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Consultant advises small businesses Mail Tribune/Roy Musitelli Approaching retirement with money in the bank, Jim Newcomb of Pete's Certified Transmission in Phoenix is working with a consultant on expanding his business. He's careful no to destroy what he;s saved up through his career. By Greg Stiles Mail Tribune Jim Newcomb has reached a crossroad. At a time when the 47-year-old Phoenix transmission rebuilder has prepared himself for the home stretch to retirement, he�s mulling the possibility of expanding his business well beyond the Rogue Valley. For the past 24 years, Newcomb has operated Pete�s Certified Transmission, which had $1.1 million in sales for 2001. "I�ve always had the desire to be No. 1 in my market," says Newcomb, who once flew back to Minnesota so he could observe what made Richard Fearing the nation�s most successful transmission rebuilder. He has both the land and the desire to expand his 8,000-square-foot operation, so that he could train employees and provide transmissions to virtually anyone. But Newcomb isn�t sure that he wants to risk the financial rewards accrued during his career on an iffy proposition. That�s why he�s turned to retired electrical engineer Loren Bowman, 64, who oversaw a major project for a petroleum company in Southern California before spending 16 years with Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing�s White City plant (now owned by Eastman Kodak). Bowman is a consultant for the Oregon Manufacturing Extension Partnership, a U.S. Commerce Department-funded partnership with offices in every state that provides technical and business expertise. "Our mission is to make companies world competitive," says Bowman, who lives in the Applegate Valley. "I�ve focused primarily on smaller businesses because Southern Oregon doesn�t have the Intels, etc., of Portland." Bowman assesses a company�s needs, front door to back door. What they do with his findings often determines the firm�s future viability. Retired five years, Bowman joined OMEP in January 2001 at the prodding of folks like Southern Oregon Regional Economic Development Inc.�s Gordon Safley. "The ability to get an engineer or team of engineers that can help people with production line, placement of equipment, electrical surveys or save money with the use of electricity, is ideal for small businesses," says Safley. "It�s technical experience that a small company can�t afford to have on staff permanently." That may mean a longer evaluation period than previously considered. Pete�s Transmission rebuilds both automatic and manual transmissions. It�s had as many as 12 employees and currently has six on the payroll. Part of that�s because it�s not easy to find qualified workers. "It�s at a pivotal point," says Bowman, who has helped Newcomb and his wife Debra explore a variety of options, without creating debt that would tear down what Newcomb has built. "He�s had some concepts of marketing transmissions, and we�ve kicked those things around." The ups and downs of the Rogue Valley�s economy during his years in business prompted Newcomb to do something that would improve its long-term financial health. When he bought a piece of transmission equipment from a Southern California transmission firm, Newcomb discovered that company tested transmissions, then shipped them to Hong Kong. "It was my desire to see if I can create an export business as well," Newcomb says. "But I�m 47, and by the time I�m 50, I will probably turn over the company to someone else. To do this without talking to anybody is a huge mistake. "I don�t have a college. education, but I do have a pretty good education in the transmission business. I don�t want to learn by making mistakes � that�s the way I�ve learned things all my life. This is one time I don�t want to have to pay dearly for my mistake." Bowman has counseled the Newcombs to go slow and wait until their present shop is overflowing before expanding to the 20,000-square-foot facility the owner has in mind on his acre and a half of adjacent land. "Much of what I do is mentoring and developing relationships with management, building their trust and confidence and bringing them along a process of change," says Bowman, who mailed out Christmas cards to 50 clients at the end of the first year. "We�ve had very few failures, and it�s been very rewarding to be able to help business people who were struggling." In the end, it provides for more job opportunities in the Rogue Valley. Ashland�s Ron Bertocchi is a veteran metal sculptor turned manufacturer. "Working with OMEP gave me an avenue I could pursue for finding out information and additional methodologies I needed for my metal fabricating," said the 62-year-old whose company makes copper and brass home decorations, furnishings and accents. "Since I came off the street from doing artwork, there were so many advancements in that field that I was unaware of. Loren put me in contact with people I normally wouldn�t have access to." Reach reporter Greg Stiles at 776-4463 or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2002 Mail Tribune, Inc.