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Rafael Mesa Jr., 3, keeps himself entertained as his father, Rafael Mesa, looks for job leads at the Pima County Onestop career center. Mesa was at the center, in the Kino Service Center, 2797 E. Ajo Way, Thursday looking for a replacement for the customer service job he left four months ago to attend to family matters. He says that now he cannot even get a callback for a job of any kind. "I quit my job at the wrong time" he said.
James Gregg / Arizona Daily Star
STAYING AFLOAT
Some advice from Tuesday's event:
Help in Tucson: Use local resources
• Jim Mize of Pima County Employee Outreach Team informed the crowd of the benefits of using Pima County Onestop, which he said is a great resource for employers looking for workers and a place where laid-off workers can go for help and training. He said that last month Onestop had more than 6,000 visits, compared with 3,000 in the same month last year. Onestop can contribute federal funds to help train new employees.
• The Pima County Public Library also is a good place to find job-research resources, Mize noted.
• Be informed about the financial incentives available at the federal, state and local levels.
• Tucson Regional Economic Opportunities Inc. the region's economic-development agency, provides a list of tax benefits and incentives for Tucson business on its Web site, www.treoaz.org, TREO's Lee Smith noted.
Plan ahead
• Bob Harbour, a certified public accountant with Beach Fleischman & Co., said it's important to communicate with your lenders and plan ahead by reviewing your monthly income and expenses.
• Talk to your employees about what is going on and reassure them.
• If you paid a substantial amount of taxes in the past few years and you have losses now, net operating losses can be carried back two years, Harbour said.
• Now is the time to buy equipment because you can write half of it off up front because of new tax laws.
Communication is key
• If you are refinancing, try to do everything to negotiate out of any personal loan guarantees. If you have to make a personal guarantee, try to make it limited, said Lowell Thomas, a partner in the Tucson law office of Snell & Wilmer LLP.
• Make sure that all employees that are eligible for retirement are enrolled in a plan.
• Know the health of your bank and communicate with your bank, said Henry Boice, Tucson president of Northern Trust Bank. Also, he said it is a good idea to schedule regular visits with your banker.
• Review your largest and riskiest accounts and take steps to address them now, so you have an action plan if your balance sheet degrades.

Business

Tips for Tucson business owners in these tough economic times

By Dan Sullivan
arizona daily star
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 11.21.2008
It's a sign of these tumultuous times.
At a local seminar Tuesday on staying afloat in the economic storm, business owners were given management checklists — along with a copy of the "serenity prayer," asking God to grant strength, courage and wisdom.
The event, which drew about 100 business owners to Catalina Foothills High School's main auditorium, was aimed at helping businesses save jobs and stay afloat in the economic crisis, Jerry Little of CEO Support Systems Inc. said in the event's opening remarks.
"As much courage as you need to weather this storm, it also needs to be balanced with humility and an ability to ask for help," said Little, whose company organized the event. "In one way or another, this is all about jobs — and our goal is to help you sustain jobs through this difficult period."
John Skjervem, chief investment officer with Northern Trust's Personal Financial Services division and the event's keynote speaker, said economists soon will certify that the U.S. is officially in a recession from which it won't soon recover.
"Credit markets are thawing, but there is a foot of ice to get through," Skjervem told the attendees.
Seminar attendee Norm Farmer, owner of Horizons West Landscaping Contractors, said he is considering laying off some of his employees and wonders when the economy will start turning around.
"My biggest fear is that we haven't hit bottom, and I'm concerned about the lack of available credit," Farmer said. "I can already see the lack of credit becoming a problem for my business."
Farmer said he planned to use some of the advice and resources offered by the speakers.
The event wasn't all doom and gloom, however: Before the event, the Bobby McFerrin song "Don't Worry, Be Happy" played in the background.
● Contact NASA Space Grant intern Dan Sullivan at 573-4237 or at dsullivan@azstarnet.com.
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