SBDC in the news
Help from the Start:
WSU center gives fledgling entrepreneurs a boost
Sunday, November
9, 2003
SUSAN FITZGERALD, for The Columbian
Starting a business is often
frustrating, exhausting and sometimes downright scary. But for harried entrepreneurs
trying to get a toehold in the world of private enterprise, there's an oasis
of help.
The Washington State University
Small Business Development Center, managed by Janet Harte, is a resource for
those seeking business how-to's. Supported by WSU, Western Washington University
and community colleges throughout the state, the center provides confidential,
free assistance.
Today, The Columbian profiles
three business owners who have received help from the business development center.
Here are their stories.
Musician Michael McCabe
faces the dilemma of many self-employed artists.
"There's a lot of marketing
and business that most of us artists can't do, don't want to do, but are forced
to," McCabe said.
His is the rare case of
a musician being able to make his living solely with his art, and some technology.
McCabe has been teaching, recording, and performing acoustic guitar and bass
since the mid-1970s. In 1992, he founded Out of the Blue Records, hiring out
his in-home studio and his technical expertise to record other musicians' work.
Though he's been in the
business for years, a friend recommended he meet with Janet Harte at Washington
State University's Small Business Development Center to investigate how she
could help him increase revenue.
"What Jan has done
is reinforce what I've been doing, and give me incentive do to this, and that's
what I'm looking for," McCabe said.
She suggested such strategies
as contracting with a manager to take over some of the marketing functions,
and gave him some leads. One of his several revenue generators could benefit
especially from marketing. McCabe offers not only his technical services but
his compositions to local businesses that want "hold" music for their
phone lines. He can produce a tape of his own work, avoiding the added cost
of composer-performer licensing fees, and add whatever voice-over messages the
owner wants.
Until he could get management,
Harte had other practical ideas, such as using live performances to market his
CDs, suggested venues to perform, and recommended he make more copies of his
earlier CDs.
One idea was to combine
his latest CD, "Amor," with other products such as a bottle of wine,
as a gift package.
"I haven't done that
yet," McCabe said, pointing up the dilemma of many self-employed.
"Do I go check on (gift)
basket prices, or do I do a session with a guy and make some money?"
McCabe is a one-man operation,
although his wife helps with computer work and promotion. He contracts out specialized
services such as Web site design.
He attributes his success
at making a living with music to three qualities: Perseverance, diversity, and
flexibility. Flexibility, as in not keeping 8-to-5 hours when it comes to students
or studio sessions for musicians. Diversity as in performing, teaching and recording,
and finding innovative ways to use his work and technical services.
Perseverance as in continuing
to seek out new sources of knowledge about how to improve his business skills.
One immediately practical
outcome of meeting with Harte was a search of the Internet for his name, and
finding sites that needed more information to connect with him or his Web site.
"She helped direct
my thoughts in the proper direction," McCabe said.
OUT OF THE BLUE RECORDS
* WHAT: Music production,
performance and studio recording.
* OWNER: Michael McCabe.
* WEB SITE: www.mmccabe.com.
* TELEPHONE: 360-693-5402.
Students' business plan
lets designer keep on truckin'
As a former long-haul driver,
Kelly Colton of Vancouver had plenty of field observation on how truckers like
to adorn their vehicles.
All those shiny, reflective
items are both functional and attractive, from shapely female forms weighting
the mud flaps to company names and logos. In them, Colton saw a niche for her
trucking experience and her creativity.
"I had this idea for
a long time," of creating her own designs, Colton said, but didn't know
anything about production. It was just chance that she heard about a water-jet
cutting tool that uses finely ground garnets to abrade and shape metal such
as stainless steel.
"They can do what I
want to do," Colton said, and since 2000, she has supplemented her Freightliner
day job with Thunder Road Accessories, stainless steel accents she designs for
trucks, cars and RVs from mud flap stays to license plate holders to CB call
numbers.
"It's all customer-driven,"
she said. "I can cut any shape, names, designs. That's the part I like
to do." The computer-aided drafting instruction she completed when she
got out of long-haul trucking helps render the designs, which she e-mails to
production contractors. Colton is her sole employee.
Her idea was coming together:
The designs, the execution, the word-of-mouth clientele, but there were some
gaps in her education. Seeking to fill the gaps took her in a new direction.
