|
Success Story: Couple Finds Success On The Vine In The Hudson Valley
Ten years ago, Dominique and Carlo DeVito decided to supplement their careers in publishing with a life as entrepreneurs. They’d always been interested in wines from around the world, and had visited many wine-growing regions. They were ready to have a go at it. After nine months of searching, the DeVitos found a perfect fit for their vineyard plans in Ghent, NY – a piece of farmland that had been part of a former dairy farm.
The hilly, southern-facing slope where they envisioned planting grapes had the right combination of drainage and full sunlight, and the property itself was zoned for commercial, residential and agricultural use, which was important. Testing by Cornell Cooperative confirmed the soil conditions were conducive for growing grapes, and in early 2006 the DeVitos purchased 14 of what was once a 500-acre farm. The property’s location halfway between Hudson and Chatham led the couple to select the business name of Hudson-Chatham Winery. Theirs was the first winery in Columbia County.
“We staked out the rows and planted 1,000 vines in May of 2006. When they were first planted, we used protective tubing around them to protect them, and we put fencing around the property. Between the deer and birds, it can be a challenge to keep the grapes on the vine,” explains Dominique.
The DeVitos spent the next three years traveling back and forth from New Jersey to their fledgling vineyard on weekends and summers so that their twin sons could continue their normal school schedule. In 2008 they moved permanently into the 1790’s historic farmhouse, which is featured as their bottle label brand.... Read more |
SBA Syracuse Celebrates Emerging Leaders Graduation
SBA honored the owners of 18 participating companies in its Emerging Leaders program at a graduation ceremony at SUNY ESF in Syracuse on November 4th. The intense program, providing more than 40 hours of advanced management training, has been a collaboration of the SBA Syracuse District Office with CenterState CEO, CNY TDO, City of Syracuse Office of Neighborhood and Business Development, Downtown Committee of Syracuse, Inc., MACNY, Onondaga County Office of Economic Development, Onondaga SBDC, SUNY ESF, Syracuse SCORE, Syracuse University, The Falcone Center, The Tech Garden and the WISE Women’s Business Center.
Now in its fifth year, Syracuse is one of 48 participating Emerging Leaders locations nationwide. With the 2015 class, 78 Central New York entrepreneurs have completed the program since it launched in Syracuse. The Emerging Leaders program targets small companies that have the potential for rapid expansion and job creation.
Nationally, Emerging Leader graduates have secured more than $1 billion in government contracts and accessed $73 million in new financing. Graduates also reported having created nearly 2,000 new full-time jobs since the program’s inception. Sixty-two percent of surveyed participants reported an increase in revenue while 70 percent of those surveyed reported maintaining or creating new jobs in their communities.
- Broadway Café and Arctic Island
- Gannon Pest Control Inc.
- Industry Standard
- Lakeside Innovative Technologies, LLC
- Lou's Car Care Center, Inc.
- Mark's Service Center Inc.
- Paratore Signs, Inc.
- Pioneer Warehousing & Distribution, LLC
- Powers Accounting & Business Service, Inc.
- R&D Design and Associates, LLC
- Savvy Wine Cellar
- Senior Home Care Solutions
- Sherman Construction Inc.
- Spinnaker Custom Products
- Syracuse Corrugated Box Corp.
- Syracuse Technologies LLC
- Terrestrial Environmental Specialists, Inc.
- WellTrail Inc.
A native of Rensselaer County, Thom Besch came home to the Capital Region after a 26-year careerserving in the U.S. Army. After retiring as a Colonel, Thom apprenticed in a local solar business for four years before launching his own startup solar firm, Veteran Solar Systems, in February of 2014. Thom’s company employs up to five employees and serves mainly residential customers in a one-hour radius of Albany. Resources like the SBA’s Boots to Business training program, SBA’s Veteran Business Outreach Center (VBOC) Director Amy Amoroso in Albany, and incubator space at the Watervliet Arsenal have contributed to Veteran Solar’s continued success.
“I came back because this is where my family lives. In trying to decide what I wanted to do next, I thought about defense contracting and changing uniforms for a coat and tie. I believed in the missions and units I was a part of, and I wanted to do something afterwards where I was contributing to something important. After some soul-searching, for me it was renewable energy,” says Thom Besch, President of Veteran Solar Systems. “My business counselor Amy Amoroso connected me with the Watervliet Arsenal for great office space and help with marketing and more from its McNulty Center for Veteran Entrepreneurial Activity. I discovered there are a lot of people willing to help veterans in business; you just need to make the connections and reach out. After being in the military where you always have a boss, no matter what your rank is, it’s nice to have control over your own destiny.”
|
After his enlistment in the U.S. Navy in the 1970’s, Albany-native Barry Moore worked as a commercial painter. In between painting jobs, he took the U.S. Postal Service civil service exam and passed with high marks. Barry spent the next 32 years at the Postal Service, rising from clerk to executive, by building a strong background in leadership and management skills.
“In 2011, I decided it was time for something else. I retired and rode off into the sunset on my Harley. But when winter time came and I couldn’t ride, I sat down with my brother and my son Jason to talk about taking my bruschetta into the marketplace. We financed everything ourselves to get started as JNB Foods and were struggling. The spring of 2012 we found help with business planning from Amy Amoroso,” explains Barry Moore. “Our first production was 20 cases of bruschetta and apple corn salsa for the Women’s Expo here in Albany and we sold out. One month later, I had a phone call from a dietician at Shop Rite who had attended the Women’s Expo. She invited us to pitch our products with the store manager and we had our first major success. We were in the right place at the right time.”
When JNB Foods was ready to grow to meet rising demand, Moore used the research resources available at the Albany Small Business Development Center (SBDC) to develop his business plan when he attended their SEED Program in 2012. Today, JNB’s foods are sold in specialty and grocery stores across New York State. Their products such as pineapple salsa and cranberry chutney live up to their company slogan of “Natural. Healthy. Delicious.” In addition to business counseling with New York State VBOC Director Amy Amoroso, Moore also found assistance from the Albany SBDC for trade missions to China with SBA’s STEP program and product placement through Taste of New York stores in Puerto Rico. |
|
|
|
|
