Small Business Finalist: Non-Profit Organization: The Players Theatre

Location: 838 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota

Start date: The Players Theatre was founded in 1929; Managing Director Michelle Bianchi-Pingel was hired in 2002 after years of volunteering.

First job: Working at Shenkel’s Restaurant on Longboat Key, where Bianchi-Pingel grew up. “Edith Barr Dunn hired me on Sundays to butter toast when I was 13,” Bianchi-Pingel said. “Then, when I was 14, I went to work at Harry’s Continental Kitchens.”

Typical day on the job: Putting out fires. “Jeffery Kin handles the onstage fires, while I’m trying to get shows promoted and managing. I have long days with lots of coffee,” Bianchi-Pingel said. “My job is a 24/7 job. I get 150 to 200 emails a day. The first thing I do when I wake up is check my Blackberry.”
Favorite way to spend a day off: By taking a long weekend at her house in North Carolina or going on vacation to Alaska.

Business idol: Board member Dr. Louise Stinespring. “She is my personal and professional mentor,” Bianchi-Pingel said. “She talks to me in a way that gives me a different perspective. She gives me great advice.”

Biggest challenge: The economy. “People don’t have the discretionary income for things like theater, so we have to listen to our audiences and figure out what they want.”

Where do you see your organization in five years? Redesigned with new technology and a new parking garage. “I see the theater being the jewel of the Sarasota arts,” Bianchi-Pingel said.

Number of employees when started: The Players Theatre was founded with an all-volunteer staff.

Number of employees today: Eight full-time; three part-time; and more than 700 volunteers

Something you wish you knew when you started: “I have better listening skills, and I’m much more patient with people than I was when I started,” Bianchi-Pingel said.