NFIB

When it comes to restaurants, people can be fickle. So how has Sorrento of Arbutus managed to survive for more than 40 years? Good food is one factor; good leadership is another. And Sorrento owner Michael Kosinsky can boast of both.

Kosinsky's father, a former butcher, started Sorrento as a pizza parlor back in 1960; Kosinsky joined the business 10 years later. Today the restaurant has 30 employees and a full menu of specialty pizzas, subs, sandwiches and a variety of breakfast, lunch and dinner items that keeps its customers coming back year after year.

Kosinsky's dedication to the business is a big factor in its success. "I love it," he says, acknowledging that the unpredictability of small business fuels his passion for it. "You start your day doing one thing, and by the end of the day you're doing something completely different. I was here until 10 o'clock Sunday night [because an employee needed some help] -- that's just part of it."

Kosinsky first joined NFIB in the 1980s, recognizing the benefits of a lobbying organization focused on small business. At the time, however, he wasn't a very active member: "I couldn't stay as focused on it then because I was too busy growing my business," he says. "Then I got the business where I wanted it to be -- I met certain goals that I had set for myself -- and I was able to focus on other issues."

For Kosinsky, those "other issues" include minimum wage, health insurance and workers' compensation, which he states "are paramount in my business -- they affect the bottom line." He champions these causes not just on behalf of his own business, however; he wants to better the playing field for all small businesses that struggle to comply with government regulations and stay afloat in the wake of costly implementation strategies, overbearing taxation and frivolous lawsuits. "I once had to settle with a woman who tripped in my restaurant then ran out and filed a lawsuit because it was less expensive than going to court," Kosinsky says. "It's frustrating."

His small-business activism has to leadership roles within NFIB, such as serving on the NFIB/Maryland Leadership Council, participating in the SAFE Trust, sponsoring campaign events and serving on the Area Action Council, of which he is a current member. And he's at the ready to testify on legislation before the State House, or Congress, if needed.

"I like the fact that NFIB is focused specifically on independent operators. It represents all kinds of businesses -- from small companies to multimillion-dollar firms -- but they all have the same mentality, to a large extent. They face a lot of the same issues."

Kosinsky notes that legislation has posed an ongoing challenge over the years, forcing him to adjust his business in response to the regulatory climate. But his ability to react in the face of adversity is one reason he's still in business. "It's made me a better businessman. It's forced me to be very careful, to be more conscious of what the issues are," he says.

Kosinsky asserts that the constant challenges of running a small business are what keep him committed to it. "I'd probably be a hell of a manager for somebody," he laughs, "but this is who I am now. My business is part of my life, and I wouldn't want it any other way."