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Tobie Beneli and Lin Grady of Summit Ridge Wood Design (SRWD) shifted their business focus from custom woodworking jobs including commercial and residential cabinetry to primarily building caskets. In 1997, Tobie’s relative passed away. The deceased’s immediate family called and asked Tobie to build a casket. The funeral home would not sell them one because they had an outstanding bill and the director suggested the family make one. Tobie acquired the specific dimensions needed and produced a finished casket for the family the following morning.

This experience caused Tobie and Lin to shift their woodworking business to primarily building caskets. “Our primary objective was to make affordable caskets to help people in need.” Some funeral homes can purchase an inexpensively made casket from China and sell it at retail, of up to 200%-600% above their wholesale cost. “We wanted to provide a high-quality casket at a fair and reasonable price.” Tobie added SRWD’s goal is also to educate people that they do not need to go through a funeral home for final arrangements including purchasing a casket if they so choose.

Business grew for SRWD over the following years and the need arose to upgrade their equipment and facilities. Tobie and Lin knew they had to expand from their 30’ x 60’ workshop and casket lining room adjacent to their garage. One piece of equipment they purchased at a trade show was a $138,000.00 computerized router, referred to as a CNC. The CNC automatically loads nine customized tools for precision cuts. “People cannot make the cuts a CNC can make. It also saves us a lot of time.” SRWD also purchased a laser engraving machine which enabled them to personalize the caskets. With the laser they incorporated recognition awards and cutting out veneer designs for a local ski company.

“We purchased the CNC machine in July and it was to be delivered in November. We required financing in order to complete the expansion. We knew of Small Business Development Center (SBDC) through Joe Keck who had previously helped us with our business plan. Joe suggested that we contact SBDC to inquire about a loan.”

Lin and Tobie qualified for and received a $25,000 loan from Region 9, but unfortunately that was approximately $35,000 short of the amount requested. The expansion was to include a larger workshop, the addition of a portable building and three-phase electrical. Lin contacted their bank but never received a call back. She notified Joe of their situation. Joe soon replied and referred them to Community Bank (CB) in Cortez. “Both SBDC and CB worked quickly and efficiently. From SBDC’s referral and having a completed business plan, we received our loan within a week.” The expansion began in August 2003 and was completed by November that year. SRWD’s facility and equipment upgrade was complete.

SRWD’s business took off afterwards. “The focal point remained to help people. This is a tough industry to get involved with because funeral homes do not want us as competition.” Tobie and Lin sell their caskets at wholesale and retail prices nationwide. Their largest customer base is within CO, AZ, UT and NM, in addition to the Navajo Nation. Tobie said, “There are Navajo families that must sell their livestock and raise donations to pay for funeral costs upward of $7,000 through a traditional funeral home. On our website (www.nativecaskets.com) we have information that this can be done much more affordably and is legal in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission.”

“We would highly recommend SBDC to others. They were quick and efficient, and we would never have received our loan from CB without them. Joe always kept in touch and never dropped the ball.”

Kelly Tregillus and her mother-in-law, Liza Tregillus, are the co-founders of Durango Café au Play (DCAP). DCAP is a non-profit organization (NPO) that offers co-working space and childcare for new and expecting parents in a family friendly ‘café’ environment. Parents with young children are provided a space to work, socialize and attend parenting classes. DCAP provides a support system for moms and dads who feel disconnected and isolated at home.

Kelly relocated from San Francisco in 2016, with her husband Nathan and nine month old daughter, to be closer to her in-laws. There were only a few networks in La Plata County for new mothers that offered parenting classes and social outlets. Nor could she get her daughter into a childcare center without being on a wait list. This affected her quality of life. Liza had a similar experience when her family came to Durango in the mid-1980’s.

Kelly had a business background. She received a business administration degree from Fort Lewis College (FLC) and worked in the informational technology sector. Liza was a social worker and child play therapist. Her strengths were with people. Together, they discussed the idea to create a co-working space that met the needs of new parents. The traditional co-working model provides independent professionals a shared work space where people come to work on their own projects. The work space offers internet access, a site to network, and rooms to conduct business with clients. Durango currently has two co-working establishments, but neither offer childcare onsite.

