Rustin Smith ().

By MIKE FERGUSON

Baker City Herald

Before he moved to Baker City and began refurbishing a handful of its historic buildings, Rustin Smith considered moving his after-market sport utility vehicle accessory company here if Baker City had a building he could use.

It didn’t, and he didn’t want to build one, so he ended up selling his company, Rubicon Express, to focus on rehabilitating properties he’s purchased, including the Antlers Hotel.

Smith told a 55-member Pub Talk crowd Wednesday evening he doesn’t want the lack of a building to prevent manufacturing and warehousing businesses from considering a move here. He’s in the early stages of putting together a consortium of investors with the idea of erecting a andquot;shellandquot; building at the Elkhorn Industrial Park. If the effort is successful, the 20,000 square foot building will have a layout suitable to a wide variety of businesses andquot;flex space,andquot; it’s called. Improvements would be paid by the end user.

It’d be ready next summer and cost the investors $750,000. The goal, Smith said, is 50 percent occupancy by the end of 2008.

andquot;The reason people aren’t coming here isn’t because we’re not a nice place to live,andquot; he told he crowd of entrepreneurs and other business and civic leaders gathered for the after-hours forum. andquot;They’re not coming because we don’t have a place for them.andquot;

Smith said there are two exceptions to his theory: Cutter’s Edge, a Southern California company that’s constructing a new building here, and Natural Structures, which adapted, remodeled, then added to the buildings that formerly housed Sandamp;R Industries.

Most businesses, Smith wrote in an informational flier about the project, have just 4-6 months to move. They don’t have time to wait for a new building to be constructed.

andquot;Building a new building in Baker from long distance is a prohibitive endeavor for most all companies we would want in town,andquot; he wrote. andquot;With a new facility, businesses would literally need to just ‘sign’ and show up.andquot;

Three other Baker City business owners spoke shared their stories during the Pub Talk, an event that seeks to unite fledgling entrepreneurs who’ve developed a viable business plan with the people who can finance their ventures.

Before they spoke, each business owner had to present what panel moderator Steve Garner called a 30-second elevator pitch a quick run-down of the facts of the business that included a key benefit for the customer.

andquot;It’s what people buy, and it’s why they buy them,andquot; Garner said. andquot;It’s tough to do in 30 seconds.andquot;

Chaves Consulting

Richard Chaves operates a customer service center that also provides back office services to businesses, municipalities and the state of Oregon, but he got his start housing data on his server for small city governments and their court systems.

For the software that Chaves develops, the company forms user groups. When the software needs improving, each user is polled about what’s needed. Suggestions are prioritized by the group, changes are made, and all users share in the cost of the new software, which they couldn’t afford going it alone.

andquot;Having a good relationship with your customers helps them forgive you when you make a mistake,andquot; he said.

That’s exactly the right approach to customer service, Garner told the crowd.

andquot;You hear a lot of talk about being customer-centric, but if you don’t measure how satisfied they are, it’s just talk,andquot; he said.

Sorbenots

Phil and Jason Stone beat other Eastern Oregon competitors to the drive-through espresso market.

Phil Stone said he thought the buying power of eventually owning stores in four cities or the fact that his company employed one of only three espresso machine technicians in Eastern Oregon would be his company’s biggest advantages. But far better, he said, is the innovative coffee blends an in-house micro-roastery brings to the business.

andquot;If you do nothing, things won’t stay the same you’ll decline,andquot; he said. andquot;We take risk for a reason, because failure is easy. Success is where the true concern should be, and our business right now is fairly successful. But as my wife keeps telling me, ‘You’ve paid your quarter, and you can’t get off until the ride is over.’andquot;

Sorbenots strives to locate in areas between residential developments and the business corridor, Stone said.

andquot;Eighty percent of our business is morning traffic, and they’re opportunistic by nature and will stop where it’s convenient,andquot; Stone said.

Real customer loyalty occurs andquot;when people identify with your brand,andquot; also evident with Barley Brown’s BrewPub, Stone said.

Garner said in most service-oriented businesses, andquot;the customer is your primary competitor. Who among them can’t make a decent cup of coffee?andquot;

Oregon Power Solutions

Reid Langrill, Micron Technology’s former chief financial officer, has purchased part ownership in the Baker City-based wind power company and is its CFO. He’s also been a fund manager.

andquot;I like investing,andquot; he joked, andquot;but not other people’s money.andquot;

His business partner, OPS founder Jeremy Thamert, has become andquot;the go-to guy for wind power in Oregon,andquot; Langrill said.

Thamert wants to go further than just consulting for others, Langrill told the crowd he wants to develop his own wind project. But a 10-megawatt wind farm costs $15 million.

That’s where Langrill comes in.

andquot;I have been astonished with all the state incentives that are in place, but you’ve got to be pretty creative to get these projects funded,andquot; he said. andquot;You’ve got to feel good about anyone you go in business with, and everybody I talked to raved about Jeremy.

andquot;You need someone who’s humble and realistic. I’m too old to deal with prima donnas,andquot; he added.

The immediate goal, he said, is to hire two or three people to form a development company. Long-term, the company wants to develop 10 wind projects over the next five years.

Reporter Mike Ferguson can be reached at 523-3673 or mferguson@bakercityherald.com.