Sandoval County SBDC

The American Dream Still Exists

Outhai (Tim) Sommala and his wife, Yaowalux are the proud owners of E.A Cleaners in Rio Rancho, New Mexico. Tim grew up in Laos and immigrated to the United States 32 years ago and Yaowalux left her native Thailand nine years ago. They both worked long hours for other people, but in 2008, they purchased a dry cleaning business and have been steadily building up their clientele with excellent customer service and quality work.
Tim and Yaowalux obtained a SBA loan and injected a large portion of their life savings into starting E.A. Cleaners. A typical work week for Yaowalux is 68 hours as the cleaners operates on hours that are centered on convenience for the customers. The shop has a steady flow of customers and Tim recently was able to start a pick-up and drop-off service for Hewlett-Packard, thus making it convenient for these clients to get quality dry cleaning service.
Tim said, “The help provided by the Sandoval County SBDC was excellent. If I did not have the assistance of the SBDC I would have had a hard time getting my loan. They helped me with my business plan and this was the key to getting the loan approved.”
The dream lives on for Tim and Yaowalux. They are eyeing an expansion to their business by looking at adding a satellite location in the northeastern part of Rio Rancho in the near future. Their hard work and dedication to their clients is a formula for success and their story is an inspiration to people wanting to start their own business.

New Courses Starting Soon!

Outhai (Tim) and Yaowalux Sommala

Keep checking the website for when these NEW COURSES begin:

IRS Small Business Forum
International Business Workshop
Basic Bookkeeping and Record Keeping
Quickbooks
Credit Management
Running a Home-Based Business

The Sandoval County Small Business Development Center is
here to help the entrepreneur with their small business needs. Whether it be starting or financing your small business, Sandoval SBDC offers a wide range of education and expertise to help you along the road towards entrepreneurial success. We serve the communities of Sandoval County including Rio Rancho, Corrales, Bernalillo, Cuba, Placitas, Kewa, San Felipe, Jemez, Cochiti, Santa Ana, and Sandia. We are the newest addition to the NMSBDC network and we are committed to serving the entrepreneurial needs of Sandoval County.
Come visit us, we are here to help!

Most services offered by Sandoval County SBDC are FREE and include one-on-one Business Counseling in such areas as:

Business start-up/acquisition
Marketing and Sales
Sources of Capital
Financial Analysis
International Trade
IRS/New Mexico Tax and Revenue
Extensive Demographical Data Research

We also offer Entreprenurial Training: business planning; market planning and research; basic bookkeeping, including QuickBooks; cash flow analysis; understanding financial statements. Referrals and links to federal, state and local resources.

Important Resource Links:

Small Business Administration - Albuquerque Office

Local Business Partners:

ACCION
The Loan Fund
Rio Rancho Regional Chamber of Commerce
Greater Sandoval Chamber of Commerce
Rio Rancho Economic Development Corporation

Sandoval County SBDC Staff
Ted Trujillo, Director
R. Aaron Lundquist, Business Advisor
Melanie Martinez, Administrative Assistant

E-mail us at:
sandovalsbdc@la.unm.edu

Sandoval County SBDC
Bernalillo Office
282 Camino del Pueblo
Suite 2-A
Bernalillo, NM 87004
(505) 867-5066
(505) 867-3746 fax
Hours: 8:00 am - 5:00 pm

Rio Rancho Office
4001 Southern Blvd SE
Rio Rancho, NM 87124
(505) 892-1533
(505) 892-6157 fax
Hours: 8:00 am - 5:00 pm