Business down? She can help
UNM-Gallup Small Business Center works to create wealth in Gallup's economy Elsie Sanchez is the Director of the Small Business Development Center. She specializes in helping small businesses coming up with a plan for their future. — © 2008 Gallup Independent / Brian Leddy

Copyright © 2008
Gallup Independent
By Elizabeth Hardin-Burrola
Staff writer

GALLUP — When it come to explaining what her job in Gallup is, Elsie F. Sanchez knows it’s all about the bottom line — creating wealth in the local community.

“That’s the American way of life,” says Sanchez, “that’s capitalism.”

Sanchez is the director of the Gallup Small Business Development Center at UNM-Gallup, which despite its name, is actually located downtown in the back offices of the chamber of commerce building. One of 18 centers in the statewide NMSBDC Network, which is a partnership program with the U.S. Small Business Administration, the program’s motto is “Building New Mexico’s Economy One Business at a Time.”

Sanchez and her staff, business advisor Dan Sanchez (no relation to Elsie) and administrative assistant Marcia Silversmith, try to put that idea into practice at the local level in McKinley County by providing one-on-one business assistance to community members.

In a recent interview, Sanchez talked about the services the Gallup SBDC offers — services she would like more residents to utilize. The center offers free business advising, low-cost training, access to business research and resources, and referral information, she explained, and the center’s services are open to all business owners as well as individuals just thinking about starting a business.

All the services are free, except for the workshops and seminars. Each year the center offers a variety of classes with topics that range from how to write a basic business plan to understanding the Navajo Nation’s business taxes.

Community members can learn about upcoming training opportunities by checking the Gallup SBDC’s Web site or signing up to get the center’s regular e-mail notices.

In addition to working with established business owners who need specific assistance, Sanchez said she and her staff work with people who are contemplating starting up a new business. Such clients are led through an initial exercise to get them to think about all the different aspects of the business, and get them to take a realistic look at the numbers. Sanchez said she often plays the devil’s advocate by presenting different scenarios and asking the “what if” questions.

“Once they start thinking of those possibilities, they come down to earth,” she said, adding that about 60 to 70 percent of new business dreams aren’t realistic.

If such clients make the decision not to go into business, Sanchez believes that’s still a successful outcome because the SBDC has just saved the client from losing their capital and their personal wealth, and spared them the emotional trauma that comes with a failed business venture.

For clients who do have a viable business idea, Sanchez said her center is there to help the client plan, finance, market, and develop their business. However, she said, potential business owners have to be willing to put in the hard work to create a successful business out of a good idea.

“We function in a world of instant mashed potatoes,” Sanchez said. People who stick with their goals and put in the necessary hard work are the ones who succeed, she added.

Business owners who are struggling to survive are also welcome as clients, Sanchez said, but she expressed frustration that many don’t seek help until their business is on the verge of collapsing. When such clients “come in at a point of no return,” she explained, sometimes the best they can do is sell off their inventory to reduce their debt or stabilize the business enough to sell it.

Nowadays, against the backdrop of the shaky national economy, Gallup businesses need to “retool and retrench” in order to survive, Sanchez said. On the positive side, she believes Gallup is a commercial hub that will continue to attract shoppers from the region. And because finances are tighter, she also believes local consumers will stick closer to Gallup rather than make long distance shopping trips to other cities.

However, on the negative side, Sanchez said local businesses are faced with the reduction in consumer spending, they have to pay higher prices for the goods they sell, and they are faced with greater competition. As a result, Sanchez said, business owners need to look very hard and objectively at their finances, offer better customer service, use technology more effectively, look at creative ways to market and promote their business, and become flexible and willing to make necessary changes to survive in today’s business climate.

Information: (505) 722-2220, sbdc@gallup.unm.edu or www.nmsbdc.org/gallup