To learn the business aspects,
Colton took some classes in accounting and advertising from SCORE, the Senior
Corps of Retired Executives. SCORE directed her to the Small Business Development
Center (SBDC) at Washington State University Vancouver, staffed by Janet Harte.
"Jan helped a lot,"
Colton said, teaching her how to find information in the library, researching
competitors and their products, and how to use it in her planning.
"Even if I found information,
I didn't always know what do with it," Harte also put her in touch with
WSU business students. Colton gave a presentation on her business idea to a
class of students this fall, four of whom will develop a business plan for her
as a class project.
The three-year plan will
encompass financing and a guide and timeline of tasks to be accomplished, such
as marketing, culminating in taking the business full time so Colton can quit
her job as an equipment durability tester at Freightliner.
"They're terribly excited,"
she said of the students. "It almost makes me believe this could happen."
So far, Colton has invested
about $10,000, mainly cash. "If I can't pay cash, I'm kind of leery,"
about making the purchase, she said, although a few items have gone on the credit
card.
With the popularity of pickups
and RVs, and the vanity of owner-operated commercial trucks, business prospects
look good.
THUNDER ROAD ACCESSORIES
* WHAT: Makes stainless
steel decals and accents for trucks, cars and RVs.
* OWNER: Kelly Colton, Vancouver.
* E-MAIL: thunderroad@attbi.com.
* TELEPHONE: 360-571-3256.
Embroidery, golf-wear firm
learns to drive for the green
The scene of Scott Wood's
epiphany is a common one, and it was just his sense of whimsy, and his livelihood,
that turned it into a brand new business in Vancouver.
Nearly four years ago, Wood
showed up at a golf course, got paired up with a couple of guys he didn't know,
and they quizzed each other about their respective games. You a hacker? Yeah,
me too. Then, Wood said, "We proceeded to tee off and prove it."
Just then, the light bulb
went on: "I thought, 'Hacker Golf,' what a great name. I didn't feel I
played well enough to wear one of the major maker hats," Wood said. "I
wanted a (brand) name that suits the way I play golf."
At the time, Wood had a
business of custom T-shirt embroidery in La Jolla, Calif. He researched the
term, "hacker golf" as a brand name, and his slogan, "Nothing
But Hole," and trademarked them in 2000. "I couldn't believe 'hacker
golf' hadn't been trademarked," Wood said.
But the idea stayed on the
back burner until about a year ago, when the former Olympia resident moved his
family to Vancouver.
"I was looking to set
up" Hacker Golf brand hats as his new business, and found his way into
the SBDC and talked with Janet Harte.
"She's the best person
I've talked to," Wood said. Harte convinced him to maintain the embroidery
business as a selling point of continuity and stability for a future bank loan,
since he'd already had two successful embroidery businesses.
He hasn't had to go for
a loan yet, but Harte presented another practical reason for doing both: Hacker
Golf could be just one customer of the embroidery business, Cascade Apparel.
They could make each other profitable.
"Instead of me having
to pay another company, Cascade Apparel buys the goods, embroiders them, and
bills Hacker Golf," he said. "Hacker gets a great product at a reasonable
price, and my supplier never has an excuse for being late."
SBDC was a tremendous help
with the whole process, Wood said. "Jan put me in touch with the right
people, helped me develop projections, found our new site, she's awesome. She's
the reason we're here. She even called me up to see how I was doing. That's
so nice, so refreshing."
Wood added apparel to the
hats and visors, such as T-shirts, Hawaiian golf shirts, wind shirts, and a
two-piece rain suit that folds into a 4-by-6-inch pouch. The shirts are his
design, cut to be less restrictive during the swing. He sends designs and orders
to a shop in San Diego that cuts and sews the items, and sends him the pockets
separately so they can be embroidered with the brand name.
In business only since early
September, both Cascade Apparel and Hacker Golf are picking up customers. Two
sales representatives are in the field getting new accounts, and Wood's wife,
Krys, does the books. He hires occasional part-time help to get out shipments.
"After the first year,
we'll need more people, more equipment," he said.
Wood got a first-hand view
of how the golfing public perceives his new brand, from the Hacker Golf booth
at a regional PGA expo in Portland a few weeks ago.
