Taos Small Business Development Center

Whether you already own a small business or are thinking about becoming an entrepreneur, the Small Business Development Center in Taos can help you climb the ladder of success. The SBDC offers FREE management consulting, training courses, and a business resource for northern New Mexico businesses.

Taos Client of the Year

Company: Mammoth Mill and Log Homes
Owners: Eric and Jennifer Hoffmann
Type of Business: Log home design and construction
Years in Business: 3
Number of Employees: 6
SBDC: UNM-Taos

Eric and Jennifer Hoffmann are living their vision in the beautiful Sangre de Cristo Mountains of the Southern Rockies by helping others create their dream homes, from cabins to multi-bedroom houses, constructed from local logs. They credit the UNM-Taos Small Business Development Center and Gary Bouty, its Interim Director, for indispensable help in making Mammoth Mill and Log Homes, Inc., a reality.
Eric Hoffmann was a general contractor with 9 years experience who knew there was a market for log homes: people, as he says, “with a passion for a simpler life, appreciation for the rugged western aesthetic, and the desire to choose from all the contemporary conveniences.” When a friend of his offered a lumber mill high in the Southern Rockies for sale, Mr. Hoffmann recognized an opportunity: a mill with close access to the unique natural resource of long-standing dead trees, dried and cured by nature. He purchased the mill and began his business.
Because of forest fires and insect blight in the Sangre de Cristo, dead trees have stood for years, even decades, thoroughly dried and cured by the climate. Such trees, Mr. Hoffmann realized, are perfect for building stable, long-lasting log homes in the most cost-efficient way. Builders using inadequately kiln-dried logs must take precautions to allow for settling and shrinking. With naturally dried logs, shrinkage and warpage have already taken place. Eric Hoffmann says, “We don't have to make those allowances because our logs have been thoroughly cured before they are ever used in a house.”
With his spouse and business partner Jennifer, Eric Hoffmann creates custom log homes in a spectacular setting of forests and ski resorts, from rugged cabins to sumptuous vacation homes. “We can keep prices down,” says Jennifer Hoffmann, “because we’re a small business with low overhead, and we hire the specialized skilled work we need on a project basis. Also, there are labor and freight savings due to lighter-weight logs.”
Building a business is more than having a product, and that’s where the UNM-Taos SBDC came in. “I took one of their courses in Quickbooks,” says Jennifer Hoffmann, “and received more help than we imagined. When we asked for help writing our business plan, Gary Bouty was there for us in every way. With Gary, there was never such a thing as a stupid question. He makes sure you understand how to do something rather than doing it for you. So I owe him the skills I’ve gained.”
What aspect of the SBDC’s training has been the most valuable? “Finances,” says Mrs. Hoffmann. “I never realized that learning books, reports and the financial side would help me understand everything about our operation, inside and out.”
Would the Hoffmanns recommend the SBDC to others? “Oh, I have!” Mrs. Hoffmann says enthusiastically. “New business owners can get so intimidated by their lack of knowledge, struggling with books and taxes, and usually can’t afford to get the expert help they need. I think it’s amazing that the SBDC is there for people like us. We care about our clients, and the SBDC cares about us. So that makes it all work.” #####
Contact

UNM Taos
114 Civic Plaza Dr.
Taos, NM 87571
(575) 737-6214
Gary Bouty, Director
gbouty@unm.edu