APRIL 22-28, 2024 SPRINGFIELD BUSINESS JOURNAL · 29 Starting your own business can be like setting sail on an unpredictable ocean. You may set your course with a clear destination in mind, but you might encounter unforeseen currents and winds that alter your path along the way. In the business realm, this could mean that the venture you start with may differ from where you end up 20 years later. Rather than viewing this as a setback, it’s crucial to perceive it as a natural part of the journey that could lead to exciting new opportunities. In some cases, forces outside of your control bring about the change. Over the last few years, catastrophic damage and destruction were forced onto the small-business community because of mandated lockdowns that blew up supply lines and shattered the labor market. We’re still dealing with a heavy inflationary environment caused by the unprecedented increase in the money supply via COVID relief – much of which has not even been spent yet. This strain has caused many businesses to reinvent themselves and reimagine their future. We did not set out 24 years ago to build a big business. As a company providing audio, video and lighting services, we saw the great struggle in the typical architecture/construction process and often found ourselves in the middle. We saw a need to develop a better, more holistic delivery method for construction and renovation projects, so we started building a plan, but we had yet to determine where it would lead. Today, we have built an enterprise of companies that support a holistic, turn-key design-build model that has been very successful nationally. It, however, only remotely resembles where we started. Regardless of where we are today, we have had to change and implement many new plans, strategies and procedures to keep moving forward in this new business environment. Here are just a few thoughts on navigating this. Time has taught me that working on the business is essential instead of always being buried in it. Sometimes, seeing the 30,000-foot view from inside the company is hard. Vision casting is an essential element in rallying your team around a clear direction, which is critical to successful transformations that a business may need to make. You will need buy-in from your team and key players. Adapting to the changes in the landscape often necessitates pivoting or reinventing your business to stay relevant and competitive. Embracing change and remaining flexible in your approach can open doors to unforeseen opportunities and ultimately lead to greater success. Lastly, there is no substitute for hard work. You are going to encounter failures. The goal is to learn from them, pivot, and move on. It will most likely be an uphill climb, and as with most things in business, it will not be easy. It will be hard work but likely worth it in the end. Countless successful entrepreneurs can attest to the fact that their initial business ventures bore little resemblance to the enterprises they lead today. What you learn from your initial foray into entrepreneurship – navigating market dynamics, understanding consumer behavior or honing your leadership skills – lays the groundwork for future success, even if it means transitioning to a different venture. In conclusion, don’t be discouraged if the business you start with isn’t the one you end up with. Entrepreneurship is a dynamic, iterative process characterized by experimentation, adaptation and personal growth. Your initial venture is a foundation upon which you build your skills, knowledge and entrepreneurial acumen. Embrace the journey, remain open to change and trust in your ability to navigate the constantly changing waters. Remember, the destination may evolve, but the lessons learned remain invaluable. Donnie Brawner is CEO and owner of Paragon 360 and Paragon Fabrication. He can be reached at dbrawner@paragon360.com. Growth in kosher wine enriches the Passover seder The transformation of business The Jewish holiday of Passover begins at sundown on April 22 and ends at nightfall on April 30. It is a holiday that celebrates a time when, at the last of the 10 plagues that struck Egypt in biblical times, the Angel of Death passed over the homes of the Israelites. Part of the celebration of the holiday is a major dinner at which each adult guest must drink four glasses of wine. For years, in this country, the most common wine used was a sweet concord grape wine with absolutely nothing to recommend except that it was sweet and that it followed the strict kosher laws. With the advent of the State of Israel, better kosher varieties became more well known and other nations even picked up the trend and are also producing kosher wines for the Jewish citizens in their country. To make a wine kosher, all the materials used to ferment and clear the wine must follow strict kosher laws and have been under constant supervision of a rabbi during its fermentation and bottling. With that in mind, I would like to review some of the kosher wines that are currently in the marketplace and, as the old joke goes, you don’t have to be Jewish to enjoy a kosher wine. Ben Ami 2021 Merlot ($19) The often-maligned merlot shows its true colors in the excellent kosher wine. This is a very friendly merlot – soft, supple and easy to drink. The color is a dark crimson, and the aroma is that of cherries and fresh summer berries. The cherry carries over to the flavor where it mingles with the flavors of cassis and tea. There is also a myriad of under flavors that dance across the palate and remain in the mouth long after the wine has been swallowed. The Ben Ami Merlot can give many of the merlot wines presently available, kosher or not, a good run for their money and is also the perfect red wine for the meat dishes often served at a Passover table. Ben Ami 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon ($20) This is a cabernet sauvignon that does not display any of the harsh characteristics that are often found in many of the young cabernet sauvignon wines. The color is a dark crimson, and the aroma presents cherries and fresh summer berries. The cherry carries over to the flavor where it mingles with aromas of cassis and a myriad of under fruit flavors that dance across the palate and will remain in the mouth long after the wine has been swallowed. The Ben Ami 2021 is the perfect red wine for the meat dishes often served at a Passover table. Castello del Poggio Moscato d’Asti 2021 ($18) Moscato grapes produce a naturally sweet white wine with a heavy body and rich with the flavors of raisins and ripe peaches. For those who still prefer a sweet kosher wine, this is a good substitute for an old favorite. Although this is a white wine, there is no law in the kosher directives that indicates that the wine used for the Passover meal, called a seder, must be red. Manischewitz Concord Grape ($9) I cannot end this review of kosher wines without mentioning the grandsire of the kosher wines, the Manischewitz Concord Grape. This wine, that has been made in the New York upstate city of Canandaigua in the heart of the Appellation Mountains, is full bodied, sweet and displays the easily identifiable flavor of the concord grapes that is often called foxy, and does take some getting used to. Kosher concord grape wines have been available in the United States, almost unchanged, for well over a century. During the Prohibition period, when sacramental wines were legal, the wine could only be obtained from a certified rabbi and/or from synagogues. Needless to say, during that dry Prohibition period, there were numerous instantaneous, temporary conversions to Judaism. Wine columnist Bennet Bodenstein can be reached at frojhe1@att.net. WINE REVIEW Bennet Bodenstein BUSINESS FULL CIRCLE Donnie Brawner OPINION WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU Springfield Business Journal welcomes responses from readers. Letters to the editor should be brief, preferably under 300 words, and may be edited for clarity, style and length. No anonymous letters will be printed. Send letters to sbj@sbj.net. Please include your full name and the city where you reside. At a Passover seder in the late 1940s, the young man in the center looking at the camera is the author of this column. provided by BENNET BODENSTEIN
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