NNY Business November 2012

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Y usIness

Staffing agencies put local job seekers back to work page 22

November 2012

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n 20Q with Reh Center’s n Business Scene, Biz Tech, Small Biz, Snapshot Marc S. Compeau p. 26

Northern New York’s Premier Business Monthly Vol. 2 Issue 12 | www.nnybizmag.com

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NNY Business | November 2012

>> Inside NOVEMBER 2012

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COVER |

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ENTREPRENEURS |

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SMALL BUSINESS |

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REGION |

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12 INNOVATE OR BUST With pressure on businesses to innovate more than ever, the north country could give birth to the next great idea.

18 LEVERAGING EXPERIENCE A former tech firm executive is teaching students practical skills to start small businesses.

16 TESTING THE FIELD A San Francisco startup has picked Northern New York to test drive its business.

24 BEAUTIFUL BRIDES After 12 years, the formula for success is a simple one at Sposa Bella: superior service.

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SMALL BIZ STARTUP |

11 FIRST ROUND SERVED A Watertown couple has completed an extreme makeover of a favorite pub.

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24 GETTING TO WORK Despite sluggish economy, staffing agencies connect north country with jobs.

REAL ESTATE |

25 Q3 SALES, PRICE REPORT Home sales, prices climbed in the first three quarters in Jefferson, Lewis counties.

BUSINESS HISTORY |

44 A INVENTIVE MIND Safety pins and the sewing machine are among Lewis Co. native Walter Hunt’s credits.

CONSTRUCTION |

46 PRICE CHOPPER PLAZA A major regional grocer has invested $7.6m in Alexandria to build its 132nd store.

November 2012 | NNY Business

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CONTRIBUTORS

BusIness www.nnybizmag.com

Publishers

John B. Johnson Jr. Harold B. Johnson II Lynn Pietroski is president and CEO of the Greater WatertownNorth Country Chamber of Commerce. She writes about what to expect from board service. (p. 32)

Jay Matteson is the agricultural coordinator for the Jefferson County Agricultural Development Corp. He explains how agricultural districts are key to local farm viability. (p. 33)

Sarah O’Connell is an advisor for the state Small Business Development Center at SUNY Jefferson. She reminds small business owners that success is found in ‘small stuff.’ (p. 35)

Larry Covell is a professor of business at SUNY Jefferson and an attorney. He explains trademarks and service marks and shares tips to safeguard your own unique brand. (p. 31)

General Manager John B. Johnson

Executive Editor Bert Gault

Managing Editor Robert D. Gorman

Magazine Editor

Kenneth J. Eysaman

Associate Magazine Editor Kyle R. Hayes

Jill Van Hoesen is chief information officer for Johnson Newspapers and a 25-year IT veteran.

She writes about ways improve your company’s customer experience with technology. (p. 34)

Lance M. Evans is executive officer for the Jefferson-Lewis and St. Lawrence County Board of Realtors. He explains how the Multiple Listing Service functions in real estate sales. (p. 24)

Michelle L. Capone is regional development director for DANC. In part two of a two-part column, she tells the story of real progress being made in Drum Country. (p. 30)

Advertising Directors Karen K. Romeo Tammy S. Beaudin

Circulation Director Mary Sawyer

Photography

Norm Johnston, Justin Sorensen, Jason Hunter, Melanie Kimbler-Lago, Amanda Morrison

Ad Graphics, Design

Rick Gaskin, Brian Mitchell, Heather O’Driscoll, Scott Smith, Todd Soules Kyle Hayes is associate magazine editor for NNY Business. In our cover story, he writes about the push for business innovation in the north country and how one California firm has relocated. (p. 12, 16)

Joleene DesRosiers Moody is a freelance writer and motivational speaker. She shares the secret to Sposa Bella’s lasting success and looks at how staffing agencies find work for job seekers. (p. 20, 22)

Ted Booker is a Johnson Newspapers staff writer. He writes about a former tech firm VP turned entrepreneur who is teaching SUNY Jefferson students realworld skills to start small businesses. (p. 18)

MARKETPLACE Advanced Business Solutions …........................... 23 A.G. Netto Realty …............................................... 25 AmeriCU Credit Union …....................................... 47 Ameriprise Financial ….......................................... 19 Cantwell & Associates …....................................... 23 Center for Sight ….................................................... 4 Cheney Tire …......................................................... 23 Chiappone Tire …................................................... 47 Clarence Henry Coach …..................................... 38 Clayton Dental Office ….......................................... 6 The Computer Guys …........................................... 34 Convenient Storage ….......................................... 36 DANC …................................................................... 32 Elizabeth Smith …................................................... 21 Essenlohr Motors …................................................ 39 Foy Agency Inc. …................................................... 6 Gerald A. Nortz …................................................... 16 H&R Block …............................................................ 23 HighTower Advisors …............................................ 28 Howard Orthotics …............................................... 30 Innovative Physical Therapy …............................ 31 JCC SBDC …............................................................ 21 JCIDA .….................................................................. 45 KeyBank .................................................................... 2

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NNY Business | November 2012

Krafft Cleaning …................................................... 41 Kunoco …................................................................ 15 Lofink Ford Mercury …........................................... 43 LTI …......................................................................... 17 NNY Community Foundation …............................ 19 Northstar Auto Sales ….......................................... 42 NNY Business 20 Under 40 …................................. 45 Olinsky Law Firm …................................................... 5 The Paddock Club …............................................. 25 Painfull Acres Amish Furniture …............................ 6 PTAC …...................................................................... 5 SeaComm Federal Credit Union …...................... 10 ShredCon …............................................................ 35 Slack Chemical …................................................. 33 Sposa Bella …........................................................... 6 The Three C Limousine …....................................... 40 Thousand Islands Realty ….................................... 25 Thousand Islands Winery …................................... 46 Truesdell’s Furniture ….............................................. 7 Waterbury Fine Jewelers …................................... 21 Watertown LDC …................................................... 24 Watertown Savings Bank ….................................. 14 Westelcom ….......................................................... 45 WWTI ABC-50 …...................................................... 29

NNY Business (ISSN 2159-6115), is published monthly by Northern New York Newspaper Corp., 260 Washington St., Watertown, NY 13601, a Johnson Newspaper Corp. company. © 2010-2012. All material submitted to NNY Business becomes property of Northern New York Newspaper Corp., publishers of the Watertown Daily Times, and will not be returned.

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12 issues are $15 a year and 24 issues are $25 a year.

Call 315-782-1000 to subscribe.

Submissions Send all editorial correspondence to keysaman@wdt.net Advertising For advertising rates and information in Jefferson and Lewis counties, email kromeo@wdt.net, or call 315-661-2422 In St. Lawrence County, e-mail tbeaudin@ogd.com, or call 315-661-2512 Printed with pride in U.S.A. at Vanguard Printing LLC, Ithaca, N.Y., a Forest Stewardship Certified facility.

Please recycle this magazine.

| INTERVIEW |

| ON THE COVER |

26 ENTREPRENEURIAL ESTEEM At Clarkson University’s Reh Center for Entrepreneurship, students learn to solve actual problems for local businesses while developing new business ideas of their own. | COLUMNS |

30 ECONOMICALLY SPEAKING 31 BUSINESS LAW 32 COMMERCE CORNER

33 AGRI-BUSINESS 34 BUSINESS TECH BYTES 35 SMALL BUSINESS SUCCESS

| DEPARTMENTS |

6 7 8 10 24

EDITOR’S NOTE PEOPLE ON THE MOVE ECONOMIC SNAPSHOT BUSINESS BRIEFCASE REAL ESTATE ROUNDUP

37 38 42 44 46

CALENDAR BUSINESS SCENE DINING GUIDE BUSINESS HISTORY WHAT’S HAPPENING HERE?

Like many great ideas in business, we went back to the drawing board for this month’s cover illustration.

Photographer Justin Sorensen captured Johnson Newspapers staffer Lauren Harrienger in our conference room as she put the finishing touches on a whiteboard drawing for this month’s cover story about business innovation and entrepreneurs.

November 2012 | NNY Business

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EDITOR’S NOTE

F

ew can question the entrepreneurial spirit of the north country, without which our very way of life would disappear. Were it not for years of innovation, large and small, we would be long forgotten as an area struggling to pull itself together and maintain a sustainable regional economy.

In this month’s cover story, which begins on page 12, Associate Editor Kyle R. Hayes examines the relationship between entrepreneurs and innovation.

He looks at Ken Eysaman how businesses and entrepreneurs from as far away as California are coming to Northern New York to innovate and grow their businesses. Kyle also connects with Clarkson University, a north country institution that is leaving so many in its dust when it comes to innovation.

20 QUESTIONS ­— Speaking of Clarkson, we sit down this month with Marc S. Compeau, director of the university’s Reh Center for Entrepreneurship. Mr. Compeau, himself an entrepreneur from a very young age, shares with us how Clarkson students work with small businesses in St. Lawrence County to overcome real-world challenges and apply solutions to a myriad of problems — from routine to more complex — that local business operators face.

BUSINESS SCENE ­— This month’s Scene section, which begins on page 38, features 39 faces from more than two-dozen organizations and businesses across the north country.

On Oct. 17, we joined the Greater Watertown-North Country Chamber of Commerce for its annual Business Networking Expo and Business After Hours at the Dulles State Office Building. More than 300 people turned out for the event as 63 businesses set up promotional booths, making this year’s expo one of the most successful to date.

On Oct. 18, we traveled to Potsdam for the St. Lawrence County Chamber of Commerce Annual Dinner at SUNY

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NNY Business | November 2012

Potsdam. Congratulations to North Country Savings Bank President David C. Swanson who received the chamber’s Volunteer of the Year Award for his work with St. Lawrence County’s FISHCAP program. Also honored were Maureen Ward and her husband, John, of Brasher Falls. Mr. and Mrs. Ward received the chamber’s Commitment to the Community Award for “vigorous organizing and promotion of St. Lawrence County community celebrations.”

Top business honors went to CantonPotsdam Hospital with Marlinda LaValley, vice president of administrative services, accepting the chamber’s 2012 Business of the Year Award.

Wrapping up the month in business networking, we joined the Carthage Area Chamber of Commerce for its annual Business Awards Dinner, photos from which you will find on our website and on our Facebook page. Congratulations to Jose O’Connor’s, Christman Fuel Service, Country Manor Nursing Home and Rehabilitation Centre, Pleasant Night Inn and Village Ecumenical Ministries Food Pantry.

ONLINE ­— If you’re looking in this issue for a sample of real estate transactions, please log on to our website, www.nnybizmag.com. There, you will find a complete report of property transactions for Jefferson, St. Lawrence and Lewis counties. We aim to continue to publish a sample period of transactions in the magazine as it is a good indicator of just how significant the real estate sector is to our region.

SAVE THE DATE ­— From more than three dozen nominations, we have named our picks to NNY Business magazine’s 20 Under 40 Class of 2012.

Selectees have been notified and we are working to complete profiles of each of these deserving young professionals for our December issue. Mark Thursday, Dec. 13 on your calendar and join us for a luncheon from 11:30 to 1 p.m. at the Hilton Garden Inn, 1290 Arsenal St., Watertown, as we honor this year’s class. To reserve a seat at the luncheon, email me at keysaman@wdt.net. Cost is $15 and includes an apple orchard chicken salad and beverages.

Yours in business,

PEOPLE ON THE MOVE Earns certification as safety professional

Zachary W. Remington of Atlantic Testing Laboratories has completed all requirements to obtain the designation of certified safety professional. The certification is awarded to individuals who meet academic standards, satisfy professional safety experience requirements and have passed two examinations. The examinations cover engineering and management aspects of safety, applied sciences, legal and regulatory matters, professional affairs and other safety-related topics.

Mr. Remington is a graduate of St. Regis Falls High School and St. Lawrence University, Canton.

The Board of Certified Safety Professionals is a nationally accredited, non-profit corporation that establishes standards for and verifies minimum competency in professional safety practice.

Atlantic Testing is based in Canton with 10 offices across New York.

Pediatrician joins Canton-Potsdam

Pediatrician Dr. Patty Rissacher has joined Canton-Potsdam Hospital and is currently seeing patients at the Canton Family Health Center in the E.J. Noble Building, 80 E. Main St., Canton.

Dr. Rissacher completed medical training at the University of Vermont College of Rissacher Medicine, Burlington, in 2005. She completed a residency in pediatrics at University of Vermont, Vermont Children’s Hospital at Fletcher-Allen Health Care, where she served as chief

resident in pediatrics during her final year.

She received a bachelor’s degree in biology from Clarkson University, Potsdam, and is certified by the American Board of Pediatrics. She served most recently as an assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of Vermont College of Medicine and as a pediatric hospitalist at Vermont Children’s Hospital. She previously served as a medical instructor in the department of pediatrics at the university.

Hospital employee recognized for service

Massena Memorial Hospital recently recognized Marlene Emlin for her nearly 40 years of services at the hospital.

Ms. Emlin has worked in the health information services department as a coder and abstractor since 1999. She previously worked as a health inforEmlin mation coordinator in surgical services and other nursing units throughout her tenure at MMH that started in 1975. Ms. Emlin plans to retire later this year.

Two new hires at Children’s Home

Adrianne L. Amell has been named the director of human resources at the Children’s Home of Jefferson County, Watertown. Most recently, Mrs. Amell was employed by the New York State Department of Labor in Watertown, where she served as a local veterans employment representative. For six years, Mrs. Amell was the assistant director of human resources at the Jefferson Rehabilitation

Got business milestones? n Share your business milestones with NNY

Business. Email news releases and photos (.jpg/300 dpi) to editor Ken Eysaman at keysaman@wdt.net. The deadline for submissions is the 10th of the month for the following month’s issue. Photos that don’t appear in print may be posted on our Facebook page.

Center, Watertown.

Mrs. Amell earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration with a concentration in human resources from Clarkson University, Potsdam, is a graduate of the Jefferson Leadership Institute and is a member of the Society of Human Resource Managers. She lives in Amell Adams Center with her husband, Robert W., and their three children, Tanner R., Emmy S. and Robbie C. Suzanne L. Petroske has been named the Children’s Home’s finance director. She was most recently a Petroske senior auditor and consultant with Constellation Brands, Victor, and has held various financial positions at KPMG, LLP, Fort Lauderdale, Fla., The St. Joe/Arvida Company, Boca Raton, Fla., and Stebbins Engineering and Manufacturing Co., Watertown.

Ms. Petroske earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting from SUNY Oswego and a master’s degree in accounting from Florida Atlantic University.

November 2012 | NNY Business

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NNY

Economic indicators Average per-gallon milk price paid to N.Y. dairy farmers Sept. ’12 $1.71 Aug. ’12 $1.62 Sept. ’11 $2.07

17.4%

ECON SNAPSHOT

Vehicles crossing the Thousand Islands, OgdensburgPrescott and Seaway International (Massena) bridges

Source: NYS Department of Agriculture

454,841 in Sept. 2012 577,027 in Aug. 2012 463,939 in Sept. 2011

Average NNY price for gallon of regular unleaded gas

Source: T.I. Bridge Authority, Ogdensburg Bridge & Port Authority, Seaway International Bridge Corp.

Sept. ’12 $4.03 Aug. ’12 $3.82 Sept. ’11 $3.79

U.S.-Canadian dollar exchange rate (Canadian dollars per U.S. dollar)

6.3%

Average NNY price for gallon of home heating oil

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(Percent gains and losses are over 12 months)

Sept. ’12 $3.84 Aug. ’12 $3.75 Sept. ’11 $3.71

3.5%

1.9%

$0.98 on Sept. 21, 2012 $0.99 on Aug. 27, 2012 $1.03 on Sept. 23, 2011

4.9%

Source: Federal Reserve Bank of N.Y.

Average NNY price for gallon of residential propane

Nonagriculture jobs in the Jefferson-Lewis-St. Lawrence counties area, not including military positions

Sept. ’12 $2.97 Aug. ’12 $3.01 Sept. ’11 $3.24

91,900 in Sept. 2012 90,500 in Aug. 2012 91,500 in Sept. 2011

8.3%

0.4%

Source: NYS Energy Research and Development Authority

Source: NYS Department of Labor

Jefferson-Lewis Board of Realtors single-family home sales

St. Lawrence Board of Realtors single-family home sales

112, median price $147,700 in Sept. 2012 141, median price $153,900 in Aug. 2012 125, median price $148,000 in Sept. 2011

47, median price $74,000 in Sept. 2012 70, median price $95,000 in Aug. 2012 64, median price $80,000 in Sept. 2011

10.4% Sales

0.2% Price

Source: Jefferson-Lewis Board of Realtors Inc.

