booklet

AquaPure Hydration Companies | Tucson, AZ

[Company Name]

[Address of Company]

[Date]

Dear New Business Owner,

On behalf of the AquaPure Hydration Staff, we are excited to welcome your business into the Tucson community.

My husband and I founded AquaPure Hydration Companies in 1994. I am a Tucson native and my husband’s family was among the founders of Marana. We absolutely love Tucson, and love being in the water business. Not that it hasn’t been tough at times, especially in the beginning years! Sometimes it felt like we were floundering around. There wasn’t Internet back then, and you had to look hard to find the business resources that you may need.

We really want you to succeed so we have pulled together some helpful resources for you including 11 success tips for your new business, local Tucson resources for training, consulting and coaching, and tips to save energy and water in your new business.

We hope that this packet will ease you into your new business and perhaps give you a resource that you didn’t previously know of.

Here at AquaPure Hydration, we once again welcome and congratulate you! We hope to hear from you soon!

Sincerely your friends at AquaPure,

Jim and Amy Garrett


Success Tips For New Businesses

• Develop a solid business model, which is more important than a business plan. (Check out Running Lean by Ash Maurya)

• Get business advice and training. Use included resources to help prepare a business plan. We hope the included resources will help you with this!

• Determine the right legal structure for your business. • Find the perfect location that is customer friendly, safe, affordable, and is a good fit for

your particular business. • Always find ways to keep costs low and never pay retail. Always overestimate costs and

underestimate revenue. Make sure you have a good budget. • Make sure you have money in your budget to pay yourself, or else you might not get

paid. • Networking and old-‐fashioned word of mouth are very beneficial for growing your

business. (Check out local organizations such as ASBA. They have great networking events)!

• Be clear on why you wanted to start a business. • Make sure you have an attractive and useful website. • Perfectly price your product or service. (“Pricing Strategies for Small Businesses” by

score.org is a good article on how to price your product!) • The phrase “the customer is always right,” will always be right, unless they are wrong.


Are you feeling nervous about your new business? Need some help?

Local Small Business Events

General Business Resource Name Services Provided Contact Information

SCORE (Service Corps of Retired Executives)

Network of free business mentors, webinars,

workshops, and events.

1-‐800-‐634-‐0245 [email protected] www.score.org

Startup Tucson

Hackathons, events, networking.

Justin Williams 17 East Pennington

520-‐477-‐8278 [email protected] www.startuptucson.org

U.S. Small Business Administration

Loans, training, information, and counseling sessions.

US Small Business Administration 409 3rd St, SW

Washington DC 20416 800-‐827-‐5722 www.sba.gov

Arizona Small Business Association

Business mentoring, events, online resources.

1022 W. Ina Rd. Tucson AZ -‐ 520.327.0222 http://asba.site-‐ym.com

SBDC (Small Business Development Centers)

Free one-‐on-‐one evaluation and guidance for your business by counselors.

Workshops and seminars are also available.

Rick Loveland 520-‐620-‐1241 (ext. 105)

[email protected]. www.azsbdc.net

335 N Wilmot Rd., #410. 85711


Other Resources: • Mcguire Center for Entrepreneurship, Eller College, UofA • Tech Launch Arizona • Local First Arizona

Local Small Business Events to Check out: Weekly/Monthly

• Startup drinks by Startup Tucson • Hack Night at Gangplank • AZTC after 5 • AZTC Lunch and Learn • ASBA meetings -‐ check their calendar

Annual/Semi-‐annual • Startup weekend • IdeaFunding • 10West • Startup Tucson hackathons • Co-‐Founder speed dating • TED x Tucson • Ignite Tucson • Lean Launchpad

Potential Resources of Capital for your New Business: • ACCION Arizona: [email protected] • Monsoon Fund by Startup Tucson: [email protected] (520)230-‐

5933 • ACA Fast and STEP Grants: www.azcommerce.com (602)845-‐1200 • ACA Accelerator Fund • Propel Arizona: www.propelarizona.com • Funding Garage: [email protected] • Desert Angels: Curtis Gunn [email protected] • Arizona Innovation Challenge • Arch Partners: Emre Toker [email protected] • Arizona Furnace •


Conserve Water Energy for your New Business!