"I was sitting right
next to Nike, Callaway (big names in golf wear) and I got a good response,"
Wood said. "People thought it was a great name."
CASCADE APPAREL, HACKER
GOLF
* WHAT: Custom apparel embroidery
business and sports clothing line.
* OWNER: Scott Wood.
* TELEPHONE: 360-253-3022.
* WEB SITE: www.hacker-golf.com.
WASHINGTON STATE UNIVERSITY
SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CENTER
* WHAT: A cooperative program
of Washington State University, Western Washington University, community colleges,
economic development organizations, and the U.S. Small Business Administration
to provide a variety of counseling and research services to business owners
or managers.
* SERVICES: The center provides
one-on-one, confidential assistance at no charge for management and technical
business affairs such as start and purchase or the sale of a business, choosing
and incorporating new technology, financial management, business plan development,
market plan development and business research.
* CLIENTS: 550 to 600 a
year.
* WHERE: 12000 N.E. 95th
St. Ste. 504, Vancouver.
* MANAGER: Janet Harte,
business development specialist.
* HARTE BACKGROUND: Holds
master of business administration degree from the University of Portland and
a bachelor of science degree in business administration/management from Portland
State University. Harte has been recognized as one of the 10 best business center
specialists in the nation, having received the Association of Small Business
Development Center's 1998 Star Performer award, an annual award given to business
counselors. Winners were selected from 42 state-level winners representing 16
states.
* Telephone: 360-260-6372;
360-260-6369 fax.
* WEB SITE: http://www.wsbdc.org.
Launching a business
Entrepreneurs can get the guidance they need from Washington State University's
Small Business Development Center
Published: 05/06/01
Byline: By SUSAN FITZGERALD, for the Columbian
Admit it -- you've thought
it for years, especially on Mondays: I'm going to start my own business, be
my own boss.
Even with a great idea
and business experience, however, it takes a particular kind of expertise
to map out a business plan, win financing and bring that idea to life.
Clark County residents
have that expertise readily available, and it's free, at the Washington State
University's Small Business Development Center.
"We'd been thinking
of doing this for 20 years," said stained-glass artist Marla Wendt. She
and her husband, Richard, consulted with business development specialist Jan
Harte at the business development center a year ago about opening a stained-glass
shop. They obtained a loan and opened the Crystal Unicorn in Hazel Dell in
August.
"We wouldn't be
here without them," Wendt said.
Veterinarian Kathryn
Claus and her real estate investor husband, John, knew loans were available
for medical services, considered low-risk revenue generators, but tapping
those funds took some doing.
"We knew we had
a little work ahead of us, but we didn't know how much," said John Claus.
Harte walked them through every step the market research and analysis, writing
a finance proposal, identifying finance options, evaluating scenarios and
generating spreadsheets.
"She kept us from
being blindsided," said John Claus, who handles the business end of the
enterprise.
Claus Paws Animal Hospital
is generating revenue about 20 percent ahead of schedule.
Unlike the Clauses and
the Wendts, Dana Jiries is on her own, founding a business for which she had
no particular background: leasing and selling maternity clothes over the Internet.
The former model came
across the idea years ago in a magazine and held on to it. She left modeling
to work in banking, but when her husband died a few years ago, she decided
to change careers again, and consulted Harte at the development center.
Sowing ownership
One of 23 in the state,
the center is funded by the U.S. Small Business Administration, in-kind resources
such as space and materials from college campuses and matching cash grants.
"We look at it as
prepaid," Harte said, because the service is supported largely by tax
dollars through various institutions.
The development center
also links with community organizations such as Service Corps of Retired Executives,
which leverages Harte's time and the available resources. She counsels about
650-700 clients a year, ranging from a single phone call to the full limit
of 40 hours.
"The whole point
is to educate people and empower them, teach them so they can take it from
there," Harte said, and to use resources to research the market, develop
a business plan and a financial proposal.
Detail, direction
"Every time we thought
we had it, Jan said, 'change this and this and this,'" Marla Wendt said
of their work on cash-flow projections and financing proposal. "It seemed
like it took forever, but she knew what she was doing. She was right."
"I probably sound
like somebody's mother, because I'm always telling them there's a lot involved,"
Harte said.
"Without Jan, I
would be in the dark," Jiries said. "She saw things I didn't because
I was so overwhelmed."