26.6%

7.5%

Sales

Price

Source: St. Lawrence Board of Realtors Inc.

NNY unemployment rates Jefferson County

Sept. ’12

8.8%

Aug. ’12

8.9%

Sept. ’11

8.9%

St. Lawrence County

Sept. ’12

9.5%

Aug. ’12

10.7%

Sept. ’11

9.8%

Lewis County Sept. ’12

8.6%

Aug. ’12

8.5%

Sept. ’11

8.5%

Source: New York State Department of Labor (Not seasonally adjusted) Note: Due to updates in some “Econ. Snapshot” categories, numbers may differ from previously published prior month and year figures.

NNY Business | November 2012

NNY

Economic indicators New automobiles (cars and trucks) registered in Jefferson County Cars 459 in Sept. 2012 547 in Aug. 2012 399 in Sept. 2011

15%

Trucks 97 in Sept. 2012 109 in Aug. 2012 102 in Sept. 2011

4.9%

Source: Jefferson County Clerk’s Office

Passengers at Watertown International Airport

Open welfare cases in Jefferson, Lewis and St. Lawrence counties

2,670 inbound and outbound in Sept. 2012 3,788 inbound and outbound in Aug. 2012 546 inbound and outbound in Sept. 2011

1,913 in Sept. 2012 1,897 in Aug. 2012 1,887 in Sept. 2011

1.4%

389% Source: Jefferson County Board of Legislators

DBA (doing business under an assumed name) certificates filed at the Jefferson County Clerk’s office in October. For a complete list of DBAs filed in past months, visit us on the Web at WWW.NNYBIZMAG.COM.

Oct. 29: OMM Designs, 1323 Sherman St., Watertown, Whitney K. Coffie, 1323 Sherman St., Watertown.

Oct. 12: Salmonberry Tree Farm, 11231 Staplin Road, Mannsville, Paul F. Goulet, P.O. box 261, Sandy Creek.

Hellnback Farrier Service, 9293 County Route 97, Adams, Jack Spinner, 9293 County Route 97, Adams.

Office Muse, 6537A Pinehurst Drive, Fort Drum, Linda Carmona, 6537A Pinehurst Drive, Fort Drum.

Oct. 26: Our Modest Mansion Designs, 1323 Sherman St., Watertown, Joshua E. Coffie, 1323 Sherman St., Watertown.

KD Consulting, 16925 May Irwin Road, Clayton, Kristi Dippel, 16925 May Irwin Road, Clayton.

Chesters, 12109 Route 12E, Chaumont, Linda Munn Lavere, 428 Dimmick St., Watertown.

Oct. 11: Quiet Professional Consulting, 34963 Lewis Loop, Carthage, Thomas G. Leitch, 34963 Lewis Loop, Carthage.

Beckstead Painting, 108 Mill St., Theresa, Matthew D. Beckstead, 108 Mill St., Theresa.

Grease Grabber, 1 Grange Alley, Adams, Paul M. Leeder, 1 Grange Alley, Adams.

ENS Services, 26000 Route 11, #193, Evans Mills, Nicholas Scott, 239 Barben Ave., P.O. Box 714, Watertown.

Sarissa Melissa Photography, 9715 D King Loop, Watertown, Melissa Ruth Aulet Ortiz, 9715 D King Loop, Watertown.

Oct. 25: Crystal Inspirations, 25838 State Route 3, Watertown, Arttina M. Cousins, 25838 State Route 3, Watertown.

Lightning Electric Service, 533 Davidson St., Watertown, Stacy D. Stanfa, 533 Davidson St., Watertown.

La Bonne Terre Candles, 201 W. Main St., Sackets Harbor, Joslin Rodely, 201 W. Main St., P.O. Box 261, Sackets Harbor.

Reed Computer Repair, 30861 School St., Felts Mills, Michael Reed, 30864 School St., P.O. Box 107, Felts Mills.

Buried Treasures, 27882 State Route 342, Black River, Debora Tatom, 27882 State Route 342, Lot 230, Black River.

Oct. 10: Route 4 Auto Repair, 32220 County Route 4, Cape Vincent, Brett D. Mussot, 32220 County Route 4, Cape Vincent.

Higher Standards NNY, 11579 Windswept Circle, Adams, Elizabeth M. Payne, 11579 Windswept Circle, Adams.

Oct. 9: J L Stone Premier Cleaning Service, 25538 State Route 3, Watertown, Jenny L. Stone, 25538 State Route 3, Watertown.

Tom’s Lockout Service, 539 Bradley St., Watertown, Thomas S. Holder, 539 Bradley St., Watertown.

Oct. 5: Amia Bridges Photography, 15927 County Route 91, Pierrepont Manor, Natashia Russell, 5838 County Route 97, Adams.

Oct. 24: MD Management Services, 43888 State Route 3, Natural Bridge, Dawn Fontaine, 43888 State Route 3, Natural Bridge, Michelle Holmes, 29281 Martin Road N., Evans Mills.

Barre Property Maintenance and Construction, 23842 State Route 37, Watertown, Brian G. Barre Jr., 23842 State Route 37, Watertown.

LNS Handyman Services, 8723 County Route 78, Woodville, Christopher Shaughnessy, 4393 Eddy Road, Canastota.

Oct. 4: Nautical Turtle Tavern, 107 Public Square, Watertown, Howard McNeely, 12638 Route 11, Adams Center.

Oct. 22: DMA Construction, 38812 State Route 3, Carthage, David Abbass, 38812 State Route 3, Carthage.

Artzy Glassware, 17670 Cemetery Road, Dexter, Karol J. Dunn, 17670 Cemetery Road, Dexter.

Beyond Bliss Poodles and Doodles, 27550 County Route 16, Evans Mills, Nancy A. O’Connor, 27550 County Route 16, Evans Mills.

Spaulding Contracting, 320 E. Grove St., Dexter, Michael Spaulding, 320 E. Grove St., Dexter.

Elizabeth Smith, 311 S. Indiana Ave., Watertown, Elizabeth P. Smith, 311 S. Indiana Ave., Watertown.

Oct. 3: TSB Sewing, 17561 Doxtater St., Adams, Theresa S. Barker, 17561 Doxtater St., Adams.

Oct. 19: Glass Strokes, 23186 Plaza Drive, Watertown, Dannie Jo Davis, 23186 Plaza Drive, Watertown.

Lanabean Designs, 37754 County Route 194, Antwerp, Jennifer K. Sands, 37754 County Route 194, Antwerp.

Oct. 18: Awesome Science Parties, 30228 Ashland Road, Chaumont, John Tocornal, 30228 Ashland Road, Chaumont.

Oct. 2: Massey Ranch, 20605 Combs Road, Watertown, Shawn E. Massey, 20605 Combs Road, Watertown.

Oct. 16: Thousand Islands Ghost Tour, 21 High St., Alexandria Bay, Karen B. Side, 21 High St., Alexandria Bay.

Integrity Auto Body and Repair, 217 Main St., Theresa, Richard Stone, 20 Main St., Philadelphia.

Seniors Helping Seniors, 156 Chestnut St., Watertown, Joanne M. Nugent Ward and Dianne L. Ward, 156 Chestnut St., Watertown.

Oct. 1: Sew Simple, 13736 County Route 66, Adams Center, Jane Pearson, 13736 County Route 66, Adams Center.

TRANSACTIONS

DBAs

Source: Social Service Depts. of Jefferson, Lewis and St. Lawrence counties

November 2012 | NNY Business

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BUSINESS BRIEFCASE Tim Horton’s coming to Ogdensburg

The Canadian fast food and coffee restaurant chain Tim Horton’s is coming to Ogdensburg. With plans to open Dec. 17, the food chain will be housed in the Parkway Express building, 1111 Champlain St., Parkway’s director of operations Michael Webster told the Watertown Daily Times. Tim Horton’s will occupy 1,600 square feet of space that was once home to Wimpy’s Restaurant.

The business will have a drive-thru lane, which has been approved by the city. Tim Horton’s spokeswoman Brynn Burton declined to comment on the Ogdensburg plans.

Magazine ranks Mirror Lake Inn first

Condé Nast Traveler magazine readers have ranked Mirror Lake Inn Resort and Spa, Lake Placid, as the No. 1 resort in the Northeast United States.

In rating of the 20 best properties in the region, Traveler readers gave the Mirror Lake Inn highest honors for the AAA-rated Four Diamond resort and accompanying Four Diamond restaurant, called The View.

The resort received 94 out of a possible 100 Readers’ Choice Rating points from nearly 29,000 survey-takers. Resorts were judged on rooms, service, food, design, activities and location.

Drum health planners to develop registry

Fort Drum Regional Health Planning Organization will work with Wellcen-

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NNY Business | November 2012

tive, a health information technology firm based on Roswell, Ga., to develop a disease registry for the north country by year’s end.

The registry development is made possible by a $3.8 million grant from the Healthcare Efficiency and Affordability Law for New Yorkers program, awarded in June to a consortium of seven hospitals in Jefferson, Lewis and St. Lawrence counties.

Summit focuses on wine, beer and spirits

During a late October summit held in Albany, owners of New York State breweries, wineries and distilleries shared ideas with industry experts and legislators about how the state can help business by easing regulations and strengthening a statewide marketing campaign.

In response to the business owners’ concerns, Gov. Andrew Cuomo launched a $1 million advertising campaign to promote the industry and increase tourism.

Mr. Cuomo said that if industry stakeholders contribute a matching amount of $1 million, the state will contribute an additional $2 million, increasing campaign totals to $4 million.

At the summit Mr. Cuomo also announced easing of current regulations that do not allow manufacturers to make multiple alcoholic beverages with multiple manufacturing licenses under one roof.

Those regulations would be axed immediately, Mr. Cuomo said, allowing brewery, winery and distillery operations of more than one alcoholic beverage to take place at one location.

Other reforms announced by the governor included: fees to acquire market-

Got business news?

n Share your business news with NNY Business. Email news releases and photos (.jpg/300 dpi) to nnybusiness@wdt.net. The deadline for submissions is the 15th of the month for the following month’s issue. Photos that don’t appear in print may be posted on our Facebook page.

ing permits will be reduced by the state Liquor Authority from $750 a year to $125 a year; duplicate licenses for farm distilleries and farm breweries will be discontinued; application requirements for producers will be reduced by the state Liquor Authority; and producers of beer and cider will be allowed to acquire temporary permits to sell their products directly to consumers at special events and street fairs.

DANC approves $2.5m for hospital consortium

The Development Authority of the North Country has approved a $2.5 million loan to the Fort Drum Regional Health Planning Organization to provide cash flow for a $6 million multi-year project.

The project is a regional collaboration involving seven area hospitals and DANC’s contribution will assist the hospitals with interim financing needs to ensure they have cash flow for the first year of the project.

Additional funding sources for the consortium of hospitals includes $3.8 million in grant funding from the state Healthcare Efficiency and Affordability Law for New Yorkers program, or HEAL, about $1.5 million in savings from Medicaid rate adjustments and $800,000 from participating hospitals.

S M A L L B I Z S TA R T U P BUSINESS

First Round Bar & Lounge THE INITIAL IDEA

A neighborhood bar that is a friendly watering hole with good pub fare for the after-work crowd.

It was that simple for Watertown couple Frank G. and Audrey J. “Jeany” Danielsen, who bought the former Kicker’s Lounge at 498 Factory St. and renamed it First Round Bar & Lounge with the goal of bringing a vibrant bar back to life.

TARGET CLIENTELE

Working professionals who are looking for a place to unwind after work for happy hour and sportsminded people looking for a fun, relaxing environment to enjoy the game.

THE JOURNEY

The property’s history as Coach’s sports bar and Pete’s Restaurant made the pair of entrepreneurs latch onto the project right away when they learned that the building was put up for sale in the spring.

“There are people who’ve told us they remember when it was Pete’s, and we love that stuff,” Mr. Danielsen said of the 2,300-square-foot restaurant that seats up to 86 people. “We even found an old picture of Pete’s from 1937 upstairs.”

Eager to start the project without delays, the couple closed on the sale in July and quickly began gutting the bar for a remodel.

Though they’ve kept some of its old singular qualities such as the original wooden bar, they also spruced up the interior with a contemporary look and invested in a new roof, floors, paint and lighting.

A mirrored wall is the backdrop behind the bar, and the dining area boasts nearly a dozen high-top tables. A nook that formerly housed a wood-burning stove has a electric fireplace complemented by a flat-screen television above.

Sports fans have plenty of eye candy offered by six television screens that showcase DirecTV NFL Sunday Ticket. The bar also features a modern jukebox, an ATM and Quick Draw Lottery along with a dartboard in the lounge area. Food choices include chicken wings, nachos, calzones,

AMANDA MORRISON | NNY BUSINESS

“We want this to be a nice, friendly, atmosphere for people to come to after they get out of work. We expect to keep some local customers and draw new people in.”

— First Round Bar & Lounge co-owner Frank G. Danielsen pizza and stromboli.

Mrs. Danielsen, a sales professional with Rose & Kiernan Insurance Agency, Watertown, worked as a bartender for about eight years at Coach’s. She said they plan to bring back live entertainment to lure crowds during the weekend. Watertown native Marc Chauvette performed classic rock during a successful grand-opening weekend Nov. 2 and 3.

Mr. Danielsen, who managed several P&C Foods grocery stores during his career, including the one at Seaway Shopping Center that closed in 2010, said he and his wife were looking for a new business venture when the bar came up.

“We want this to be a nice, friendly atmosphere for people to come to after they get out of work,” Mr. Danielsen said. “We expect to keep some local customers and draw new people in.”

The couple chose the name First Round by design.

“We want to be the first stop for a round of drinks,” Mrs. Danielsen said.

IN FIVE YEARS

“We didn’t take this on to flip it,” Mr. Danielsen said. “We want to serve the community and be successful for us and for Watertown.”

Eventually they’d like to open the second floor as a potential banquet room with a small bar that also could play host to local musicians.

“This place was where everyone came when it was Coach’s, and that’s what we want to bring back,” Mrs. Danielsen said.

“There are a lot of people in the community who remember those times. Watertown has a lot of bars, but we’re going to offer something different.”

OPEN

3 p.m. to 2 a.m. Monday through Thursday; noon to 2 a.m. Saturday and Sunday.

— Ted Booker and Ken Eysaman

WHERE Watertown | FOUNDED 2012 | WEB www.facebook.com/FirstRoundofWatertownLLC

November 2012 | NNY Business

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COVER STORY

The push

BUSINESS INNOVATION for

HOW NORTHERN NEW YORK IS LEARNING FROM SILICON VALLEY TO BECOME A TEST MARKET FOR THE NEXT GENERATION OF GREAT IDEAS

BY KYLE R. HAYES | ASSOCIATE EDITOR FEW WOULD ARGUE THAT NORTHERN NEW YORK IS A FAR CRY FROM CENTRAL CALIFORNIA. WHAT WITH BELOW-ZERO DEGREE days the norm during a New York January, but a 50-degree day being considered a California cold snap. However, the two regions have more in common than one might think. Linked by a shared passion for innovative ideas and an overwhelming entrepreneurial spirit, the relationship between Silicon Valley and the north country is growing surprisingly closer. Will Northern New York ever be deemed the next Silicon Valley? Not likely anytime soon. Although, local entrepreneurs say that’s not necessarily a bad thing. The advantages that the business environment throughout the north country offer cannot be found in the high-pressure, high-turnover world of California’s tech universe.

n n n Mark J. Dzwonczyk is a bit of a pioneer in bringing big ideas and good business sense from California to St. Lawrence County. He continues to do so, actually, as he divides his time between both sides of the country. On the West Coast is his family home in California, where his wife, Meri-Beth, and children, Blaine and Luke, live. On the East Coast, an apartment in Brasher Falls in St. Lawrence County.

“I married into the Adirondacks,” Mr. Dzwonczyk said. “My wife’s family camped near Paul Smith’s and she said we got to move to California if she could spend summers in the Adirondacks. As I started to spend more and more free

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time at the local lake there, I didn’t have Internet access.”

That lack of access sparked something much bigger for Mr. Dzwonczyk. He partnered with Paul Smith’s College to bring network access across the St. Regis Lakes chain and put himself on the map as the go-to guy to bring broadband Internet service to underserved areas across Upstate New York. He joined the board of directors for Nicholville Telephone, the parent company of Slic Network Solutions, and was asked about 18 months ago to join the firm as its chief executive to prepare the 110-year-old Nicholville Telephone for major growth.