Water conservation is very important in the desert because of alarming drought predictions. Water is necessary to keep flowing rivers and their ecosystems and wildlife alive. From a business standpoint, water conservation is equally as important because it can save your business a lot of money. Using high efficiency toilets and appliances in your business can lead to big water and money savings. Did you know that fixing leaks and dripping faucets could save as many as one trillion gallons of water a year?

The WaterSmart business program in Tucson helps customers and businesses use water more efficiently and reduce utility and energy expenses. While receiving public recognition, they evaluate water use, develop water plans, and create water budgets. (You can call Tucson Water at (520)791-‐4331 to schedule a site visit).

Water Sense at work is compilation of the best water efficiency practices to help businesses reduce facility water use. It provides data, graphs, and other information to help inform people about how water is wasted and tips to conserve it. (Check out Water Sense through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency at www3.epa.gov/wattersense/commercial/bmps.html.).


Why is Tucson a great place to start a business? In Arizona, Tucson is ranked the best city to start a business because Arizona itself is ahead in

the national average of business self startups! According to Tucson News Now, here are the rankings as of May 2015:

#1: Tucson

#2: Phoenix

#3: Mesa

#4: Glendale

#5: Tempe

#6: Chandler

#7: Gilbert

#8 Scottsdale

Lea Marquez, president and CEO of the Tucson Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, describes this city as a university-‐based town that is enhanced by Mexican cultural influences. And in order to be successful in this town, business owners must understand the market. (And the best source for understanding the Tucson market is in insidetucsonbusiness.com, “Longevity in Tucson, What’s the Secret to Success?”)

Christine Kymn, the chief economist for the Small Business Administration Office of Advocacy (SBAOA) in Washington D.C., determined that in Tucson, one of the concerns that business owners experience is the inability to access or utilize capital. (Please reference the potential refunding resources in page 4 of the booklet). Also, that part of Arizona’s thriving aspect in business also has to do with entrepreneurship – that people here are more likely to open a business based on the statistics on insidetucsonbusiness.com.


Tips for staying Hydrated in the Desert:

● According to an article titled “How Much Water do you Need to Drink in Arizona,” people in Arizona need more water everyday than people in other parts of the country because three gallons of water are lost in a day. It is recommend to drink or obtain from food at least three gallons a day to maintain hydration.

● Scientists define dehydration as fluid losses greater than 1% of body weight and after 9-‐12% is

lost, dehydration becomes fatal.

● Electrolytes are just as important as water itself. Electrolytes are minerals in your blood and other bodily fluids that affect the amount of water your body retains.

● Staying hydrated is also very important for heart health. It helps pump blood more easily to blood vessels and muscles, which help muscles work more effectively.

● Even just sitting outside on a hot day can make your body lose more water. People with heart

conditions or are overweight should also drink more water on a hot day.

● Water is very important for health body function because it is needed for digestion, transportation of nutrients, lubrication of joints, cushioning of organs, removal of heat by sweat, and removal of waste.


A few AquaPure Customer Testimonials


Citations:

Hydration Sources: https://noarizona.wordpress.com/2012/03/15/how-‐much-‐water-‐do-‐you-‐need-‐to-‐drink-‐in-‐arizona/ https://www.health.arizona.edu/health_topics/nutrition/general/waterhydration.htm http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2015/08/06/staying-‐hydrated-‐more-‐than-‐just-‐drinking-‐water/31220705/ http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/GettingHealthy/PhysicalActivity/FitnessBasics/Staying-‐Hydrated-‐-‐-‐Staying-‐Healthy_UCM_441180_Article.jsp Business Sources: http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/235903 https://www.sba.gov/category/navigation-‐structure/starting-‐managing-‐business/starting-‐business http://abcnews.go.com/Business/tips-‐starting-‐small-‐business/story?id=14447409 Water Conservation Sources: http://conserve2enhance.org http://www3.epa.gov/watersense/commercial/bmps.html https://www.tucsonaz.gov/water/ws-‐business Tucson demographics: http://www.tucsonnewsnow.com/story/28940874/study-‐tucson-‐best-‐in-‐state-‐to-‐start-‐a-‐business http://www.insidetucsonbusiness.com/news/longevity-‐in-‐tucson-‐-‐-‐what-‐s-‐the-‐secret-‐to/article_77edf770-‐fc8c-‐11e3-‐a334-‐0019bb2963f4.html

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