That's a common feeling,
Harte said of her clients. "They need objectivity. They can't see the
forest for the trees."
Jiries and Harte met
to brainstorm, scribble, revise and assess the market by developing a formula
for the purchasing power of pregnant women.
"It was as if she
was a partner," Jiries said. "She kept doing things I didn't expect,
like, going home and thinking about it," Jiries said.
By the time Harte helped
her develop a financial plan, cash-flow projections and consider a business
plan for Maternity Solutions, "Going to the bank, getting the $85,000
loan was the easiest thing, a cakewalk," Jiries said.
"That's a perfect
case, right there," Harte said, for why she insists on delving into the
details. "They've been through the wringer. They can defend every number
there."
Market analysis is a
key factor in getting a loan. Claus said the "information chain blossomed"
from one source to the next. The American Veterinary Medical Association was
a gold mine: Distribution of pets per household, how far clients will travel
to a vet, and how to project the number, frequency and amount spent on visits.
The U.S. Census Bureau
showed Clark County was the sixth-fastest growing county in the nation and
their Orchards zip code, 98682, was growing twice as fast as the county, and
they had aerial photos and zoning data to back it up.
"That was impressive
to the money men," Claus said.
While the Wendts couldn't
ascertain the size of the stained glass market, they knew there wasn't another
shop in the area. "We get a lot of customers saying, 'I'm so glad I don't
have to go to Portland,'" Marla said, to get glass or take a class.
Bottom line: Expertise
aside, hard work remains essential. "All these people are highly motivated
and were willing to work through the process," Harte said. "There's
nothing we can do to replace that."
AT A GLANCE
WHAT: WSU Small Business Development Center
ADDRESS: 200 S.E. Park Plaza Drive, Suite 1005
SERVICES: Small business consulting
DIRECTOR: Jan Harte, business development specialist
ANNUAL CLIENT LOAD: 650-700
PHONE: 360-260-6372
WEB SITE: www.sbdc.wsu.edu/harte.htm
A vet's bet -
WSU'S Small Business Development Center helped
family turn an idea into going concern
Published: 07/18/1999
Byline: By JONATHAN BURTON, for The Columbian
Not long ago veterinarian
Jackie Rinta worked past midnight caring for a dog that had fallen from a
pickup truck.
She carefully searched
the dog's body for wounds, cared for each, comforted the animal, and once
the job was done, she locked up and walked a short distance to her home.
Jackie's job is different
now that she operates a clinic in her own neighborhood. She is pleased with
the transition, and credits the Small Business Development Center at Washington
State University for much of her success.
Jackie and her husband,
Darren Rinta, recently opened Neighborhood Animal Clinic 10015 N.E. Hazel
Dell Ave.
After nine years of commuting
to a Portland veterinary clinic, Jackie and her family needed a change.
"We never planned
on owning a business," Darren said. "But we felt it was the only
way to get Jackie out of the rut of commuting."
Darren, a teacher in
the Battle Ground School District, had no experience running a business. Jackie
observed operations at her previous job, but wasn't confident she was ready
to run the show in her own clinic.
After gathering a mass
of information, the couple contacted Janet Harte at Washington State University's
Small Business Development Center.
"What I helped them
do is turn what they brought to me into financial statements," Harte
said. "We made it into bank language."
Once the ball started
rolling, Jackie surprised herself. "When we sat down to do this I realized
I knew more than I thought," she said.
The Rintas sold Darren's
fancy truck, liquidated their 5-year-old's college fund, and rustled up a
$23,000 cash contribution to the business. They prepared for a year as a single-income
family, and with airtight financial papers, they walked into a bank and received
a Small Business Administration guaranteed loan for $200,000 to start the
clinic.
The biggest investment
went into quality X-ray equipment and vet supplies. The Rintas cut corners
on office equipment and cabinet fronts. They painted the leased 2,100-square-foot
office themselves and opened their doors in June with a handful of customers.
Within a month, Harte
visited the clinic for the first time. Darren and Jackie gave their business
coach a tour and all three smiled to see their plan materialize.
"We would not have
been here if it weren't for the Development Center," Jackie said.
Harte, who has an extensive
business-related resume, runs the Small Business Development Center from an
office at 200 S.E. Park Plaza Drive , Suite 1005, Vancouver. She fields 600
inquiries a year, and sees 200 clients on a regular basis. She likens her
job to that of a coach.
