Category Archives: Entrepreneurship

By Rod Bacon

Entrepreneurship is all about seizing the day. When someone with an entrepreneurial spirit recognizes a viable business opportunity they act upon it.

What started as a small fish room inside Benson’s Pet Shop in Wilton’s Pyramid Mall in 1992 has grown over the past 33 years to a family-owned-and-operated business with eight locations in the Capital District, Upstate New York, and Massachusetts.

As a youngster Ryan Kramer became interested in aquatics and his father, Frank, bought him his first fish tank when he was 12. His interest in fresh-water fish never waned and 10 years later he had the opportunity to purchase multiple fish tanks from a Ballston Spa store that was getting out of that area of the pet business. Shortly thereafter, he walked into the mall’s pet store looking for fish. There were none. The owner, a self-described “dog guy” who had named the store after his pet beagle, Benson, suggested that Ryan set up his fish tanks in an unused section of the store. He sold fish and fish supplies. 

By Rod Bacon

When Walt Brownell realized there was a dearth of pizzerias and grocery stores in the Town of Greenfield he filled the void by opening Vicki’s Pizzeria & Market.

“There were no pizzerias in the immediate area and the only nearby store selling groceries is a Stewart’s Shop in Greenfield Center. People have to go to Saratoga Springs or Corinth to find a large grocery store,” said Brownell. “Our grocery department is fully stocked with most items a household needs.”

This includes a large variety of deli meats, Cabot cheeses, milk, bread, cereal, soap and paper products. Also available in the deli department are wings, smoked brisket, corned beef, and breakfast sandwiches. For $12 customers can get a foot-long, fully stacked sub. 

“We’re new to the grocery business so we’re taking suggestions from customers about what they’d like us to add to our inventory,” Brownell said.

The pizzeria offers 24-cut, 12-cut, and six-cut Sicilian pies, as well as medium and large New Yorkers. Prices range from $11 to $24.  

By Susan Elise Campbell

Three years after opening The Speckled Pig Brewing Co. in the heart of Ballston Spa, the owners set their sights on the building next door and another business venture to build their brand: The Still at Speckled Pig.

Partners RJ Elliott, Randy Elliott, Kelly Delaney Elliott, Larry Heid, and Mary Jo Heid were keenly interested when the owner of Jim’s Garage at 17 Washington Street approached the Elliotts last summer with an offer to sell, according to Larry Heid.

“We were kicking around ideas to increase our revenue stream with a new restaurant. I loved the idea of spirits because if you’re a good brewer, you can be a good distiller,” said Heid, who was a home brewer when he joined the Elliott Family to launch Speckled Pig.

The partners hope that come this July, The Still will be selling its own brand of vodka, gin, rum, and, after it has aged two or more years, whiskey and bourbon.

Speckled Pig was the first company in the Village to craft their own beer onsite and to serve their own label on tap. Now with The Still at Speckled Pig, customers will be able to sip on spirits and craft cocktails, eat elevated pub food, and see through to the distilling equipment where the liquor in their glass was made, Heid said.

By Ricky P. Thibodeau, Department Chairperson

Whether you are interested in launching your first business venture or are an existing small business owner looking to grow your current business, the HVCC Entrepreneurship AAS program will give you the necessary skills to pursue that dream. Students will learn the fundamentals for increasing the likelihood of building sustainable success in their ventures. 

Entrepreneurship is on the rise in the United States and now accounts for more than 20 percent of all jobs. The internet has greatly expanded the possibilities for small entrepreneurs, allowing businesses to establish niche audiences and clientele around the world. Since the Entrepreneurship program can help you establish any number of small business opportunities, your career path is completely in your hands.

Coursework will help students develop an entrepreneurial mindset and understand entrepreneurial finance, small business management, and marketing and legal issues for small business owners. Entrepreneurship coursework is often sought by those who want to establish their own businesses.

However, another path students may take is intrapreneurship, which refers to becoming a driver of innovation within an existing company, applying the new and unique ideas and strategies learned through entrepreneurial education.  Intrapreneurship opportunities exist within a wide variety of companies and organizations, and the demand for innovative strategies and creative thought within existing companies is always in demand.

By Christine Graf   

Remodeling contractor Craig Volkommer, owner of Details and Improvements, is on a mission to teach basic construction skills to young people. About three years ago, he established Pop-Up Rally, a business dedicated to radio controlled cars. 

 “I started this business to teach kids how to use hand tools—how to bend things, tighten things, cut things—how to work with their hands. Working with models has really helped me improve my own skills that I use in my remodeling business,” said Volkommer.

