Worcester Business Journal

wbjournal.com | February 20, 2023 | Worcester Business Journal 3 it. I would net more money by working part time or freelance, while getting to spend more quality time with my children. e child care crisis is a business crisis. – Brad Kane, editor F or about a month, my wife and eldest daughter had been asking me if they could go to the Inter- national Festival of the Arts at Walt Disney World, as they had never been to this spectacular annual event I went to with our sons in 2021. Money in our family has been tight lately (with our energy and grocery bills rivaling the mort- gage as our biggest expense), and Disney is expensive, so I had been saying no. Yet, they found roundtrip tickets with Southwest Airlines for significantly cheap- er than a week's worth of groceries, agreed to stay with family friends, and even got free transportation with my mother-in- law. So, we all decided: e two of them should go and have a great time. I love the way they smile when they're at Disney. e only problem was the dates of their trip were the three days before WBJ sent this edition to the printer for publication, typically the busiest time in my work schedule. Still, I figured I could handle be- ing the only and full-time parent to three young children at home, while working my full-time, deadline-driven job. It's sort of a single-parent fantasy camp for me, one I know will end aer a few days. When you read in the story "Funding child care" by Staff Writer Isabel Tehan on page 14 about how child care is an econom- ic problem both nationally and locally, let me tell you (from my firsthand experience in getting this edition ready for the printer) child care is definitely, 100% a business problem. No wonder working professionals, particularly women, le the workforce in droves during the early phases of COVID when in-person schooling was shut down. Parenting young children is far beyond a full-time job, and throwing in a paying full- time job makes life all but impossible. To prepare this edition for publication, I had to find time when my children didn't need me to drive them around, make meals, or build stair slides. Much of my work on this issue (including writing this column) was done aer midnight. While the quality of the work never suffered, this is not a sustainable situation for more than a few days. I have no idea how actual single par- ents handle it, especially those who have to pay for child care. If 50% of my salary was going to child care just so I could have the opportunity to work full time, I wouldn't do Single-parent fantasy camp W I N T H I S I S S U E Editor, Brad Kane, bkane@wbjournal.com Staff Writers Timothy Doyle tdoyle@wbjournal.com (Real estate, higher education) Kevin Koczwara kkoczwara@wbjournal.com (Manufacturing, energy & environment) Isabel Tehan, itehan@wbjournal.com (Health care, diversity & inclusion) Contributors Giselle Rivera-Flores, Laura Finaldi, Monica Benevides, Alan Earls, Susan Shalhoub, Livia Gershon Photgraphers Matt Wright, Edd Cote 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 Christine Juetten, cjuetten@wbjournal.com Senior Special Accounts Manager Mary Lynn Bosiak, mlbosiak@wbjournal.com Senior Account Executive Yasmin Nasrullah, ynasrullah@wbjournal.com Marketing & Events Manager Kris Prosser, kprosser@wbjournal.com Human Resources Manager, Tracy Rodwill, trodwill@nebusinessmedia.com Accounting Manager, Sara Ward, sward@nebusinessmedia.com Accounting Assistant, Rae Rogers, rrogers@nebusinessmedia.com Account Receivable Specialist, Patty Harris, pharris@ nebusinessmedia.com Audience Development Manager, Leah Allen, lallen@nebusinessmedia.com Business Office Assistant, Nicole Dunn, ndunn@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 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 2023. 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 $84.00. For more information, please email circulation@wbjournal.com or contact our circulation department at 845-267-3008. 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 Worcester Business Journal WBJ A division of: DON'T LET YOUR SAVINGS SIT STILL. 9 OR 15-MONTH SPECIAL RELATIONSHIP JUMBO CD SPECIAL 5.00 % APY* GET UP TO Check out our other great rates at stmaryscu.org or stop by your local branch today. *Annual Percentage Yield (APY) assumes funds remain in CDs until maturity. 5.00% APY for 9 or 15 Month Special Relationship Jumbo CD/IRAs. $100,000 minimum deposit to open. New money required. Jumbo Relationship CD/IRAs require maintenance of a Relationship Check- ing account, which includes minimum balance of $2,500, a combined average daily balance of $20,000 between all SMCU deposit accounts, eStatements enrollment and direct deposit. APY is effective February 1, 2023. Rates vary and may change at any time without notice. Div- idends are compounded daily and credited monthly. Early withdrawal penalties apply. There may be tax consequences. IRA annual contribution limits may apply. Contact a tax advisor for information. Deposits cannot be made during the term of the account. CDs will automat- ically renew at the then 12 Month CD rate upon maturity. Membership eligibility required. Details of rates, requirements, and terms and conditions are provided at account opening. stmaryscu.org (508) 490-8000 TA B L E O F C O N T E N T S 6 What tech companies like about downtown Worcester For the past decade, a wave of technology startups and established firms have filled office buildings around the city's center. 19 5 Things I Know about … Being the dumbest person in the room Advice columnist Richard Porter says if you're the smartest person in the room, you're in the wrong room. He offers five business lessons about surrounding yourself with the right people. 4 Central Mass. In Brief 10 Focus on Banking & finance 16 The List: Top banks 18 Column: Hustle culture vs. The Great Resignation 19 Know How 20 Movers & Shakers 21 Opinion 22 Shop Talk: Aero Coffee Roasters

• Cover