Sweet Survival

Scott Pastor has a message to any entrepreneur considering giving up in this maddening economy: Perseverance really can pay off.

Pastor actually has the scars on his chest to prove it. That's because in May, Pastor, 41, had a heart attack literally one day before he was scheduled to open a Tasti D-Lite franchise in a Sarasota mall. He has since been fitted with a stent in his chest and is back to working everyday.

But that was only the first of two roadblocks thrown in front of Pastor. Turns out a fire burned through a neighboring store one day before a planned grand opening celebration of a second shop. The mid-November blaze caused thousands of dollars in water and structural damage to that store on St. Armands Circle. Pastor was forced to close that Tasti D-Lite through at least the rest of 2009.