News Release
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January 25, 2006
Editor�s note: Please see a description of, and contact
information for, the �Star Entrepreneur� from your region following this
press release.
Idaho Small Business Development Center
Celebrates 20-Year Anniversary By Honoring Six Successful Businesses
The Idaho Small Business Development Center will celebrate 20 years of
serving the state�s businesses in February. As part of the celebration, the
center will honor six businesses from around the state as �Star
Entrepreneurs.� The businesses have taken advantage of multiple services of
the Idaho SBDC and shown an entrepreneurial spirit in growing their
successful businesses.
�Most people don�t realize that around three-quarters of the net new jobs
come from small businesses,� said Idaho SBDC Director Jim Hogge. �They are
really important to our economic vitality.�
Business owners will be honored during a special presentation on Feb. 1 in
Boise featuring Boise State University President Bob Kustra and a number of
legislators and dignitaries.
The businesses include Sloan Fencing in Boise, Powerhouse Coach in Idaho
Falls, The Garden Caf� and Bakery in Twin Falls, Headmasters School of Hair
Design in Lewiston, Spring Creek Associates LLC in Soda Springs, and Living
Springs in Post Falls.
The Idaho SBDC will also honor the Idaho Associated General Contractors and
the Building Contractors Association of Southwest Idaho as �Star
Environmental Partners.� The two organizations partner with the Idaho SBDC
to provide education opportunities to their members � residential and
commercial contractors, builders and developers � on the federal storm water
regulations impacting the construction industry.
Dan Winstrom of Lewiston will also be honored as a �Star Advocate� for the
Idaho SBDC. Wenstrom is a staunch supporter of the Idaho SBDC and as
chairman of the center�s advisory council has traveled to Washington, D.C.
numerous times to meet with congressional leaders on the organization�s
behalf. He also runs his own successful small business in Lewiston,
Precision Machine and Supply Inc.
The Idaho SBDC was established in 1986 as a partnership between the U.S.
Small Business Administration and Boise State University. Boise State�s
College of Business and Economics serves as the state office, delivering
services through partnerships with Idaho�s other colleges and universities.
By offering business consulting and training to Idaho�s small businesses and
entrepreneurs, the Idaho SBDC encourages the development and growth of small
businesses in the state. Small businesses (those with 500 or fewer
employees) are vital to the state�s private sector. Nationally, as in Idaho,
more than 90 percent of new jobs are created by the small business sector.
Given that more than 95 percent of Idaho�s businesses are small businesses,
the Idaho SBDC offers assistance to the vast majority of the state�s
businesses. For more information, visit
www.idahosbdc.org or call (208) 426-3799.
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Contact: Jim Hogge, Idaho SBDC director, (208) 426-3799,
jhogge@boisestate.edu
Media Contact: Sherry Squires, University Communications, (208)
426-1563, ssquires@boisestate.edu
Boise State University is the largest institution of higher education in
Idaho with about 18,600 students and 2,200 faculty and staff. More than 190
undergraduate, graduate, doctoral and technical degrees are offered within
eight colleges. A metropolitan university located in the capital city, Boise
State is committed to life-enhancing research, teaching excellence and
public service.
Headmasters School of
Hair Design
Lewiston
Spring Creek Associates LLC
Soda Springs
The Garden Cafe and Bakery
Twin Falls
Headmasters School
of Hair Design
Lewiston
Headmasters School of Hair Design owner Peggy Foster�s childhood dream was
to someday own her own hair salon with a coffee pot in the corner so that
her clients could relax while being pampered.
After graduating from high school in the early 1970s Foster went to �beauty
school� and then to work in a salon where she specialized in hair color and
cuts before returning to the school to become a licensed instructor and then
a cosmetology school manager.
After managing Headmasters School of Hair Design for about 10 years, she
wanted to purchase the Lewiston school when the former owner retired. Now
she was faced with the opportunity to realize a �big� dream and wondered if
it was just out of her reach.
The thought of owning a school was overwhelming to her. She began by
enrolling in the NxLevel Business Plan Writing Class through the Region II
Idaho SBDC in January 1995.
She was comfortable in her ability to �manage� the school but she wanted to
make sure that the market would continue to be there. She wrote a business
plan in the class, and then decided to make the purchase.
Since purchasing the business in 1998, Foster has remained an SBDC client.
In 2001 the SBDC helped her purchase the building in which her school
operated.
Headmasters was named the North Idaho Small Business Administration (SBA)
business of the year in 2002 because of Foster�s ability to take her dream
and make it grow. She attributed her success to taking the time to plan
ahead and set realistic goals, always monitoring them to make sure to stay
on track.