Liza had known about the Small Business Development Center (SBDC) at FLC when she worked at the San Juan Basin Health Department. Liza frequently referred families who wanted to open a business to them. In April 2017, Kelly and Liza spoke with SBDC’s Liz Cook to seek advisement on how to proceed with their idea. Liz told them about the Leading Edge (LE) program. The LE class is designed for entrepreneurs having the intention to move from a business idea towards a completed and viable business plan. Each class covers a different topic (ie. marketing, sales) and presents a guest speaker, for a total of ten weeks. The LE instructors were Jasper Welch and Terryl Peterson. Jasper is the owner of Durango Space, one of the co-working businesses in town. Kelly said, “That made sense from a networking perspective to work with him, so I registered for the class.”

Kelly attended the program with a business plan outline. Kelly stated, “What was most helpful was the class helped me refine our vision. They helped me uncover what DCAP’s focus was and what we were trying to solve. In the beginning, Liza and I weren’t sure whether to register as a business or NPO, but LE walked us through each scenario.” As the program commenced, Kelly enjoyed the comradery amongst her classmates.

Outside of the classroom, Kelly met with Jasper and Terryl separately. Jasper helped to dial in her vision. Terryl provided insight on their budget and what resources were available to them. Terryl also asked what assumptions the business would need to make in terms of expenses and cost of goods sold as an NPO. Kelly and Liza also met with the Community Foundation (CF) and inquired about fiscal sponsorship. For a fee, CF would manage administrative aspects such as quarterly reporting and payroll. Liza added, “The Community Foundation was very impressed with the detail of our financial model and business plan. That was a credit to SBDC.”

Kelly completed the LE program in July. To date, Durango Café au Play operates from two locations; a free baby/parent meetup at Durango’s Unitarian Universalist church, and in the Nifty Nanny room at the Smiley Building. “There is a lot of interest. Attendance at play groups is growing along with new Facebook followers each week.” Kelly and Liza will be fundraising when a permanent café location surfaces. Both Kelly and Liza said the LE program is a very accelerated course. “If SBDC were not there, it’s likely Durango Café au Play would still be just a dream.”

Rick Goodall is a second-generation farmer in Arriola, CO, whose family grew apples and raised livestock. He married Gerrie twenty-two years ago. That’s when Gerrie was first introduced to farming. While expecting their second child, Gerrie chose to stay at home to raise the children, but the tradeoff was the loss of a second income. Gerrie considered her options and decided to plant a garden. Her first harvest was plentiful, yet it yielded a tremendous amount of zucchini. A friend recommended she sell it at the Dolores Farmers Market, which she did. Gerrie loved the experience and realized a larger market garden would bring in more income and provide food for her family.

In the coming years her garden and family expanded. The farm was renamed to Bountiful Ridge Farm (BRF) in 2013 and filed as an LLC in 2014. Gerrie had worked with a regional program whose purpose was to grow local food for local people. BRF also participated in a farmer’s coop to supply stores, restaurants and individuals. The experience helped her understand how to produce food in volume with larger scale planning. Gerrie said, “we found our sales were good but the money wasn’t there. Rick wanted to expand and build an apple shed.” The couple went to First Southwest Bank to inquire about a loan. They met a loan officer named Cassie. She wanted to know about the Goodall’s business experience, which at the time was a basic working knowledge from farming. Cassie suggested Rick and Gerrie call Liz Ross at the Small Business Development Center (SBDC) to supplement their experience. Liz referred the Goodalls to Cindy Dvergsten, who recommended they sign up for the January 2017 Leading Edge (LE) program. Cindy is a management consultant and SBDC advisor. She specializes in sustainable development and helps client acquire decision making skills that allow them to be socially, economically and environmentally sound.