Mr. Dzwonczyk has brought to Northern New York lessons that he has learned from years of building businesses from concept to fruition in Silicon Valley. He founded the voice over Internet protocol products and services company Sigpro from a garage in Los Altos, Calif., and was president and chief operating officer for Vello, an industry-leading concept that eliminated the need for dial-in numbers and PIN codes for conference calls. Vello was the building block for another company he founded, Callvine.

“When I build businesses, I look for a good market and ask if you can build something that is going to have meaning

JASON HUNTER | NNY BUSINESS

Mark Cornett, NexID Biometrics general manager, left, and owner Michael Schuckers hold fingerprint scanners with co-owner Stephanie Schuckers in a biometrics lab at Clarkson University last month. NexID Biometrics develops and licenses detection software that enables fingerprint-scanning technologies to function with greater accuracy by avoiding spoof-related risks.

in the market,” he said. “[At Nicholville Telephone] I believe in what I’m doing.

I have a passion for it. This is an important mission for economic development in the region.”

Mr. Dzwonczyk notes the importance of having access to broadband Internet, cable and phone for business development in rural Northern New York.

“It is as important as electricity was to business 75 years ago,” he said.

So what is it about Northern New York that is bringing entrepreneurs from across the country into the region to further their businesses?

Matthew E. Draper, deputy director for Clarkson University’s Shipley Center for Innovation, said he’s come across several factors that make building innovative businesses in the north country attractive.

“I think a lot of times it’s market driven,” Mr. Draper said. “A lot of companies are dedicated to building an international focus and our proximity to Canada helps them.”

Mr. Draper also said there’s a built-in isolation that comes with doing business in the north country.

“Here, if you throw a prototype or idea against the wall and it fails, it’s not on the front page of TechCrunch,” Mr. Draper said. “They can fail here because they’re protected and it’s not in the spotlight. You can beta test something and see for how it works in the market.”

Mr. Draper said the Shipley Center is presently managing 106 projects and between it and Clarkson’s Reh Center for Entrepreneurship, the university is home to 38 startup firms. Projects can be either student-run, faculty-run or a mix of both.

“The Shipley Center augments their educational experience,” he said. “Fifty-three percent of the projects here are studentbased without faculty involvement.”

One of the goals the Shipley Center has when working with students is to provide them with the guidance and help necessary to build and grow a business, and determine what ideas are feasible.

A problem Mr. Draper sees occasionally among students is a desire to uproot the work they’ve done at Clarkson and move to Silicon Valley, where they have more access to like-minded individuals.

“We do see students who think they need to move to California to be successful, but in this day and age, geography doesn’t matter,” he said. “All you need is an Internet connection.”

Clarkson University is arguably one of the biggest contributors to building and attracting innovative businesses to St. Lawrence County. The university’s educational and business programming in places like the Shipley and Reh centers and its Peyton Hall small business incubator have brought dozens of businesses to Potsdam because of their unique offerings. Those offerings have not gone unnoticed.

“Tony Collins [president of Clarkson University] is the driver for St. Lawrence County innovation in economic development,” Mr. Dzwonczyk said. “You need someone like Tony to push it forward.

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COVER STORY Because of him there is the Reh Center and the Shipley Center and because of Tony, I’m here. He believes in the area.”

Clarkson also is a reason why Mark J. Cornett, a business consultant and general manager for NexID, a Peyton Hall incubator business, returned to Northern New York and now calls it home.

“I went to Clarkson as a student because my brother and cousin were there and my dad had said I was going to Clarkson,” Mr. Cornett said. “I met my future wife as I was on my way out of St.

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Lawrence County and we got married shortly after, lived in the Northwest and Boston and we decided to come back as a lifestyle change. We wanted to raise our family here. However, once I got here, I started to get to know people at local businesses and at Clarkson and I saw the need for [people with] management experience.”

Mr. Cornett spent 13 years teaching at Clarkson University after a career at Hewlett-Packard, and consulting on the side during summers before leaving

Clarkson in 2000. He left to help develop Fused Solutions, an outsource help desk and technical support service.

“I had gone to Nicholville Telephone and they had started several businesses, an Internet service provider, Web development, an information technology consulting company and call center,” Mr. Cornett said. “I took over those subsidiaries, closed a couple and took on the other two. One became Slic Network Solutions, the other became Fused Solutions.”

Mr. Cornett spent the next eight

COVER STORY years organically growing those businesses and eventually added SpiceCSM, a customer service management software firm, to his business portfolio. In 2008, Nicholville Telephone made the decision to leverage its expertise and investment with Slic and sold off Fused and SpiceCSM. “I tend to really enjoy the startup of a business’s life,” Mr. Cornett said. “I tell my friends that I have an affliction every 10 to 12 years that I need to start something new. I am more intrigued and excited about creating and growing a business in the early stages.”

That affliction led him to NexID Biometrics, an industry-leading company that develops, patents and licenses liveness detection software that allows fingerprint scanning technologies to more accurately authenticate scanned images by eliminating spoof-related risks.

Mr. Cornett joined NexID in 2011 as its general manager and business development lead.

“What NexID is doing is groundbreaking stuff, and they had a couple of customers but it wasn’t a growing concern,” Mr. Cornett said. “They were world-renowned in their field but didn’t have a business background or an interest in managing a business.”

Stephanie Schuckers, her husband, Michael E. Schuckers, and Bojan Cukic founded NexID in West Virginia. Eventually, Mr. and Mrs. Schuckers relocated to the north country, where Mrs. Schuckers teaches and completes research at Clarkson and her husband teaches at St. Lawrence University. With Mr. Cornett on board, NexID has hired programmers and parttime employees to help grow the business.

“Most of our clients are non-domestic, they are in Europe, but we do have domestic clients as well,” Mr. Cornett said.

“Originally the company was funded

through a Small Business Innovation Research grant but it is now organically funded.”

Mr. Cornett and Mr. Dzwonczyk’s paths have crossed on several occasions and it’s evident in conversation with them both how much their business philosophies are alike.

“For me, I look for opportunities where I can add value that is not there from a leadership and management standpoint,” Mr. Cornett said. “I look at it as any

“

[Innovation] is paramount, absolutely paramount.

If you’re not innovating, you’re falling behind.

— Mark J. Cornett, Business consultant, general manager NexID

investor would look at it. Is it feasible to deploy? Is there a market opportunity?

Does it have an innovation that holds a lot of promise?”

Not only are both businessmen keen to get involved with products that add value and impact, but they both believe that setting oneself apart from the competition — whether through innovation or otherwise — is the only way to make a business sustainable. “[Innovation] is paramount, absolutely paramount,” Mr. Cornett said. “If you’re not innovating, you’re falling behind. It is a competitive marketplace today and people are trying to get into your market.

You have to be innovative in your businesses processes, product development

and distribution of the product.”

Mr. Dzwonczyk puts more emphasis on having the ability to bring a product to market quickly and stand out from others who have similar ideas.

“If you have a product or service and want it to be successful, you have to have the innovation to be different,” he said.

“Not more than 25 percent of a business’s success is based on innovation, it’s about execution, overall marketing and market differentiation.”

Using the example of Facebook, Mr. Dzwonczyk notes that Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook’s founder, might not have had the most original idea in the beginning but he stood out from the rest of his competition by gaining quick traction in the market and putting in hard work.

Quite a few improvements could be made to ensure that future generations of forward-thinking entrepreneurs use the north country business landscape to grow their businesses or test their ideas. Unlike Silicon Valley where, as Mr. Draper puts it, you “walk out the door and run into a retired CEO who might help you out or a venture capitalist looking for an investment,” Northern New York is slowly beginning to make infrastructure changes to foster business innovation. However, there is certainly room for improvement, these businessmen said.

“There are two major things that come to mind,” Mr. Dzwonczyk said. “Transportation in and out of the region. I am always amazed at how much I drive.

There is not enough good, easy access to air travel. Also, the amount of hurdles and levels of local governments. It’s not that I don’t believe in regulation and zoning, but you have to go through so many layers of town and village government, even in the tiniest villages. That seems like a barrier to fast growth.”

Mr. Cornett, who built a personal

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COVER STORY brand by offering management expertise in the north country, said that there is other infrastructure that businesses in Silicon Valley have access to that aren’t always readily available.

“In Silicon Valley, where investment capital flows more readily, there is more legal and accounting and investment banking expertise that help people understand the risk and reward,” he said.

“It is very difficult to raise funding here and that comes from skepticism and the lack of an attitude that says, ‘Hey, we can do this, let’s just try it.’”

Mr. Dzwonczyk echos that, pointing to fundamental differences in the business mentality of the north country versus that in a Silicon Valley, which is not a bad thing, he said.

“There is a different approach to the acceptance of failure in Silicon Valley,” he said. “I know venture capitalists that only invest in CEOs who have already failed, because he can learn from those failures.”

Acceptance of failure is so ingrained in the Silicon Valley culture that in late October a conference called FailCon was held in San Francisco to “for technology entrepreneurs, investors, developers and designers to study their own and others’ failures and prepare for success,”according to its website.

The longevity of jobs in the north country also was surprising for Mr. Dzwonczyk when he first started doing business here.

“When I came here, I was amazed at the people who worked for the same company for 20 or 25 years. In Silicon Valley if you are with a company for four years, people start to ask why and if you are unemployable elsewhere. It’s a different approach, people take lots of different jobs and move around quickly.”

The willingness to spend money on new ideas is another difference that Mr. Dzwonczyk notes. In Silicon Valley,

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he said, individuals who have sourced money will spend it quickly even before the idea has a clear market.

“There are a thousand good ideas in Silicon Valley each week and even though you think you have this brilliant idea, I can guarantee you there are two or three people already working on it,” he said. “Just because you have a good idea doesn’t mean you have a good business.”

In any business, new and innovative, or time-tested and long-standing, there comes a time when an exit plan is necessary. The time seemingly comes more often with innovative startups that quickly come to fruition.

“I can tell you that it’s really hard to know [when to exit the business and move on],” Mr. Dzwonczyk said. “Part of the value of an entrepreneur is the tenacity and loyalty to their idea, and that can be a double-edged sword. The best way I’ve found is to not let yourself make those decisions. Put together a board of directors, who aren’t as emotionally attached to the idea. They will give you the best insight.”

According to Mr. Cornett, sometimes the decision on the best time to exit is made for you.

“As your company grows and matures, and has successes and failures, there is often a time when it becomes bigger than you can personally manage,” he said.

“When I’m working with an entrepreneur I talk to them early on about what their personal goals are and if they match up with the goals of the company they’re starting.

I always say if a company gets established and to a point where the management needs exceed my own expertise, I’ll be politely shown the door. Sometimes the company grows in a way that you yourself can’t manage.” n KYLE R. HAYES is associate magazine editor for NNY Business. Contact him at khayes@ wdt.net or 661-2381.

Coast to coast: California ideas come to NNY n New York the ‘right market’ for Wholeshare

W

hen Peter Woo was looking for a market to test Wholeshare, his San Francisco-based startup company with the concept of group buying local, sustainable foods, he decided to uproot and move to the north country.

That move across the country has helped Mr. Woo and his team at Wholeshare gauge first-hand how his company may fare in markets across the United States.

“There are a lot of practical issues in Upstate New York that we probably wouldn’t have gathered if we sat in our Woo offices in California and just speculated about how people live in other markets,” Mr. Woo said.

Mr. Woo and co-founder Matthew Hatoun, who both attended Brown University, Providence, R.I., began Wholeshare in 2009 as a way for groups of people to have access to high quality, affordable local food.

“Wholesale sellers of food, the ones who sell to grocery stores and restaurants, are happy to deliver to residential areas and consumers directly,” Mr. Wood said.

“However, they have a minimum order

COVER STORY amount, sometimes $300 to $500 dollars, and that’s a lot for individual families.”

So how it works is a user visits www. wholeshare.com and becomes a coordinator. The coordinator starts a Wholeshare group, organizes and runs the group and oversees group deliveries. When another individual decides to get involved, they sign up for free on wholeshare.com and join a group in their area. From there, it’s as easy as shopping on any e-commerce website. Add to the cart any items you want and enter a credit card number, once the deadline approaches and if the minimum order set by the supplier is met, the goods are delivered to members of the group on a set day and at a predetermined drop off point.

Wholeshare also works with local distributors and farmers throughout the state in hopes that they will offer their products to Wholeshare groups.

“We have maybe five large distributors and probably 20 to 25 small farmers that we are working with,” Mr. Wood said. “We have been hiring salespeople and building out our customer support and trying to hit the entire state. We are looking to reach out to people that might be interested in starting and running groups.”

Mr. Woo notes that the selling point, and the ultimate goal, of Wholeshare is to offer users access to foods and products they otherwise would not have access to.

“In the north country, a store in town may stock 300 products that are critical but there are several thousands of other products people can’t get,” he said. “We are working with a few stores that plan to use Wholeshare as a special ordering system.”

Because all of the ordering and checkout processes are done online, there is less overhead for the company, which means there isn’t that cost passed down to the Wholeshare groups. The problem that has arisen with online ordering of goods of-

California startup Wholeshare is market testing Northern New York as a location for future business growth.

WHOLE SHARE.COM

fered by Wholeshare is that, simply, people aren’t quite used to shopping that way.

“The idea of coming together and buying as a group has been around for a long time, but a lot of the people that are doing the ordering online weren’t alive in the 1970s, when that was popular,” Mr. Woo said. “It’s about re-introducing the model to people.”

He also notes that there is a misconception that Wholeshare will try undermining local retailers. However, it’s quite the opposite.

“We are working with local stores in the north country, from Clayton to Adams Center, and it’s complementing what they’re doing in the store and increases their selection without increasing their inventory.”

Mr. Woo formerly worked with Mark J. Dzwonczyk, CEO of Nicholville Telephone and Slic Network Solutions, provider of broadband Internet and triple play services in St. Lawrence County. Mr. Dzwonczyk is a longtime entrepreneur in California’s Silicon Valley and currently conducts business in both the north coun-

try and California.

“Peter worked for me in the garage in Los Altos (Calif.) where I founded Sigpro,” Mr. Dzwonczyk said. Sigpro is a voice over Internet protocol products and services company Mr. Dzwonczyk sold in 2005. “I hired him when he was in college one summer and he stayed on for a couple of years before becoming an entrepreneur.”

Mr. Woo went on to co-found East Transit Technologies, a web and mobile solutions company for tracing and dispatching transportation services, and Panoptic Development, a web applications company for small and mediumsized clients. Mr. Dzwonczyk sits on a board of advisors for Wholeshare.

“Peter has been able to raise money in New York and is a great example of true entrepreneurism,” Mr. Dzwonczyk said. “He is a young and ambitious guy and he wants to build his business in the north country. I think it’s the right market for him.”

— Kyle R. Hayes

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ENTREPRENEURS

Teaching real-world lessons JCC professor transitions from executive to entrepreneur

By TED BOOKER

T

NNY Business

his Watertown entrepreneur is like a chameleon.

Since landing a job as an assistant professor of business at Jefferson Community College in 2005, Brian H. Murray, 43, has taught students practical skills needed to launch small businesses on the one hand and bought some of the most lucrative downtown commercial buildings as a real estate investor on the other.

The range of commercial buildings he has acquired since moving here from Arlington, Va., in 2004 shows that he is busy working when outside the classroom. He owns the former Agricultural Insurance Co. building, Top of the Square Plaza, Palmer Street Apartments, College Heights Apartments and Freedom Plaza in Evans Mills. This summer, he purchased the first floor of the City Center Plaza building on Arsenal Street.

Mr. Murray, who teaches business and entrepreneurship courses at JCC, said his career combination as a professor and investor took him a couple of decades of soul-searching to finally pin down.

Although corporate life sharpened his business acumen, he said, the years he spent as an executive earning a six-figure salary taught him that he wasn’t cut out for the job. Grappling with the demands of 70-hour work weeks and travel assignments stole valuable time from his family and personal hobbies.

“I didn’t think I was willing to make the sacrifices the corporate life wants to extract from someone,” Mr. Murray said. “My son and daughter were young at the time, and I wasn’t happy with my work-life balance. The demands of the job affected both my health and family life — I weighed 30 pounds more than I do now.

When you work so hard for others, at some point you realize you might not be

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NORM JOHNSTON | NNY BUSINESS

Above, entrepreneur Brian H. Murray, an assistant professor of business, teaches a business class at Jefferson Community College. Below, Mr. Murray, right, John E. Einbeck, property superintendent, and Trisha G. Layton, property manager, in front of the former Agriculture Insurance Co. Building on Washington Street that Mr. Murray now owns.

worth the price tag.”

So Mr. Murray, who had worked with Fortune 500 companies for five years as the vice president of client services at a web technology company, Cyveillance, left his job and moved into a log home in the Adirondacks he had built in 2003.

