wbjournal.com | March 29, 2021 | Worcester Business Journal 3
Editor, Brad Kane,
bkane@wbjournal.com
News Editor, Grant Welker,
gwelker@wbjournal.com (Higher
education, health care, real estate)
Staff Writer, Monica Busch,
mbusch@wbjournal.com
(Manufacturing, equality & inclusion)
Editorial Intern
Amy Thai, athai@wbjournal.com
Contributors
Susan Shalhoub, Livia Gershon,
Sarah Connell
Lead Researcher, Timothy Doyle,
tdoyle@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
Christine Juetten,
cjuetten@wbjournal.com
Senior Special Accounts Manager
Mary Lynn Bosiak,
mlbosiak@wbjournal.com
Marketing & Events Manager
Kris Prosser, kprosser@wbjournal.com
COO, Mary Rogers,
mrogers@nebusinessmedia.com
Accounting Assistant, Rae Rogers,
rrogers@nebusinessmedia.com
Account Receivable Specialist,
Patty Harris,
pharris@nebusinessmedia.com
Human Resources, Jill Coran,
jcoran@nebusinessmedia.com
Director of Audience Development,
Valerie Clark,
vclark@nebusinessmedia.com
Operations Assistant,
Leah Allen,
lallen@nebusinessmedia.com
Publisher, CEO, Peter Stanton
pstanton@nebusinessmedia.com
Associate Publisher, Mark Murray
mmurray@wbjournal.com
President, Tom Curtin
tcurtin@hartfordbusinessjournal.com
Worcester Business Journal (ISSN#1063-6595) is
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Worcester Business Journal
WBJ
I
always thought Elon Musk's status
as one of the richest people in
the world to be laughable. Musk's
net worth is largely based on the
soaring stock price of his electric
car company Tesla, which seemed like an
example of how Wall Street had become
disconnected from reality. How could Tes-
la be valued 10-15 times Ford Motor Co.
and General Motors, when those compa-
nies have quadruple the revenue?
en, I went car shopping. I drive a lot
of miles daily, so to replace my expiring
lease, I was looking for an extremely ener-
gy efficient gasoline car or an electric car.
I had forgotten, though, what a painful
experience it is to walk into a car dealer-
ship. All the cars I looked at were priced at
least 20% higher than the manufacturer's
price. Even when I had made an appoint-
ment to test drive a specific car, I oen
had to wait hours in the dealership while
the salesperson talked to the manager.
ey would present me with one set of
financing options, and aer I declined,
would magically present me with a lower
set. In one notable instance, I spent six
hours in a dealership to test drive two cars
and be presented with three unsatisfactory
offers, with the salesperson offering to
help me out with an even better deal as
I walked out the door. I understand this
is the way car dealerships have typically
operated, but it is terrible.
With Tesla, though, I was test driving
the car within five minutes of walking in
for my appointment. e salesman clearly
laid out all the benefits and was waiting
for me when I returned from the test
drive. e price was exactly the same as
had been advertised, and all I had to do
was pick out the options. Beyond that,
driving all the non-Tesla cars simply felt
like driving any other car – even the elec-
tric ones – while driving the Tesla felt like
driving a space shuttle. And the Tesla was
cheaper than all the non-Tesla options.
e choice was a no brainer.
As the economy begins to enter a
post-pandemic world, businesses all over
are shaking off the impact of the corona-
virus, as is highlighted in this edition's
stories about farming, golf, hotels and
caterers. Successful businesses are those
who aren't looking to return to the old
way of doing things, but are reading the
I N T H I S I S S U E
market and finding the best way to operate
for success now and in the future. I see now
why investors have more faith in for-
ward-looking companies, than those who
are rooted in the past.
– Brad Kane, editor
e businesses of the future
N E W S & A N A LY S I S
4 Central Mass. In Brief
10 Focus on Golf & Meetings
13 The List: Charitable golf fundraisers
17 The List: Largest meeting facilities
20 Column: The Hustle is Real
22 Know How
23 Movers & Shakers
24 Photo Finish
25 Opinion
26 Shop Talk: Armsby Abbey
18 Hotels are doing surprisingly
well
Even though a full national rebound isn't
anticipated until 2024, Greater Worcester
hotels are surpassing expectations.
25 Worcester de-risked
In the Viewpoint opinion column, Jon
Weaver writes how Worcester has been a
safe place for startups to locate and their
investors to put their money into.
D E P A R T M E N T S
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