Tony Capobianco of Tampa, Florida, just spent the last three days dressed as a pirate. And he has seven more days to go of eye-patch wearing and numerous growls of “Aaargh, shiver me timbers, me matie!”
Capobianco, 43, is enjoying running his first-ever pirate-themed art camp for children eager to draw, sculpt, mold, paint, throw glitter around and laugh a lot. Although glitter and clay weren’t tools of the trade at his previous IBM and AT&T jobs, he has taken to his new position as an Abrakadoodle franchise owner and education director like a pirate takes to gold doubloons.
A former manager of customer service and implementation, Capobianco, found himself laid off in May 2005 after 18 years in corporate America. Yet, he’s not shedding any tears about it; in fact, quite the opposite. “I get up every morning now with a smile – and sometimes glue – on my face,” he says. “I’ve gone from wingtips to sneakers, and I’m loving every minute of it.”
Capobianco is one of a growing number of laid-off (or simply rat-race-weary) workers who have left the corporate world to embrace new lives as self-employed entrepreneurs. “I never thought that it would be feasible until circumstances made it a feasibility.”
After finding himself booted from his managerial position, Capobianco began building the groundwork for an employment future that was not only more secure than his previous jobs but that included elements missing from all his corporate positions. “I guess I’ve always been an independent and creative thinker,” he says. “Those character traits weren’t exactly encouraged in my last jobs.” So the idea of creating a position for himself that met those needs was very appealing.
After exploring various self-employment options, Capobianco began working with a franchise consultant at FranChoice (www.franchoice.com) who introduced him to a variety of ownership opportunities. But when he saw Abrakadoodle, an art education company for children ages 20 months to 12 years, it was love at first sight. “It stood out because I love kids, it was a creative enterprise, and I’d be able to share it with my wife Patti who’s a preschool teacher,” he says.
While choosing a franchise was easy, finding the means to buy it was another matter. As a father of three, Capobianco wasn’t eager to plunder the family bank account or take out a massive loan. Fortunately, his franchise consultant recommended he check out an alternative funding method: using his 401(k) money to purchase the business without taking a distribution or paying additional taxes or penalties.
“I was referred to Guidant Financial Group [www.guidantfinancial.com], a retirement account facilitator,” he says. “They showed me how they could restructure my retirement account to allow for purchasing a business as an investment for the 401(k) without having to pay any taxes.”
Like the majority of tax-paying Americans, Capobianco had never heard of such a thing, and he immediately began digging. To his surprise, he discovered that thousands of entrepreneurs had already used such means to finance their own businesses. When structured correctly, not only were such transactions allowable but they were an excellent means for growing retirement funds while launching a business enterprise.
“More people need to know about this option,” he says. “The whole process was simple, clean and effortless, and Guidant saved me from paying early distribution penalties or paying off debts from a loan.” Within five weeks, he had access to his funds to purchase his franchise.
Capobianco purchased Abrakadoodle in August 2006, and he opened for business only two months later in October. He points out that one of the reasons he could be up and running so quickly is that Abrakadoodle is a mobile business. “We sell to schools and preschools and go into the classroom to present our lessons as part of the curriculum or after-school enrichment programs,” he says. “I’ve just tapped into the home-school market, and I’m already teaching classes for a group of 40 home-schooled kids.”
And these aren’t just any art classes. These are classes that help children draw outside the lines, think outside the box and follow wherever their imaginations lead – not a particularly surprising approach for a company tied to the tag line, We inspire the creativity in every child.
“What we teach is the process of art,” Capobianco explains. “In other words, the importance is placed on how they get there, not necessarily what they produce. We encourage visualization first, then execution.” Along with building creativity and individuality, the Abrakadoodle lessons are designed to introduce children to such art basics as color, form and design and to encourage developmental basics, such as fine motor, language and cognitive skills.
Capobianco gives an example of a recent Abrakadoodle lesson. When the presentation touched on the artwork of Michelangelo, the students were instructed to lie underneath their desks to paint up on the “ceiling” (the underside of the desk covered in construction paper) to experience what it might have been like to paint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. “They had a ball. Then when we talked about the famous painting of God’s hand creating Adam, we had pairs of kids trace their own hands in a similar likeness,” he says. “You know, reaching out and touching finger-to-finger.”
Creatively connecting and communicating is not just an important lesson Abrakadoodle teaches its students; it’s a philosophy that, according to Capobianco, is woven throughout the franchise itself. “In this world, the CEOs are not untouchable,” he says. “We talk all the time with them. And they actually listen.”
When he isn’t teaching the color wheel or hand-to-eye coordination, Capobianco is busy building up his franchise business, which covers East Pasco and Hillsborough County in the Tampa Bay area. He employs five instructors, and he’s looking for more. To that end, he molds cute lizard-like critters out of clay, sticks his business card in their mouths with the words, “Now hiring,” and leaves them around town at Starbucks and other gathering places. “Business wise, I’m about 40 percent of the way to my goal,” he says. “I’m not a top producer yet, but I will be.”
Capobianco reports that, while his franchise isn’t yet as financially rewarding as his past jobs were, emotionally “it’s phenomenal.” He no longer thinks of his life as high-pressure and hectic, he’s more closely involved with his family and community (“My kids and the neighbors are my focus group; I try out the new lessons on them”), and he swears he feels like an 8-year-old kid again. “I don’t believe I’ve complained in eight months. I don’t even whine any more.”
So how does it feel to have gone from layoff to laughing every day? “I can honestly say that I never smiled in my 18 years in the corporate world like I smile every day now,” he says. “It’s absolutely hysterical!”