The LE program’s objective is to educate entrepreneurs on the multifaceted aspects of business while providing instruction on how to complete a personalized business plan. The program offers one on one counseling with SBDC advisors of various business backgrounds. The Goodalls met with Cindy several times. “She gave so much clarity and understanding. She explained the importance of having a business plan and what to present to a bank.”
Gerrie’s biggest take away was to look at her farm as six different entities, not one. BRF had orchards, a market garden, hens, Heritage pigs and lamb, and raw milk dairy production. “I didn’t realize the importance to break up the farm because each entity has to stand on its own. If an entity can’t sustain itself, I either have to change or eliminate it.”

LE taught them how to analyze and solve problems while spreadsheet software was utilized to forecast their finances. Gerrie learned each farm entity was viable, but some would take several years before a profit would be realized. “Banks want to know what you can do. The LE instruction helped us secure a loan to purchase a refrigeration unit.”

In November, the Rick and Gerrie took a course partially sponsored by SBDC, and was taught by Holistic Management International (HMI). HMI is an organization that teaches a philosophy on how to make decisions that honor what you stand for. Specifically, the program incorporates the personal and business sides of life, socioeconomic factors and what the biological impacts are from the decisions people make. “When we make conscious decisions on how to do things better, it’s for generations to come. We want to give back to the land, give back to the animals, and not just take. We consider what effect our family’s decisions can have on our community, our state and our country. It is important to do for the long term and to do it well.”

Gerrie concluded, “SBDC is an invaluable resource. If there is an issue with marketing, I can call them at any time. There is an ongoing learning curve to keep our farm viable and sustainable. It has been a night and day experience with SBDC from a year ago.”

Kellie Pettyjohn is the proud owner and founder of The Wily Carrot, an organic farm located in Mancos, CO. She came to the lovely Mancos Valley in 2010 via Washington, D.C., to pursue an idyllic lifestyle, work with her hands in the outdoors and become her own boss. Kellie first got her hands dirty when she tended to two acres of vegetables on Dave Banga’s farm in Montezuma County. She interned with him for a full season to learn the business and production sides to farming.

Kellie leased an acre of farmland the following year and put into practice what she learned. She planted over two dozen vegetable varieties, and had sold them at farmers markets and wholesale. “It was a lot of work and there was a lot of volatility,” she said. “I kept records which showed what worked and what didn’t, and my decisions were driven by that.”

During that season, Kellie heard through the farming community about an upcoming class sponsored by the Small Business Development Center (SBDC). The class was titled ‘Tilling the Soil of Opportunity’ and was led by Cindy Dvergsten. Classes began in January 2012, and met once a week for ten weeks. Each class focused on a specific business premise that would be implemented into a personalized business plan. The classes were highlighted by a guest speaker who specialized in that area. “An accountant would speak of budgets and cash flow one week, and a marketer would explain advertising the next.”

With each class came a homework assignment, which led to the business plan’s construction. Kellie learned how to think about what her ideal farm would look like as a business and how to make that successful. She was taught to think of a farm as separate enterprises. For example, “Crops would be marketed and sold differently than livestock.” Another take away was “realizing just because you may have a higher profit from farmers markets may not be the most profitable for a farmer because I’m spending the previous day prepping for it. You need to run your numbers to include hourly wage and transportation.”

The greatest lesson for Kellie was that she had to consider the lifestyle she wanted to live as a farmer. She took that to heart. “Farmers like to work outside and for themselves while needing to consider how to make a business while doing what they want to do.” Kellie knew right then she no longer wanted to work markets because they took up most of her Saturdays.

When the classes ended in March, Kellie had a completed business plan. For each student who finished their plans, it was then submitted into a regional SBDC contest to judge who had the best one. The winning regional plan would advance against other SBDC regional winners in a state level contest. Kellie wound up winning first place regionally and in the state! She received $500 as a regional winner. The state prize was three boxes of organic tea and a meeting with Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper. Unfortunately for Kellie, the governor’s visit was scheduled during her off season. She was employed as a kitchen staff at a research science center in Antarctica at the time. Cindy met the governor in her place.

