NORWICH — The old adage “when the times get tough, the tough get going” have been words to live by for many a visionary entrepreneur, and that's exactly what one area man did after leaving the security of his full-time day job to pursue his lifelong passion.

As a former IT Specialist at NBT Bank headquarters in Norwich, Michael Sepello had spent much of his free time doing what he loves: producing and recording media – both music and video – for several independent musicians and artist from a downtown studio space that’s been a staple location for generations of musicians.

“I've been recording as a hobby with a number of local acts from this location for a while now,” said Sepello. “The late Bob Arnell and now Teddy Arnell both had the vision to offer studio space at prices that local working musicians could afford, and that really was the one of the inspirations for my business model,” he said. “I owe a great deal of credit and thanks to them.”

Whether forged out of love, necessity, or both, Sepello has taken on one of the most difficult challenges in one of the most difficult environments – entrepreneurship in an economically depressed climate. But to Sepello, the payoff was worth the risk.

“I now get to spend a lot of my time with my son, Marshall, while my wife works from home in the morning,” said Sepello. “I'm able to get up with them in the morning, feed Marshall and just spend some overall quality time with my family.”

Sepello now has a flexible schedule that allows him to set his own hours, something a nine-to-five couldn't offer; and something that his family very much needed.

Marshall Sepello was born against all odds earlier in 2014 with a rare congenital heart condition which he was diagnosed in utero, serving as the most prominent catalyst.

With regular medical trips for his son as far away as Boston, Sepello soon exhausted his sick and vacation time and knew that he needed to change his life to suit the needs of his family.

Before heading off on to his own, Sepello armed himself with a solid business plan along with more than a decade of experience and sold the idea of a Norwich-based, professional audio-video recording and production studio to a private investor who was impressed with Sepello's long list of clients.