Ruidoso Free Press
December 31, 2012
A7
Entrepreneur highlight –
Rickey and Selena Crow When a new business pops up in Lincoln County, we are thrilled to watch the dreams of another entrepreneur blossom. When that businessperson is also an inspired reader of our paper it’s even more exciting. I first met Rickey Crow when he called in response to my column last fall. I learned of his family Bar-B-Q Sauce originating from wife Selena’s greatgrandfather Johnny Jones’ recipe dating back to the late 1800’s in East Texas. Rickey and Selena had achieved some success with the sauce – which is stocked at Thriftway and Lawrence Brothers among other grocery stores – but Rickey called because the message in my column that day hit home. The topic was entrepreneurial tenacity and the statistics that most entrepreneurs fail more times than they succeed, and yet they carry on. Rickey and I chatted of the famed story of Colonel
Sanders who pitched his chicken batter recipe for years before achieving success. We talked of the general entrepreneurial wisdom - believe in what is right, what is good for all and believe in your passion – and ended the conversation upbeat, but a lingering feeling remained. I wished I could have done more for this kindly-voiced gentleman. Rolling forward, I learned that Rickey and his wife had opened a Carrizozo restaurant, honoring the soon-to-be-famous Unka Pete’s BAR-B-Q SAUCE. For you editing types, yes, it is Unka with a “k.” I learned Unka Pete is Selena’s father and was the inspiration behind the family barbeque sauce which had been handed down through generations. Of the 19 children in the family, it was Pete who showed interest in the sauce. He spent many years perfecting it to excellence. Selena recalls the night he
called her at 3 a.m. to announce “The sauce is right.” She didn’t find the late night announcement unusual because that’s the kind of family they were, always there for each other. Marianne Mohr Sometime in 2009 marianne@ruidosofreepress.com Rickey asked Unka Pete for the honor of carrying on the tradition and to commemorate not only the family, but the Buffalo Soldiers of the American West. For further information, go to www.unkapetesbbqsauces.com, or call 575 937-6080. As part of an ongoing series following local entrepreneurs, we will continue the Crow’s story as it unfolds in upcoming issues. Marianne Mohr is a retired investor and business consultant from Southern California and currently Advertising Director at MTD Media. Reach her at 575-937-4015 or marianne@ruidosofreepress.com.
Simple ratios offer symptoms of financial health or malaise By Gary Lenzo Las Cruces market president, Century Bank Operating a successful business requires attention to numbers — especially to basic financial ratios derived from the business’s financial statements. The current and quick ratios calculate a company’s liquidity, while the debt ratio evaluates its long-term solvency. The gross profit margin shows if sales revenue covers the expenses incurred in making those sales. Lenders and investors use business health assessments like these to determine if a company qualifies for a loan or is a good candidate for venture capital. Business owners should use them to regularly evaluate their business’s financial standing.
Liquidity ratios
Liquidity ratios divulge whether a company has enough liquid assets to meet its short-term obligations. To get the current ratio, the owner divides available assets (such as cash, inventory and accounts receivables) by immediate liabilities (such as accounts payables or bills owed). Current assets are a balance sheet category representing cash and assets the business expects to convert into cash within a year. Current liabilities represent financial obligations that should be settled within a year. The quick ratio is derived using the same formula but subtracting inventory from
the current asset total. It acInvestors and lenders scruknowledges that many inventory tinize a business’s debt ratio, items can’t be quickly turned and they also look at gross profit into cash. margin to measure a business’s A ratio of 1.5 to 1, for profitability. This number — example, means the company also used by owners — shows has $1.50 in assets for every whether sales revenue covers the dollar in liabilities. The higher cost of materials used in sales. the ratio, the easier it is for the To calculate the gross profit company to meet its immediate margin, net income — total financial commitments. sales revenue minus the cost Gary Lenzo Creditors tend to see less of goods sold — is divided by risk in a company with a higher total sales revenue. The margin ratio, while shareholders see a lower ratio is expressed as a percentage that represents as evidence the company is putting more the total sales revenue a business keeps after of its assets to work building wealth. If the paying sales-related costs. The higher the percentage, the better, as ratio seems excessively high, though, the a bigger profit margin leaves the company company might have too many assets in inventory or too many outstanding accounts more money to cover other obligations or to invest. receivable. These three ratios aren’t the only ones used to evaluate a business’s financial stabilMore math ity, but they do give business owners a basic The debt ratio shows how much debt a understanding of where things stand. company has relative to its assets, and this Century Bank uses these tools and more reveals whether the company might not be when analyzing business financial records. able to pay off its loans. To learn more about Century Bank, visit A business owner calculates the debt www.centurynetbank.com. ratio by dividing total debt by total assets. If the number is one, debt and assets are Finance New Mexico is a public service initiain balance. If the ratio is 1.2 to 1, though, tive to assist individuals and businesses with the company has $1.20 in debt for every obtaining skills and funding resources for their dollar in assets. Ideally, the debt ratio should business or idea. To learn more, go to www. be less than 1. FinanceNewMexico.org.
HALL OF FAME from pg. A6 two runnings of the Heritage Place Derby (Grade 2) at Remington Park. He won the 2011 Heritage Place Derby aboard Capo De Capi and the 2012 edition with Priceless Feature. Then, after winning this year’s Heritage Place Derby, he came to Ruidoso Downs and rode Priceless Feature in the Grade 1 $903,000 Rainbow Derby. They held the lead until the final jump when champion Ochoa caught them and they finished second by a head. Less than two weeks later, Brooks celebrated his 71st birthday. He was born and still lives in Blanchard, Okla. on his family’s farm. He began his race riding career in 1969 in his native Oklahoma. He scored his first of three Oklahoma Derby wins in 1971 and also has three wins in the Oklahoma Futurity and two
wins in the Oklahoma-bred Futurity. He was second in the 1987 All American Futurity aboard Elaina Rae and third in the 1983 All American Futurity with Racy Roman. Brooks most productive year came in 2007, when he turned 66, with 93 victories and his horses banking $1.6 million. His most important win came in the Speedhorse Gold and Silver Cup Futurity at Fair Meadows. He won the first Sam Thompson Award in 2011. The Ruidoso Racehorse Hall of Fame induction ceremonies will be held in late June with a reception in the Hall of Fame followed by dinner and induction ceremonies in the All American Turf Club. Tax-deductible tickets will be sold.
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