Contact: Peggy Foster, 208-743-1512
Living Springs
Post Falls
Gary and Jill Trefz met in a biology class at Loma Linda University in
California. Jill went on to work as a registered nurse for more than 10
years while Gary worked as a physical therapist. They both developed a love
for the elderly.
After owning and operating a real estate business, they began purchasing,
refurbishing, renting and selling properties, eventually purchasing an
assisted-living facility in Santa Rosa, Calif. They operated Maralie
Convalescent Hospital for eight years before selling it in 1988.
The couple moved to Idaho in 1991 and expanded their business interest and
investments into the development and operation of a company funding
equity-based real estate loans. In 2002, they learned of a struggling 14-bed
assisted-living facility in Post Falls and turned to the Idaho Small
Business Development Center for assistance in making the right business
decision and obtaining the best loan.
Their work with the Idaho SBDC helped them do financial projections, using
vacancy factors and inflation, to determine if the business would be
profitable enough to pursue. Today the business is thriving with a long
waiting list of potential residents. In April 2005 they again worked with
the Idaho SBDC to purchase Veradale Mini Storage and U-Haul in Spokane,
Wash. The Idaho SBDC helped them devise a business plan to add new units and
secure appropriate funding.
They are now working with the Idaho SBDC on a new project to build and
manage additional assisted-living facilities in Post Falls.
The Trefz�s have owned their own businesses for years, but said their
operating and management skills have significantly improved since they began
working with the Idaho SBDC.
Contact: Gary and Jennifer Trefz, 208-765-4247
Powerhouse
Coach
Idaho Falls
When Doug Tolbert set out to purchase a recreational motor home, he couldn�t
find anything on the market that had the features he wanted. So he called
upon a lifetime of exposure to trucks and his skills as a body shop owner
and tow truck operator and decided to build his own RV motor coach.
When Tolbert put his first Powerhouse Coach on the road in 1998, he was
approached by others who asked him to custom-build coaches for them. By
2001, Powerhouse Coach was his full-time business. Sales in 2004 were $1.3
million with 2005 sales forecast to exceed $3 million. He has also created
15 full-time jobs and anticipates hiring five more employees by the end of
the year.
Powerhouse Coach RVs rival the best motor coaches in the industry and have
drawn national attention and exposure. RVTV, the top-rated RV media program,
is currently doing an extensive documentary on Powerhouse Coach�s equipment
and manufacturing that will air later this year.
At the present facility, Powerhouse Coach has the capacity to manufacture
four coaches at a time, and the company is currently scheduled six to eight
months out. The company has a new facility under construction in Idaho Falls
that Tolbert hopes will be completed by Sept. 1. Production expectations are
20 to 25 coaches per year, or $7 million to $8 million in sales.
To help facilitate the growth Powerhouse Coach has experienced, Tolbert
called upon the services of the Idaho Small Business Development Center,
Zions Bank and the SBA loan guarantee program. The Idaho SBDC provided
consultation and provided Brigham Young University-Idaho student research
teams to assist Tolbert in developing a progressive marketing program.
Powerhouse Coach owners frequent RV shows across the nation, exhibiting the
coach and generating qualified customers for Tolbert�s company. Through its
networking ability, the Idaho SBDC has added to the exposure of Powerhouse
Coach within the state.
Powerhouse Coach will soon be featured on the Outdoor Channel and on Speed
TV.
Contact: Doug Tolbert, 208-589-0015
Sloan Fencing
Boise
For a family with four generations of construction experience working for
others, it was only natural that Ed and Sue Sloan seek to set up a small
construction business to help their four sons pay for college tuition bills.
The family began working with the Idaho SBDC and in 1991 formed Sloan Forest
Construction Inc. with the mission of preparing logged areas for tree
replanting.
Brice Sloan (age 19), Greg Sloan (17), Collin Sloan (12) and eventually
Rusty Sloan (at the time age 10) built fire-breaks and piled brush and
experienced almost immediate business success working for local Idaho timber
mills. The business did more than provide college money � the brothers
actually employed four other people at one time.
As Idaho�s logging industry began to collapse, all of their mill clients
either went out of business or closed down logging operations. Because the
brothers enjoyed working together on difficult, outdoor projects, they
sought out similar business opportunities. Using the Better Homes and Garden
Guide to Building Fences as their installation guide, a friend hired them to
build a stock fence up an Oregon mountainside. The four brothers then won a
U.S. Forest Service contract to fence off a riparian area in remote Eastern
Oregon. They were suddenly in the fencing business.
For the next several years, the brothers worked part time while attending
college. In 1998, in a close partnership with SCORE associates and the Idaho
SBDC, the partners obtained a Publics Works license so they could pursue
larger fencing projects for state, federal, local government and
commercial/industrial clients.
