GAYLEN YOUNG: Businesses ready for economy to spring back
| Thursday, Feb 04 2010 01:22 PM
Last Updated Thursday, Feb 04 2010 01:34 PM
Images
Buck and Peggy Whitaker have owned Buck's Landscape and Design along Taft Highway, west of Highway 99 for the past 16 years.
Peggy Whitaker feeds some of the fish near the porch of their business in Pumpkin Center, Buck's Landscape and Design. Buck and Peggy have owned this business for 16 years.
Tami Chapman on a Volvo mini-excavator at her business, Volvo Rents.
Gaylen Young
I get a lot of mail across my desk for small businesses. "Take out a loan, we can finance you better than a bank" or "use the Internet for profit," they tout. But nearly all those solicitations fail to heed basic business principles. More often than not, they try to capitalize on our tendency to want something for nothing.
Local businesses that have been around any length of time know it is only by hard work and sound business practices, including strong business and marketing plans, that they will reach financial success.
The owners of one such business recently contacted me after completing a revised business and marketing plan, which they hope will propel them to expand in the coming year as the economy recovers.
Buck and Peggy Whitaker have owned Buck's Landscape and Design along Taft Highway for the past 16 years. The company has three full-time employees in addition to Buck and Peggy.
"It started out as simply landscape materials in bulk on the south end of town," Peggy Whitaker said. "We expanded after about 10 years, and recently we revamped the business and expanded into water features as a new segment of our business."
Peggy and Buck say they cater to those doing landscaping for homes and commercial buildings, but the slow economy the past couple of years has taken a toll.
Many people who paid them to maintain their ponds have dropped away, with the promise they'd be back when the economy springs back.
Because the economy has caused their main landscaping business to soften, they've tried to find other niches. One niche that seems to be catching on is water features such as ponds and fountains. The Whitakers say they'll help you design a pond or fountain that will fit and enhance your landscaping project, plus, they'll help you keep it going.
They maintain a truck and service option for ponds and fountains around the county similar to a pool maintenance service, Buck said. They also have samples in the store and product pictures on their Website.
The Whitakers say they have not had to use any federal stimulus money, although they've had inquiries about doing that recently.
They remain hopeful the economy will turn around later this year and next. They'd like to expand into a second location, either in Kern County or along the coast.
While the Whitakers haven't taken advantage of federal money yet, other businesses have. Melende Ward, the media contact of the Fresno office of the Small Business Administration, says SBA loans for businesses have jumped by 65 percent in the October to December period (the first quarter of the fiscal year).
"We think this is a good sign for the Central California economy and hope that the trend continues in the coming months," said Carlos Mendoza, director of the Fresno office.
The SBA says it has made loans from as little as $4,000 to as much as $2 million for inventory, working capital, building construction, equipment and machinery.
In addition, the SBA says it is renewing efforts to help fund women and minority owned small businesses under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
One local business that has just taken advantage of that status is Volvo Rents on Allen Road. It is owned by Tami Chapman.
"We've been trying to find ways of digging into other niche markets, and recently we were audited by the state, and received a 'woman owned business' designation, which is helping with some tax breaks and other opportunities," Chapman said.
Chapman has been in some form of the construction business for the past 23 years, taking over the Volvo Rents franchise in May 2003.
"We have rototillers all the way up to backhoes and a 120-foot genie-lift which is painted red, white and blue to help our troops as 10 percent of the rentals go to help the troops," Chapman said.
Volvo Rents has 13 employees. Renting is half the business. Service is the other half.
"If you have equipment break down on the job site, you won't be renting for very long. We have to maintain and rent quality equipment, then service it before putting it back on the yard," Chapman said.
She said that point was driven home a few years ago as she was doing the rebar for a construction job. The project had rented a forklift to move the rebar, but it arrived with a flat tire.
"I had nine guys standing around because of that flat tire and it cost us 27 man hours in lost wages. For a smaller business, that can sometimes be the difference between profit and loss on a job," Chapman said.
Industrial commercial used to be the biggest part of Volvo Rents' business. Now they're focusing on home owners, too, as well as refineries and bigger businesses.
"The rental business is almost like a drug store. There's almost one on every corner," Chapman said. "We all try to work together to stay in business, but having to get that rent and lowering rates has been a tough thing to do in this economy."
She says the poor economy led to one of the toughest days of her life about a year ago, as she had to dismiss five staff members to keep the business afloat. "The toughest thing I've ever had to do because they had done nothing wrong," she said.
Chapman says Kern County is seeing a little bit of construction activity now, and a little growth in the oil industry. "We're just trying to find some good ideas to get by because I think we need to be here in a year when the economy comes back," she said.
If you'd like me to report on your business, feel free to drop me an e-mail at gaylen@gaylenyoung.com and I'll add you to my growing list.
