Success Stories

By Malia Durbano

Family Physician, Kirsten “Kicki” Searfus originally approached the SBDC to learn how to structure the partnership she was entering with Megan Lewis Grotefund. Instead, Megan moved away and on June 1, 2013, Kicki officially was in private practice.

Having always been an employee at clinics or hospitals, she was wondering where to start in figuring out how to be an entrepreneur. Advisor Joe Bishop “was super helpful” in assisting her regarding the structure to choose for the business and helped her with the business plan.

He then recommended her to attorney Lindsey Nicholsen who drafted the purchase agreement. When she needed help with Accounting and Taxes, Joe Keck referred her to Virginia Cavanaugh from AccounTax. “If Joe recommends her – she must be good. I don’t know where else I would have gotten all this information.”

When Kicki was ready to add partners, again Joe Bishop “was open to our ideas. It was great how he approached it and made it so much easier. He basically said, if this is what you want to do we’ll figure out a way to make it work.” Lynn Asano helped her compile the demographic data to put into the business plan and assisted with marketing advice to tap into their market.

The group, which now consists of four separate business entities decided to structure it that way and form a collaborative rather than a partnership.

One of the other members of the collaborative, Exercise Physiologist, Kevin Dehlinger, also got assistance from Joe Bishop. “The task seemed daunting.” Kevin faced the challenges of securing financing, structuring his business, and deciding to hire independent contractors or employees.

Joe Bishop helped him decide what a reasonable amount of debt to accrue would be weighed against projected income. They put it in the business plan and the loan was approved in a week! “It was really helpful to have all those things sorted out and decided upon before I asked for money.”

In addition to Dr. Kicki Searfus and Exercise Physiologist Kevin Dehlinger, the smoothly running collaborative now also includes Registered Dietician Nutritionist, Lisa Smith and Judith Vanderryn, Ph.D providing Psychotherapy and Behavioral Health.

Kicki summarizes, “Having these specialists in house is a tremendous resource. It enables us to really move clients forward and be incredibly transformative. It’s remarkable how much more effective our work is and there is a huge benefit to the client.”

Pagosa Verde is the only Public/Private partnership in the State of Colorado for geothermal development. It involves Pagosa Verde, a privately owned business, the United States Department of Energy, the Colorado Energy Office, the Town of Pagosa Springs and Archuleta County.

This unique collaboration also combines technical assistance and funding from the Southwest Colorado Small Business Development Center and Region 9 Economic Development District of SW Colorado coming together to assist in the development of a significant natural resource in rural Colorado.

According to Jerry Smith, the Founder of Pagosa Verde, “the economic problems in rural areas like western Colorado are because the economy is based on commodity pricing. Everything is based on the weather – either for tourism or agriculture. The result is that Colorado land owners and the small businesses and communities experience periodic dips in income due to the price of oil, cattle or droughts.”

Jerry was tired of seeing people here be “land rich and cash poor.” He decided the best way to solve the problem is to use renewable energy to provide stable year-around income streams. Archuleta County has lots of geothermal heat, but nobody has explored how to use it – until Jerry Smith and his wife Sally High began their project.

Jerry started the business in 2009 and was a “one man show” until 2011. Region 9 then provided working capital for the project and purchased equity in the company in 2012. In 2014, SBDC Advisor, Tom Holcomb brought 25 years of expertise in management and business development in renewable energy and sustainability services. Tom assisted in the feasibility framework for the project.

There are hundreds of places in Colorado where hot water comes out of the ground. By combining the hot water with solar energy, Pagosa Verde’s team, has developed a system to provide affordable, renewable energy for sustainable agricultural projects that stimulate economic development.

Jerry has figured out a way to use the Earth’s heat to grow produce in greenhouses year around. By harnessing the Earth’s renewable energy to generate affordable heat, farmers can produce papayas or tomatoes that can be priced affordably. He has calculated that, “70% of the overhead cost of doing business is heat. If we can reduce that, we can generate income for land owners, create jobs and provide incentives for manufacturers to move into the area.”

