Page 8 - BusinessWest December 8, 2021

wise, from steady paycheck to the uncertainty of being a business owner, is the right course.
Proof Positive
As noted, Bonavita is no stranger to wines and the liquor business. Indeed, his family owned and operated several liquor stores in the area, includ- ing Riverside Liquors in Agawam, and he worked at them for a number of years.
When he left in 2002, he signed a non-com- pete agreement that was 15 years in duration. It wasn’t long before he started counting the years down, and after a decade or so of working in property management, specifically condominium projects, he was quite ready to go back to working for himself.
COVID only served to accelerate the process further.
“When COVID hit, it changed the way we
did business a zillion percent,” he explained. “It meant more hours, more everything, and at the age I was getting to, I was getting burned out and tired of this. I knew it was time to do what I want- ed to do.”
And that was to open another business of his own, one he calls the Wine Exchange. He has a wide variety of labels with price tags from $7.99 to $115, and features a variety of gift baskets as well. He opened in October, good timing considering the approaching holidays, and said he’s off to a good start thanks to those who are returning to the office tower in his building and the others in the downtown area.
As for his decision to strike out on his own?
“I absolutely love it — I really do,” he said. “I’m not a guy who could retire completely, and I couldn’t sit at home. So this is perfect; it’s where I
want to be at this point in my life.”
Beaudry, who provides most of the labels on
his shelves and in his racks, said essentially the same thing, but her story — her dream of becom- ing a wine wholesaler, importer, distributor, and ‘enthusiast’ — is much different and took a lot longer to become reality.
She said her love of wine developed over time and especially when she was traveling exten- sively for her former employer, Simplex. Her trav- els would take her to its various branch offices around this country and other countries, and would inevitably involve visits to local attractions — and restaurants, preferably the ‘hole in the wall’ she asked to be taken to.
The good food she encountered was almost always accompanied by good wine as well. She would attempt to replicate what she encountered, food and beverage-wise, at dinner parties that would grow in size over time, with many of the attendees encouraging her to start her own res- taurant or other related business.
She said she long desired to venture into wine importing and distributing, but life and family responsibilities made it difficult to leave a steady paycheck and take that leap.
“I think COVID presented the opportunity, with the symphony not performing and all the employees furloughed,” she explained. “Mean- while, my daughter had just completed her first year of college, so the stars were aligned for me; I went ahead and got started.”
There are many stories like these being written in the region at this unprecedented time, when many have been sidelined by COVID and others have taken stock of their lives and decided they wanted — and needed — something different.
Samalid Hogan says many people reached a crossroads during the pandemic and chose the road to business ownership — and she’s one of them.
The so-called Great Resignation (Bonavita and others we spoke to could be considered part of that) has prompted some to leave for other jobs, but others to absorb some risk and go into busi- ness for themselves, Hogan said.
The phenomenon has manifested itself in many ways, from new beer labels to the absorp- tion of vacant storefronts, to area chambers of commerce giving their giant ceremonial scis- sors a workout with seemingly non-stop ribbon cuttings.
And also those soaring registration numbers for the MSBDC’s “Basics of Starting a Business” class, which is now offered online because of the pandemic, said Hogan, adding that she has seen a very diverse group of individuals gravitate to that
By that she
offering. Changing Course
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8 DECEMBER 8, 2021
FEATURE
BusinessWest