Char Magaro and the art of transformation

It was a question I figured would resonate with people who may dream of doing something different, whether it’s starting a business, selling a business, launching a new career or just moving to a new place. That probably describes everyone at some point in their lives.

We ended up talking for an hour, and I learned that the change Magaro is about to make is not her first — and that it had been in the works for a while. Magaro, 65, has pursued a series of careers, including caterer, restaurant owner, magazine editor, online toy retailer and environmental activist.

In other words, turning the page is nothing new for Magaro. But she uses a more daring analogy.

“The first time you jump off a cliff and you don’t know if there’s a parachute, it’s scary,” she said. “But you jump off a couple more times, and you’re not so scared.”

OK. But How do you know when it’s time to jump? Magaro described her decision to sell her catering business in the 1990s.

“I woke up one morning and it was so clear, it was like if you hit me in the middle of my head with it,” she said. “It was, ‘I can’t see myself doing this in the future,’ and so I called up my chef and I said, ‘I’m going to give you an offer you can’t refuse.’”

Magaro isn’t the first person to wake up with that feeling. But most people ignore it, brush their teeth and drag themselves back into the office. Magaro chose to honor it.

When it came to the restaurant, however, Magaro had a plan. Her goal, which she sketched out more than a decade ago, was to develop two restaurants, sell them and retire, she told me. Last December is when she decided to put the final pieces of the plan in motion.

Her first restaurant, Char’s Bella Mundo, had already been sold. Char’s – Tracy Mansion, which opened in October 2012 in a former mansion overlooking the Susquehanna River, was her second eatery. Over the last few months, she interviewed business brokers, revealed the decision to her staff and sent out a news release. She’s hoping to sell the business and real estate attached to it for a combined $2.4 million.

She’s ready to move on. But she’s not quite done with the pressure of making sure every detail at the restaurant — from the first greeting at the door to the last bite of dessert — is just right.

“I love knowing that it’s humming correctly. I love the challenge of it,” she said. “I will miss that, but I know I can substitute it for something else.”

In fact, she’s not really retiring. And she already knows what that something else will be.

The next act

Magaro plans to make and sell jewelry. revive a portion of her former toy business and spend more time with her two elementary-age grandchildren, who live in Montana. She also will serve as chairwoman of PennFuture, an environmental organization in Harrisburg.

Magaro hopes to infuse the organization with pizzazz. That, at least, is the first word that comes to mind after I heard her plans for it.

PennFuture is known for legislative and policy victories, and for former leaders who have gone into government service. One former leader, John Hanger, is now the state’s secretary of planning and policy.

Outside government and policymaking circles, however, PennFuture is not well-known. Magaro would like to see the organization more publicly counter advertising campaigns undertaken by the coal industry and others that are critical of environmental regulations.

“I’ve been trying to convince PennFuture that we need a really, really, really savvy media campaign, and I’d like to work with them on that,” she said. “I mean something out of the box, YouTube and rap music and whatever it takes.”

When you’ve got something like that to look forward to, who needs a parachute?

The week ahead

This week’s issue of the Business Journal will bring you the story of another midstate businesswoman in transition: Nancy Sacunas. You’ll be excited to hear what’s next for this successful marketing executive.

Staff reporter Michael Sadowski, meanwhile, takes a closer look at the problems afflicting York-County based Unilife Corp., which has warned it might run out of money before the end of the year.

Unilife isn’t the only one facing an end-of-year financial crunch. The federal government is expected to hit its debt ceiling in early November, meaning elected officials will spend much of the week ahead arguing about what to do.

The Inside Business section is our annual small-business survival guide. Staff reporter Jason Scott examines how downtown improvement districts encourage growth of small businesses, while staff reporter Lenay Ruhl writes about common questions asked by business owners.

The lists cover downtown development associations and niche consultants.

Find the week’s networking opportunities here.