"Our objective is
to empower business owners to make decisions on their own," Harte said.
The Small Business Development
Center receives funding from the SBA and from Washington State University.
Harte's office serves all of Southwest Washington. The organization tallied
an $879,609 economic impact for its service area in 1998, Harte said.
Now, instead of driving
across clogged bridges into Portland, Jackie Rinta has a five minute walk
to work. She and Darren are able to spend more time with their children, and
Jackie can provide personalized service to her growing client base.
"This has been more
rewarding in the last month than it has been in the last four years. It makes
such a difference when it's your own," Jackie told Harte at their recent
clinic tour.
"That's what makes
my job really worthwhile," Harte replied.
NEIGHBORHOOD ANIMAL
CLINIC
WHAT: New veterinarian clinic
OWNERS: Jackie and Darren Rinta
ADDRESS: 10015 N.E. Hazel Dell Ave., Vancouver
START-UP ASSISTANCE: Washington State University's Small Business Development
Center, 2200 S.E. Park Plaza Drive, Suite 1005, Vancouver. For information
contact Jan Harte, 260-6372
Business Opportunities
in Clark County Today - Four to bank on
Published: 03-21-99
By Mike Rogoway/©1999 The Columbian Publishing Co.
Carol Andrew started CJ's
Dog Training in her garage almost 15 years ago. There were just five dogs in
her first class, and only one graduated.
Now, Andrews instructs 140 dogs
a week on the finer point of canine etiquette and behavior.
"My life's gone to the dogs, literally,"
she said. "We've been doing it since 1985 here, and it's just grown like crazy."
Credit hard work for Andrew's
success. But also credit demographics and a growing market. She's tapped into
one of the best businesses to start now in Clark County.
In the 1990s, Clark County's population
has increased 37 percent, to roughly 330,000 residents. Many of the newcomers
brought dogs with them, and that dramatically increased the need for pet services
like Andrew's dog school.
"Usually there's a waiting list,"
Andrew said. "We had all our classes full until April by the middle of February."
Providing services to pets is,
of course, just one way to use the county's growth to open new markets and
start new businesses. In putting together a list of four great businesses
to start in Clark County, the idea was to identify businesses that also serve
a local or national economic trend.
"Business is always founded in
that way, whatever makes sense for the marketplace is what really survives,"
said Jan Harte, small business development specialist for the Vancouver office
of the Small Business Development Center.
Harte helped pick four business
categories that are doing well, and has worked with many of the small businesses
that serve as the sectors' examples. Andrew's pet business is just one of
several areas flourishing in Clark County. Harte also suggests Internet and
computer services businesses, financial services and child-care providers.
None of these businesses is likely
to be the next Microsoft. They start small, and will probably stay that way.
But businesses in these categories are thriving, turning local and national
economic trends to their advantage.
"Mini baby boom"
Recent increases in Clark County's
adult population and its work force have been accompanied by corresponding
growth in the number of children in the area. When parents leave for work,
those kids need a place to go.
At the small-business center,
Harte hears from a lot of would-be child-care providers.
"I get a fair amount of calls
from people who want to do that," she said. The callers are in a hurry to
get the proper licenses so they can start serving anxious customers.
"People are finally realizing
that there's a difference between a baby sitter and a child-care provider,"
Harte said.
KinderCare is a big chain, but
it provides the kind of service that could be filled by small businesses.
Its experience in Clark County illustrates the kind of growth this business
sector is experiencing.
"Right now, I would say, there's
kind of like a mini baby boom," said Pattie Convirs, assistant director at
the Fisher's Landing KinderCare.
KinderCare's child-care center
at Fisher's Landing opened just over a year ago, and filled almost immediately.
Next year, the Portland company
plans to open a fourth Clark County location in Salmon Creek.
The Fisher's Landing center has
more than 200 children enrolled. While older children can get in right away,
parents of infants have to join a waiting list. For some, it's a very long
wait.
"For infants right now, it's about
March of 2000," Convirs said. "We have people call and say 'I'm thinking about
getting pregnant, can you put my name down?' "
"The aging of America"
Even as the number of very young
Clark County residents has increased, an increase in the very old is right
around the corner.
