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Central Penn Business Journal | Eye on Small Business
Not Like Oil and Water
Two businesses and three children keep a Camp Hill husband-and-wife team busy.Italian sweet wine vinegar and shiny hardwood floors do not have much in common - unless you visit the home of Jacqueline and Anthony Magaro. The couple operates two diverse businesses out of their home in Camp Hill.
Jacqueline Magaro, the proprietor of Jacquelina's Inc., is a specially food manufacturer. In 1996 she began marketing sweet wine vinegar made from a 200-year-old family recipe. She sells mostly to local wholesalers, gourmet shops and restaurants, and over the Internet.
It was difficult acquiring the start-up capital for her business, said Magaro. And progress over the years has been slow. "First and foremost, you need a good product that you believe in," she said. "Find your passion and then the money will follow."
Jacquelina's incorporated in May 2000 after Magaro talked with attorneys and professional consultants who advised her to do so. "I wanted to cover all the bases," she said. Magaro declined to discuss specific revenues, but she did say that since incorporating, wholesale sales have doubled and Internet sales at www.jacquelinas.com have increased by 100 percent.
At the start, Jacquelina's sold only sweet wine vinegar, but in 1997 Magaro expanded the product line to include an oil and vinegar mix, upon requests from trade show consumers. In 1998, Magaro added flavored dipping oil when she received requests from a retailer.
Tom Anderson, owner of Marketplace Gourmet, Hershey, uses Jacquelina's products in his cooking classes.
"It's nice to have a quality product that is local," he said. The gourmet shop specializes in imported items. Anderson carries all three Jacquelina's products, and he said they are good sellers.
Magaro plans to expand her line and move the operation out of the home to increase distribution. She needs a larger space to fill larger orders. It is a challenge being a one-woman operation, she said.
For self-employed Anthony Magaro, time management presents a challenge. "It can be chaotic around here with the two businesses and raising our family, three girls, ages 3, 8, and 15, but our work ethic transcends everything," he said.
AFM Refinishing, a.k.a. Mr. Sandman, a wood-floor refinishing company that caters to the residential industry, has been in business for 17 years. AFM specializes in set up and finishing of occupied and unoccupied residences; lifetime warranties, dust and odor control, mark-free sanding and environmentally safe finishes.
The couple shares office space, as well as business plans.
"We bounce ideas back and forth. It's nice to have another business mind around," said Jacqueline Magaro, who created a radio promo for her husband.
Anthony Magaro, who is the only employee of AFM, said gross sales were $75,000 in 1999 and $150,000 in 2000. Currently sales are up 30 percent over last year's and by the end of 2002, they are expected to reach $250,000.
"It is important to be recognizes as a leader in floor refinishing and expand into other areas where the demographics will support ," said Magaro, who services more than 600 local clients. One of Magaro's largest competitors, who preferred to remain anonymous, agreed that Magaro is a leader in the industry.
Kathleen Rodgers of Mechanicsburg recently hired Magaro to refinish
her floors. "He did an excellent job," she said. "It
was probably the best work we've had done on the house."
THe next step for Mr. Sandman is a venture into
franchising. Magaro believes the demographics will support his move.
"A franchise will enable me to apply the skills and techniques I've
refined as a one-man business and take it to the next level," he
said.
Confidence and risk-taking are both challenges and keys to success,
Anthony Magaro said. "It is vital to network within the industries,
to keep up with technologies, and get advice from professionals,"
he said. "Engage those resources to guide you."
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