A life-long radio controlled car enthusiast, he teaches kids to assemble, modify, and build hobby-grade radio controlled cars. 

“It can be assembly projects or custom-built bodies, and it’s also repairs and maintenance,” he said. “They are hobby grade cars, so all the parts are interchangeable.”

This summer, Pop-Up Rally will be conducting a summer enrichment program at SUNY Adirondack. Designed for children ages 8 and up, participants will learn to build, repair, and race radio controlled cars. 

After the cars are built, they will be raced on an elaborate rally-style race track, one based off the renowned Dakar Rally. The track includes many obstacles including jumps, turns, and bridges. It can be configured in a multitude of ways.

DeCrescente Distributing Co. in Mechanicville  has won the Molson Coors President’s Award for the second consecutive year and 10th time overall.

The company is in its 75th year as a family run local beverage distributor.

Only 32 beverage distributors nationwide earn this prestigious award each year. Winning the award twice in two years is uncommon and a testament to the hard work and creativity of the DDC team, said company president C.J. DeCrescente.

“We set a high bar here,” DeCrescente said. “Each year, we create a strategic plan for each of our suppliers to help take their products to new heights. Winning this award proves that our entire team brought their A-Game to help us achieve our ambitious goals for the Molson Coors family of brands in 2022.”

In addition to winning the President’s Award, DeCrescente Distributing is one of seven Molson Coors Founders Award finalists. The award recognizes the nation’s top Molson Coors distributor for exemplary sales and distribution performance over the last year. DeCrescente is the only distributor in the nation to have ever won the Founders Award four consecutive times.

The Founders Award winner will be announced later this year.

By Jill Nagy

If someone needs a nurse, Lisa Murphy can be there without the patient leaving home. Her Glens Falls-based ADK Mobile Nurse Services provides services in patients’ homes—or wherever else they are—in communities within 60 miles of Glens Falls, including Queensbury, Lake George, Saratoga, Albany, and surrounding locations.

Murphy is a registered nurse with 15 years of hospital experience, including case management, and 10 years as a director of clinical services in long term care and rehabilitation facilities. Her office, at 35 Evergreen Lane, Queensbury, is in a senior living facility.

With hospitals discharging patients earlier and providing less outpatient care, there is a growing need for the kind of care Murphy can provide. She can step in to provide follow-up care after hospital discharge, whether managing medications, changing dressings, helping patients adjust to a new lifestyle, or just looking in to be sure someone is getting along well. 

In addition, she administers intravenous vitamin and mineral treatments (on orders from a physician). 

Care ranges from a single consultation to continuing care on a monthly retainer basis. 

By Christine Graf

For the past 20 years, Adirondacks & Beyond Motorcycle Safety LLC, has been offering a variety of motorcycle courses for both beginners and experienced riders. 

Owner Jeanne Dion purchased the business from Marc and Margie Connelly when they retired in 2021. Before that, she worked for the Connellys as a Motorcycle Safety Foundation certified RiderCoach. 

Dion has been riding for about 20 years, and after learning the basics from her husband, she enrolled in a motorcycle course for beginners. 

“I took the class within six months of him teaching me to ride,” she said. “I learned so many skills, and it just made riding much more enjoyable.”

A few years later, Dion was working as a civilian at the Stewart Air National Guard Base in Newburgh when she became a RiderCoach for the motorcycle safety course that was offered there. After she and her husband relocated to the North Country, she continued to work for the military and became a RiderCoach at Adirondacks & Beyond Motorcycle Safety. 

Chimney Heroes, a chimney services company based in Ballston Spa,  has been experiencing a series of growth spurts over the past several years, according to president Jamie Wallace.

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed how people live in their homes. In turn, the home services industry has experienced a lot of record-breaking growth, he said. The latest iteration of Chimney Heroes’ growth trajectory is the completion of a 3,000-square-foot training facility and a new, larger warehouse.

  Chimney Heroes provides chimney inspections, sweeping, repair, masonry work and installation of gas and wood fireplaces. Wallace said the secret to the company’s growth and strength is his commitment to education.

All company technicians experience continuing education for excellence training, both internally and externally in an ongoing fashion. The construction of a dedicated training facility is the physical manifestation of years of investment in staff education and training.

“We have a manager on staff whose sole responsibility is training technicians in the field,” said Wallace. “Our company’s core values include professionalism and leadership development and my promise to my team is that I will provide everything they need to succeed and thrive in the chimney care business.

“We have a modern-day apprenticeship to tradesperson program, and we’re always looking to meet new serious candidates who’d like to study and work with us.”