Health food store recharges former utility engineer
Each month "Transitions" profiles an individual who has made significant changes in his or her work life and highlights the techniques used to make the changes.
Valerie Mata knew that she had to do something, but did not know what that something was. For four years she had been going through the motions at work, becoming increasingly unhappy.
"I couldn't see any options, any way out," Mata said, "but I knew I needed to find it for myself."
She had been in the utilities world for more than two decades. After earning her bachelor's in electrical engineering at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst in 1976, she worked for a utility in San Diego and then moved back to her native Massachusetts to work for Boston Edison, which became part of
She took a hiatus when her two daughters were born in the 1980s, and returned part time while raising her family. Years later, though she was an industry veteran and knew both her job and the company well, she found herself walking the halls and asking herself "Why am I here?"
And she did not feel unique. "I think a lot of middle-aged people are in the same boat," she said, not happy with cubicle life and "looking for something that satisfies them on an entirely different level."
After Boston Edison's parent company merged with Commonwealth Energy Systems, the new firm offered some employees the option to leave with attractive severance. Though she had no idea what she would do next, Mata, then in her mid-40s, saw it as a clear signal the time had come for her to leave. She took the deal.
"I left to see what would arise, with a certain measure of trust that somehow things would work out," Mata said. "I had education, ability, and intelligence all ready to be put toward something."
She still had "no clear vision" of what she wanted to do. But she was reflecting and talking with people about it, and described herself as in a state of readiness.
Then, when shopping in her local health food store in Stoneham one day, she overheard the owner saying to another customer that he was looking to retire, that a potential buyer for the store had fallen through, and that he would most likely shutter the store after the lease expired in two years.
"That's when it struck me," said Mata. "Would I like to own and operate a health food store? It was an idea that I wouldn't have had on my own in a million years."
She decided to approach the owner with her interest. He was skeptical, but Mata was not deterred and persuaded him to take her on part time in the store.
"I had always been interested in nutraceuticals," Mata said, using the industry term for vitamins and other dietary supplements. She also cited her own family's history of food allergies as introducing her to the field.
Working in the store, Mata saw the business from the inside. "I saw what it would really be like to run it," she recalled.
With a vision and a purpose now, Mata worked with the Boston-based Center for Women & Enterprise to create a business plan. The center connected her with the Small Business Administration, which connected her with a bank, and she was able to borrow almost $130,000 . She and her husband also refinanced their home for more cash to fund the business in the early going.
She bought the Natural Food Exchange in June 2001, and the first six months, which included the period of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, were tough, she said. But things slowly started to turn up.
After two years she moved the store from an industrial area to a prominent location in the heart of Stoneham. It gained immediate visibility and flourished with the increased foot traffic.
"We are definitely profitable," Mata said. Vitamins are her biggest seller, and food allergy items comprise another 40 percent of sales. She now employs two full-time and three part-time staff.
She also notes with pride that the bank loan will be paid off in 15 months, and she has also paid back the family loan.
Mata works about 60 hours a week now, compared to the 20-hour schedule she last worked at NStar, and takes home the same amount of pay. However she owns the business and, she says, "the rewards are immense."
"It's fabulous. I am completely autonomous," said Mata. "There are no layers of bureaucracy or approvals, and I can respond to my customers' needs quickly."
Mata said that none of this would have been possible without the support of her husband, a civil engineer and project manager for a Fortune 50 company and the family's chief breadwinner.
She is also pleased with the implicit lessons her professional change imparts to her children. "It shows them they have options in life," Mata said.
Mata characterized her purchase as a "leap of faith. I'd spent 40 years being responsible and safe, and something internal was driving me to that next place that is not safe, that is unknown."
She admitted that late in the planning process, she suddenly felt panic. "It was as though I had been hit upside the head," Mata recalled. "I suddenly realized what my life would be like, with all these new responsibilities."
But now, "I feel like I've stepped into humanity," meaning the range of people she serves each day, assisting them with healthcare issues, and even serving as a referral source to physicians and alternative healthcare providers.
"It has all been a learning experience," she reflected. "But I feel as though every part was meant to be. There are times when some force is pushing us toward change, and we either have the courage to explore it or not. It is not always safe, and there are no guarantees."
Do you have a career transition to share? If so, e-mail transitions@bostonworks.com. Please include your name, phone number, and a brief description of your career change. 