He soon landed his professorship at JCC and moved to Watertown — selling his house in the Adirondacks for a profit.

While teaming up with the business faculty, he launched an entrepreneurship course during his first year and became the business department chairman.

It took him about six months to get the lay of the land in Watertown before he leased the former Agriculture Insurance

building at 215 Washington St., a purchase he closed on in 2007.

He launched a commercial investment firm in 2006, Washington Street Properties LLC, and set up an office in the basement. After buying more property, he hired two employees at the firm: property manager Tricia G. Layton — who is also his girlfriend — and superintendent John E. Einbeck.

Mr. Murray, who earned his MBA from the University of Virginia in 1998, said his business background prepared him to become a trailblazer in Watertown.

“The seeds were already planted in real estate before I got here,” he said. “When I was in Virginia I purchased a town home, made some modifications and flipped it” for a profit.

Mr. Murray’s balancing act of being a professor and investor is a challenge that requires self-discipline every day. He teaches five courses each semester at JCC, balancing that schedule with his lively workload as a commercial investor and landlord of two apartment complexes.

Inside the classroom, Mr. Murray has a knack for teaching students practical knowledge about how to start businesses, said JCC Dean for Business Vicki B. Quigley.

“Brian is truly brilliant but can convey ideas to students and answer questions in a very easy way to understand,” she said.

“He uses examples not only from his own experience but from a variety of reading, and he takes advantage of his immersion in all things entrepreneurial. He’s also moved the business departement into the new century by using the Internet and social networking as a marketing tool.”

In his entrepreneurship class, he talks with students about the qualities needed to be a successful entrepreneur. Not every student is cut out to be an entrepreneur, because success frequently comes only after overcoming setbacks and failures.

“You need to have a high level of determination and be comfortable with a high level of ambiguity,” Mr. Murray said, explaining that solutions to problems can be murky. “You have to have tenacity despite failure. Some people are more comfortable with security, and I (also) consider it a success if students change their minds and don’t go into business.”

By harnessing one’s motivation, he said, anyone can carve a career path.

“I changed directions in my career quite a few times,” he said. “It’s not a straightline path that I took. “ For Mr. Murray, the most gratifying part of entrepreneurship is starting and finishing a project. Last year, he renovated 20 of the 30 apartment units at College Heights and installed new roofs, for example, which increased the property’s value.

“I look to purchase buildings with absentee landlords that need maintenance,” he said.

One of the overlooked charms of being an entrepreneur, he tells his students, is the control one has to balance the professional and personal sides of life. While his busy career requires long hours and selfimposed discipline, he now has control over how he uses his time — something nonexistent in the corporate world of his past. Although, he laughs, students might not share his habit of running marathons to stay fit.

“There are a lot of hours in a day, and running helps me relax,” he said, adding he has run eight marathons with Tricia, his training partner. “I do some of my best thinking when I’m running.” n TED BOOKER is a Johnson Newspapers staff writer. Contact him at 661-2371 or tbooker@wdt.net.

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SMALL BUSINESS

Sposa Bella owner Michele R. Scanlin, right, and her daughter, Erin S. Alguire, at their Canton store.

JASON HUNTER | NNY BUSINESS

Growing a beautiful business

For Sposa Bella, superior service is secret to lasting success

By JOLEENE DESROSIERS MOODY

I

NNY Business

t was 1974 when Michele Scanlin had an inkling something vital was missing inside the bridal shops she visited with an engaged friend, something she felt was just as important as the gown the bride would ultimately wear down the aisle. That something was customer service.

“I was completely appalled by the way we were treated. I encountered rudeness and very little help, if any. After visiting a handful of stores, I ended up sketching the gown for my friend. She fell in love with it, and so I made it for her,” Ms. Scanlin said.

That was the first time she helped a woman find the dress of her dreams, but it wouldn’t be the last. Over the years, others approached Ms. Scanlin to help them find the ideal bridal gown. And just as before, Ms. Scanlin was less than impressed with how they were treated.

“I continued to encounter horrible

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customer service,” she said. “I thought that someday I could have a bridal shop and let the gowns themselves. Instead of forcing something on somebody, I wanted to offer superb customer service. So when I retired from Verizon, that’s just what I did.”

Sposa Bella was born on Main Street in Canton in November 2001. Ms. Scanlin saw the space for sale and took a risk that has since brought her success, stress, joy, a little more stress and fulfillment.

Thanks to a 35-year career at Verizon and a decent pension, much of the money she put into her shop was her own. It did require some funding, but nothing that she said was a hassle. She was even able to take over an existing mortgage, a perk that made easing into sole proprietorship a bit easier. But she learned rather quickly that owning a business is not all sunshine and butterflies.

“If anyone plans on going into business thinking they are immediately going to become wealthy, they need to think again,” said Ms. Scanlin. ”You go into business because you love what you’re

doing. After 12 years I’ve had successes on a personal level that have been very fulfilling, but it’s not necessarily been a monetary success. I’ve had to spend my own money to keep Sposa Bella going.

It has been a dozen years, and we’re just beginning to see some real profit.”

Aside from clothing racks, accessories, maintaining a beautiful presence and tailoring dresses and tuxedos — yes, they take care of the groomsmen, too — the bridal shop spits out a good chunk of cash for inventory. Considered a seasonal business, Sposa Bella needs to keep its stock fresh and up-to-date, a task that can be very costly. Shop manager Erin Alguire is Ms. Scanlin’s daughter. She said running a bridal business has costs that many people might not realize come into play.

“The inventory in our store is not given to us,” Ms. Alguire said. “We have to purchase everything. If we have 70 bridal gowns for trying on, each one of them has been purchased. So you’re already in thousands of dollars right there. So when the rough times come and you think

SMALL BUSINESS about throwing in the hat, you realize you can’t. Not just because of the amount of money invested, but because you fall in love with your brides, too. They make it all worth it.”

The Canton Chamber of Commerce agrees. Without the flare of Sposa Bella, many north country visitors wouldn’t experience the uniqueness that this St. Lawrence County village offers.

“Even though we’re the county seat, the smaller businesses are still the heart of the community,” Chamber Executive Director Sally Hill said. “Sposa Bella is a specialty shop. Because they’re small, they can give customers more attention and even be more creative than a franchise store. It’s a great shop to have in Canton because it brings people in who may not otherwise come here or even venture down Main Street.”

If there is one piece of advice the mother-daughter duo would give entrepreneurs looking to fire up their own business, it’s that advertising doesn’t have to be a costly part of getting recognized. If authentic customer service is part of the package, it makes all the difference in growing a business.

Sposa Bella / fast facts Sposa (n. Italian) — better half, bride, married woman Bella (n. Italian) — baby, beauty, knockout, sweetheart WHERE: 81 Main St., Canton OPENED: 2001 CONTACT: 379-1400, info@sposabella canton.com ONLINE: www.sposabellacanton.com

“Word of mouth is our best advertising. For the most part, we count on our customers to spread the word,” Ms. Alguire said. “I’ve heard it said that when you make one person happy, they tell five people. But if you make one person angry, they tell 10 people. That’s why customer service is so very important.

It’s not just about saying hello and taking people’s money. It’s about the complete experience.” n JOLEENE DESROSIERS MOODY is a freelance writer, author and motivational speaker who lives in Pulaski. Contact her at joleene@ joleenespeaks.com.

November 2012 | NNY Business

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REGION

Robert J. Penski, owner of Penski Inc., outside his business at 50 Market St. in Potsdam.

JASON HUNTER | NNY BUSINESS

Putting job-seekers to work Staffing firms connect the north country with opportunities

By JOLEENE DESROSIERS MOODY

T

NNY Business

he job hunt can be a tedious, yet gratifying, frustrating and fulfilling journey. Sometimes the search for work is in one’s field. Other times, job seekers decide — or are forced — to switch gears and take a completely different path.

Despite the reasons for the hunt, work force firms and staffing agencies are bringing the job search full circle bigger and better than before. Even during an economic downturn, these companies continue to help people and businesses find ways to thrive without enduring major financial challenges.

Robert J. Penski, co-founder and president of Potsdam-based Penski Inc., serves employers across Northern New York, from the tri-lakes area in the Adirondacks to Watertown and many points south. But his clients don’t stop there. The 30-yearold staffing firm also helps companies as far away as Connecticut, Boston, and Ottawa find employees.

So how do businesses with little or no footprint in New York help keep north

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country residents working? Many of them employ local people to help sell their products and services. It’s called telecommuting, and it’s catching on with north country graduates.

“Because of [St. Lawrence County’s] four colleges, we have people with programming skills who are available to work in competitive jobs at competitive rates,” Mr. Penski said. “Our hourly cost for a programmer with space and rent is cheaper here. They are working from here to provide programming support for a computer application based in Boston.”

As for Ottawa, Mr. Penski explained how many Canadian firms hold U.S.based contracts.

“It benefits them to have U.S. content in the final product to be competitive in their bid,” he said.

Manpower Group is a global staffing solutions company that employs and retains workers much the same way. The company touts itself as a leader in work force solutions and, with offices in every state, can match a job seeker with employment without the worker leaving the area.

“Our database is nation-wide,” said

Cherie Moore, senior staffing specialist at Manpower’s Lowville office. “Before technology kicked things up a notch, we could only find local work for job seekers. Now we can see everything available at every office in the U.S. We also have access to all of the candidates in every one of our branches. This enables us to find matches outside the area, if necessary.”

This squelches the thought that work is hard to find when unemployment numbers are up.

Firms like Manpower and Penski do see more faces when the economy suffers, and it often takes more legwork to find suitable employment for job seekers, or even help with a career change during those times. But even during a recession, many companies still remain that need a stable work force.

“Unemployment numbers don’t really affect Manpower as a staffing service.

We partner with clients to develop their business by providing people and services that raise quality, productivity and efficiency,” Ms. Moore said. “We have solutions that help with training and assessment, as well as recruiting, outsourcing

On the Web PENSKI INC: www.penski.com MANPOWER GROUP: www.manpower.com KELLY SERVICES: www.kellyservices.com

and work force consulting.”

But as one would think, when the number of unemployed workers increases, so, too, does the number of job applicants, Mr. Penski said. And while he said times are challenging, he and his team continue to help job seekers and employers.

“It’s definitely a task for us,” he said.

“At the same time, we’ve been fortunate that we’ve been able to maintain our job opportunities for applicants. One employer in one industry may have layoffs and someone somewhere else may be picking up.”

In some cases, however, a career change is necessary.

Changing careers can mean one of two things: a job seeker simply cannot find a position or demand for the skill they know so very well is in short supply.

Through the website www.myfuturehere.com, Mr. Penski co-sponsors a project that communicates job opportunities to high school and college students, Fort Drum family members and other job seekers. The message it delivers is that opportunities for a good future are right here in the north country.

“Finding skilled tradespeople for engineering or manufacturing isn’t always easy,” he said. “But many students in the north country aren’t being exposed to the kinds of jobs that are available in this area.

There may be a student at Canton or Potsdam who may not even know what Air Brake is or be aware of it. But if they did know about it, this could be a trigger to get them to stay here or return after school.”

The Internet is the last piece of the puzzle when it comes to recruiting and retaining workers locally. Twenty years ago, newspapers were the primary tool job seekers used to find work. Now, thanks to social networking, company websites and a host of online job sites, job seekers can use several different channels to find work.

“Technology has allowed us to streamline,” said Ms. Moore. “[Client] registration is online, any necessary government forms are online, and orientation information is online. We also offer online training. It’s a real convenience to our candidates and businesses.” n JOLEENE DESROSIERS MOODY is a freelance writer, author and motivational speaker who lives in Pulaski. Contact her at joleene@ joleenespeaks.com.

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R E A L E S TAT E R O U N D U P

The role of a Multiple Listing Service

M

ore than a century ago, real estate brokers created the concept of a Multiple Listing Service to share listings with other brokers and help seller clients find property buyers. It was felt then, and still is today, that as each property is unique, a centralized system was more efficient and effective to find buyers.

The purpose of the service is to allow brokers to share information on properties they have listed and invite other brokers to cooperate in the sale in exchange for compensation if they produce a buyer.

Outside the MLS, there is no legal requirement for a broker to compensate another broker, however, they must cooperate. In New York, only brokers can receive compensation directly in a transaction. Agents are compensated by the broker who holds their license.

The service is a unique construct in that competitors willingly share their listings and allow their competitors to cooperate to bring about a successful transaction.

This benefits sellers and buyers. Instead of one company and a handful of agents working to sell a property, many companies and agents are involved. Similarly, buyers can pick one agent who can show them everything for sale as opposed to having to go from agency to agency.

A Multiple Listing Service is a private database created, maintained and paid for by real estate professionals. Some of its data is accessible only to members.

In addition to details about a property, a MLS listing may include other information such as exact location, available times for showings, the amount of compensation offered to the agent with a successful

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buyer and owner information that, if widely known, could compromise a seller’s safety and privacy.

Our area is home to two of roughly 900 Multiple Listing Services that Lance Evans operate in the country. Listings from the Jefferson-Lewis Board of Realtors are found on www.nnymls.com. The St. Lawrence County Board of Realtors posts listings to www.slcmls.com. Both of these sites operate a public side where limited information on the listings can be found. There also is a member side that includes in-depth information and tools that a Realtor uses to market the property, determine a fair value, run client and customer searches and communicate certain information with other members. The service is governed by a set of rules that help regulate its content.

In its 2011 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, the National Association of Realtors noted that 59 percent of buyers who used the Internet as part of their search used an MLS website. In fact, the response “MLS website” was the No. 1 answer. This held true across all age groups whether the person was a first-time or repeat buyer.

The MLS is an important tool to sell a property. Any Realtor member of the MLS can show and sell any property on the site. This means that the seller will have many “eyes” on their property and buyers can preview properties to find ones that

meet their needs. n

n

n

From Sept. 30 to Oct. 3, the New York State Association of Realtors held its fall business conference at Turning Stone Resort in Verona. A number of Realtors from the area joined about 450 members from across the state.

Several north country Realtors had leadership roles at the conference. Jennifer Stevenson, Blue Heron Realty, Ogdensburg, chaired the Fair Housing and Cultural Diversity Committee and an all-association forum. She was elected the 2013 vice president of the New York State Housing Foundation.

Karen Peebles, Peebles Realty, Adams, was vice chairwoman for the Housing Opportunities Committee and will serve as 2013 chair.

Lisa L’Huillier, Hefferon Real Estate, Watertown, was elected 2013 secretary of the New York State Women’s Council of Realtors.

Others attendees included Gail and Walt Christensen, Christensen RealtyUSA, Jennifer Dindl-Neff, Humes Realty and Appraisal Service, Lin Fields, Professional Institute for Real Estate Training, Elizabeth Miller, Century 21 Gentry Realty, Gwyn Monnat, Hunt Real Estate ERA, Nancy Rome, Rome RSA Realty Enterprises, Korleen Spilman, Century 21 Millennium Realty, and Vicki Staie, Staie on the Seaway Real Estate Services. n LANCE M. EVANS is the executive officer of the Jefferson-Lewis Board of Realtors and the St. Lawrence County Board of Realtors. He has lived in the north country since 1985. Contact him at levans@nnymls.com. His column appears monthly in NNY Business.

R E A L E S TAT E

Q3 home sales up in Jefferson, Lewis St. Lawrence County sees drop over 2011 totals

By TED BOOKER

T

NNY Business

hird quarter residential home sales sizzled in Jefferson and Lewis counties, boosting purchases 12 percent over last year.

In St. Lawrence County, however, single-family home sales through three quarters dropped compared with last year, according to the St. Lawrence County Board of Realtors. From January through September, 428 homes were sold, a 6 percent drop from last year’s 454.

This year’s median price through three quarters was $82,500, up from last year’s $75,000.From July through September, 388 single-family houses were sold in the two counties through members of the Jefferson-Lewis Board of Realtors, up from last year’s 371 during the same period.

A total of 911 residential home sales for the region were chalked up from January through September, a 12 percent increase

from last year’s 803 sales.

The median home price was $135,500 through the third quarter, up from last year’s $132,800. Of the 911 homes sold year-to-date, 205 were in the $100,000 to $180,000 range.

“That seems to be where the homes are going fast,” said Lance M. Evans, executive officer for the Jefferson-Lewis Board of Realtors and the St. Lawrence County Board of Realtors.

Mr. Evans said low interest rates and the availability of houses have made this year a particularly ripe time for military families at Fort Drum to purchase homes. The return of the post’s 3rd Brigade Combat Team this summer also buoyed the market. Among the 911 residential homes purchased, 292 of the buyers were military families who garnered Department of Veterans Affairs loans.

