(Pictured left-right-Judy Hysek, Eden Café and Bakeshop, Renee Smart, Moonjava Café, Kimberly Argenta, Art ah La Carte, and Lori Trader of No Finer Diner and No Better Bed and Breakfast)
October is Women’s Small Business Month, and what better way to learn about being an entrepreneur than from five women who have made the jump into working for themselves.
On Thursday night, a networking event was held at Moonjava Café at 56 Harvester avenue at the Harvester Center which is a business incubator for those just starting out. It was sponsored by the Mancuso Group
Moonjava Café has been open for 8 years at their current location which is at street level at the Harvester Center.
“I appreciate this opportunity, Tom has this incubator facility in here, I think it is one of the most worth while things you have here in Batavia,” says Renee Smart, Moonjava Café owner.
Smart was motivated to start Moonjava café by her husband Ed and Tom Mancuso. Her husband knew she was dissatisfied with her previous career as a Cytotechnologists in the field of cell/microscopic examination, Smart spent her days looking for pre-cancerous and cancerous lesions. She did that for 12 years.
“I went from looking into a microscope and not talking to anyone for eight hours a day, to not stopping the talking. I’ve talked so much that I can’t stand my own voice. I enjoy it, I have met a lot of interesting people, its good.”
Mancuso wanted to have the space continue as a coffee shop rather than have it go vacant and he was looking for someone to replace the void.
When Smart decided to open Moonjava Café, her girls were in Junior and Senior High School.
“At first I could not imagine myself doing this, and then we talked about it. Thought it would be a wonderful opportunity to put myself out there. They could see me create and try to make work, whether I fail or succeed, what an opportunity for me.”
Smart says she started looking at her competition and started meeting people in the building and decided to move forward.
“If I crash and burn we will have a lesson for them on how you at least tried something. If I succeed, we will go from there and see where it goes.”
Smart, with the support from her family and Mancuso, went through the numbers and decided to go cash only, no credit.
“This wasn’t going to be a burden on anyone, it was just going to be a lot of hard work.”
During the eight years at 56 Harvester, Smart says she has grown so much.
“Going through the growing pains of hiring, keeping employees that I could rely on and finding employees that I could trust. The biggest thing I feel proud of is the void I have filled in this small part of the community. We are working to make people happy , but they are in turn making us happy.”
(Below Bev Mancuso with the Mancuso Group listens to Christine Crocker from the YNGodess Shop)
Christine Crocker, owner of the YNGodess Shop at 73 Main street in Batavia, has been open for seven years. Things were rough when she started her own business. She too decided to open her business for her then 7-year-old son .
“I have had this passion for 20 years, I ran my dad’s liquor business in LeRoy for 13 years. He sold the store to somebody else and I lost my job. I struggled with that and I did not know when it was happening,” says Crocker.
Crocker knew she did not want to be liquor rep because that would mean more time on the road away from her son, and as a single parent that was not an option.
So she reached out to Charlie Messina, a former Liquor rep, who encouraged her to open her own business. He said, “If anyone can come to Batavia and do this it would be you.”
So in 2011, after losing her job in December, Crocker applied for her liquor license in late August, but first had to get a tax ID, have workman’s compensation, liability and a business plan .
“I’m like how am I going to do this? I am not going to have any income, my father gave me nothing. He said to throw the key under the door on Sunday and close up at 6:00p.m., I had no contact with him for 3 years. I had to do this for my child .
Crocker attempted to apply for unemployment until her license was approved and she could open the store.
She tried to apply online 5 times, but kept getting kicked off of the system. On the 5th try, the NYS Department of Labor called her and told her if she proceeded to process another unemployment claim she could be prosecuted.
“I’m not working,” she said.
That is when the Department of Labor representative informed her that she had a tax ID in the system.
“We ae not even open yet, paper is still on the windows, I have not even purchased a cash register.”
The Department of Labor then informed Crocker that even if you are vacuuming or just washing the windows that is considered a day of work. So Crocker was unable to get unemployment and had no income.
YNGodess opened on February 23rd.
