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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2006 Dec 03 - Cape Cod Times Article: "Trotting A Bumpy Path"Cape Cod Times INSIDE E ■ Wall Street Journal E-3 ■ Stocks E-6 WALTER MU, SO INAi The competition is heating up BUSINESSin the smart phone segment. Editor Stacey Myers Page E-10 ■phone 508-862-1220 -fax 508-771-3292 ■ sinyers@capecodonline. coin SUNDAY, DECEMBER 3,2006 Biz@home MARILEE CROC:KER Swapping sirens for foghorns henever Pete and Amy Ladd find themselves experiencing what Pete calls a"white-knuckle time,"they remind themselves just why they traded their dot - corn incomes and fast -paced city lives for a home office on Cape Cod. They wanted to return to Pete's native New England, and they wanted to raise a family near the ocean. The Ladds, who moved to Falmouth in 2004 from Washington, D.C., are among the latest wave of transplants setting up home-based busi- nesses here. These are not the folks who run the traditional Cape cottage industries, the jam -makers and soap -makers, plumbers and electricians, jewelers, potters, painters and such. This newer, fast-growing sector consists of techno-savvy and business -savvy consultants and product purveyors. Wired for success and connected to their off -Cape clientele via their laptops, cell phones and BlackBerries, these folks move in a business environment that knows fewer and fewer geographic boundaries. Pete and Amy Ladd, ages 40 and 38, respectively, fit squarely in this trend. Their enterprise, called The Ladd Group, started out building online forums. High costs have put the Cape's last horse and carriage business on the endangered list STEVE HEASLIP photos/Cape Cod rimes Holiday -themed events are a big part of John DiGi's horse and carriage business. At this time of year, he runs rides at Mashpee Commons on Saturdays. "It just creates a wonderful holiday feeling," says Lissa Daly, a spokeswoman for the shopping center. rl tti LIM cally dispersed to hold meet- ings, share files, post reports, access training and collaborate on projects - all virtually. Think of it as aYahoo group on ste- roids, Pete said. I called Pete Ladd recently because I wanted to learn what it's like to move a high- tech business to the Cape, swapping life in the fast lane for our slower, if accelerating, business environment. Pete expressed no regrets, but he told me that moving here has definitely involved trade-offs. Personally, he said, he sometimes misses the"vibe of the city,"being able to walk out the door to restaurants and nightlife. There are business trade- offs as well. "In the city, you really are at the cutting edge, pushing things out there that are new. When we got here, people were just starting to get what we were doing."Busi- ness networking was easier in the city too, he said. Fortunately, along with their business and technological know-how, the Ladds brought flexibility and adaptability with them. In their first year here, in addition to giving birth to the first of their two children, Amy took a full-time job with a Web - based company in Bourne. And Pete put his business - development skills to work consulting for a film production company on Martha's Vineyard. That led to his launching a dis- tributorship of their emergency response training tools, with the goal of setting up online forums where firefighters and others can share best practices and network socially and pro- fessionally. "It's easier to adapt here because if it's hustle and bustle, sometimes you don't see where the weaknesses might be,"Pete said."Here you're a little more grounded." There's another difference. When the Cape air turns heavy with mist, Pete and Amy hear foghorns in the background instead of the sirens of the city."There is a romantic side to it," Pete said, adding,"We made the right choice for our family." Marilee Crocker lives in Brewster. You can reach her at marileecrocker@hotmail.com. CL By CHRISTIE SMYTHE STAFF WRITER '" arry, a gray -white, 2,000 -pound Percheron, lowers his massive head, eager to greet some visitors. His owner, John DiGi, reaches up to stroke the horse's forehead and whispers into one of Harry's cup - holder -sized nostrils. Horses can feel the vibrations of human voices through their noses, he explains. He looks back up at the Percheron and smiles. DiGi, a stocky former Boston security guard and guard dog trainer, makes his living as the owner of a rug -cleaning com- pany, Carpet Cleaners of Nan- tucket. But during the holiday season, he dresses up in a top hat and a fancy duster, and focuses on his real passion, Paradise Stables, the horse and carriage business he runs from his home in SouthYarmouth. Behind his house, he keeps six Percherons, 13 carriages and sev- eral assorted commercial pickup trucks and trailers. Named after a region of France where they are believed to have originated, Percherons were bred both for power and style, according to the Web site of the Percheron Horse Association of America. In December, DiGi's teams can be seen pulling carriages on Saturdays at Mashpee Commons and at a number of Christmas - themed events throughout the John DiGi and his wife, Margaret, top left, started Paradise Stables nine years ago. The business has yet to show a profit. Part of the problem is the expense of keep- ing the six Percheron horses that they use for the carriage business. Percherons are draft horses bred for both power and style. Cape. DiGi claims his is one of just a few horse and carriage compa- nies in the state, and the last one on the Cape. Paradise Stables is the only horse and carriage company on the Cape listed on the Web site of the Carriage Operators of North America and is the only one listed in any Cape phone books. Local event plan- ners also say DiGi is the only carriage operator they could find. Some longtime stable owners on Please see TROTTING /E-2 A Business expenses Among the expenses John DiGi pays to keep his horse and carriage business going: ■ $2,000 a month for feed for six Percheron horses ■ $200, per horse, for