“A lot of this is because of the 3rd Brigade,” Mr. Evans said. “More soldiers are here and there are shorter deployments in place. I can leave my family here this fall

and come back in seven to eight months.

Spouses want to keep their kids in the same school as much as possible.”

Moreover, Mr. Evans said, purchasing houses can be a more affordable alternative for families than renting apartments if they plan to stay in the region for several years.

“If you’re going to be here for any length of time, it might be less expensive to buy than to rent,” he said.

Multifamily homes with space for two to four families also are being scooped up more this year. Among the 207 properties sold from January through September that weren’t single-family homes, 56 were multifamily houses.

“If I can buy a multi-family home and charge $500 rent, I can pay $6,000 more on my mortgage during the year than a neighbor who buys a single-family home for the same price,” Mr. Evans said. n TED BOOKER is a Johnson Newspapers staff writer. Contact him at 661-2371 or tbooker@wdt.net.

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20 QUESTIONS

JASON HUNTER | NNY BUSINESS

Growing entrepreneurs

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larkson University is on the cutting edge of a lot of things these days. Once known primarily as an engineering school, in recent years, officials have sought to leverage technical strengths to create opportunities in business, innovation and entrepreneurship. We sat down with the director of Clarkson’s Reh Center for Entrepreneurship to learn how it has become an influential and relevant force in north country business.

1

NNYB: What’s unique about the way what you do at the Reh Center helps both students and realworld entrepreneurs?

COMPEAU: I came here in 1999, when there was something called the Shipley Center for Leadership and Entrepreneurship. That was much more a research center designed to support faculty research in most areas. In 2004, I recognized that much of the stuff we were teaching students would really benefit some of the regional entrepreneurs that I had grown to know. So I proposed to our local economic development office the idea of a series where Clarkson faculty would share practical knowledge with entrepreneurs and I asked the village then if they would consider an incentive for them. They said if they can go through that course, the village would give them a better rate on economic development funding. We offered the first My Small Business 101 course in 2004.

2

NNYB: How was the Reh Center for Entrepreneurship born?

COMPEAU: In 2008, I had one of those nighttime epiphanies where I got up and wrote for a couple hours in the night and the idea that came from it was to enhance our impact on the regional economy and build a center on that. We put together a plan to build an entrepreneurship center here but it really centered on enhancing the regional economy and leveraging that laboratory to

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n At Clarkson’s Reh Center, Director Marc Compeau develops problem solvers

enhance our student learning. My dean loved the idea and gave me the chance to present it to his advisory council that week and his advisory council was excited but skeptical. They said ‘go for it, come back in six months and tell us what you did.’

I went back six months later to their next meeting in Florida and shared what we accomplished and they were impressed and one of the members gave us significant funding to continue the project.

3

NNYB: So you developed a successful entrepreneurship center in the midst of a national recession?

COMPEAU:I knew we were in the recession, but honest to God I was oblivious to it. I never really thought that because the economy was tough we would have to change our approach and think differently about it. The economy is always tough for these Main Street entrepreneurs that we deal with. The mom and pop businesses we deal with, if they have employees that are a big firm for us. We are dealing with hair dressers and pizza shops and auto mechanics; that’s our world. The idea was if we give them a series of courses and let them go, we’ve helped them but we can do so much more after they complete the course. Given our limited resources, we have to dig deep into students and support those students and leverage Clarkson’s resources to implement some issues.

We go through a full course, give them structured solutions to problems that would require our students to work with them and off they go.

4

NNYB: Has the outcome been successful for those who have completed the course?

COMPEAU: We have worked with more than 400 entrepreneurs and we did an extensive survey and found that their revenue had grown

and their profits had grown even more after we worked with them. They were a stronger business and their confidence was through the roof.

The most important metric was survival rate. The national survival rate for small businesses is 45 percent. Five years ago, our My Small Business graduates had an 85 percent survival rating in St. Lawrence County, in a brutal economy. That statistic has gotten us a lot of attention.

5

NNYB: Getting students excited about small businesses, is that challenging?

COMPEAU: We have a group of students who are out on the West Coast meeting with venture capitalists and I’m going with them to Colorado because they are finalists in a business plan competition. It’s for an app they developed. Those four guys would have zero interest in working with a beauty shop. That’s OK, we have to balance that. That’s why the Shipley Center is great for that innovative, technical approach to developing that concept.

6

NNYB: Is entrepreneurship a constant evolution or a fixed model?

COMPEAU: It’s always changing because consumers are always changing. Right now, I want to enjoy the purchase experience. I want to be forced to take a deep breath. A wildly successful CEO and alumni of the university was on campus and the question was asked, ‘with technology, has it allowed you to relax a bit?’ He said that technology has ramped everything up. Before technology, you used to take a day off to go play golf. Now everything is instant, instant, instant. You used to call, leave a voicemail and I’d get back to you the next day. Now you can’t. It’s just so fast.

20 QUESTIONS

7

NNYB: You run the center for entrepreneurship, but there is also the Shipley Center for Innovation, how are the two different?

COMPEAU: We were just ranked 15th in the nation for our entrepreneurship program and I believe that a big reason for our national ranking is that we separated innovation and entrepreneurship. At national conferences where I pitch this and separate them, you can see a lot of reaction. Syracuse University has been here to find the value of separating innovation and entrepreneurship. I think it works well because our engineering students and faculty get innovation. They can take the stuff they’re experimenting on and think about the commercial application. Entrepreneurship, they think ‘I’m not sure I want to run a company.’

That’s what the engineers think about. The Shipley Center brings in these cool ideas and turns them into something commercializable and then we have to build a business around an innovator.

You can see that now, that’s where the Reh Center comes into play. When you have a cool widget we look at the business model and how to build a company around that widget.

8

NNYB: Do you think customers are starting to burn out from the constant interaction with technology and brand exposure?

COMPEAU: Absolutely. I think Generation Y kids are going to want to take a leisurely walk down Main Street on a Saturday morning. They aren’t going to run to Wal-Mart and get everything they need then go home and deal with the next challenge. Give me the opportunity to slow down and I don’t know why I will enjoy it so much, but I really like Main Street. I like knowing the person that made that coffee for me and the clerk at the hardware store with the apron who has been there for 10 years. I will enjoy it but I don’t know why.

9

NNYB: That being said, are we on the cusp of a small business renaissance?

COMPEAU: I hope so. Everything that I watch and read says Gen Y, people like my 18-year-old son, what they want most in a purchase is a relationship. This is their world and they’re wishing they had someone to talk to them because when they have it, it’s a positive experience. Business owners must recognize that Gen Y is the biggest market to hit the U.S. at one time. They want oneon-one relationships.

10

NNYB: The business environment is much different today than it ever has been in the past. What does that mean for businesses trying to maintain a brand image?

COMPEAU: Businesses have lost control of their own brand because the consumer has such an opportunity to control the brand of the business [online and through social media]. Your responsibility now is to provide great customer service, and it’s more important than it ever was. The consumer has more access to your customer base than you do.

11

NNYB: How do you teach those mom and pop stores that you work with to manage that?

COMPEAU: I’ve got eight hours in a course and I spend two hours on the relationship with the customers. We beat it into them. We start with employee stuff and then culture and the consumer and see the connection between the employee you

JASON HUNTER | NNY BUSINESS

Director Marc S. Compeau in his office at Clarkson University’s Reh Center for Entrepreneurship. have and the consumer. If you are going to bring an employee in, you have to understand the importance they have on your reputation. The customer has an expectation of what you’re going to deliver.

The difference between the expectation they have and what you deliver is the satisfaction level. The only way you can deliver on an expectation is to understand what it is. The expectations of Gen Y are even higher, and it has to be quicker.

12

NNYB: What is your small business background?

COMPEAU: I started before I graduated from SUNY Potsdam. In 1989, I started my first business and spent 10 years building small firms and purchasing property. In my first 10 years, I started and sold four businesses and still maintain significant property downtown. I had a college clothing store called College Corner that sold all the universities’ apparel. Then Video-rama back when that was really hot. Then we opened Supersuds, a technical, computer driven laundromat, and we had a few patents along the way on innovations that we sold. Now I teach entrepreneurs because I was in their shoes. That gives me credibility.

13

NNYB: Which comes first, innovation or entrepreneurship?

The Marc S. Compeau file JOB: Director, Clarkson University’s Reh Center for Entrepreneurship AGE: 45 FAMILY: Wife, Christine, three children, Cody, 18, Allie, 15, Sophie, 9.

HOMETOWN: Binghamton EDUCATION: Bachelor’s degree in industrial labor relations, SUNY Potsdam; Master’s degree in management systems from Clarkson University, Potsdam; pursuing a doctorate at Carleton University, Ottawa.

PROFESSIONAL: Entrepreneur, small business owner, university instructor, columnist, Forbes.com. about enhancing student learning and using our ability to strengthen the regional economy and give students those experiential opportunities.

15

NNYB: What’s an example of that experiential opportunity you provide to so many students?

NNYB: What is the breakdown of the work you do with students versus outside entrepreneurs?

COMPEAU: The Reh Center is looking for opportunities to fund itself. How could we support the resource requirements of the center without being entrepreneurial? The idea for Entrepreneur Coffee came originally as a coffee club and evolved into starting our own brand of coffee. I said ‘let’s do it all local and all the profits we make supports the center, so we can support more entrepreneurs.’

We called Tim Gardner from St. Lawrence Valley Roasters and all the packaging and design was done locally. It is the only brand of coffee you can buy on this campus except for at one location.

Now we are looking at getting off campus. The profits are used to support our classes and all of those entrepreneurs. It’s all run by students; it’s all managed by students.

COMPEAU: The Reh Center is probably 70 percent student and 30 percent entrepreneur. It’s all

NNYB: Mobility is becoming a big deal in small business, with the development of Square

COMPEAU: I believe innovation leads to entrepreneurship. The complexity now that we’re wrestling with is, are they one and the same? Is there reason to consider collectively putting these two efforts together? The problem is that we’ve become a center that supports mom and pop Main Street entrepreneurs. That’s a very separate world. Innovation is not part of their world. If we merge, you serve the campus population, but how does that other audience we’ve become pretty good at appealing to, fit that model?

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20 QUESTIONS

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and mobile devices and payments. What role does that play in the future of small business?

COMPEAU: It depends on your target audience.

If you’re dealing with a Gen Y market, the world that is my world right now, you better figure out how to provide access to that. I just did a Forbes column on Wight & Patterson, a feed store over in Canton, the oldest store in Canton. It’s the first place I ever used Square. A young high school kid who worked there after school was into it.

They never accepted debit or credit cards and they said they’d heard about this Square and asked to try it out. The owner said ‘yes, go ahead.’ When I was there, she kind of stumbled around it and tried to make it work but ended up

she emailed me my receipt. Right there, all right at Wight & Patterson. You have to figure out how your customer is shopping and adapt to that or they’ll go elsewhere.

17

NNYB: Do you have an opinion on the government’s role in business?

COMPEAU: I think a big problem is the definition of small business. I think you see state and federal government talking about the work they do to support small business. But what they are talking about is much bigger than the ones we’re working with. The Alcoa plant is a small business according to the government, but so is the pizza shop.

Where I see the real support for our audience is at the local level, village primarily, sometimes

county. There are some great programs within the villages. That’s where we look for seed capital.

Many of the mom and pops are over regulated and some of that is from state and federal regulation. An entrepreneur came into the office the other day. He has a huge opportunity to employ people here but he wasn’t sure if he could because of the impact of workmen’s compensation and the ability to be profitable. That’s a problem.

18

NNYB: In our area, the amount of people starting businesses and working for themselves is growing, which is bucking a national trend. Why is that?

COMPEAU: Jefferson and St. Lawrence counties are vastly different. Jefferson County terrifies me. I think I am worried how much that economy is dependent on Fort Drum. I see small business growth taking advantage of the market but I’m nervous about the stability long term. If the market changes a bit, we are dependent on the spouses of those deployed and that market is very complex market. St. Lawrence County is gritty. We know we are going to have to work hard. We are seemingly always in a recession here. The 85 percent surviving that we’ve worked with will fight their way through it. It’s what they do. There are no really good times here.

19

NNYB: Has technology muddied the waters when it comes to defining entrepreneurship?

COMPEAU: Oh, yeah. I see that in our freshmen. They chase a problem and they all think the problem has to be solved with technology. That’s OK, let them flush it out. Yesterday, we lost one because they finally realized their technical solution wasn’t viable and they pitched it and they’re looking into opening a brand name clothes business, like a TJMAXX, on campus. It’s old school. They were going to build an app that shows queuing problems, where the lines are on campus. They couldn’t find a revenue stream. They may realize the solution doesn’t work or it is too complex to solve. So let’s scale that down. I’m not sure where the result will end, but it’s fun to watch.

20

NNYB: How is it possible to teach someone to be an entrepreneur?

COMPEAU: I teach all of our first year students the process of entrepreneurship. There are 2,000 schools that all teach entrepreneurship differently. We start with opportunity recognition and we teach students to identify a problem. We turn that problem into a solution that you can leverage for economic gain and add value for the consumer.

Once they identify an opportunity we spend time on feasibility. Then we build a business model around that format. Looking at the key issues we wrestle with as entrepreneurs, whether the model makes sense, we start with consumer segments. A lot of times the segment they think they’re identifying with is the right customer, but it’s the wrong one. That’s often the case. Value proposition, how we deliver it, then we go to the management side and what are the things we have to manage to draw costs down. The last step is the details of the model, the business plan. You get funded and off you go.

— Interview by Ken Eysaman. Edited for length and clarity.

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E C O N O M I C A L LY S P E A K I N G

Progress is reality in Drum Country

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t’s no accident that Drum Country Business targets food processors, renewable energy firms, back-office operations and general manufacturers.

These industries use resources that are readily available in Jefferson, Lewis and St. Lawrence counties, including a growing work force around Fort Drum. It also should come as no surprise that there has been significant progress in these industries across the threecounty region in the past 12 months.

As demand for locally produced foods continues to grow, so, too, does the need for processing facilities. Upstate Niagara Cooperative Inc., owned by dairy farmers throughout Western New York, needed to expand its operations. The company produces food and beverages under the brands Upstate Farms, Bison and Intense.

In May 2011, Upstate Niagara bought the former North Lawrence Dairy, St. Lawrence County, and after a multi-million dollar investment re-opened the facility in October 2011 under North Country Dairy.

The facility produces yogurt. On its website, the company notes, “[North Country Dairy] allows Upstate Niagara Cooperative Inc. to capitalize on new opportunities within the rapidly growing yogurt category, at a manufacturing location close to its milk supply.”

Examples of growth in food processors also can be seen with the recent funding of two projects by the North Country Regional Economic Development Council. One is for a new fill line to increase production at Kraft Food’s cream cheese plant in Lowville. The other is to help North Country Pastured, St. Lawrence County, operate a U.S. Department of Agriculture-certified mobile poultry slaughterhouse in the north country. Brandt’s Slaughterhouse in Croghan also is expanding with certification pending from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and will be one of

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only a handful of certified slaughterhouses in the tri-county region.

Our natural resources have played a significant role in the growth of renewable energy businesses across the region. Last spring, ReEnMichelle Capone ergy purchased the idled Black River co-generation plant on Fort Drum. The plant, which had primarily burned coal to create electricity, will be converted to utilize sustainably harvested local biomass to produce electricity. The nearly $34 million retrofit project will support approximately 178 construction jobs, create 33 full-time jobs at the plant and support 25 to 30 crews (145 forestry-related jobs) supplying wood fuel to the plant. A priority project of the North Country Regional Economic Development Council, it received the largest award from New York State in 2011.

For more than 50 years, Seaway Timber Harvesting and Curran Renewable Energy have been staples in St. Lawrence County.

Patrick, Timothy and Lee Curran own Seaway Timber Harvesting and Curran Renewable Energy.

Seaway Timber Harvesting produces more than 300,000 tons of wood chips annually, while Curran Renewable Energy utilizes the resources of its Seaway Timber Harvesting firm to produce more than 100,000 tons of high-quality wood pellets.

As Curran Renewable Energy notes on its website, “The proximity of the feedstock to the wood pellet processing factory and the

quantity and quality of feedstock available through collaboration with Seaway Timber Harvesting are considered significant economic advantages enabling Curran Renewable Energy to produce high-quality wood pellets delivered to market in a timely manner at a competitive price.”

Again, it is high-quality natural resources and proximity to markets that make the region attractive to renewable energy firms.

Today, Seaway Timber Harvesting and Curran Renewable Energy employ more than 100 people in Massena.

As the region continues to see progress associated with its abundant natural resources, it also is seeing growth associated with its work force and the availability of high-speed telecommunications infrastructure.

