Dealing With Startup Change

Imagine you are building a sandwich restaurant, are knee-deep into construction, and suddenly you realize that you have to make a big change in your business plan in order to succeed.

That's exactly where husband-and-wife team Alexandra Degiorgio and Vito Polosa found themselves in mid-2004. Their original plans to open a sandwich bar in their New York City locale were abruptly stopped as continued market research revealed that their area's demographic wouldn't likely support such a restaurant. "[Locally], the median age was about 30, income was high, and the [residents] were highly educated," says Degiorgio. "There's a lot of competition to have something unique." Degiorgio, 39, and Polosa, 33, felt changing the plan midcourse was the right decision. Their solution was to create Aroma Kitchen & Winebar, a gourmet Italian restaurant, instead.