new shoes every five to 10 weeks ■ $1,700 for electricity during winter months for portable heaters ■ Plus auto and liability insurance E2 ■ Cape Cod Times SUNDAY, DECEMBER 3, 21 Trotting: High costs bridle horse and carriage driver continued from E-1 the Cape say rising costs, espe- cially for liability insurance, drove others out of the busi- ness. Although he had hoped eventually to retire from cleaning rugs and run Paradise Stables full time, DiGi, 57, said he worries that he's headed for the same fate. Since it was launched about nine years ago, Paradise Stables has yet to turn a profit, he said. "The horse business is starting to take a toll on my rug business," he said. "I really, honestly didn't think it was going to be this difficult." Operating costs The Percherons that pull DiGi's carriages - Harry, Sonny, Jake, Dan, Butch and Barney - eat nearly $2,000 worth of feed per month. They get new shoes several times a year, costing $200 per horse for each new set. When they're in front of the public, the horses wear $2,000 to $4,000 harnesses hand -made by Amish craftspeople. In the winter, portable heaters keep their water from freezing, run- ning up DiGi's electric bill as high as $1,700 per month. Liability and auto insurance for his trucks are another finan- cial pain. Qualified carriage drivers are also hard to find, and don't come cheap, DiGi said. Those expenses are a lot to swallow and opportunities for revenue are limited, he said. When they started the busi- ness, DiGi and his wife, Mar- garet, thought their carriages would be a natural fit for the Cape's tourism -based economy and the historic ambiance of vil- lage centers. But, he said, offi- cials in several towns told him his carriages were too much of a traffic hazard to be used regu- larly on village streets during the summer. That leaves Paradise Stables with special events, particu- larly during December, and weddings as his only signifi- cant opportunities for making money. Although he landed as many as seven to 10 weddings a year in some good years; that number fell to three this year - and all three canceled due to bad weather. The Christmastime business has also been shaky at times. Organizers of the Hyannis Christmas Harbor Lighting and Stroll, who had been reg- ular customers, wound up not hiring carriages for this year's event, which is being held this weekend. Cynthia Cole, executive director of the Hyannis Main Street Business Improvement District, said organizers used a sizable portion of their budget for expensive LED lights this year, and had difficulty deciding whether they could hire Para- dise Stables. However, Cole said she has thought about arranging reg- ular carriage rides along Main Street throughout the summer, 1�11?NINDIS"I sr)jkt_t� IRI, 4S, CeAw RIA [-'kn STEVE HEASLIP/CapeCod rimes "I really, honestly didn't think it was going to be this difficult." JOHN DIGI Paradise Stables owner and may pursue that idea in the future. "His horses are beautiful. We would love to have him," she said. Prices DiGi admits that part of his problem is his prices, which he said he has"jacked up"over the past few years to better cover his costs. (DiGi's last name is actually DiGianvittorio, but he shortens it for business pur- poses.) When he started, DiGi said, P"G'W T Ads 1 Ie 0 1 1 0 he charged about $650 per carriage for an event. Now, he charges at least $1,000, and thinks he probably needs to be getting more. Linda Kramer, vice president of the Carriage Operators of North America and manager of 76 Carriage Co. in Philadelphia, said DiGi's prices are "in the correct ballpark" given the cost of doing business on the Cape. DiGi said it bothers him when people complain about his prices, especially when they might willingly shell out even more for flowers, photogra- phers or other staples of spe- cial events. ".Sometimes it's very frus- trating when I talk to people and they don't want to pay that much," he said. "A horse and carriage - it's a million -dollar memory. It sticks in your head now until the day you die." Carriage company opera- tors throughout the country are facing more obstacles, said Tommy Doyle, president of the Carriage Operators of North America and general manager of Palmetto Carriage Works in Charleston, S.C. One of them is the cost of liability insurance, he said. Many municipalities are also growing more concerned about the risk of traffic problems, Doyle said. In some places, animal rights activists, con- cerned about animals being put to work, are also trying to eliminate carriage businesses, he added. Many carriage operators are feeling the sting of higher costs and regulatory constraints. Although he doesn't think the number of carriage operators is decreasing, Doyle said, he sees some full-time operators scaling down their businesses to hobby - type operations. "It's just getting more and more difficult and more and more cost -prohibitive," Doyle said. nomic pressures the busin owners might face, rides horse-drawn carriages are popular, Kramer said. "People are happy to h them. It's the nostalgia of past," she said. "For a lot people, it's the only time tl see a horse." At Mashpee Commons, c: dren rush to stand in line the carriage, and often rid over and over again, said Li Daly, marketing executive the shopping center. "It just creates a wonder holiday feeling. People love she said. Gus Johnson, president of Chatham Merchants Assoc tion, said although he consid the price a little steep, he plan hire a Paradise Stables carri; for the town's Christmas By Sea stroll, Dec. 8-9. "It absolutely, positiv makes the night,"Johnson s-, "I'd love to have two carriag but there's no way to afford Both Daly and Johnson s they understand the costs D faces. They said they hope can stay in business. DiGi said he would be hal enough just to break even, perhaps make just enough get a new carriage once h while. "Even though I keep los: money on this, I just love do: it,"he said. Public appeal Christie Smythe can be reached at Regardless of whatever eco- csmythe@capecodonline.coy It, 11%