Thus, back office and call center operations are another target industry for the region. One such example of growth is Stream Global Services, Watertown. The firm recently announced the addition of 200 jobs that will bring its total number of employees to about 500. Since 2003, Stream Watertown has offered technical, customer care and sales support services to its clients.

Progress is occurring in the north country and businesses are growing. The above are only a few examples of the food processing, renewable energy firms and back office operations that the Drum Country Business regional marketing initiative is touting.

General manufacturing firms like North American Tapes, Ansen Corporation and Current Applications continue to grow and, together, show significant progress in Drum Country. n MICHELLE L. CAPONE is regional development director for the Development Authority of the North Country. Contact her at mcapone@ danc.org.

B U S I N E S S L AW

Are you infringing on a trademark?

S

o your business is expanding and you are selling goods or services beyond Jefferson County or even New York State.

Suddenly you receive a letter from a large New York City law firm stating that the name or symbol associated with your goods or services infringes with another business’s trademark. Once your business expands and sells goods or services beyond Jefferson County, the more likely you are to run the risk of infringing on someone’s trademark.

A trademark is a distinctive phrase, mark, design or symbol that a company attaches to a product. The goal of a trademark is to identify the particular product brand in the marketplace and establish its origins. Trademarks have been a part of business for a couple of hundred years. In common law, few, if any, customers could read so businesses at the time identified themselves by attaching a symbol to the business property.

Historically, intellectual property protection has been important to our system of government. The framers of the Constitution recognized the importance of intellectual property and gave Congress the right to regulate it pursuant to Article I, Section 8, of the Constitution.

Trademark is a term used to identify a company’s product such as HP computers, Nike shoes or Apple iPhones. A service mark, on the other hand, is a distinctive phrase, mark or symbol that identifies a service such as Burger King (fast-food), Roto-Rooter (sewer drain services), or Kinko’s (copy centers). A “mark” refers

to either a trade or service mark.

The thrust of intellectual property law is to protect the first user of a distinctive name or symbol on products or services and to give them excluLarry Covell sive use over all others.

Most companies are extremely protective of their mark and actively search for anyone who might infringe on their

used the term “Sambuck’s Coffeehouse.”

Trademarks or service marks are considered strong or weak. If a mark is strong, a business can use its distinctiveness to identify a product or service. A strong mark is easier to protect in court.

A weak mark, on the other hand, is more difficult to protect in court. A business may find that its weak mark is used to identify similar but different products or services of another company.

Strong marks are created in a couple of ways. Fanciful or distinctive words create the strongest marks. Under this procedure, words or symbols are taken out of context of a particular product or service since the words are made up or invented.

This includes such words as “Xerox,” “Exxon,” or “Verizon.” Another method to create a mark is to use ordinary or common words in an arbitrary or fictitious manner. Examples of this method include “Dutch Boy” paint or Miller “Lite” beer.

Visit the Unites States Patent and Trademark Office website, www.uspto. gov, and search its database to determine if a name or symbol that you use is already registered. Click on “trademarks,” then on “trademark search.” This is a preliminary search step and should not be considered a definitive trademark search. This task should be conducted by a professional who has expertise in trademark search patterns.

Most companies are extremely protective of their mark and actively search for anyone who might infringe on their protected property. protected property. A company does this for two main reasons. First, it wants to prevent other businesses from getting a “free-ride” off its creativity in the naming of products and services. Second, a company wants to prevent its customers from being confused with names that are misleading or similar to its name.

Once a mark loses its distinctiveness and becomes generic, it has no protection. For example such terms as aspirin, thermos, raisin bran or cornflakes have lost their protection since they are so commonly used. Even a similar mark can be challenged as diluted. For example, in 2005 Starbucks successfully sued a business that

n LARRY COVELL is a professor of business at SUNY Jefferson and an attorney. Contact him at lcovell@sunyjefferson.edu. His column appears every other month in NNY Business.

November 2012 | NNY Business

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COMMERCE CORNER

Board member role a crucial one

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have had the honor to serve as a board member for numerous north country organizations through the years. While most non-elected board service is not paid, it requires dedication, commitment and belief in the mission and philosophy of an organization. It’s a form of volunteering and being a part of something you believe in.

So what makes an individual a valuable board member? Some general expectations of what is required on most boards includes attending board meetings and special events to the best of one’s ability, being a personal advocate for the organization, reviewing and responding to correspondence directed to board members and serving on assigned committees.

People are often eager to say yes when asked to serve on a board of directors as it demonstrates community support and involvement.

But many folks who are new to board service fail to ask some crucial questions as they consider a commitment to become an integral part of an organization. It’s imperative to know the length of service to ensure the time commitment is something that fits your schedule. It can be detrimental to accept an offer of board service of director’s offer and within a year, you realize you cannot commit and need to resign.

Some key points to research so you have a basic understanding before accepting a request for service include: n The organization’s mission and vision. n Services provided by the organization as well as the basic policies and procedures. At minimum, know where

this information can be easily accessed. n There is a fiduciary responsibility of all board members. It never hurts to ask if there is officer and director liability insurLynn Pietroski ance should the organization stumble upon unforeseen circumstances. n Are there policies in place that allow for full disclosure such as code of ethics,

an ability to listen and not always react, a willingness to learn new things, and most importantly, to work well with others.

In my experience, when learning the roles and responsibilities of a board of directors, the book “Robert’s Rules of Order” is recommended. The history behind “Robert’s Rules of Order” is fascinating in itself. The first edition of this resource dates to February 1876 when Henry Martyn Robert, an Army engineering officer, was asked to preside over a public meeting within his church community with no experience or knowledge of how to do so.

After Robert refers to as chaos following his first meeting he chose to be part of the solution not the problem. “Robert’s Rules of Order” was most recently updated in 2011 and is an excellent resource and the most used parliamentary procedure manual to manage effective board meetings.

A strong board might not always agree, but it should always look at the ‘big picture,’ and operate in the best interest of the organization.

Board service is a selfless way to give to a community without expecting anything in return.

Don’t be afraid to ask questions, challenge the CEO with regard to their roles and responsibilities and to hold other board members accountable for what they are or aren’t doing. But above all else and most importantly, make decisions based on honesty and integrity.

Board service is a selfless way to give to a community without expecting anything in return. It demonstrates community support and involvement.

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NNY Business | November 2012

conflict of interest, confidentiality or gift acceptance policies? n Does the organization have a strategic plan and is it used as a guideline and measurement of growth? n Request a copy of the bylaws, take time to review them and ensure they are reviewed periodically. n Are there financial contributions that are required or expected of all board members?

Several personal characteristics also are important to consider when seeking potential board members or sitting on a board with other community members that cannot often be quantitatively measured. They include loyalty, honesty,

n LYNN PIETROSKI is president and CEO of the Greater Watertown North Country Chamber of Commerce. Contact her at ceo@watertownny. com. Her column appears monthly.

AGRI-BUSINESS

Ag districts key to farm viability

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ecause farming is heavily land dependent, agriculture is easily susceptible to restrictive land use regulations. Average farms in Jefferson County operate on approximately 200 acres with many farming more than 1,000 acres. Fees, taxes, zoning restrictions, junk laws and other land-use regulations can impact a farm to the point where it could struggle to stay in business financially or lose its ability to farm its land.

In 1971, Article 25AA of New York’s Agriculture and Markets Law, known as the Agricultural Districts Law, was enacted.

It became the centerpiece of state and county efforts to preserve, protect and encourage development and improvement of agricultural land. Language that calls for the creation of certified agricultural districts is a key piece of the law. Agricultural districts help local municipalities put tools in place that allow farmland to remain available for agricultural production. Across the state, approximately 23,360 farms on 8.6 million acres – 30 percent of New York’s total land mass – are enrolled in certified agricultural districts.

In Jefferson County nearly 200,000 acres are in certified agricultural districts.

The program starts at the local level.

A County Agriculture and Farmland Protection Board reaches out to the farm community and helps farmers enroll their property. The board reviews enrollment applications and ensures that the land has high potential for agricultural use. The land must be able to support commercial agricultural production. Once the board reviews applications, it submits them to the

county Board of Legislators, which reviews the plan. After a public hearing, it adopts a proposal to establish or continue, with or without modification, an agricultural district.

Jay Matteson Farms that successfully enroll in a certified agriculture district may receive several benefits: n State agencies are mandated, as a matter of policy, to encourage maintenance of viable farming in agricultural districts. n Limited exercise of eminent domain and other public acquisitions n Limits solid waste facilities on farmland n Limits government powers to impose benefit assessments, special ad-valorem levies or other rates or fees in certain improvement districts or benefit areas n Limits local governments in their powers to enact and administer comprehensive plans and local laws, ordinances, rules or regulations that unreasonably restrict or regulate farm operations. n Farms may apply for agricultural assessments that consider the agricultural capability of the soils on the farm versus the potential development value. This may help reduce their property taxes.

In Jefferson County, there are three agricultural districts. District No. 1 covers the southeast corner of Jefferson County from the Black River south to the county borders and from U.S. Route 11 east. District No. 2

covers all of Jefferson County north of the Black River. District No. 3 is the southwest corner of the county from the Black River south and to U.S. Route 11 west.

Each district is reviewed every eight years.

Land may be added or subtracted from the district during the eight-year review. Each June, the Jefferson County Board of Legislators allows for addition of new lands to existing districts. More information about agricultural districts is available at www. co.jefferson.ny.us. The Jefferson County Department of Planning administers the ag district program. Information also is available at the state Department of Agriculture and Markets website at www.agriculture. ny.gov/AP/agservices/agdistricts.

Without the certified agricultural districts program in Jefferson County, many farms would have faced very restrictive junk laws that would limit the size of opening in their barn walls, or limited the ability of the farm to have ponds to allow livestock to drink, as a few real examples.

Farms would have faced fees for waterlines that ran across their property that would have caused financial hardship.

Recently, a farm was able to move forward with plans to erect a private windmill to generate electricity for farm purposes.

It is critical to protect our farms and farmland for the future. Agriculture helps grow our economy in Jefferson County.

Once farmland becomes pavement, it is very difficult to bring it back.

n JAY M. MATTESON is agricultural coordinator for the Jefferson County Agricultural Development Corp. He is a lifelong Northern New York resident who lives in Lorraine. Contact him at coordinator@comefarmwithus.com. His column appears monthly in NNY Business.

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BUSINESS TECH BYTES

Hone your customer ‘experience’

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ith Halloween a recent memory, have you positioned your business to deliver the best possible customer experience for the 2012 holiday buying season? Your customer’s experience, all year long — and especially during the busy holiday buying season — is impacted more than ever by mobile computing and social media.

No longer do sales and service constituent the total customer experience. Now you must sell your brand on all channels.

It’s becoming increasingly difficult to maintain and differentiate customer experience from similar businesses as mobile and Web-enabled devices provide more points of access. This has upped the ante for businesses to deliver immediate and intuitive processes, while trying to grow loyal, engaged customers who have an emotional attachment to your business.

This emotional attachment and the value it brings to your company is a key customer experience measurement. Time and resources should be allocated and nurtured until you have cultivated highvalue customers who not only patronize your business, but also recommend your firm and its products to others.

According to a consumer experience study by the Hackensack, N.J.-based Strativity Group, “companies should consider recommendations as their preferred channel of customer acquisition and do everything in their power to invest in this. With the dominance of social media today, the voice of a friend carries greater weight than the voice of a formal corporate website.”

Your business needs a mobile strategy and it is time to develop a mobile reputation. How are you interacting with your

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mobile customers? Is it with the same pride as your face-toface customers?

The Stativity Group’s study also found that “pride in the job is the leading indicator of superior customer Jill Van Hoesen experience. A bad customer experience can get double the traction as a good one, but a single negative website comment, Facebook post or tweet is not usually enough to influence most of your customer’s opinion. This can be true provided your mobile strategy is a customercentric process, encompassing these four key customer experience drivers the Stativity Group recommends: n Deliver great value. n Maintain a fair payment system. n Strive for easy, one-time problem resolution. n Ease of interaction over all channels.

Though providing positive customer experiences is essential to success, to be profitable, your customer experience strategy should match not only your market but your overall business strategy.

Second quarter 2012 Nielson numbers, as reported in Wireless Week’s August edition, state that two out of three Americans who acquired a new mobile phone chose a smartphone over a feature phone.

This brings smartphone penetration to 54.9 percent of all U.S. mobile subscribers.

Do you have application development in your business’s mobile strategy? Your

customers want the experience. The Neilson report confirms that Android smartphones still dominate the cellular market at 51.8 percent, which means you should be developing a Google-based mobile application. The Apple iPhone holds a little over a third of the market at 34.3 percent, which surely warrants becoming an Apple developer, so your mobile application can be available through the Apple mobile channels, like iTunes and the App Store.

No matter what you do you will have churn across all channels, but by providing a positive experience, your loyal customers will see the value in your business and will pay premium pricing for the perceived value they feel they are getting.

The Stativity Group also found that consumers ranked the following behaviors as critical to a customer experience success: n Employees have the knowledge and power to solve problems. n Employees do their jobs with pride. n Employees use common sense and discretion when providing service. n Employees deliver service with passion.

Customers notice and will choose your business based on their experience and not just price alone. If you are looking to set your business apart from the pack and maximize the value of your existing customers then concentrating on customer experience will prove a profitable choice as you move further into the everchanging, highly competitive mobile marketplace. n JILL VAN HOESEN is chief information officer for Johnson Newspapers and a 25-year IT veteran. Contact her at jvanhoesen@wdt.net.

Her column appears monthly in NNY Business.

SMALL BUSINESS SUCCESS

Sweat the small stuff that matters

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n 1996, Richard Carlson wrote a little self-help book titled “Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff … and It’s All Small Stuff.” While the message may be fine for your emotional life — hey, I’m a great believer in staying cool about the little things — I’m not so sure it’s appropriate when applied to managing a small business, especially in areas like compliance, cash flow and customer service.

For example, a 2010 article from Inc. com strongly recommended that the small business owner “sweat the small stuff” and pay close attention to compliance with government regulations. While this article dealt mainly with policies related to human resources, you also want to ensure that you’re crossing your t’s and dotting your i’s when it comes to income and sales tax accounting.

Whether it’s the IRS, the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance or the Department of Labor, it’s imperative that you know your responsibilities, your deadlines and the process to follow in order to meet legal requirements, because the government guys don’t just get grumpy, they will slap you with penalties and interest. A case in point is the quarterly sales tax return. I have one client who files late almost every quarter, and each time he has to add on a $50 penalty that he could avoid just by setting up some sort of reminder system.

Cash flow management is another area where the small business owner must keep an eye out. It’s not enough to stick all your receipts in a drawer and haul them in a bag to your accountant

in April. You should track your sales and expenses at least once a month, and then look to the future to see what other bills may be coming up.

It’s just like Sarah O’Connell your household budget; you can’t spend more than your salary or you’ll fall behind. And you have to be even more careful in your business, since those revenues aren’t as predictable as your paycheck. You need to keep a close eye on the movement of your money in and out and set aside some of your profits for income taxes and unexpected expenses.

I just went through this process with one of my new clients to see if she could afford to hire an employee. When we created monthly profit-and-loss statements for her first six months in business, she was shocked to discover she was actually losing money because she was paying for some bills with her personal account.

Along the same lines with customer service, I heard a story last summer about a food establishment that was trying to control costs by charging customers a small amount if they asked for anything extra with their meal — tomatoes, an extra dollop of mayo, an additional slice of cheese, etc. Customers found this very irritating. Yet at the same time, the restaurant

allowed unlimited refills on soda, which is not a common or expected practice. For about the same amount, the owner could have saved money by eliminating that freebie and most customers wouldn’t even notice, rather than nickel-and-diming them over the condiments and having them leave the restaurant grumbling.

You can change a customer’s perception of your business for the better just by implementing some small changes.

Pay attention to products or services they ask if you provide. If enough people are requesting something specific, it may be worth your while to add that on. Or, if you’re hearing frequent complaints about something you don’t think is important, remember that a happy customer may tell two or three people about a positive experience, but an unhappy one will tell everyone they know. In these days of social media, that may be hundreds.

It all comes down to keeping a close eye on your business practices across the board. Remember, think small. n

n

n

The NYS Small Business Development Center offers individual, confidential counseling at no cost for people with new or existing businesses, as well as other workshop opportunities. We can be reached at 782-9262 or sbdc@sunyjefferson.edu. n SARAH O’CONNELL is a certified business advisor with the New York State Small Business Development Center at Jefferson Community College. She is a former small business owner and lifelong Northern New York resident. Contact her at soconnell@sunyjefferson.edu. Her column appears bi-monthly in NNY Business.

