Bruce Bascom, Bascom Maple Farms, Inc., Alstead, N.H.

Bruce Bascom admits that he was turned down for a loan when he first approached Farm Credit in 1973. Thirty years later, he is the owner of a large, diversified maple sugar operation with six complementary and interrelated enterprises.

Bascom Maple Farms, Inc. is one of the top four maple syrup processors in the United States and one of the only companies that sells maple sugar equipment and also buys, produces, bottles and sells pure maple syrup. (By the way, in his “spare” time, Bruce runs a 485-head dairy farm, with the help of a very talented manager and staff.)

When it comes to turning a negative into a positive, Bruce knew what to do, even at an early age. After being turned down for his first loan, he wrote a note to the loan officer thanking him for his consideration, and asking for another appointment. Then he set to work following the loan officer’s advice. He sold his $1,000 car, bought a $400 car and used the remaining $600 to buy plastic tubing. He returned to the Farm Credit office with his father the following month and got the loan.

Bruce has been expanding his operation ever since.

Looking back over 30 years in business, Bruce recently mentioned how he wished he had been a better student of financial plans from his early days as an entrepreneur.

He says, “If you don’t know where you are going, any road will get you there. I have been that way most of my life. But I’ve become smarter following Dean Moreau and Jeff Temple’s advice about using tight financial controls. If I had followed their path 15 years sooner, I’d be way ahead today. Now we run the business by the numbers.”

With his new effective financial strategy, infinite energy and sharp eye for business opportunities, Bruce Bascom continues to work hard keeping his business running successfully and having a good time watching over all six of his busy enterprises.

Click on the name of each of the entrepreneurs or graduates below to find out more about the road they traveled:

Entrepreneurs:

• Ben and Andrew Saenger, Saenger cattle, Shoreham, Vt.
• Dean Rheaume, Maurice Rheaume & Sons, Middlebury, Vt.
• Keith Sprague, Sprague's Ranch, East Brookfield, Vt.
• Mike Garrow, Rocklan Farm, Berkshire, Vt.
• Pete Norris, Jr. Greenhaven Gardens & Nursery, New Haven, Vt.

"Graduates":

• Ronald Patenaude, Patenaude Farm, Holland Center, Vt.
• Bruce Bascom, Bascom Maple Farms, Inc., Alstead, N.H.
• Chris and John Laggis, Laggis brothers Farm, Hardwick, Vt.

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