That, of course, is exactly what's given Espinoza pause. While some entrepreneurs might fantasize about, say, a national Kroger rollout, to Espinoza that dream looks more like a huge headache. Not that he doesn't recognize the logic of growth. "The whole key to this business is volume," he says.
If Inca Quality Foods had continued as it started -- as a cash-and-carry supplier for small Hispanic neighborhood markets -- Espinoza would be sleeping easier today.
But he also realizes how much work that volume entails. "To run a company growing that fast," he acknowledges, "you need passion." Not only that, you need capital. You need to act before someone else steps in or before stores decide they can take the concept in-house. You also need to spend all your waking hours at it, at least in the beginning. And there's the rub: the not-so-small matter of Espinoza's satisfying full-time job at I/N Tek with that pension only three years away.
But is it all or nothing? In Espinoza's mind, at least, not quite. Before he started Inca Quality Foods he had another idea of what he might do after he was eligible to collect his pension. Like so many others in these boom times, he'd leave the large corporation and become a consultant to other companies in his area of expertise: preventive maintenance.
He hasn't totally closed that door. But the notion of consulting has also wrapped itself around his newly found food-industry expertise: why not advise national chains like Kroger and Kmart on the purchase and display of foods that would appeal to Hispanic customers? Then he could concentrate on the real value that he brings to the party. Let somebody else take on the buying, the warehousing, the distribution, the maintenance.
At the moment, Espinoza admits, he's at a "crossroads" -- although maybe a "cloverleaf" would be more like it. His enthusiasm sprouts out in all directions: toward his coworkers and what he is learning at I/N Tek; toward his community and his role in it; toward his children and their strivings; and toward Inca Quality Foods and the progress it has made.
With just 24 hours in a day, Luis Espinoza has some hard decisions ahead of him. Perhaps they are no better illustrated than by meeting the man himself. He is wearing a tan shirt with the Inca Quality Foods logo embroidered in bright green, red, and yellow stitching on the left side. And he hands you a business card: I/N Tek, Luis J. Espinoza, Process Electrical Systems Technician, Customer Product Representative.
Nancy J. Lyons is a senior editor at Inc.
Read the complete Start-Up Diaries series.
Executive Summary
COMPANY: Inca Quality Foods
FOUNDER: Luis J. Espinoza, 48
FAMILY: Married with four grown children, three sons and a daughter
EDUCATION: Electrical-engineering technology certificate from Purdue University
TYPICAL WORKWEEK: 40 to 50 hours at I/N Tek; 35 hours at Inca
CONCEPT: Distribute and sell Hispanic food products in grocery stores, including chains such as Kroger
FINANCING: About $25,000 from one investor/partner (with a commitment for an additional $30,000)
PROJECTIONS: Planned to break even by year-end 1999 with $450,000 to $500,000 in revenues
HURDLES: Balancing his commitment to his satisfying full-time job and taking advantage of current growth opportunities; finding growth capital
PERSONAL FUNDS INVESTED: About $25,000
EQUITY HELD: 70%
SALARY: None from start-up; $70,000 to $80,000 a year at regular job
PREVIOUS JOBS: Has been with the same company for 27 years and is currently a process electrical systems technician there; owned a Mexican restaurant, which he ran with his four children for two years and sold in 1998
OUTSIDE BOARD OF ADVISERS: No board. Advisers include SCORE mentor Jerry Marchetti, a former Sears executive; team members at I/N Tek; students in two M.B.A. classes at University of Notre Dame that took Inca on as a class project
LAST VACATION: Three years ago, one week (stayed around the house)
DREAM VACATION: A trip down the Amazon
FAVORITE HOBBY: Tournament pool
WHAT HE LOSES SLEEP OVER: "Inca is growing faster than I can handle," Espinoza says.
SOURCE OF INSPIRATION: Og Mandino, author of The Greatest Salesman in the World; Napoleon Hill, author of Think and Grow Rich; Stephen Covey, author of The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People
ROLE MODEL: His mother, who with only a fourth-grade education always believed, "You can do it."
