New Business Development in Our Current Economy

GSU center aids small businesses
February 3, 2009
BY MIKE NOLAN Staff writer
When Colleen Simon's out-of-work husband suggested to her they take a gamble and open their own restaurant, her initial reaction was less than supportive.
"I told him he was out of his mind," Simon said as she sat inside Vito & Nick's II in Tinley Park. The couple opened the pizza parlor in April.

Co-owner Colleen Simon sits at a table at her Vito & Nick's restaurant in Tinley Park. She and her husband Rick opened the Italian restaurant in April.(Art Vassy/SouthtownStar)

With the country in a recession, wouldn't anybody be out of their mind to start a new business?
Actually, it's the fragile condition of the economy that has lots of Southlanders coming to Bob Rakstang and asking for advice on starting their own business.
The assistant director of CenterPoint for Entrepreneurs - the small business development center at Governors State University - Rakstang finds himself lately counseling folks looking to chart a new future for themselves. Some are worried about their job security, while others would rather strike out on their own than be beholden to a boss.
"There have been quite a number of people I've counseled who have a job but are concerned," he said. "A lot of people are thinking a little further ahead than before."
Some, like Dan Vaughan, are chucking their current job in favor of a completely different tack. The Orland Park resident abandoned a career as a civil litigation attorney, and next month he will open a franchised Massage Envy salon in Bloomingdale.
He signed a lease in September, just weeks before the stock market meltdown.
"I had been a bit apprehensive about the economy even before that," Vaughan said.
He knew of the chain from his sister, who'd worked as a therapist at a Massage Envy shop in Arizona. Vaughan said he left law because he "wanted to become my own boss."
To open Vito & Nick's II, Simon said she left a career in health care. She worked as an occupational therapist at Ingalls Hospital and also provided in-home health care.
She said her husband, Rick, an electrician, hadn't been able to find work, and what she earned wasn't enough to support them and their two young children.
"The situation we were in forced us to make a move," Simon said. "Plus, there was always something in him (Rick) that he wanted to have his own restaurant."
Simon said she met with Rakstang last year to get his opinion on ideas she had for the business.
"Bob's a good listener," she said. "He helps you sort out your thoughts."
He's also feeling the pinch in the tough economy. While demand for CenterPoint's services, which are free, has increased, funding to run the center hasn't kept pace.
"We have to be more efficient with the delivery of our services," Rakstang said.
That might include stopping by a client's business on his way home, or doing more counseling in the field. CenterPoint recently began offering counseling to Tinley Park Chamber of Commerce members.
"Right now it's every other Wednesday (at the chamber office), but we'll probably start doing it weekly."
Simon said she and her husband "didn't even consider" the state of the economy when they opened and that business "is progressing, despite the recession."
"Everybody loves pizza," Simon said. "It's a staple of the American diet."