Worcester Business Journal

wbjournal.com | November 8, 2021 | Worcester Business Journal 27 Member FDIC A great city deserves a great relationship. Stop by our new Worcester branch located at 633 Park Ave. 1. Limited to one bonus maximum amount of $300.00 per common ownership or customer. Businesses which currently own or have had a Rockland Trust Business Checking account within the 90 days prior to the account open date are not eligible. Rockland Trust employees are also not eligible. To be eligible for the $300 bonus you must open a new Free Business Checking or a new Complete Business Checking account with an initial account opening deposit of $1,000 of new money to Rockland Trust between October 4, 2021 and December 31, 2021. Initial account opening deposits funded by loans from Rockland Trust do not qualify. The bonus will be paid directly to your account by March 31, 2022. Account must be open and have a positive balance at the time the bonus is credited. Bonus payment will be reported to the IRS for the tax year in which it is paid. For new accounts funded by new money to Rockland Trust. Offer may be discontinued at any time without prior notice. Business checking account must be opened at our 633 Park Ave branch located in Worcester. 2. Limit one promotional personal checking account per household. Individuals who currently own or have had a Rockland Trust checking account within the 90 days prior to the account open date are not eligible. Rockland Trust employees are also not eligible. To be eligible for the $250 bonus you must open a new checking account between October 4, 2021 and December 31, 2021 and use your new Rockland Trust Debit Card to make at least 20 purchases of $10 or more within 60 days of your account opening date. ATM transactions do not qualify. The bonus will be paid directly to your account by March 31, 2022. Account must be open and have a positive balance at the time the bonus is credited. Bonus payment will be reported to the IRS for the tax year in which it is paid. Checking account must be opened at our 633 Park Ave branch located in Worcester. Offer not valid for Renew Checking accounts. Offer may be discontinued at any time without prior notice. Take advantage of one of our GRAND OPENING OFFERS Earn $300 1 when you open a new Free Business Checking or Complete Business Checking account by December 31, 2021 Earn $250 2 when you open a new checking accountby December 31, 2021 To learn more, visit one of our branches or give us a call at 774.243.1098. BRANCH HOURS Mon - Thu Fri Sat 8:30 A.M. - 5:00 P.M. 8:30 A.M. - 6:00 P.M. 8:30 A.M. - 1:00 P.M. VIDEO TELLER HOURS Mon - Fri Sat Sun 7:00 A.M. - 7:00 P.M. 8:00 A.M. - 4:00 P.M. 10:00 A.M. - 4:00 P.M. Extended banking hours with Live Teller Services! The Hustle is Real BY RENEE DIAZ How I prepared to leave my first baby for my second T his may be my last article I write before my baby girl arrives in early January. Over the years, I've expressed the difficulties, joys, and lessons I've learned while being a small business owner. I held nothing back and allowed myself to be vulnerable for a lot of people, mainly strangers, to read. Looking back, though, I realized I typically write about lessons learned aer the fact, and assumptions I've made before something happens. In this article, I want to write about the steps I took before my maternity leave. Being pregnant was rough in the beginning. But now, I have had the second trimester bliss where you have energy, you have a certain glow about you, you can feel the kicks and flips of your baby, and life is great. As I started to feel better, I began to plan for the business, before the baby comes and I take maternity leave. I approached this process in a calm manner, realizing getting a head start may be beneficial before I get tired again. One of the first things I had to come to terms with is I've worked for nine years in my bakery, and I deserve to take time off to be with my newborn baby. is was harder than it seemed. e second thing I did was contact my accountant and bookkeeper, my landlord, and my loan officer at Cornerstone Bank to let them all know when I plan on being out, so if there is anything they may need from me beforehand, I can get it to them. Aer I let them know, I started to tackle an emergency contact list. I've always tried to run my business if I were to walk out and get hit by a bus, e Queen's Cups could continue on and my employees would not be le stranded. I started to think, "Who would my manager call if our one of our refrigerators stopped working? What if the coffee machine burnt out? What if our food delivery was never delivered, and they needed to call our salesman?" I created a list of every person and company I could think of they may need, just in case. en it came time to decide what roles needed to be filled in the bakery. Who is going to take over the kitchen? Who will be their assistant? Do I have someone to order the food weekly, and are they aware of all the passwords for the different vendors? ese things were being done before, but I wanted to make sure everything was set, and questions were answered beforehand. If I needed to make introductions between the managers and people we work with, I wanted to make sure that was done, to develop rapport between them. With new roles, I had to think of the financial aspect. What can I afford? It can be easy for employees to see the money coming in from customers and orders. However, they do not see the money going out to keep the lights on, order food, pay insurance and taxes, and everything else coming with running a business. Before any major decision can be made, there are oen 10 steps I need to go through before I can give it a go. I cannot make financial decisions on a whim; there is a process behind it. is has been the most stressful part of all because it's not easy for others to understand. Our sales are down hundreds of thousands of dollars, we are still trying to bounce back from COVID-19, and there is not a promise this holiday season will be like they've been in the past. Alas, I also have my own family. My body is growing another person. And, at the end of the day, I have a business where my concern oen puts me last and my employees and business decisions first. When I am up at night due to pregnancy insomnia, I am worrying about work. Am I stressed I will be away from my first baby, e Queen's Cups, for a while? Yes. Do I know some issues will arise when I am not here? Yes. But I have full trust in the decisions I've made and the new roles I've filled, and I am confident the steps I have taken beforehand will allow me to have time with my new family. Renee Diaz is the owner of e Queen's Cups bakery in Worcester. W

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