayes, mhayes@wbjournal.com Senior Accounts Manager Matt Majikas, mmajikas@wbjournal.com Senior Accounts Manager Christine Juetten, cjuetten@wbjournal.com Senior Special Accounts Manager Mary Lynn Bosiak, mlbosiak@wbjournal.com Marketing & Events Manager Kris Prosser, kprosser@wbjournal.com Distribution and Database Coordinator A Guide to STUFF, a publication of New England Business Media Patty Harris, pharris@nebusinessmedia.com COO, Mary Rogers, mrogers@nebusinessmedia.com Accounting Manager, Valerie Clark, vclark@nebusinessmedia.com Accounting Assistant, Rae Rogers, rrogers@nebusinessmedia.com Collections Manager, Raki Zwiebel, rzwiebel@nebusinessmedia.com Human Resources, Jill Coran, jcoran@nebusinessmedia.com Publisher, CEO, Peter Stanton pstanton@nebusinessmedia.com Associate Publisher, Mark Murray mmurray@wbjournal.com President, Joseph Zwiebel jzwiebel@nebusinessmedia.com

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