Worcester Business Journal

20 Worcester Business Journal • February 2, 2015 www.wbjournal.com Deadline to submit the form is February 18th! Connecticut Business Connects on June 4th! Connecticut Convention Center • Hartford www.ctbexpo.com 1 5 t h A n n u A l Learn Connect Prosper CALL FOR SPEAKERS ! Interested in speaking at the 2015 CT Business Expo? We invite you to have the opportunity to be chosen to present at this year's ct business expo by filling out a simple online speaker request form. All speaking parameters and workshop topics are outlined in the speaker request form. the deadline to submit the speaker request form is February 18th! Visit www.CTBEXPO.com for link to speaker form, or contact Amy Orsini at 860-236-9998 ext. 134 or email aorsini@HartfordBusiness.com J u n E 4 T h h A r T F O r d Produced By: Presented By: Gold Sponsors: Buy a business today, regret it tomorrow? I s owning and operating your own business all it's cracked up to be? According to novice business owners in Central Massachusetts, the answer is "yes," but satisfaction and rookie struggles aren't mutually exclusive. "It's not for the faint of heart," said David Price, owner of Milford-based home health agency BrightStar Care, a franchise he bought and launched in 2010. In some regards, Price said business ownership is daunting. Knowing he's the source of income for 80 people, for instance, is stress-inducing. And as CEO of a young organization, Price continues to wear many hats, sometimes driving health aides to see patients in bad weather. While making BrightStar fly has been easier than Price imagined as far as networking to generate new business, there were a few early operational hiccups. For starters, he would have hired a chief financial officer earlier to help handle the myriad weekly transactions a home health agency generates. "Keeping up with that detail was more complicated than I thought it would be," said Price, who spent much of his career on the corporate side of high-tech manufacturing. With a few years under his belt, Price is happy with his entrepreneurial endeavor. And with plans to grow, he's closing in on the end of the five-year window during which the U.S. Small Business Administration estimates about half of new small businesses and franchises fold. But there is reason to believe that people who buy businesses, or in Price's case, a proven franchise, have a leg up. So says Nancy Cantor, a MetroWest-area business consultant and founder of The Dream Factory, a women's networking group, who has worked with a number of entrepreneurs as they've bought and launched businesses. Cantor said that, in her experience, people who design their own business concepts often hope to make a living off their passion. Business buyers, on the other hand, are coming at it from a practical perspective and see buying a business as an investment. "That's much more of an analytical process and people tend to do a lot of good research on that," Cantor said. Cantor stopped short of estimating that people who buy existing businesses will be more successful than those who start from scratch. Much of it depends on the individual, she said, and how much energy he or she is willing to put into their work. As in many of life's ventures, the ability to persevere is the common denominator for long-term survival, according to Cantor. "You do need to have the fortitude to go through the peaks and valleys of owning a business," Cantor said. How a broker can help That has been true for Sarah Kochanowski and her husband, Steve Ostroskey, who in 2004 bought an online business that sells embroidery materials to consumers and businesses. The business, Embroider This, operates under an umbrella company, Bobbin Inc., which has operations in Framingham and Holliston. BY EMILY MICUCCI Worcester Business Journal Staff Writer Sarah Kochanowski and Steve Ostroskey bought their online business, Embroider This, in 2004. They have since acquired additional companies and now generate annual revenue of $1.5 million. P H O T O / E M I L Y M I C U C C I Not really. With hindsight, local buyers would do it again – with some tweaks

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