The Arizona Republic - 07/06/2017 Page : BG01

PART OF THE USA TODAY NETWORK Copyright © 2017 The Arizona Republic 07/06/2017July 6, 2017 6:38 am (GMT +7:00) Powered by TECNAVIA

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The Business Resource • abgnews.com

Copyright 2017Vol. 134, No. 27Established 1880

$1.00

THURSDAY, JULY 6, 2017

INSIDE: MORE ESSENTIAL NEWS ABOUT THE METRO PHOENIX ECONOMYNew in the neighborhood

Learn more about a new business.Page 2

Entrepreneurs

Small business expert Daniel Kehrer.Page 3

Markets

Widely held stocks and top mutual funds.Pages 5-6

Business leads

Bankruptcies, incorporations, calendar.Pages 7-11

He had been in the auto-repair in-dustry since graduating from highschool in Milwaukee in 1974. Butwhen Glen Hayward applied his old-school knowledge and customer-ser-vice practices to servicing contempo-rary vehicles, the co-owner of GoodWorks Auto Repair created a nichefor his shop in the hybrid repairspace.

Adding that specialty division in2013 has helped Hayward and hiswife and business partner, RaeAnn,grow their Tempe repair shop, whichhas serviced just about every type ofvehicle since opening in 2004.

The idea came when Haywardstarted noticing a lot of hybrids on theroad. His research revealed thatthere were about 46,000 such greenvehicles in Maricopa County at thattime, but barely, if any, independentshop that specialized in working onthem.

“This is such a niche market wecould develop into something.There’s got to be a great opportunityhere,” Hayward said of his thinking.

He discovered a company in Vir-ginia that owned several hybrid spe-cialty shops. Hayward reached out tothe owner, who trained him and his

techs, and designed and engineeredthe equipment to refurbish hybridbatteries — a big source of repair.

This technology can refurbish aused hybrid battery pack up to 95 per-cent of its original condition, Hay-ward said. A typical new hybrid bat-tery can last seven to 10 years if it’s

PHOTOS BY MARK HENLE/THE REPUBLIC

Ryan Sparks, left, and John Petersen inspect a vehicle on June 8 at Good Works Auto Repair, 2348 E. Broadway Road in Tempe.

AUTO SHOP CREATESNICHE FOR HYBRIDS Good Works offers three year, 36,000-mile warranty toearn trust of customers while repairing specialty cars GEORGANN YARASPECIAL FOR THE ABG

Glen and RaeAnn Hayward, the owners of Good Works Auto Repair, expanded theirbusiness to include repairing hybrid cars.

Good Works Auto RepairWhere: 2348 E. Broadway Road, Tempe. Employees: 10. Interesting stat: The U.S. hybrid marketis projected to grow 25 percent this year,according to Michigan-based research andanalytics firm Baum and Associates. Details: 480-894-0018,goodworksautorepair.com. See GOOD WORKS, Page 3

Real estate » Page 2 Entrepreneurs » Page 3 Regional report » Page 4 Stocks » Pages 5-6 Personal finance » Page 12

Index »

Insurance giant Aetna has notifiedcustomers this month that it will exit Ari-zona’s individual health-insurance mar-ket in 2018, citing financial risk and anuncertain outlook.

People who purchased health insur-ance directly from Aetna can keep theirplans through the end of this year butwill need to search for other options in2018.

Aetna did not offer subsidized plans

JESSICA HILL/AP

Insurance giant Aetna notified customers inJune that it will exit Arizona’s individualhealth insurance market in 2018.

Aetna bails onstate market as GOP Senatehealth bill stallsKEN ALLTUCKERSPECIAL FOR THE ABG

See AETNA, Page 3

So you have a worker whom you’d liketo reassign or possibly fire.

If that’s the case, then you’d betterhope he or she doesn’t take, or even re-quest, paid sick time off anytime soon.