"We're that bubble in the baby
boom," said George Middleton, 47.
A certified public accountant,
Middleton worked for years as a corporate controller and treasurer. Last year,
he set out on in a new direction, becoming the second person in the two-member
firm of Limoges Investment Management.
Investment planning is a more
enticing field than corporate accounting, Middleton said. He likes the idea
of helping people fulfill their dreams about the future.
But he also likes the demographics
Clark County is getting older, and the kinds of services they're seeking are
changing.
"I find it to be very representative
of the country at large," Middleton said.
His entry into financial planning
is timed to tap into his peers' retirement planning.
"People in my age group are getting
to the point where they really need to spend some time and effort and resources
in this area," said Middleton, 47.
"Businesses related to the aging
of America are probably going to see growth in the next few years," said Harte,
of the small business center. In Clark County, she said, it won't just be
retirement planners. Harte said assisted living centers, nursing homes and
other businesses that care for the aging will benefit as a growing population
grows old.
"The Computer Guy"
Rick Oppegaard found that senior
citizens often have trouble figuring computers out the first time they use
them.
"Older folks aren't tech savvy,
you know what I mean?" he said.
Oppegaard, though, knows computers
well. He's been playing around with the Internet since the 1980s, years before
most people ever heard of it.
After seeing a flurry of Portland
newspaper ads promoting Internet service experts, Oppegaard decided to try
to turn his expertise and spare time into a business here in Clark County.
He invested $200 into a cell phone, took out a classified newspaper ad, and
made his money back in the first week.
"There's definitely a market for
it," he said. "I think it's going to be a booming business."
In his ads, Oppegaard calls himself
"The Computer Guy." He caters to people who get lost on their way to the information
superhighway, and want someone to draw them a map.
"What I do is go out to their
houses, set up their Internet," he said. "I sit them down patiently, slowly."
Oppegaard doesn't expect to make his Internet-instruction business a career.
It's a sideline business, filling time off from his job piloting tug boats.
There is a big market for businesses
relating to the Internet, however. According to Harte of the small business
center, there's a strong demand for Internet consultants like Oppegaard, or
independent Web page designers.
"Web page design, that's not real
hard to get into. There's not a real big barrier to growth there," she said.
All a business needs to get started is a computer, access to the Internet
and some personal expertise. "It's not going to cost you and arm and a leg
to set up," Harte added.
"Across the board"
This list of four is by no means
exclusive.
"I really look at this economy,
and I don't see any one sector suffering here in the next three to five years,"
said Richard High, senior vice president and chief lending officer for TODAY's
Bank in Clark County, which itself is another financial services start-up.
TODAY's Bank targets its services to small-business owners, and High said
opportunities exist in nearly all sectors.
"I don't see anybody being head
and shoulders above somebody else," he said. "It's really across the board."
By the same token, just because
these business sectors are doing well doesn't mean there isn't risk. They're
certainly not for everyone. Entry into the animal training or veterinary business
would be ill-advised, for example, for someone without specific skills and
experience in those areas.
"I would never pick a business
just because it's a hot business," Harte said. "You want to try to look at
businesses in your scope of knowledge and experience."
Once a prospective opportunity
is identified, Harte said the next step is to research the economics of it.
Even if there's a market for a product or service, a would-be business owner
has to make sure it can be done economically.
"With any business concept, it
has to be able to produce a profit," Harte said. Crunch the numbers and put
them in a business plan, she said. That's what financiers will be looking
for, and the potential for profit is what the business owner will have to
show.
"If they don't go through process,
you're just kind of hanging on to Jell-O."
Business resources:
Here's a list of some organizations with information and aid for prospective
small-business owners.
* Small Business Development Center, a service of Washington State University
and the Small Business Administration, provides a variety of resources and
advice. Call: 260-6372
* Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE) offers business counseling.
Call: 699-1079
* Fort Vancouver Regional Library's reference desk has information to aid
in market research and other aspects of setting up a business.
* SBA Business Resource Center, 1515 S.W. Fifth Ave., 10th floor, Portland,
provides information for small businesses. Open 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays.
* A Procurement Technical Assistance Center at WSU Vancouver helps small businesses
get federal contracts. Call Tiffany Burton, 546-9607.
