- Words by Tess Van Straaten Photography by Lia Crowe

Buying not just one, but two businesses, and moving countries during a pandemic might seem like a lot to take on, but for Peter and Lori Stofko, it乌鸦传媒檚 a dream come true.

乌鸦传媒淭he whole thing just feels like it was meant to be,乌鸦传媒� says Peter of their January purchase of and the July 2020 acquisition of .

The couple, who lived in Denver with their two young children and ran a successful real estate business, fell in love with Victoria on a visit several years ago.

乌鸦传媒淲e came back from that first trip and we booked our flights to come back, and we were coming here on basically every break that we got,乌鸦传媒� laughs Peter, who乌鸦传媒檚 originally from Slovakia. 乌鸦传媒淲e couldn乌鸦传媒檛 get enough!乌鸦传媒�

After deciding to move to Victoria so they could have a better life for their family, Peter and Lori started looking for a business to buy. Pacific Rollshutters was for sale and when they came to see it for the first time, they didn乌鸦传媒檛 realize it shared a showroom with Ruffell & Brown乌鸦传媒攂ut that turned out to be a selling feature.

乌鸦传媒淚 walked in and saw Ruffell & Brown and Hunter Douglas blinds everywhere and Lori had been working for Hunter Douglas for six years at that point,乌鸦传媒� Peter explains. 乌鸦传媒淚t just seemed like a sign.乌鸦传媒�

They乌鸦传媒檇 done their due diligence, agreed on a price, and were about to move ahead with the purchase when the COVID-19 pandemic hit.

乌鸦传媒淓arly on, it was scary because people didn乌鸦传媒檛 know if a business was still going to exist, so we kind of put everything on hold and everyone was locked at home,乌鸦传媒� Peter says. 乌鸦传媒淏ut they were busy and they were able to work through it. Customers kept calling and basically, the business grew because of the pandemic and that乌鸦传媒檚 really been the trend the last two years. It乌鸦传媒檚 just been continuous.乌鸦传媒�

In addition to the pandemic bump, they乌鸦传媒檝e successfully grown the business by expanding product lines and set down roots, so when Debra Ruffell and Nigel Brown recently approached them to see if they乌鸦传媒檇 be interested in buying their well-known Victoria business so that they could retire, it was a no-brainer.

乌鸦传媒淚t was one of those 乌鸦传媒榓ha moments,乌鸦传媒櫸谘淮�媒� says Lori, who was an IT director for Hunter Douglas until this year and consulted for Ruffell & Brown after moving to Victoria. 乌鸦传媒淣ot only was it Hunter Douglas, and I have a lot of familiarity with the products and customers, but the whole process flow is very similar and complementary in many ways.乌鸦传媒�

乌鸦传媒淟ori乌鸦传媒檚 background really drove part of the interest from Debra and Nigel,乌鸦传媒� adds Peter. 乌鸦传媒淪he乌鸦传媒檚 very experienced in process improvements and technology implementation, and that乌鸦传媒檚 one of the aspects where Ruffell & Brown has been really struggling in, so it was meant to be and a perfect fit.乌鸦传媒�

But taking over two businesses during a pandemic hasn乌鸦传媒檛 been easy. In addition to the supply chain issues plaguing companies everywhere, COVID restrictions have made it harder to bond with staff.

乌鸦传媒淲hen we bought Pacific, we couldn乌鸦传媒檛 even get the employees together for a lunch,乌鸦传媒� Lori points out.

乌鸦传媒淭he human connection and building relationships is really important and it helps make it more enjoyable for people to come to work,乌鸦传媒� Peter adds. 乌鸦传媒淲hen it乌鸦传媒檚 always work, I think it strains the relationship.乌鸦传媒�

Recognizing employees are their biggest asset, Peter and Lori say they乌鸦传媒檙e always open to hearing about opportunities for improvement.

乌鸦传媒淲e very much encourage that,乌鸦传媒� says Lori. 乌鸦传媒淲e can乌鸦传媒檛 fix things we don乌鸦传媒檛 know about and it might take us time to even realize what乌鸦传媒檚 going on, so someone coming and telling us is so important. We乌鸦传媒檝e spent a lot of time just learning a great deal from everybody.乌鸦传媒�

乌鸦传媒淚f you treat people right, they will do a good job for you,乌鸦传媒� adds Peter. 乌鸦传媒淲e also believe in paying people [well]. If you offer a higher wage, people will show up. It乌鸦传媒檚 what you have to do (in this tight labour market), but I also feel like it乌鸦传媒檚 the right thing to do. We believe in sharing the success.乌鸦传媒�

The couple isn乌鸦传媒檛 afraid of hard work but when you work with your spouse, Lori and Peter agree, finding the right work-life balance can be the biggest challenge.

乌鸦传媒淲e basically talk about the business 24 hours a day,乌鸦传媒� Peter says, only half-jokingly. 乌鸦传媒淵ou could be having breakfast on Sunday morning and you think of something and you can basically have a senior management meeting and make a decision. But at the same time, the kids look at us and ask, 乌鸦传媒楧o you ever not talk about work?乌鸦传媒� so we乌鸦传媒檙e very conscious of that and it乌鸦传媒檚 something we乌鸦传媒檙e going to work on. We want to have our business, we want to do well, but we don乌鸦传媒檛 want to work around the clock. Work-life balance is what it乌鸦传媒檚 all about.乌鸦传媒�

For Lori, the best advice she乌鸦传媒檚 received is to not sweat the small things.

乌鸦传媒淭here will always be problems and you have to kind of put things in perspective and prioritize,乌鸦传媒� she says. 乌鸦传媒淵ou乌鸦传媒檙e not going to solve all the problems in a day or in a week or even in a year. You just have to keep working towards a goal and chipping away at what you need to do to get to that place. It乌鸦传媒檚 never perfect乌鸦传媒攖hat乌鸦传媒檚 just not the way it is.乌鸦传媒�

As long-time entrepreneurs, they also see mistakes as learning experiences and try to break down what went wrong so they can fix it going forward.

乌鸦传媒淥ur first real estate property was a giant failure, but instead of scaring us, and making us decide not to do it anymore, we learned from it, moved forward and we were very successful. Looking back, if we乌鸦传媒檇 given up at step one, we wouldn乌鸦传媒檛 have seen the success that came afterwards.乌鸦传媒�

乌鸦传媒淚 think that乌鸦传媒檚 something that乌鸦传媒檚 really important in entrepreneurship乌鸦传媒攜ou don乌鸦传媒檛 just give up,乌鸦传媒� adds Lori. 乌鸦传媒淵ou try different things to make it work. There乌鸦传媒檚 always a different way to do it.乌鸦传媒�

It乌鸦传媒檚 clear what they乌鸦传媒檙e doing is working and even taking on a home reno at the same time hasn乌鸦传媒檛 fazed this busy couple.

乌鸦传媒淚 think people look at us and think we乌鸦传媒檙e crazy!乌鸦传媒� Lori laughs. 乌鸦传媒淏ut this has been our goal for so long. This is where we want to be and everything just fell into place.乌鸦传媒�

Story courtesy of , a Black Press Media publication
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