Small businesses finding help they need
BOOMER: Groups offer advice to entrepreneurs
| Sunday, Aug 02 2009 09:40 PM
Last Updated Sunday, Aug 02 2009 10:00 PM
To evaluate a business idea or help refine an existing one, call the UC Merced Small Business Development Center at 877-UCM-SBDC or SCORE at 861-9249.
To evaluate a business idea or help refine an existing one, call the UC Merced Small Business Development Center at 877-UCM-SBDC or SCORE at 861-9249.
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Jenn Ireland / The Californian Charles Lewis fills a shelf with unbaked pies while making apricot pies in the Woodward West lodge kitchen in Stallion Springs near Tehachapi Wednesday afternoon. Lewis makes dozens of pies every week and sells them locally in three different stores, one restaurant and at two farmers markets.
Jenn Ireland / The Californian Charles Lewis fills a shelf with unbaked pies while making apricot pies in the Woodward West lodge kitchen in Stallion Springs near Tehachapi Wednesday afternoon. Lewis makes dozens of pies every week and sells them locally in three different stores, one restaurant and at two farmers markets.
Jenn Ireland / The Californian Charles Lewis fills a shelf with unbaked pies while making apricot pies in the Woodward West lodge kitchen in Stallion Springs near Tehachapi Wednesday afternoon. Lewis makes dozens of pies every week and sells them locally in three different stores, one restaurant and at two farmers markets.
Jenn Ireland / The Californian Charles Lewis pulls some apricot pies from the oven in the Woodward West lodge kitchen in Stallion Springs near Tehachapi Wednesday afternoon. Lewis makes dozens of pies every week and sells them locally in three different stores, one restaurant and at two farmers markets.
Jenn Ireland / The Californian Charles Lewis uses a pie press to shape the crust to the pie tin while baking apricot pies in the Woodward West lodge kitchen in Stallion Springs near Tehachapi Wednesday afternoon. Lewis makes dozens of pies every week and sells them locally in three different stores, one restaurant and at two farmers markets.
Jenn Ireland / The Californian Charles Lewis fills a shelf with unbaked pies while making apricot pies in the Woodward West lodge kitchen in Stallion Springs near Tehachapi Wednesday afternoon. Lewis makes dozens of pies every week and sells them locally in three different stores, one restaurant and at two farmers markets.
Jenn Ireland / The Californian Charles Lewis uses a roller to make the pie crust top while baking apricot pies in the Woodward West lodge kitchen in Stallion Springs near Tehachapi Wednesday afternoon. Lewis makes dozens of pies every week and sells them locally in three different stores, one restaurant and at two farmers markets.
Jenn Ireland / The Californian Charles Lewis pulls some apricot pies from the oven in the Woodward West lodge kitchen in Stallion Springs near Tehachapi Wednesday afternoon. Lewis makes dozens of pies every week and sells them locally in three different stores, one restaurant and at two farmers markets.
Jenn Ireland / The Californian Charles Lewis laughs as he shows off one of his freshly baked apricot pies in the Woodward West lodge kitchen in Stallion Springs near Tehachapi Wednesday afternoon. Lewis makes dozens of pies every week and sells them locally in three different stores, one restaurant and at two farmers markets.
Charles Lewis was the "pie guy" of Bisbee, Ariz. Before that, he reigned over Brian Head, Utah, where he perfected his brianberry pie. Two years ago, he moved to Tehachapi where he now hopes his tehachaberry pie will become the rage.
The 47-year-old Lewis has a passion for pies. He loves to make them. He loves to sell them. And if all it took was sheer passion for what he does, he would be on his way to success.
"Whatever you do -- whether you are young or old -- you have to be doing something you love; you have to have fire in your belly," says Fred Kiesner, a Loyola Marymount University entrepreneurship professor, who lives in Frazier Park and is seeing an increase in people going into business for themselves.
But he warns you also must have a sound business plan and offer a product or service people want. As the economy has taken a nosedive, Kiesner says he is receiving calls from former students -- many of them aging boomers displaced by corporate layoffs -- telling him about their startup plans.
"Every time there has been a (financial) crisis, the number of entrepreneurs has increased. Then you have an all-new crop of businesses," observes Kiesner, who has been teaching since the 1960s. "But many will fail if they don't do their homework first. Don't just let your passions drive you. This is tough."
In a recently released report, the Kauffman Foundation concluded the United States might be on the cusp of an entrepreneurship boom. And this boom will not be despite the nation's aging population; it will be because of it.
Foundation researchers found that boomers -- those in the 55 to 64 age bracket -- have the highest rate of entrepreneur activity.
"The fact that the largest age group of our population is also the most entrepreneurial bodes well for the United States' economic future," said Robert E. Litan, the foundation's vice president of research and policy, in a statement released with the report.
This age group has been hit hard by corporate layoffs. Economic setbacks have diminished their savings and delayed retirement plans. Even when they can retire, many boomers want to remain active and involved, choosing to convert hobbies into businesses or develop niche industries.
PIE MAKING DREAMS
Born in San Jose, Lewis bounced around various food industry jobs until 10 years ago, when he entered culinary school in Las Vegas. While attending the three-year program, he also worked at Marie Callender's making pies.
After he graduated, he joined a classmate, who opened a restaurant in Brian Head, Utah, where he created the brianberry pie, a berry mixture. Later he moved to Bisbee, Ariz., to operate a 10-seat diner in a vintage RV park and bake more pies, including his signature bisbeeberry pie.
There he met his wife, Carrie. Two young sons later, the couple moved to Tehachapi, where he continues to bake pies and is a stay-at-home dad.
Lewis bakes his pies in the commercial kitchen at Tehachapi's Camp Woodward West, stuffs them into his compact car and delivers them to area convenience stores and farmer's markets. He estimates he sells about 100 pies a week.
His dream: To open a pie tasting room -- similar to a wine tasting room -- where pies made from Tehachapi's famous apples, as well as other local seasonal fruits are tasted and sold.
HELP OFFERED
Kern County is fertile territory for such business dreams, say local advisers.
"The demand in the Bakersfield area has always been strong," says Diane Howerton, regional director for the University of California, Merced, Small Business Development Center Network.
In a 15-county Central California region, Howerton's center has the federal Small Business Administration contract to advise entrepreneurs who want to start new businesses, as well as existing small-business owners who want to improve their operations. Counselors are available to advise local entrepreneurs at the Bakersfield UC Merced Center, 2000 K St., Suite 300.
The center's consultants "help people survive by reducing costs, improving productivity and increasing profits," she explains, reporting her organization is receiving more requests for help throughout the region, including in Kern, from "mature entrepreneurs" who are testing out ideas in home-based businesses.
Morton Brown is a retired stockbroker and chairman of the local chapter of the Service Corps of Retired Executives. He reports receiving an increase in calls from laid-off workers who want to start businesses. Also a SBA partner, SCORE mentors existing and potential small business operators.
The least likely to succeed, according to Brown and Howerton: A restaurant.
The most likely to succeed: Green -- not just a producer of "green" energy, but a business or product that can save energy, cut pollution and otherwise be considered "green."