More ideas for great businesses
* Don't like any of these business ideas? With the surge in Clark County's
population and economy continuing, there are many other good ideas, according
to Jan Harte, small business development specialist for Washington State University.
* Possibilities include customized software developers, collection agencies,
and home security businesses.
* Travel services businesses may also be good candidates, though many traditional
travel agenices are finding it tough.
* Harte suggests putting a twist on the travel idea. For example, recreational
vehicle repair and storage businesses should do very well here.
* So could specialty travel marketers who offer something different than what's
sold by traditional travel agents.
Shifting Gears
Published: 1-13-99
By Mike Rogoway/©1999 The Columbian Publishing Co.
Weary of long, unrewarding
hours working as an auto mechanic at a Vancouver car dealership, Roger Ulm decided
it was time for a career change. He resolved he'd go into business on his own,
and bought the R.P. McMurphey's pub in Cascade Park last September.
"I was spending anywhere from
60 to 75 hours a week at the dealership, and I just figured if I'm going to
spend that much time away from home, I might as well work for myself," said
Ulm, 41.
For people like Ulm, the American
dream is alive and well, said Jan Harte of the Small Business Development
Center at Washington State University at Vancouver.
"People work very, very hard in
their jobs, but they don't always feel like they're getting the benefits of
their work."
It's not just money, said Harte,
who advised Ulm when he was getting started. People pride themselves on a
sense of accomplishment they derive from making their own decisions about
their business.
"The intrinsic value of it is
priceless," she said.
Starting out can be rocky, though.
Ulm encountered his share of pitfalls, but Harte said his experience also
illustrates how some good business decisions can pay off in the long run.
Even knowing what kind of time
commitment running his own business would require, Ulm had plenty of surprises.
"It's been a big experience. There's
been a lot of stress to it," he said.
For starters, the restaurant's
walk-in cooler gave out shortly after the purchase and the restaurant's heating
system needed work, too. Ulm said he wasn't prepared for such problems when
he took over the restaurant.
"It never occurred to me to go
up on the roof and see how old the heaters are, how old the walk-in is," he
said. "There's just a lot of things a guy overlooks when he walks in, and
I guess it kind of bit me a little bit."
Ulm didn't know much about the
restaurant business, and didn't even plan on getting into it when he decided
to end his career as an auto mechanic.
Hunting is one of Ulm's favorite
pastimes, and he'd originally planned to open a sporting goods store. Looking
into the possibility, though, he discovered it would cost as much as $250,000
to open a brand new store. He decided instead to take a cheaper and easier
option, and bought R.P. McMurphey's.
It wasn't Ulm's first choice,
but it was the best one.
"When you're buying a business,
you're also buying some of the customers," Harte said. A business with history
looks better to a bank, she said, and increases its chances of lending money
to a prospective buyer. It also gives the owners a steady stream of income,
valuable for a new business striving to overcome unexpected expenses.
Because unforeseen problems can
be so difficult, Harte said it's extremely helpful to know something about
the business before buying it. If they have no prior experience in a given
field, she advises clients to try working in it before buying into it. That
will give them an idea of how the industry operates, she said, and whether
they like the work.
While Ulm had no background as
a restaurateur, his wife, Sandra, had more than 10 years experience working
in restaurants. Roger Ulm said Sandra's knowledge has been very valuable,
especially when it comes to dealing with personnel and customers.
"I'm learning a lot from her,
actually," he said.
Considering the time, effort and
expense that goes into running a business, it's important to have the backing
of family members when starting out, according to Harte.
"It's just really important to
have good family support," she said. "Because it isn't always easy, and you
will need that support sometimes, just to get through."
The business pays for itself already,
Ulm said, and makes enough to pay both he and his wife a salary. The hours
are long, though, and he said the learning curve is still steep. Often times,
decisions are made on the fly.
"We know we're still on a little
bit of an incline here," Ulm said. "We're still going uphill."
"Still, it's a great feeling getting
up every morning knowing you're working for yourself," he said.
"For every bad thing that happens
to me, there's five good things."
BUSINESS AT A GLANCE
WHAT: R.P. McMurphey's restaurant in Cascade Park
WHERE: 316 S.E. 123rd Ave.
WHAT'S NEW: Roger Ulm, a former car mechanic, and his wife, Sandra, bought
the restaurant in September.
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