Worcester Business Journal

wbjournal.com | March 6, 2023 | Worcester Business Journal 7 grew 14% from 185,000 residents in 2010 to more than 206,000 in 2020. Last year's Census update put the city's population at 205,918. With all of those new people, there's an opportunity. When COVID-19 hit in 2020, there was a radical shi in how people worked. No longer were employees required to drive to work their office jobs. People found they had more time at home and the possibility to figure out what was next, including what they really wanted to do. People like Bacon began to explore the possibility outside of their career to chase a dream of doing something they loved. With that, more people began to explore what opening a new business looks like. Tom Herald, a senior business advisor for the Small Business Development Center at Clark University in Worcester, said the desire to open a new business in Central Massachusetts hasn't slowed. Herald has seen 74 requests this year for counseling, and that number looks to keep growing as people in the area see opportunity. First-generation immigrants coming to Central Massachusetts has helped fuel the increase in new businesses, Herald said. eir new businesses come on top of people who are quiet quitting at their jobs; instead of trying to progress in their current careers, *To receive the $500 payment you must engage with Fidelity Bank for a complimentary review of your current payment processing fees (via supplied current statement). If it is determined that Fidelity Bank is unable to provide Merchant Services Payment Processing Services at a savings you will receive a $500 payment. Payments will be made within 60 days of receipt of proposal or no fica on. 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If we can't, we'll give you $500 * We have the right solu on at the right pricing to help you accept a variety of payments from your clients. Our account and payment solu ons include: Secure electronic processing Updated equipment Mobile processing Cash discoun ng PCI compliance Fraud intelligence tools In addi on, open your business checking accounts, and we'll give you up to $500 ** towards your new processing equipment Services provided in partnership with: they're searching for the thing they really want to do. Room for growth For Bacon, who worked with the Clark small business center, that was opening a distillery. He sees the Blackstone Valley as ripe for growth. Aer founding his business in May 2021 and looking around for places to open, he settled on a location in downtown Millbury, where he graduated from high school. e distillery location opened on Jan. 21 and held a ribbon cutting on Feb. 10. Eventually, the tentacles of possibility will reach out from Worcester, and Bacon sees Millbury as one of the gateways into business expansion throughout Central Massachusetts. "I'm seeing that in the next few years we can have an abundance of growth," Bacon said. "is area was ready for something like this." In Leominster, Christine Konich saw the opportunity to open a new bakery. Before 2020, she'd worked for Aunty Ellen's Creative Confections in Leominster for 10 years and loved baking. When Aunty Ellen's closed in February 2020 aer 25 years, Konich didn't want to stop baking, so she started a cake business, at first renting commercial kitchen space. She delivered cakes, and eventually the business grew into something where she needed to look into a permanent location. She found an old family pizza joint that had been vacant for a few years and decided to pounce on the opportunity of opening near downtown Leominster. Other cake shops are in the area, but none that specialize in fondant like she does. On top of that, she saw the potential for a little store front. On Nov. 18, 2022, Simply Sweet by Christine had its ribbon-cutting and opened its doors. In the three months the shop has been open, the community has come out, and people are buying more than just cakes. Konich's case is raided every day. Konich grew up in Fitchburg and lived in Leominster with her husband and three kids, so she's familiar with the community. at's what drew her to opening there. "ere's a big and broad community," Konich said. Bacon, his wife Amy Bacon, and Manager of Operations Matthew Tella stand in the Spicy Water production space. W

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