For more information on Self-Directed IRAs or Business Financing, please visit www.guidantfinancial.com
Capobianco, 43, is enjoying running his first-ever pirate-themed art camp for children eager to draw, sculpt, mold, paint, throw glitter around and laugh a lot. Although glitter and clay weren’t tools of the trade at his previous IBM and AT&T jobs, he has taken to his new position as an Abrakadoodle franchise owner and education director like a pirate takes to gold doubloons.
A former manager of customer service and implementation, Capobianco, found himself laid off in May 2005 after 18 years in corporate America. Yet, he’s not shedding any tears about it; in fact, quite the opposite. “I get up every morning now with a smile – and sometimes glue – on my face,” he says. “I’ve gone from wingtips to sneakers, and I’m loving every minute of it.”
Capobianco is one of a growing number of laid-off (or simply rat-race-weary) workers who have left the corporate world to embrace new lives as self-employed entrepreneurs. “I never thought that it would be feasible until circumstances made it a feasibility.”
After finding himself booted from his managerial position, Capobianco began building the groundwork for an employment future that was not only more secure than his previous jobs but that included elements missing from all his corporate positions. “I guess I’ve always been an independent and creative thinker,” he says. “Those character traits weren’t exactly encouraged in my last jobs.” So the idea of creating a position for himself that met those needs was very appealing.
After exploring various self-employment options, Capobianco began working with a franchise consultant at FranChoice (www.franchoice.com) who introduced him to a variety of ownership opportunities. But when he saw Abrakadoodle, an art education company for children ages 20 months to 12 years, it was love at first sight. “It stood out because I love kids, it was a creative enterprise, and I’d be able to share it with my wife Patti who’s a preschool teacher,” he says.
While choosing a franchise was easy, finding the means to buy it was another matter. As a father of three, Capobianco wasn’t eager to plunder the family bank account or take out a massive loan. Fortunately, his franchise consultant recommended he check out an alternative funding method: using his 401(k) money to purchase the business without taking a distribution or paying additional taxes or penalties.
“I was referred to Guidant Financial Group [www.guidantfinancial.com], a retirement account facilitator,” he says. “They showed me how they could restructure my retirement account to allow for purchasing a business as an investment for the 401(k) without having to pay any taxes.”
Like the majority of tax-paying Americans, Capobianco had never heard of such a thing, and he immediately began digging. To his surprise, he discovered that thousands of entrepreneurs had already used such means to finance their own businesses. When structured correctly, not only were such transactions allowable but they were an excellent means for growing retirement funds while launching a business enterprise.
“More people need to know about this option,” he says. “The whole process was simple, clean and effortless, and Guidant saved me from paying early distribution penalties or paying off debts from a loan.” Within five weeks, he had access to his funds to purchase his franchise.
Capobianco purchased Abrakadoodle in August 2006, and he opened for business only two months later in October. He points out that one of the reasons he could be up and running so quickly is that Abrakadoodle is a mobile business. “We sell to schools and preschools and go into the classroom to present our lessons as part of the curriculum or after-school enrichment programs,” he says. “I’ve just tapped into the home-school market, and I’m already teaching classes for a group of 40 home-schooled kids.”
And these aren’t just any art classes. These are classes that help children draw outside the lines, think outside the box and follow wherever their imaginations lead – not a particularly surprising approach for a company tied to the tag line, We inspire the creativity in every child.
“What we teach is the process of art,” Capobianco explains. “In other words, the importance is placed on how they get there, not necessarily what they produce. We encourage visualization first, then execution.” Along with building creativity and individuality, the Abrakadoodle lessons are designed to introduce children to such art basics as color, form and design and to encourage developmental basics, such as fine motor, language and cognitive skills.
Capobianco gives an example of a recent Abrakadoodle lesson. When the presentation touched on the artwork of Michelangelo, the students were instructed to lie underneath their desks to paint up on the “ceiling” (the underside of the desk covered in construction paper) to experience what it might have been like to paint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. “They had a ball. Then when we talked about the famous painting of God’s hand creating Adam, we had pairs of kids trace their own hands in a similar likeness,” he says. “You know, reaching out and touching finger-to-finger.”
Creatively connecting and communicating is not just an important lesson Abrakadoodle teaches its students; it’s a philosophy that, according to Capobianco, is woven throughout the franchise itself. “In this world, the CEOs are not untouchable,” he says. “We talk all the time with them. And they actually listen.”
When he isn’t teaching the color wheel or hand-to-eye coordination, Capobianco is busy building up his franchise business, which covers East Pasco and Hillsborough County in the Tampa Bay area. He employs five instructors, and he’s looking for more. To that end, he molds cute lizard-like critters out of clay, sticks his business card in their mouths with the words, “Now hiring,” and leaves them around town at Starbucks and other gathering places. “Business wise, I’m about 40 percent of the way to my goal,” he says. “I’m not a top producer yet, but I will be.”
Capobianco reports that, while his franchise isn’t yet as financially rewarding as his past jobs were, emotionally “it’s phenomenal.” He no longer thinks of his life as high-pressure and hectic, he’s more closely involved with his family and community (“My kids and the neighbors are my focus group; I try out the new lessons on them”), and he swears he feels like an 8-year-old kid again. “I don’t believe I’ve complained in eight months. I don’t even whine any more.”
So how does it feel to have gone from layoff to laughing every day? “I can honestly say that I never smiled in my 18 years in the corporate world like I smile every day now,” he says. “It’s absolutely hysterical!”
For more information on Self-Directed IRAs or Business Financing, please visit www.guidantfinancial.com
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