Pittsford, Webster, Gates women open businesses

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http://www.democratandchronicle.com/article/20090218/BUSINESS/90218031

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How many people eat vegan, gluten-free donuts?

 

That's a question Jeaninne Ottman, 41, of Gates had to ask herself

when developing a business plan for her new South Wedge bake shop,

Eco Bella Bakery.

 

She sells only vegan baked goods, which means they don't contain any

animal products such as milk, eggs or honey, and about 50 percent are

gluten-free, meaning they're made without the grains that contain the

protein substance.

 

There's a market for such a business as more is learned about Celiac

disease, whose sufferers can't physically tolerate gluten, and more

people are turning to veganism for ethical and health reasons.

 

But are there enough people demanding rare goods and services to keep

niche businesses like Eco Bella afloat while major chains designed

for a mass audience like Starbucks and Macy's are closing stores in

an ailing economy? Ottman thinks there are, and so do Heidi Kaufman

and Bonnie Cameron, two other local women who recently launched

specialized businesses.

 

Kaufman opened PeaceFull Kids, a yoga studio for children in

Pittsford, at the end of January. Last summer, Cameron started Baby

Moments Ultrasound & Pregnancy Spa in Penfield, where women can

get " 3-D " ultrasounds of their babies while their families and

friends watch.

 

All three see their businesses weathering the recession — not to

mention the struggles every new business faces — but they know this

is a hard time to make a go of it.

 

" I love a challenge, " said Ottman, who invested about $10,000 in her

business, half of which was savings.

 

Challenges are inherent in any new business venture, but they're

multiplied when the business enters the market during a recession and

the business is aimed at a small pool of potential customers like

pregnant women or vegans, said Daniel Tessoni, assistant professor of

accounting at Rochester Institute of Technology's Saunders College of

Business.

 

" Failure rates are over 90 percent within a couple years. As the

economy gets worse, the risk increases, " Tessoni said. " Generally

speaking, as consumers' discretionary income decreases, niche

businesses are going to struggle to meet their revenue (estimates). "

 

Niche businesses generally deal in services and goods that aren't

necessities, Tessoni said, which makes it harder for them to survive

a recession.

 

But Ottman, who is also a nurse, is selling something relatively

affordable — her brownies, cupcakes, cookies and other snacks are in

the $2 to $3 range — which she thinks helps her odds. And while vegan

gluten-free baked goods aren't necessarily a necessity, they mean a

lot to people with few choices, she said.

 

Those people showed up in droves when she started selling her vegan

goodies at the Rochester Public Market in late 2007. They came back

repeatedly for foods they said they couldn't find anywhere else, she

said, and soon she was getting requests from the gluten-free crowd.

As she crafted her business plan, the economy started to falter, but

she felt her built-in following justified a bricks-and-mortar

business.

 

" I was a little hesitant, but then I realized I had a solid base of

customers that would come and find me because I had such a niche

product, " she said.

 

Dina Massaro, 40, lives a short walk from the bakery and stops in

frequently. Massaro is a vegetarian who likes to eat healthfully, and

she plans to go vegan in the future. She said most of her friends

have already stopped in at the bakery, and some are willing to travel

for Ottman's goods because they are locally made with high-quality

ingredients and meet their diet requirements.

 

" I will definitely walk down there and get her baked goods because it

fits my lifestyle, " she said. " I will hold off on a candy bar and get

something there because it's healthier. "

 

Kaufman, who owns the yoga studio, said health plays a big role in

why she thinks her business will last.

 

" It definitely is not an ideal economy for people in business, and

people are cutting back on things, " Kaufman said. " But what remains a

priority is health and wellness, for good reason. "

 

Her classes for kids, which cost $99 for a 10-week session, include

traditional yoga poses and feature time for self-awareness and

reflection, but they also include physical activity to keep kids

engaged and moving.

 

Kaufman said heightened awareness of the benefits of yoga bodes well

for her business as does increased knowledge of obesity, anxiety,

attention deficit disorder and other issues some kids face. The

parents who bring their kids in, Kaufman said, are looking for ways

to enhance their children's well-being — something that's worth

spending money on even in a recession.

 

Kaufman, a 41-year-old Pittsford resident with four kids, used her

savings and an interest-free credit card to get the business up and

running and said she used her knowledge as a certified public

accountant to develop a solid business plan.

 

She has amassed about 25 students in her first few weeks and

supplements the studio's income by teaching classes in schools and

working with high school coaches looking for ways to help reduce

injuries and increase flexibility in their athletes. She thinks the

value of what she's offering will keep PeaceFull Kids up and running.

 

Cameron, 38, of Webster feels the same way. She got the idea for her

business while she was five months pregnant and on vacation in

California. She saw an ad for a company that provided elective,

upgraded ultrasounds that better showed the baby's facial features in

a setting where several family members could also watch. She said the

experience was amazing and allowed her and her husband and their two

sons to bond with her daughter months before she was even born.

 

She found the experience so moving, she started planning a business

to offer the same service here in the Rochester area, along with pre-

and postnatal massage and products for pregnant women and new mothers.

 

Since opening in July, the business has attracted a steady stream of

clients even as the economy has faltered. Cameron said her clients

come from all areas for the service. Packages, which include a 15- to

20-minute ultrasound shown on a large screen in a room with seating

for five, a CD of the visit's images and photographs, among other

things, start at $139 and go up to $279.

 

Cameron said she's optimistic about the business even as she competes

for an increasingly smaller pool of discretionary dollars, because

she offers something so rare. She said she was sure about going

forward with the business regardless of the economy.

 

" I just felt in my heart that this was something that I wanted to

bring to our area, " she said.

 

Tessoni, the RIT professor, said that's important for niche business

owners who often find themselves working against the odds.

 

" People that do these businesses have to really like that type of

work and enjoy themselves, " he said.

 

KPERRY