Written By: Aaron Reimler and Karli Salisbury, Business Consultants and Rural Development Specialists
Melinda Arquero purchased her food truck and launched Over The Moon in 2019 after her participation in the Native American Business Development, A Journey (NABDAJ) Training Program facilitated by RCAC and years spent waiting for an opportunity to engage her entrepreneurial spirit. She sought and received a high interest personal loan from an area credit union that allowed her to purchase the truck with all the kitchen equipment needed to prepare and serve her menu of indigenous style foods that range from fry bread, red chili, blue corn pancakes, and several flavors of shaved ice. Melinda and her partner Adam, who’s own entrepreneurial spirit moves in tandem with Melinda’s, got their first opportunity to test that menu at Santo Domingo Pueblo Feast Day in August of 2019; right at the tail end of the summer tourism and recreation high season. The success of this event proved the value of Over The Moon’s concept to their customers, and Melinda and Adam saw their goals of serving off-reservation events in nearby Santa Fe and Albuquerque, spending their weekends serving visitors coming to tour Tent Rock National Monument, and growing the reach of her food truck through events all over the State of New Mexico beginning to materialize in front of them. While the Pueblo Feast Day was a success, it also brought lessons for improvement in process, inspired small tweaks to the menu, and highlighted problems with some of the truck’s equipment that would need resolving before real growth could occur. Melinda and Adam planned to leverage a calculated approach and entry into the market during the high season of 2020 and invest income to purchase a new generator and a fire suppressant system; equipment needed to register the business with the State of New Mexico, obtain mobile food unit permits for Santa Fe and Albuquerque, adequately meet customer demand, and serve their customers a product they’re proud of.
THE CHALLENGE
The COVID-19 pandemic put an abrupt and prolonged delay in Melinda and Adam’s plans to achieve their small business goals. Pueblo de Cochiti, the reservation Melinda and Adam call home, shut down and was closed off to visitors from March of 2020 until August of 2021. The business was rendered completely unable to generate income which meant that, not only would the investment into its future growth be significantly delayed and put completely in jeopardy, but the financial burden of the high interest loan received to purchase the truck now laid exclusively with their personal finances. The business was completely unable to cover its expenses or begin to move forward and lacked the technical resources and sales history to apply for other pandemic-aid that came available.
THE APPROACH & SOLUTION
Melinda and Adam needed to hit the ground running when in-person events resumed to save the food truck and keep their goals within reach. Through the NABDAJ program conducted by RCAC, they were connected to the organization’s Re-emerging Loan Fund (RELieF). The RELieF loan application process connects entrepreneurs with RCAC’s small business coaching team and requires them to complete a minimum of two sessions prior to the loan closing. During these sessions, RCAC works with entrepreneurs to create strategic action plans, cash flow projections, and assist in finding ways to meet consumers’ changing needs. Though Melinda and Adam had made sales and developed relationships with customers, their young business had yet to establish an accounting system to track finances. Before submitting their loan application, RCAC’s small business coaching team worked with them to ensure a more comprehensive understanding of the three primary accounting documents, what they mean for their business, how to create them, and establish a system that would make doing so simple and efficient. After creating the reports, and completing the remaining application documents, their RELieF loan was ultimately funded for $25,000 allowing them to invest in a new generator, the requisite fire suppression system, marketing materials like t-shirts and stickers, and re-finance the high interest loan Melinda received to purchase the truck. After the loan was closed, Over The Moon continued engaging with RCAC’s small business coaching team to continue evaluating their management strategy, re-examine their menu and pricing, and begin making meaningful plans for their future.
THE IMPACT
With assistance from the NABDAJ Program, RCAC’s Small Business Coaching team, and the RELieF Loan, Over The Moon was able to get the equipment they needed to improve the operations and functionality of the food truck, the inventory and marketing assets they needed to be ready to serve their customers through the upcoming tourism season, and have the systems in place to confidently manage their business. After the loan was closed and their focus began turning to the future, Adam and Melinda continued working with RCAC’s small business coaching team who assisted them in navigating the process of legal formation, understanding municipal mobile food unit permitting, building a strategy to bring in employees and build the truck’s capacity, and equipping them with the tools they need to use financial projections to set goals for growth.
Melinda and Adam continue to engage with our team, and we’re all looking forward to and planning for their bright future.