According to Jerry, “a greenhouse employs eight full-time people per acre. By leveraging renewable assets, we’re providing a year around income stream for farmers out in the middle of no-where.”

New technologies are making geothermal possible. “The city of Pagosa, Archuleta County and Region 9 are bold and forward thinking. They are combining resources and skill sets to do something that’s important”, Jerry explains.

By Malia Durbano

Music composer, James Bowers came up with a great idea a few years ago and formulated it more – in of all places- Trimble Hot Springs! James and his wife Lily Weisbecker had attended a string quartet concert through Music in the Mountains, which they thoroughly enjoyed. The next night, while they were at Trimble, the cello player from the ensemble also happened to be there.

They began discussing how to make Chamber music more relevant and accessible and how they could strengthen the classical music community. James’ idea was coalescing.

James plays guitar and composes background music for Global National News in Canada. Both he and Lily love classical music and “never tire of listening to it,” she explains. Lily conveniently, has a background in software development.

sitins1Their idea, which is now their new company, is called Sit-Ins. It’s an app that can be downloaded onto a Mac or PC that allows musicians to play with experts. The audio and video allow practicing musicians to play along with professionals. They can play with the whole ensemble or block out which ever parts they want to, and fill in with their own music –similar to karaoke, where the lyrics are filled in by the live singer.

The visual and auditory communication makes learning to play a musical instrument easier and more fun. As Lily explains, “Practicing alone is no fun. Music is a language. People who come from musical families and have somebody to play with really thrive.”

James and Lily recorded 180 songs with professional musicians in Budapest last summer. Each instrument was recorded in isolation, so it can be eliminated, slowed down or speeded up. Currently, they just have string quartets and piano duos, but will branch out into other genres.

They just debuted their product at the Chamber Music America Trade Show in New York City. Lily explains, “It was so exciting! It was very well received as a quality, high-end product. We got the interest of lots of musicians.”

The couple agrees that, “Participating in the SCAPE program made sitins3all the difference in the world. It was an intense four months, but we learned so much.” Lily credits advisors Jim Mackay, Barbara Heinrich, Mark Epstein, John Wolgamott and Jasper Welch for their mentorship, generous consulting time and for being amazing resources.

The most valuable help they got was in carefully defining their target market and then “learning how to reach them as quickly as possible for the least amount of money. This prevented us from making some of the most common mistakes new start-ups make.

By Malia Durbano

After four years in private practice, Naturopathic Doctor, Nicola St. Mary, decided it was time to pursue her dream of building a cooperative natural healthcare practice. With the vision in mind, she began assembling practitioners to join her and the search for a building.

Dr. Nicola contacted Joe Keck to “totally understand the resources that were available.” After talking with Joe and his assistant, Lynn Asano, Dr. Nicola was referred to the advisors who specialized in the areas of expertise she needed.

Terryl Peterson helped develop the strategic plan to form the cooperative and Advisor, Joe Bishop consulted with her regarding the ramifications of buying vs. renting a building. He also helped her structure the coop.

Bart Mitchell coached her on Quick Books after she took the class by Bethany McManus offered through the SBDC. Advisor and CPA Sidney Zink assisted with the Financial Planning. “They all understand women in business. I took advantage of all of it – the general advice, the support, classes, time with individual advisors and the Women’s Conference. I believe it is why I am successful,” she shared.

Dr. Nicola, “Knew if I came across something I couldn’t navigate I had a team there to help me figure it out.” The assistance she received in the financial aspects of the business built her confidence. She now understands the true value in Strategic Planning, Financial Projections and gains a realistic perspective on how the business is doing based on her Profit and Loss statement.

In the business model established, the practitioners in the Coop that includes Acupuncture, Cranio Sacral Therapy, an Herbalist, Reiki, Holistic Therapy and Intuitive Massage pull their resources and contribute to the marketing, administrative services and rent.

Another aspect of Dr. Nicola’s vision was achieved through the extended SBDC network. She was connected with the Northwest SBDC center and attended the Worksite Wellness Conference in August. She met with representatives of Health Links Colorado and will bring them down here to do free wellness assessments at worksites. The PuraVida team will then continue to make the assessments and treatments available in Durango.