- 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鈥檚 a dream come true.

鈥淭he whole thing just feels like it was meant to be,鈥� 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.

鈥淲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,鈥� laughs Peter, who鈥檚 originally from Slovakia. 鈥淲e couldn鈥檛 get enough!鈥�

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鈥檛 realize it shared a showroom with Ruffell & Brown鈥攂ut that turned out to be a selling feature.

鈥淚 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,鈥� Peter explains. 鈥淚t just seemed like a sign.鈥�

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

鈥淓arly on, it was scary because people didn鈥檛 know if a business was still going to exist, so we kind of put everything on hold and everyone was locked at home,鈥� Peter says. 鈥淏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鈥檚 really been the trend the last two years. It鈥檚 just been continuous.鈥�

In addition to the pandemic bump, they鈥檝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鈥檇 be interested in buying their well-known Victoria business so that they could retire, it was a no-brainer.

鈥淚t was one of those 鈥榓ha moments,鈥欌�� says Lori, who was an IT director for Hunter Douglas until this year and consulted for Ruffell & Brown after moving to Victoria. 鈥淣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.鈥�

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

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

鈥淲hen we bought Pacific, we couldn鈥檛 even get the employees together for a lunch,鈥� Lori points out.

鈥淭he human connection and building relationships is really important and it helps make it more enjoyable for people to come to work,鈥� Peter adds. 鈥淲hen it鈥檚 always work, I think it strains the relationship.鈥�

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

鈥淲e very much encourage that,鈥� says Lori. 鈥淲e can鈥檛 fix things we don鈥檛 know about and it might take us time to even realize what鈥檚 going on, so someone coming and telling us is so important. We鈥檝e spent a lot of time just learning a great deal from everybody.鈥�

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

The couple isn鈥檛 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.

鈥淲e basically talk about the business 24 hours a day,鈥� Peter says, only half-jokingly. 鈥淵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, 鈥楧o you ever not talk about work?鈥� so we鈥檙e very conscious of that and it鈥檚 something we鈥檙e going to work on. We want to have our business, we want to do well, but we don鈥檛 want to work around the clock. Work-life balance is what it鈥檚 all about.鈥�

For Lori, the best advice she鈥檚 received is to not sweat the small things.

鈥淭here will always be problems and you have to kind of put things in perspective and prioritize,鈥� she says. 鈥淵ou鈥檙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鈥檚 never perfect鈥攖hat鈥檚 just not the way it is.鈥�

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.

鈥淥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鈥檇 given up at step one, we wouldn鈥檛 have seen the success that came afterwards.鈥�

鈥淚 think that鈥檚 something that鈥檚 really important in entrepreneurship鈥攜ou don鈥檛 just give up,鈥� adds Lori. 鈥淵ou try different things to make it work. There鈥檚 always a different way to do it.鈥�

It鈥檚 clear what they鈥檙e doing is working and even taking on a home reno at the same time hasn鈥檛 fazed this busy couple.

鈥淚 think people look at us and think we鈥檙e crazy!鈥� Lori laughs. 鈥淏ut this has been our goal for so long. This is where we want to be and everything just fell into place.鈥�

Story courtesy of , a Black Press Media publication
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