November 2012 | NNY Business

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CHAMBER / WEB DIRECTORY

NNY CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE n ALEXANDRIA BAY 7 Market St., Alexandria Bay, NY 13607; 482-9531, www.visitalexbay.org

n GREATER WATERTOWNNORTH COUNTRY 1241 Coffeen St., Watertown, NY 13601; 788-4400, www.watertownny.com

n BOONVILLE 122 Main St., P.O. Box 163, Boonville, NY 13309; 942-6823, www.boonvillechamber.com

n GOUVERNEUR 214 E. Main St., Gouverneur, NY 13642; 287-0331, www.gouverneurchamber.net

n CANTON 60 Main St., P.O. Box 369, Canton, NY 13617; 386-8255, www.cantonnychamber.org n CAPE VINCENT 175 N. James St., P.O. Box 482, Cape Vincent, NY 13618; 654-2481, www.capevincent.org n CARTHAGE AREA 120 S. Mechanic St., Carthage, NY 13619; 493-3590, www.carthageny.com n CENTERSTATE CEO 572 S. Salina St., Syracuse, NY 13202; 470-1800, www.centerstateceo.com n CHAUMONT-THREE MILE BAY P.O. Box 24, Three Mile Bay, NY 13693; 649-3404, www.chaumontchamber.com

BIZ WEB DIRECTORY CITEC MANUFACTURING & TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS www.citec.org

CLARKSON UNIVERSITY CENTER FOR ENTREPRENEURSHIP www.helpmysmallbusinesstoday.com www.facebook.com/CUEntrepCtr www.twitter.com/CUEntrepCtr

DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY OF THE NORTH COUNTRY www.danc.org

LEWIS COUNTY IDA www.lcida.org

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n CLAYTON 517 Riverside Drive, Clayton, NY 13624; 686-3771, www.1000islands-clayton.com

NNY Business | November 2012

n HENDERSON HARBOR P.O. Box 468, Henderson Harbor, NY 13651; 938-5568, www.hendersonharborny.com n LEWIS COUNTY 7576 S. State St., Lowville, NY 13367; 376-2213, www.lewiscountychamber.org n MASSENA 16 Church St., Massena, NY 13662; 769-3525, www.massenachamber.com n MALONE 497 East Main St., Malone, NY 12953; 1(518) 483-3760, www.visitmalone.com n OGDENSBURG 1 Bridge Plaza, Ogdensburg, NY 13669; 393-3620, www.ogdensburgny.com n OLD FORGE 3140 Route 28, P.O. Box 68

JEFFERSON COUNTY JOB DEVELOPMENT CORP. www.jcjdc.net

PROCUREMENT TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE CENTER www.northcountryptac.com

SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CENTER AT SUNY JEFFERSON www.watertown.nyssbdc.org www.facebook.com/WatertownSBDC

SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CENTER AT SUNY CANTON www.canton.edu/sbdc www.facebook.com/CantonSBDC www.twitter.com/NYS_SBDC

Old Forge, NY 13420; 369-6983 www.oldforgeny.com

n POTSDAM 1 Market St., Potsdam, NY 13676; 274-9000, www.potsdamchamber.com n PULASKI 3044 Route 13, P.O. Box 34, Pulaski, NY 13142; 298-2213, www.pulaskinychamber.com n SACKETS HARBOR 304 W. Main St., P.O. Box 17, Sackets Harbor, NY 13685; 646-1700, www. sacketsharborchamberofcommerce.com n SOUTH JEFFERSON 14 E. Church St., Adams, NY 13605; 232-4215, www.southjeffchamber.org n ST. LAWRENCE 101 Main St., First Floor, Canton, NY 13617; 386-4000, www.northcountryguide.com n TRI-TOWN 907 Route 11 C, P.O. Box 297, Brasher Falls, NY 13613; 389-4800, www.tritownchamberofcommerce.com n WADDINGTON 38 Main St., P.O. Box 291, Waddington, NY 13694; 388-4079, www.waddingtonny.com

ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY IDA www.slcida.com

ST. LAWRENCE RIVER VALLEY REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY www.slrvra.com

U.S. SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

www.sba.gov www.facebook.com/SBAAtlantic www.twitter.com/SBAAtlantic

WATERTOWN LOCAL DEVELOPMENT CORP. www.watertownldc.com

WATERTOWN SCORE

www.scorewatertownny.org

SATURDAY, DEC. 1 & SUNDAY, DEC. 2

n Kris Kringle Market, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Saturday, noon to 4 p.m. Sunday, Thousand Islands Winery, 43298 Seaway Ave. Traditional holiday market with dozens of artisans and vendors, food, spiced holiday wine and a visit from Santa for the children. Information: 482-9306. Free admission.

BELLEVILLE THURSDAY, NOV. 15

n Business After Hours, 5 to 7 p.m., Barley Pub, 8035 Lake Road. Sponsored by the South Jefferson Chamber of Commerce, Community Bank and Carpenter-Stoodley Funeral Home. Information: www.southjeffchamber.org or 232-4215.

CLAYTON SATURDAY, NOV. 17

n Holiday Shopper’s Poker Run, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., businesses throughout Clayton and Cape Vincent. Sponsored by the Clayton Chamber of Commerce and Watertown Savings Bank. Proceeds benefit the Clayton Food Pantry. Hand in cards at O’Brien’s Restaurant before 5 p.m. Live auction and gifts for best hands, free refreshments and entertainment.

MONDAY, NOV. 19 — FRIDAY, DEC. 28

n Festival of Trees, sponsored by the Thousand Islands Museum, 312 James St. Trees decorated by local businesses on display and open to voting. Tree and basket raffles. Information: Sharon Bourquin, sharon@timuseum.org or 686-5794.

SATURDAY, DEC. 1

n 50th Annual Clayton Christmas Parade, 6 p.m., downtown Clayton. Sponsored by Clayton Chamber of Commerce, Karla’s Christmas Shoppe, Peterson Painting and St. Lawrence Riverdogs. Fireworks display and bonfire follow the parade downtown near the Frink property. Contact: Karla Peterson, 6861906, or Lance Peterson, 783-3569.

CROGHAN FRIDAY, NOV. 23 & SATURDAY, NOV. 24

n “Maple Friday,” 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. both days, American Maple Museum, Main Street.

Like Black Friday but for maple producers.

Shop local at the American Maple Museum for pure maple syrup products, sweatshirts, tee shirts, maple jewelry, candles, crafts with sales and discounts. Information: 346-1107.

FRIDAY, DEC. 7

n 15th Annual “Christmas in Croghan,” sponsored by the Croghan Improvement Association. Businesses stay open late with refreshments and specials, Christmas music playing along Main Street with a petting zoo, horse and wagon rides and a visit from Santa and Mrs. Claus at the fire department from 6 to 8 p.m. with free popcorn.

LISBON SATURDAY, DEC. 15 — SUNDAY, DEC. 23

n Lights on the River, 5 to 9 p.m. daily, Lis-

bon beach, 9975 Route 37. Family event with holiday themed light displays designed by the community with free admission, though donations are accepted for north country food pantries. For more information, contact Scott Wilhelm at scott@lightsontheriver.org.

LOWVILLE

THURSDAY, NOV. 15

n Lewis County Chamber of Commerce Annual Business Person of the Year Award Dinner, social hour, 5:30 p.m., dinner, 6:30 p.m., Glenfield Fire Hall. Sponsored by Otis Technology.

Reservations required due to limited seating.

For information and tickets, call 376-2213.

MALONE FRIDAY, NOV. 16

n Malone Chamber of Commerce Annual Dinner, 5 p.m., Mo’s Pub and Grill, 3357 Route 11. Information as it becomes available, 1 (518) 483-3760 or www.visitmalone.com.

OGDENSBURG SATURDAY, DEC. 8

n Holiday Gala, 7 p.m., Frederic Remington Art Museum, 303 Washington St. This year’s theme: “Winter Wonderland.” Hors d’oeuvres, cash bar, live music and silent auction. Information as it becomes available, contact the museum at 393-2425 or info@ fredericremington.org.

OSWEGO TUESDAY, NOV. 27

n “At the End,” 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., 104 Rich Hall, SUNY Oswego. Sponsored by the New York State Small Business Development Center at SUNY Oswego. Topics covered include pre-business planning and business financing/ capital sources. Discussion includes bank and service selection, loan programs, underwriting process, commitment and closing process and reasons for business failure. Register: 3123492 or perras@oswego.edu.

POTSDAM THURSDAY, NOV. 15

n Potsdam Chamber of Commerce Annual Dinner, 5:30 p.m., Thatcher Hall, SUNY Potsdam.

The Pride in Potsdam Award will be presented to the Potsdam Elks Lodge No. 2074. Social hour begins at 5:30 p.m. with simple appetizers and a cash bar. Dinner is buffet-style with mixed greens salad, roast pork tenderloin with apple chutney, mashed potatoes with New York cheddar cheese, vegetable, beverages and dessert. Live music performed by the Caramelo Trio. Cost: $35. Reservations: Chamber office, 274-9000 or potsdam@slic.com.

WATERTOWN WEDNESDAY, NOV. 14

n Business After Hours, 5 to 7 p.m., Ramada Watertown, Arsenal Street. Sponsored by the Greater Watertown-North Country Chamber of Commerce. Admission: Members, $8; unregistered members, $10; non-members, $10.

Register: www.watertownny.com or 788-4400.

SATURDAY, NOV. 17

n 15th Annual Zoo-to-Do Autumn Ball, 5 to 11 p.m., Black River Valley Club, Washington

Street. Sponsored by the New York State Zoo at Thompson Park. Black tie optional social event with food and wine pairings, live music and silent auctions. Last year’s event raised more than $31,000. Tickets: $60; corporate ticket package with eight tickets, $400. Information, tickets: www.nyszoo.org.

FRIDAY, NOV. 30

n “A North Country Festival of Trees” gala and live auction, 6:30 p.m., Dulles State Office Building. Sponsored by the Samaritan Medical Center Foundation and Watertown Family YMCA. Public viewing of trees begins Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. when silent auction begins. Public viewing continues 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday. Silent auction ends at 2 p.m.

Sunday. Sugarplum ball: 6 to 9 p.m. Saturday. Information: Samaritan Medical Center Foundation, 785-5745 or www.samaritan health.com.

FRIDAY, NOV. 30

n Downtown Tree Lighting Ceremony, 5:15 p.m., Public Square. Sponsored by the City of Watertown and the Downtown Business Association. Performances by local choral groups begins at 5:15 p.m. with tree lighting and music display at 6 p.m., led by Mayor Jeffrey Graham. Music and lights run every 30 minutes each night from 4:30 to 10 p.m. from Nov. 30 to Jan. 2. Free hot cocoa and coffee from the D.B.A. Information: www. watertown-ny.gov.

WEDNESDAY, DEC. 5

n Business of Women Annual Networking Event, 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., Italian American Civic Association, Bellew Avenue. Sponsored

by New York State Small Business Development Center at Jefferson Community College and Business of Women. Admission: Early bird, $30, by Nov. 21; $40 by Nov. 29. Admission includes breakfast and lunch, keynote speaker, networking and workshops. Information: 782-9262 or sbdc@sunyjefferson.edu.

THURSDAY, DEC. 6

n Annual Children’s Gift and Fund Drive Reception, 4 to 8 p.m., Black River Valley Club, 131 Washington St. Sponsored by Bernier, Carr & Associates and the Paul G. and Kathleen E. Carr Foundation. Toy and cash donations accepted. Suggested donation of two gifts, one for a boy and one for a girl, and preferably no stuffed animals. All gifts should be unwrapped. Information: 782-8130.

THURSDAY, DEC. 13

n “20 Under 40” luncheon, 11:30 a.m., Hilton Garden Inn, 1290 Arsenal Street.

Sponsored by NNY Business magazine, the Watertown Daily Times, Northern New York Community Foundation, Watertown Savings Bank and the Greater Watertown Jaycees.

Honoring 20 emerging young professionals under the age of 40. Cost includes lunch of apple orchard chicken salad and beverages.

Vegetarian option upon request. Cost: $15.

Reservations: Ken Eysaman, keysaman@wdt. net or 661-2399.  GOT A BUSINESS EVENT or calendar item? Email nnybusiness@wdt.net. Deadline is the 10th of each month for the following month’s issue. Visit us on Facebook at www.facebook. com/NNYBusiness or www.nnybizmag.com for events calendar updates.

COMMUNITY / BUSINESS EVENTS CALENDAR

ALEXANDRIA BAY

November 2012 | NNY Business

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BUSINESS SCENE GWNC Chamber Business Expo & After Hours at Dulles State Office Building

From left, Heidi Bearup, Watertown High School, Dave Shepard, Jefferson Rehabilitation Center, and daughter, Allie Bearup, New York Shirt Company.

KEN EYSAMAN PHOTOS | NNY BUSINESS

From left, Katie Snow and Colleen Truman, staffing specialists, Penski, Inc. The Greater Watertown-North Country Chamber of Commerce held its annual Business Networking Expo and Business After Hours on Oct. 17 at the Dulles State Office Building. More than 300 people turned out for the event as 63 businesses set up promotional booths.

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NNY Business | November 2012

From left, Kathi Sanford, Alice Andrew Salon, daughter, Jordan Barber, Marcy Spa and Salon, and Doug Tulloch, Keller Williams Park City Real Estate, Park City, Utah.

KEN EYSAMAN PHOTOS | NNY BUSINESS

From left, Seth Crimmins, network operations manager, Westelcom, and Jennifer Pribble, marketing and design specialist, Westelcom.

BUSINESS SCENE GWNC Chamber Business Expo & After Hours at Dulles State Office Building

From left, Pati Kreutter and Samantha Robbins, revenue-generating specialists, Stephens Media Group, Watertown.

From left, Holly Boname, and Amberlee Clement, both of Cornell Cooperative Extension of Jefferson County.

KEN EYSAMAN PHOTOS | NNY BUSINESS

From left, Karla LaPoint, human resources manager, and Jenna Mooney, administrative assistant, Renzi Bros. Inc., Watertown.

KEN EYSAMAN PHOTOS | NNY BUSINESS

From left, Kyleigh Stowe, treatment coordinator, and Tammy Trowbridge, office manager, LaClair Family Dental, Carthage.

n LIKE NNY BUSINESS ON FACEBOOK at www.facebook.com/nny business or scan this QR Code with your smartphone for links to exclusive content, daily updates and sneak peeks of coming issues.

November 2012 | NNY Business

| 39

BUSINESS SCENE St. Lawrence County Chamber of Commerce Annual Dinner at SUNY Potsdam

From left, Don Meissner, St. Lawrence County FISHCAP, David C. Swanson, Volunteer of the Year Award recipient and president, North Country Savings Bank, and Pat McKeown, St. Lawrence County Chamber of Commerce executive director.

Mr. Swanson is a volunteer with FISHCAP.

KEN EYSAMAN PHOTOS | NNY BUSINESS

From left, Maureen Ward, husband John, and St. Lawrence County administrator Karen St. Hilaire. Mr. and Mrs. Ward, Brasher Falls, received the chamber’s Commitment to the Community Award for “vigorous organizing and promotion of St. Lawrence County community celebrations.”

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NNY Business | November 2012

From left, Matt Gayle and Michelle Quinell, St. Lawrence NYSARC.

KEN EYSAMAN PHOTOS | NNY BUSINESS

From left, Brooke James, SUNY Canton Small Business Development Center, Charles Rouse, 24 East Main Street Bed & Breakfast, Alexandra Jacobs, SUNY Potsdam, and Meg Bernier, St. Lawrence University.

BUSINESS SCENE St. Lawrence County Chamber of Commerce Annual Dinner at SUNY Potsdam

From left, Trudi LaTrace, Nancy Slone and Jessica Zuhlsdorf, all of SeaComm Federal Credit Union, Massena.

From left, Marlinda LaValley, vice president of administrative services, CantonPotsdam Hospital, and Pat McKeown, St. Lawrence County Chamber of Commerce executive director. Canton-Potsdam Hospital received the chamber’s 2012 Business of the Year Award.

KEN EYSAMAN PHOTOS | NNY BUSINESS

From left, Shannon Oney and Kristina Guarino, both of Verizon Wireless.

KEN EYSAMAN PHOTOS | NNY BUSINESS

From left, Brian LaVair and Amanda Sullivan, both of North Country Savings Bank.

November 2012 | NNY Business

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DINING GUIDE n A directory of independent coffee houses, bars and restaurants.

