D e s e r t E x p o s u r e
March
2009
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Small Is Beautiful |
Meet Mary Vigil-Tarazoff, southwest New Mexico's small business maven.
By Richard Mahler
Mary Vigil-Tarazoff has three words to describe the potential impact of recent layoffs at Grant County mines.
"It is scary," concedes the director of the local Small Business Development Center (SBDC), seated in her second-story office at Western New Mexico University. A north-side window affords a view across Silver City and, in the distance, the famous Santa Rita copper pit and Kneeling Nun. "Mining has been the mainstay of our community and businesses are, of course, affected [by the downturn]."
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Small Business Development Center
director Mary Vigil-Tarazoff: "Small-business
owners provide sustainability." |
With about 900 of an estimated 1,400 mineworkers losing their jobs in recent months, Vigil-Tarazoff knows the local economy has taken an enormous hit. (Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold, the county's largest single employer, began furloughing employees last fall, following sudden plunges of well over 50 percent in copper prices and stock values.)
So much for the bad news. Now the good news.
"Small business owners provide sustainability," Vigil-Tarazoff maintains. "They create good jobs. They make up a lot of our economic development. In my opinion, they are the backbone [of our regional economy]."
Echoing the optimist's aphorism that a door closing allows a new door to open, this "true blue native New Mexican" notes that some of those laid off "have skills that, if the individuals planned it right, would allow them to open their own businesses. We are trying to support them in doing this, if that's what interests them." She ticks off a series of special courses, including one in how to start and operate a new business as well as others in plumbing and similar trades, all targeted toward unemployed miners by Western New Mexico University, in cooperation with the SBDC.
"We're here to help anyone who wants to launch a business," the director stresses. "We'll help them explore their ideas and guide them right through the start-up process."
The center does not lend money, but gets commercial applicants ready to ask for loans properly. The SBDC does assist with cash-flow projections or income projections, posing questions that can lead a client toward realistic estimates. It does not prepare business plans, but assists in pulling all the necessary elements together. "It can be written on a napkin for all I care," says Vigil-Tarazoff, "as long as the essential components are in place and well thought out. We then help them fine-tune the business plan to complete it properly."
The center is a very specialized resource. Not a part of the federal Small Business Administration — a common misconception, though they work together — it is one of 19 such offices around New Mexico funded primarily through the state legislature through the Department of Higher Education. Contracting with various colleges and universities statewide, the initiative fosters the sort of private enterprise that makes a town livable, workable and attractive. The state's southwest quadrant, which lacks the population and industry that keeps places like Albuquerque humming, needs the know-how of such offices to help spawn and grow owner-operated companies.
"We need to continue doing this," declares Vigil-Tarazoff, "even in hard times." She concedes, though, that even operations like the one in Silver City could face funding cutbacks in the face of the state government's looming budget deficit.
Vigil-Tarazoff, born and raised in Socorro, brings an impressive background in banking and business to her present post. After attending New Mexico State University, she lived in Las Cruces until a decade ago, when she relocated to Silver City with her husband, Mike Tarazoff, the manager of Action Equipment Rental. ("I am well aware of small business challenges because of this," she laughs.) She first took an administrative job with First New Mexico Bank, then worked in human resources for the now-departed Stream International call center. She joined the Small Business Development Center in 2003, advancing to its directorship in 2005.
"It was a big change for me to move [to Silver City] from Las Cruces," she admits. "For the first month I kept telling my husband, 'Take me back, please!'" Vigil-Tarazoff renders a different refrain today: "We live in Arenas Valley and love it. This is my haven, this is where I find peace."
The couple enjoys "every type of outdoor activity," particularly camping, fishing and four-wheeling. Mike is an avid hunter. "We're right where we need to be," his wife stresses. "We can hook up and be somewhere beautiful in 40 or 45 minutes." The couple have daughters ages 23 and 28 as well as a son who is 29. They're on their own, although none has yet shown an active interest in operating a small business. It could happen, she muses.
During a conversation in her quarters at WNMU, which is fiscal host to the center and offers some joint programs, Vigil-Tarazoff speaks with the care and precision of a well-organized planner. Her desk reflects attention to detail and devotion to purpose. Attractively attired in a fluffy white sweater and pearl necklace, she inspires the sort of confidence one might need when running through the gauntlet of "Devil's advocate questions" she presents to SBDC clients.
The director emphasizes that it is not enough to have a great idea and the willingness to work hard: "You have to realize that no one is going to lend you 100 percent of the money you need to start a business, and you have to really know what your customer base is if you're going to succeed." Confronted with planning realities, a good many prospective entrepreneurs don't come back. This is probably a good thing, as nothing contributes to the success of a business, experts say, like realistic expectations.
Our area is fortunate, however, in that its hometown banks are often flexible and easy to work with. Even as credit has tightened, here as elsewhere, having a banker who knows you and your track record over time can make a huge difference in obtaining proper financing on favorable terms.
Another plus, according to Vigil-Tarazoff, is the steady influx of retired and semi-retired newcomers to southwestern New Mexico. Some, who have brought a wealth of experience from other cities, show up at the SBDC volunteering to mentor younger residents in starting and running local businesses. Others, with the requisite skills and capital to launch something new, show up and ask: "What's needed here in Silver City?"
Vigil-Tarazoff chuckles behind a knowing smile. "We need so many things here," she says with a shrug. "It's hard to answer that question. But are the things we don't have something you can consider as appropriate for a new business?" Let's face it, "we do have choices, but not a lot. That's part of being in a small community."
Statistics support Vigil-Tarazoff's contention that our corner of the state relies heavily on the entrepreneurial spirit. Most locally owned New Mexico businesses operate with fewer than 25 employees, and the average number is considerably smaller in SBDC's service area of four largely rural counties: Catron, Grant, Hidalgo and Luna. A large percentage of local enterprises consist of one or two people, with occasional helpers hired part-time or seasonally. The majority of our small businesses are owned and financed by the proprietor and his or her family, who likely do most of the work.