FREEPORT — Russian immigrant Irina Zhidovtseva long dreamed of opening her own tailoring business, but when she decided last fall to take the plunge and make it happen, she wasn’t sure how to begin.

“Where should I go?” she asked. “Who should I talk to?”

She started with the Freeport Economic Development Corp., where Executive Director Keith McBride gave her a homework assignment: Visit every clothier on Main Street to gauge interest in a seamstress service.

McBride says many would-be entrepreneurs never pay him another visit after being sent on such fact-finding missions.

But Zhidovtseva was back in his office the next day with a stack of notes. The response had been positive, and she was ready to get to work.

Now, fewer than six months later, Zhidovtseva has opened Four Seasons Alterations and Sewing on Route 1.

“When I lived in Russia, I didn’t know it would ever happen to me,” she said. “I didn’t know it could be reality. But here I can do it.”

Zhidovtseva, 37, grew up in Belgorod, a city of about 350,000 near the Ukrainian border. She taught first grade for six years before moving to the U.S. in 2006 and settling in Freeport. She soon went to work for Svetlana Custom Clothing and Couture, a Yarmouth business owned by a fellow Russian immigrant, where she honed her craft as a tailor.

By last year, Zhidovtseva felt she had acquired the skills and the business acumen to strike out on her own.

After several meetings, McBride referred her to Coastal Enterprises, a business development corporation with offices across the state. There she received assistance through StartSmart, a program that aids foreign-born entrepreneurs. John Scribner, the program director, helped Zhidovtseva estimate revenue and start-up costs and analyze competitors.

“When she started to see on paper that it could really work financially, it only made her more motivated to bring it to the finish line,” McBride said.

Now, Zhidovtseva offers alteration, sewing and clothing repair services of all kinds, specializing in wedding and prom dresses, and same-day service. She plans to offer sewing classes and produce handmade veils and bridal accessories.

Someday, she said, she’d like to open a wedding consignment store, but for now, she’s focused on establishing Four Seasons and building relationships with customers.

Zhidovtseva returns to Russia every year. She said she misses her family, but she never considers going back permanently. She is now a U.S. citizen, and she loves her new country, and her new hometown of Freeport, in particular.

“The streets are clean, the people are kind,” she said. “It’s like a fairy-tale story.”

Brendan Twist can be reached at 781-3661 ext. 123 or btwist@theforecaster.net. Follow him on Twitter: @brendantwist.

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Russian immigrant Irina Zhidovtseva opened Four Seasons Alterations and Sewing last month on Route 1 in Freeport.

Four Seasons Alterations and Sewing, 475 Route 1, Freeport.

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