Full-service restaurants 1025 Ruyi Japanese Steak House 1025 Arsenal St., Watertown (315) 405-4501 1844 House “An American Bistro” 6885 U.S. Route 11, Potsdam (315) 268-1844 2000 Chinese Restaurant 22070 U.S. Route 11, Watertown (315) 788-2000 A & J’s Diner 455 Court St., Watertown (315) 777-4811 Andy’s Caribbean Cuisine 302 Court St., Watertown (315) 777-8658 Apollo Restaurant 1283 Arsenal St., Watertown (315) 788-3569 Art’s Jug 820 Huntington St., Watertown (315) 782-9764 Bella’s Bistro 602 Riverside Drive, Clayton (315) 686-2341 Bernardo’s Pizzeria 702 Coffeen St., Watertown (315) 782-9500 Black River Valley Club 131 Washington St., Watertown (315) 788-2300 Blue Heron 12050 Route 12E, Chaumont (315) 649-2240 Boathouse 214 W. Main St., Sackets Harbor (315) 646-2092 Brookside Diner 1873 State St., Watertown (315) 782-9824 Brownville Diner 114 W. Main St., Brownville (315) 786-8554 Café Mira 14 Main St., Adams (315) 232-4470

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Cam’s Pizzeria 25 Public Square, Watertown (315) 779-8900

Gold Star Deli 343 Arsenal St., Watertown (315) 782-6155

Korean Grill 525 W. Main St., Watertown (315) 681-4226

Cavallario’s Cucina 133 N. Massey St., Watertown (315) 788-9744

Goodfellos 202 W. Main St., Sackets Harbor (315) 646-3463

La Bella Fonte 10700 U.S. Route 11, Adams (315) 232-4842

Gram’s Diner 13 Main St., Adams (315) 232-4881

Lake Ontario Playhouse 103 W. Main St., Sackets Harbor (315) 646-2305

Great American Grill 1290 Arsenal St., Watertown (315) 788-1234

Manor Country Diner Route 11, Pierrepont Manor (315) 465-4400

Great Wall Chinese 300 Arsenal St., Watertown (315) 788-7668

Limerick Hotel 16331 State Route 12E, Limerick (315) 639-6804

Harby’s Hots Outer Washington Street, Watertown (315) 788-2250

Lloyd’s of Lowville 7405 S. State St., Lowville (315) 376-7037

Herrings Inn 35802 State Route 3, Carthage (315) 493-9829

Lucia’s Italian Restaurant 11613 U.S. Route 11, Adams (315) 232-2223

Highland Meadows Country Club 24201 State Route 342, Watertown (315) 785-0108

Maggie’s on the River 500 Newell St., Watertown (315) 405-4239

Hops Spot 214.5 W. Main St., Sackets Harbor (315) 646-BEER (2337)

Mariano’s Pizza 981 Waterman Drive, Watertown (315) 788-8088

Home Deli Pizza & Subs 305 W. Main St., Watertown (315) 782-6340

Midway Ice Cream 891 Coffeen St., Watertown (315) 405-4996

Hot Diggity Dogs Salmon Run Mall, Watertown (315) 788-4844

Mo’s Place 345 Factory St., Watertown (315) 782-5503

Ives Hill Restaurant 435 Flower Ave. W., Watertown (315) 775-4837

Morgia’s Pasta 22560 Fisher Road, Watertown (315) 788-3509

Jean’s Beans 259 Eastern Blvd., Watertown (315) 788-7460

Mr. Sub Sandwich Shop Public Square & Mill St., Watertown (315) 782-1760

Johnny D’s 1 Public Square, Watertown (315) 782-6108

Nu Pier 13212 State Route 3, Sackets Harbor (315) 646-3312

Gary’s Restaurant 5424 Shady Ave., Lowville (315) 376-6612

Karen & Jasper’s Bar & Bistro 1322 Washington St. Plaza, Watertown (315) 788-4110

Original Italian Pizza 222 N. Massey St., Watertown (315) 786-0000

G&F Italian Pizza and Restaurant 2972 E. Main St., Parish (315) 625-7177

King Star Food Oriental 22265 U.S. Route 11, Watertown (315) 786-0246

Papa Tino’s Pizzeria 716 Mill St., Watertown (315) 782-7272

Cherry Tree Inn 8541 State Route 3, Henderson (315) 938-7281 China City 1125 Arsenal St. Suite 2, Watertown (315) 788-8289 Church Street Diner 107 Church St., Carthage (315) 493-0997 Coleman’s Corner 849 Lawrence St., Watertown (315) 782-6888 Crossroads Diner 22474 U.S. Route 11, Watertown (315) 782-9591 Crystal Restaurant 87 Public Square, Watertown (315) 782-9938 Daily Buffet (Chinese) 1283 Arsenal St. Stop 8, Watertown (315) 786-8598 Dano’s Pizzeria and Restaurant 24411 State Route 971V, Felts Mills (315) 773-3266 Erin’s Isle Restaurant 928 State Route 11C, Brasher Falls (315) 389-4100 Fairground Inn 852 Coffeen St., Watertown (315) 782-7335 Fireside at Partridge Berry Inn 26561 State Route 3, Watertown (315) 782-8401 Five Guys 1290 Arsenal St., Watertown (315) 221-4258 Fung Hing Chinese 225 State St., Watertown (315) 785-9689

NNY Business | November 2012

DINING GUIDE Pete’s Trattoria 111 Breen Ave., Watertown (315) 782-6640

Read the reviews

Pickle Barrel Cafe 32523 Route 12, Depauville (315) 686-3640

 Log on to www.watertowndaily times.com to read restaurant reviews

by Watertown Daily Times restaurant critic Walter Siebel.

Pizza Shack 12699 State Route 3, Sackets Harbor (315) 646-2267

Get on the list

Rainbow Shores Restaurant 186 Rainbow Shores Road, Pulaski (315) 298-5110 Rajit 262 Arsenal St., Watertown (315) 782-5513 Ramada Inn 21000 State Route 3, Watertown (315) 788-0700 Resturante de Ricardo 1196 Arsenal St., Watertown (315) 788-6800 Rhonda’s Place Family Diner 566 State St., Watertown

 Call NNY Business associate editor Kyle Hayes at (315) 661-2381 or email khayes@wdt.net to have your restaurant or bar listed in our monthly dining guide today.

Shorty’s Place 1280 Coffeen St., Watertown (315) 782-7878 Shuler’s Steak & Seafood 802 Mill St., Watertown (315) 782-1429 Soluri’s Pizza 526 Factory St., Watertown (315) 782-2888

Riccardo’s Market & Deli 710 Holcomb St., Watertown (315) 782-7810

Stonefence Resort 7191 State Route 37, Ogdensburg (315) 393-1545

Riverhouse 4818 Salina St., Pulaski (315)509-4281

Stone Jug Pizzeria 104 Bartlett Road, Sackets Harbor (315) 646-1008

Roma Restaurant 19 Bridge St., Carthage (315) 493-0616

Suk Hui Hi’s Korean 1301 State St., Watertown (315) 785-9740

Romalato’s Gourmet Deli 450 Gaffney Drive, Watertown (315) 681-6653

Super Wok Chinese Restaurant 20991 State Route 3, Watertown (315) 788-5389

Ryan’s Lookout 9290 State Route 3, Henderson (315) 938-5151

Teriyaki Experience 21852 Towne Center Drive, Watertown (315) 785-9254

Sackets Harbor Brew Pub 212 W. Main St., Sackets Harbor (315) 646-2739

Thailand Thai Restaurant 1857 State St., Watertown (315) 788-6688

Sandy’s Luncheonette 5 Public Square, Watertown (315) 782-2935

The Place 1612 Ford St., Ogdensburg 315-393-3080

Savory Downtown 300 Washington St., Watertown (315) 782-8000

Thousand Island Club 21952 Club Road, Alexandria Bay (315) 482-9999

Sboro’s Restaurant 836 Coffeen St., Watertown (315) 788-1728

Tico’s Mex Mex Grill 65 Public Square, Watertown (315) 836-4778

Tilted Kilt 1050 Arsenal St., Watertown (315) 782-5458

Clueless 545 Arsenal St., Watertown (315) 782-9006

Tin Pan Galley 110 W. Main St., Sackets Harbor (315) 646-3812

Crazy Legs Saloon 536 Arsenal St., Watertown (315) 777-8333

United China Restaurant 144 Eastern Blvd., Watertown (315) 782-4432

Edge of the River Pub 519 W. Main St., Watertown (315) 788-0695

Violi’s Restaurant 209 Center St., Massena (315) 764-0329

Fat Boys 743 Huntington St., Watertown (315) 779-0087

Village Inn 8208 Main St., Harrisville (315) 543-9382 VV’s Mexican Kitchen Noble Street, Evans Mills (315) 629-4652 Walsh’s Pub & Grill 101 E. Main St., Brownville (315) 782-6065 Watertown Golf Club Grill and Bar 1 Thompson Park, Watertown (315) 782-5606 Willowbrook Golf Club 25075 State Route 37, Watertown (315) 782-8192 Wing Wagon 71 Public Square, Watertown (315) 836-3205

Coffee Houses Brew Ha Ha 468 Coffeen St., Watertown (315) 788-1175 Chrissy Beanz Bakery 105 W. Main St., Sackets Harbor (315) 646-2330 Coffee Shop Carbone Plaza, Watertown (315) 782-0450 Danny’s Coffee 21181 Salmon Run Mall, Watertown (315) 782-7057

First Round Bar & Lounge 498 Factory St., Watertown (315) 405-4504 Fort Pearl Inc. 557 Pearl St., Watertown (315) 786-3333 Hitchin’ Post Tavern 404 Court St., Watertown (315) 782-9656 Hometown Pizzeria 4 W. Church St., Adams (315) 232-3000 Joe’s Tavern 548 Coffeen St., Watertown (315) 782-9709 Mick’s Place 204 Factory St., Watertown (315) 786-1992 Paddock Club 5 Paddock Arcade, Watertown (315) 786-6633 Pappy’s Bowlmor Lanes 227 E. Orvis St., Massena (315) 769-9877 Pewter Mug 1120 Gill St., Watertown (315) 782-0200 Seth’s Pub 558 State St., Watertown (315) 681-6645

Bars / Nightlife

Shootie’s Bar 504 Pearl St., Watertown (315) 782-9724

Artie’s Tavern 329 High St., Watertown (315) 782-9616

Time Warp Tavern 302 State St., Watertown (315) 782-9784

November 2012 | NNY Business

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BUSINESS HISTORY

A life of invention

n Lewis native created safety pin, sewing machine

T NNY Business

he relationship between the safety pin and the sewing machine may seem slight, yet both were the children of the same brain. Both were the product of Lewis County native Walter Hunt.

Mr. Hunt, a Hicksite Quaker, was born on a Lewis County farm near Martinsburg on July 29, 1796. He was endowed with the natural talent for invention but an absolute lack of ability to turn his creations to profit. Ultimately, he died a comparatively poor man in New York City at the age of 63 with 28 patents to his names and many unpatented devices to his credit.

It was Mr. Hunt who actually invented the sewing machine, he having worked out the lock-stitch type, which had been the basic principle of all leading sewing machines, a full dozen years before Elias Howe Jr. was awarded a patent. Yet Mr. Hunt, after creating the invention, perhaps the greatest of all of his achievements, disposed of it and all his rights to it to George Arrowsmith, a New York City blacksmith, for a nominal sum and it was then forgotten for more than a decade because he took no steps to excite any interest in it.

Some of Mr. Hunt’s early life was spent in Lowville and it is said that he was for a short time in Watertown before transferring to Brooklyn and then New York City.

He was a versatile man possessed of a fertile and imaginative mind and, besides the safety pin, the sewing machine, an improved flax spinning wheel, he had made a fountain pen long before Waterman got his patent and had invented a repeating rifle, which was the forerunner of the much famed Winchester.

North Country Historian Dr. Franklin B. Hough wrote of Mr. Hunt that he was “surpassed by but few that ever lived in the wonderful fertility of his inventive power but who, like many gifted with genius, yet wanting in the faculty of turning it to profit, died poor.”

Dr. Hough goes on to write, “he was honest and strong in his convictions and intellectually and morally ranking high;

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NNY Business | November 2012

WATERTOWN DAILY TIMES ARCHIVES

Despite his lack of business savvy, Lewis County native Walter Hunt invented the safety pin and the sewing machine.

but in business matters he was simple as a child, pledging the profits of his inventions before they were finished, and always overwhelmed with debt.”

The adage that “necessity is the mother of invention” never had a truer application than in the case of Walter Hunt, his invention of the safety pin on April 19, 1849, having been one item of testimony to this verity.

It took place some years after his removal downstate to locate in the metropolitan area. He had run up a bill of $15 to a draughtsman named J.D. Chapin for mechanical drawings of some of his inventions and he had no funds with which to make payment.

Apparently on the spur of the moment, the idea for a safety pin popped into his mind and, taking a piece of spring wire, he bent it into the proper shape, sharpened one end to a point and fitted a guard to house it. This all consumed approximately three hours. He sold the patent for $400 and paid off Chapin.

Mr. Hunt was so wrapped up in inventing things, and so little concerned with making money, that as soon as he worked

out an idea for some new device, he put it aside and turned his attention to something else instead of polishing up the products he had previously made.

All authorities declare that his invention of the sewing machine was his greatest achievement, but apparently he thought so little of it at the time that he waited too long before applying for a patent and then was denied it on the ground of abandonment.

Elias Howe Jr. had previously been awarded one on Sept. 10, 1846. Mr. Hunt started court action to have Mr. Howe’s patent set aside, for it was based on exactly the two prime features that Mr. Hunt had invented a decade before Mr. Howe had any thought of a sewing machine.

Eventually the court ruled Mr. Howe the winner and entitled to collect royalties. It is reported that these amount to more than $2 million. The decree was on the ground of Mr. Hunt’s abandonment and restrained Singer and Co. and others from continuing to manufacture.

Following his death in 1859, Mr. Hunt’s heirs brought suit against Isaac M. Singer and Edward Clark for first payment under the terms of a contract made in 1858 that provided that in consideration of the payment to Mr. Hunt of $50,000 in five annual installments, he was to refrain from contesting Mr. Howe’s patents and was to allow Mr. Howe to obtain renewal. The case was in the courts for 10 years and Mr. Hunt’s heirs were finally awarded $17,000, the judgment being upheld by the court of appeals.

The lawsuit established the fact of Mr. Hunt’s invention of the fundamental principles of the lockstitch sewing machine.

Editor’s note: This column was adapted from a longer article written about Mr. Hunt’s life, published in the Watertown Daily Times on June 8, 1959, and written by David F. Lane. n BUSINESS HISTORY IS A monthly feature from the archives of the Watertown Daily Times.

Visit www.watertowndailytimes.com to access digital archives since 1988, or stop by the Times, 260 Washington St., Watertown to research materials in our library that date back to the 1800s.

November 2012 | NNY Business

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W H AT ’ S H A P P E N I N G H E R E ?

PRICE CHOPPER PLAZA LOCATION: Route 12, Alexandria SIZE: 31,600 square feet with a 2,500-square-foot covered outdoor area COST: $7.6 million ENVIRONMENTAL:

Designed to achieve Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) silver certification ESTIMATED COMPLETION:

April 2013

LOCAL JOBS: Several dozen

construction jobs. Approximately 130 employees when open, mostly part-time but some full-time.

— Compiled by Kyle R. Hayes.

AMANDA MORRISON | NNY BUSINESS

The outer walls of Price Chopper are taking form as construction continues at the plaza off Route 12 in the town of Alexandria. When complete at the end of April, the store will boost the Schenectady-based chain’s count to 132.

NEXT MONTH

I

n our December issue, we present profiles of 20 of Northern New York’s emerging leaders under the age of 40 from Jefferson, Lewis and St. Lawrence counties as we introduce our 2012 Class of 20 Under 40.

Also coming next month: n NEW BUSINESSES ON THE RISE: As the economy slowly crawls to revocery, more people are starting their own businesses.

Jefferson County is on pace for a record year for small business start-ups. We look at the numbers, the trends and answer why. n LAUNCHING A BUSINESS: Think you want to start your own business or buy an existing one? There is more to it than you might think.

We talk with some pros who help guide us through the process. n PLUS: Small Business Startup, 20 Questions, NNY Snapshot, Economically Speaking, Commerce Corner, Nonprofits Today, Business Tech Bytes, Small Business Success, Real Estate, Agri-Business, Business History, Business Scene. n VISIT US ONLINE at www.nnybizmag.com.

Follow us on Twitter for daily updates at @ NNYBusiness Mag, like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/nnybusiness, and view eEditions at www.issuu.com/NNYBusiness.

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NNY Business | November 2012

November 2012 | NNY Business

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BusIness

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