In 2014, Kellie bought three acres to expand her farm. She currently has two acres under production. Kellie grows mostly greens, along with tomatoes and peppers, for her CSA (community supported agriculture). Customers pay a fee at the beginning of farming season and receive eight to twelve vegetables per week throughout, until the season ends. She decides what to plant based on what grows well and what people want. This past summer, The Wily Carrot received the classification of ‘Certified Organic’ under the US National Organic Program.

SBDC’s Tilling the Soil class has helped empower Kellie to follow her dream. “This is my seventh year of farming. Each year I am getting smarter, making refinements, and making business better. It can be scary at times and takes a lot of work. But, being in charge of my destiny is very powerful.”

“Experience is what you get when you don’t get what you want.” Tim Sullivan stated that when he summarized he and his wife’s (Lorri) journey towards owning Pagosa Secure Storage. Tim had been involved in several endeavors to build or buy his own storage facility for the past ten years. Due to circumstances involving financing, zoning, limitations to expand an existing property or it being too expensive, the right deal never presented itself. Tim did accumulate a wealth of knowledge on the storage business over that time. To have invested years in time and money without fulfilling his dream was frustrating. A close friend of his builds storage units in Oklahoma. Tim said his friend kept in touch and provided direction and encouragement to continue with the dream. Tim followed his advice and his persistence eventually paid off.

In May of 2017, Tim revisited a storage facility in Pagosa Springs he investigated eight years prior. This time the asking price was lower and there were maintenance issues which needed to be addressed. “It was a blessing really. If the facility was in stellar condition it would have been too expensive to buy.” Tim put a business plan together and checked his financial numbers. This looked like a go, until Lorri suggested he contact the Small Business Development Center (SBDC) at Fort Lewis College.

Several years earlier, Lorri was focused on purchasing a retail business located on Durango’s Main Avenue. Through her friend’s recommendation, Lorri went to SBDC and met with Terryl Peterson, a financial specialist. Terryl reviewed Lorri’s business plan and financial data, and concluded Lorri not make the investment. The business could be viable, but it would be difficult to make money over time because of the large upfront purchasing cost required. “Even though I didn’t buy the business, I felt like I won. To continue would have been a mistake.”

Tim and Lorri met for the first of three meetings with SBDC business advisor Rich Lindblad in June. Heading into the meeting, Tim thought he knew plenty about the storage business with his ten years of experience, but was not opposed to hear what Rich had to say. That opinion changed when they met Rich and his “expert set of eyes.” Rich reviewed their plans and did his own market research. He thought Tim and Lorri had a good plan and encouraged them to proceed, but he did give insight into areas they hadn’t thought of.

His first piece of advice was the need to establish a relationship with a bank. Rich picked up the phone and called First Southwest Bank (FSB) with Tim and Lorri present. He introduced them to the banker and explained their motive. In time, a small business loan would be needed. Tim and Lorri chose FSB and opened an account. This way, FSB would see all the business transactions over time and make an easier determination to extend a small business loan. Lorri said, “that was great advice. We felt ahead of the game.”

Secondly, Rich asked how they would like to take ownership of their business. He reviewed the pros and cons of personal ownership, incorporating and forming a limited liability company (LLC). Rich additionally suggested Tim and Lorri learn to do the taxes themselves. In doing so, they would learn all the ins and outs to their business. “There are tax systems set up to help businesses succeed. Knowing how the system works can be another way of making money. If the law is there for you and you use it, you make money. If the laws are there and you don’t use it, you lose money.”

The last suggestion Rich made was to expect the cost of capital improvements to be more than what they had accounted for, which proved true. Tim and Lorri took his precautions and found ways to keep cost manageable by applying their own elbow grease to make the necessary improvements.

On August 1st, Tim and Lorri closed the deal on the storage facility in Pagosa Springs. The property included an open acre of land for potential expansion and several rental units. Pagosa Secure Storage was now their very own business. Presently, they are three months into operation and business has been profitable.

Tim and Lorri’s experience with SBDC has been positive. As a realtor, Lorri has recommended SBDC to entrepreneurs looking to buy or lease work space. For Tim, it was the forty years of business experience Rich brought to the table. “Most experience comes from making mistakes. You can learn from other people’s mistakes and save yourself the pain of making your own.”