Idaho SBDC assistance has since helped them build a shop and office
building, and they have continued to build their business and reputation for
quality. In 2002, Sloan Fencing Company was named the Idaho Association of
General Contractor�s (AGC) Specialty Contracting Member of the Year. Their
clients range from The Army Corp of Engineers to Lowe�s Home Improvement
Stores, local government to local military bases.
They have taken their expertise outside of the state to the national
security contract arena.
Their reputation has spread nationally as an innovative and experienced
high-security fencing systems installer that can mobilize to complete remote
projects.
The company has grown from three employees in 1991 and revenues of $25,000
to 30 employees during the past year. Sales grew to $3.5 million in 2004,
and were on course to exceed $4 million in 2005.
The one constant throughout this long-term expansion has been the company�s
continued assistance from the Idaho SBDC and Small Business Administration.
The SBDC has helped the company improve its budgeting process, predict cash
flow needs and develop strategies to integrate new management team members.
Contact: Brice Sloan, 208-344-8379
Spring Creek Associates LLC
Soda Springs
A keen business acumen, strong management and leadership skills, and
plain hard work are keys to Doug Clegg�s success.
Clegg earned a bachelor�s degree in construction management from the College
of Engineering at Brigham Young University in 1991. Shortly thereafter he
moved to Southern California where, between 1991 and 1995, he worked as a
project manager for a development company, started a business, Clegg
Engineering, with his father, Phil, and was a consultant and director of
construction for Heritage Homes LLC.
Since moving to Idaho in 1995, Clegg has designed and constructed more than
$20 million of commercial and residential real estate on projects ranging
from exterior/interior remodeling to industrial manufacturing plants.
Clegg built his first assisted-living facility in Soda Springs in 1996.
Prior to construction he visited the Idaho SBDC office in Pocatello where
consultants evaluated the project�s feasibility, helped with cost
projections and business planning, and guided him through the application
process for a Small Business Administration loan. The Idaho SBDC helped him
similarly in 1998 with a facility in Montpelier, in 2001 with one in
American Falls, in 2002 with another in Eagle, and again with one in St.
Anthony in 2004. During this nine-year period the Idaho SBDC helped Clegg
obtain $1.5 million in SBA financing for projects totaling more than $4.4
million. The projects created 61 jobs.
Clegg�s sixth assisted-living facility, a $6.5 million commercially funded
project, will open for business in March in Meridian and employ 45 people.
Visit the Spring Creek Manor Web site, www.scmanor.com, for more information
on Clegg�s assisted-living facilities in Idaho.
Contact: Doug Clegg, 208-938-5145
The
Garden Cafe and Bakery
Twin Falls
Randy and Jane McCarron weren�t planning on getting into the restaurant
business. They had moved to the Magic Valley area to allow Randy to work for
Jane�s father on the family dairy. However, Randy had some �tractor
challenges� and was not doing very well with his new career.
A friend asked if he would be interested in taking over a restaurant. In
Jane�s words, �After some discussion, we figured there were only seven or
eight tables to serve � how hard could it be?� With some start-up money from
her parents, the two began Jane�s first experience working in a restaurant
and her husband�s first experience running one.
The Garden Cafe opened for business in July 1997 of Kimberly Nurseries. The
cafe had indoor seating for 18 and could seat 16 more on a seasonal basis in
the outside dining area. The first day, all of the tables were full and the
two were reading the menu to figure out what to put on the sandwiches.
They worked through the initial challenges and expanded, eventually moving
the restaurant in December 2002 to its current location at the corner of
Eastland and Addison in Twin Falls. They doubled sales over the past year in
only two weeks and went from 12 employees to 45.
The McCarrons began working with the Idaho Small Business Development Center
during their first year in operation. Cindy Bond, their SBDC counselor,
helped Jane learn and do the bookkeeping. �The staff taught me an accounting
program on their computers and I would go in once or twice a month to enter
all of the information and produce the balance sheets and income
statements,� Jane said.
The SBDC has continued to be a valuable resource for the McCarrons, who
credit their business success in part to the partnership. Jane said the SBDC
helped them overcome many obstacles, such as establishing a new business
while parenting young children, making inadequate facilities work, dealing
with employees, doing accounting, and delegating and managing.
Contact: Randy and Jane McCarron, 208-735-0722
The Office of Communications and Marketing
-
Boise State University
1910 University Drive -
Education Building, #726 -
Boise Idaho 83725-1030
208-426-1577
(fax)208-426-4001
email communications@boisestate.edu
Last reviewed on Wednesday, January 03, 2007