“It was a good 5-6 months, it was skin and bones baby, but you know what, my son learned the best lesson, Mom did it!”
Crocker says she will mentor anyone who is interested in starting their own business.
“If you have the passion, you will make it happen.”
(Right- Kimberly Argenta, owner of Art Ah La Carte)
Kimberly Argenta prayed about opening up an Art Studio for 8 years. Then in 2008 she walked into Present Tense Book store on Washington Avenue and noticed a perfect space for her studio on the second floor of the store.
Argenta then told the business owner about her plan to open a studio in the space upstairs.
“She looked at me like I had five heads,” says Argenta.
So four weeks goes by and the owner finally calls Argenta about renting the space.
The owner told Argenta that she and her husband had just found out that they were expecting and they wanted to rent the room upstairs, and the fact that she asked about it just blew her away.
Argenta ended up renting space there for 3 months before she moved to 56 Harvester avenue.
“When I came here, Tom was wonderful to me, I was right next to Batavia Players and I loved my space.”
Argenta has now moved to Jackson street and is celebrating her 10th year. She says it has been a lot of work and a lot of stress because she is not only teaching children and adults weekly, she is also offering special classes and holding paint nights and doing private parties.
“I never have taken out a loan,” says Argenta, who also has been running a hair salon for the past 32 years. “I collected art supplies for 8 years while I was praying about it.”
As she has now become more busy, Argenta is only working at her hair salon for two days a month.
“I started this because I love kids and there are kids out there who don’t play sports and have nowhere to go. My kids here are part of a team at the studio, they all love each other and have become good friends. We have movie nights together and we do things together and that is why I opened the studio.”
Argenta says she if you are ever considering your own business you must have a passion for it.
“I mean a deep deep passion for it, because there will come a time you ask why am I doing this.”
These days Argenta works by herself. Finding help has been difficult.
“If they are not making $100 per hour they don’t want to be bothered,”says Argenta.
“They want everything immediate, they don’t want to work past that point so they are successful, I ‘ve had 3-4 drawing teachers and they don’t want to stick it out.”
Judy Hysek(right) of Eden Café and Bake Shop, located inside Eli Fish Brewing Company on Main street, is celebrating 6 months at her vegan restaurant.
Hysek says they started scouting out places about a year ago when they were approached about entering the Foodie Challenge for a $25 entry fee. The winner was awarded space at Eli Fish to run their restaurant,
“It was a whirlwind of competitions and small business classes that we went to and they selected us,” says Hysek.
The restaurant recently added a new chef that Hysek says is enthusiastic about creating new dishes and new flavors for the customers.
“She has taken over a lot of the cooking which has allowed me to step into something I am passionate about, which is baking with cakes. My mother was a baker and I love meeting new people and learning how we can improve and branch out.”
Hysek says she used to work in retail, running a gift shop in Rochester before moving back to Batavia and working at Marshalls, which she says was not for her at all.
“I’ve always been an entrepreneur, when I was five I would gather pencils and papers around the house and sell them to my siblings looking for supplies, it has always been in my blood.”
Hysek says she has learned to expect the unexpected.
“If you think your sign is coming on Friday, expect it next Friday.”
Lori Trader from LeRoy’s No Finer Diner and No Better Bed and Breakfast used to dream about running her own diner as she walked her dog down Main street in LeRoy each day.
Trader, a former waitress, has not only been running No Finer Diner at 15 Main street, but has listened to her customers and re-opened a bed and breakfast called No Better Bed and Breakfast on Griswold Circle in LeRoy. It opened in May of 2018 after being closed for several years.
Trader has renovated the building and the location has four bedrooms, at full capacity it can sleep 10 people
She says she grew up in LeRoy and wanted to give back to her community and give people a place to stay other than in Batavia.
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If anyone is interested in becoming an entrepreneur, they can call Mancuso Business Development Group at 585-343-2800, and talk with Tom Mancuso or Jarrod Clark.
If there is interest in developing a network of Women’s Small Businesses. Bev Mancuso would love to hear from you. You can contact her at bev@mancusogroup.com