Arizona’s new sick-leave law, one ofthe toughest in the nation, took effectJuly 1 and seems likely to complicate em-ployer-worker relations. In particular,companies and non-profit groups mightfind their hands tied if they want to fireor discipline workers — or do somethingas benign as change schedules or job re-sponsibilities.

That’s because the new law prohibitsemployers from retaliating againstworkers seeking to exercise their sick-pay rights. Businesses and non-profitscould face a tough legal challenge prov-ing that whatever adverse action takenagainst a worker wasn’t a consequenceof the person taking, or requesting, paidsick time off.

“The law presumes that any adverseaction taken within 90 days of an employ-

State’s sick-leavelaw could make ithard for employersto fire workersRUSS WILESSPECIAL FOR THE ABG

See EMPLOYERS, Page 2

Salt River Project customers can getinto an electric car for a total of about$14,000 thanks to a $10,000 rebate for anew Nissan Leaf announced Thursday.

The electric utility negotiated agroup-purchase rebate with the auto-maker for the car, which has a startingprice of about $31,000. Buyers also canqualify for a $7,500 federal tax credit.The program runs from July 1-31.

The cars come with a “Level 1” char-

ger that plugs into a standard outlet andrecharges the battery slowly. A “Level 2”charger made just for the Leaf by Aero-Vironment retails for about $800 includ-ing installation and can recharge the bat-tery in about 6 hours.

“We are excited to work with Nissanto offer our customers an opportunity toinvest in an electric vehicle that willsave them money while helping the envi-ronment,” said Kelly Barr, SRP senior di-rector of environmental management

SRP customers can save$10K on a Nissan Leaf

NISSAN

The environmentally-friendly Nissan LEAF can be charged in about six hours and advertises arange of more than 100 miles.

RYAN RANDAZZOSPECIAL FOR THE ABG

See NISSAN, Page 3

The Arizona Republic - 07/06/2017 Page : BG03

PART OF THE USA TODAY NETWORK Copyright © 2017 The Arizona Republic 07/06/2017July 6, 2017 6:39 am (GMT +7:00) Powered by TECNAVIA

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Arizona Business Gazette abgnews.com Thursday, July 6, 2017 3BG

Entrepreneurs

Being frugal and findingways to save money foryour business are goodthings. They help you instilla lean operating mentalityand create discipline to op-

timize every dollar spent.Anyone who’s ever bootstrapped a

business knows all about the art of doingmore with less. Stretching budgets canbe a survival skill that keeps you alwayslooking for ways to save a buck.

But being too much of a tightwadwhen it comes to spending money canhold your business back. Some businessowners don’t merely visit Cheapskate-ville, they set up shop there permanent-ly. Avoiding unnecessary expenses isone thing; being a perpetual penny-pincher driven by fear is another.

Being a tightwad in the wrong placescan damage your brand, demotivate em-ployees, and cheapen your product orservices in the eyes of customers.

Try submitting each proposed cost-saving measure to this litmus test: Whatare the possible short- and long-term ef-fects of this move? Will it save my busi-

ness money now, but hurt profits later?Here are five areas that can cause

trouble when a small business pinchespennies too tightly:

Tightwad Trouble No. 1: Skimping onemployee comp. Excessive tightfisted-ness on payday sends a message to youremployees: “I place a low value on youand what you do for my business. I don’tsee you as a person with talents andunique abilities, but as a debit on mymonthly expense report.”

And that’s the kind of message thatsends skilled employees running for thehills, costing you money in lost produc-tivity, turnover, and customer dissatis-faction. Especially now — in an era of la-bor shortages and competition for thebest workers — being a tightwad in thisarea can be damaging.

Tightwad Trouble No. 2: Cut-rate orDIY bookkeeping. Too many boss-desig-nated bookkeepers don’t completelyknow what they’re doing. They may useunnecessarily broad headings, classifyitems incorrectly or make other mis-takes.

Sooner or later, your accountant (or

IRS) will charge you to correct thesemistakes, saving you nothing. An evenlarger problem is that it’s easy for an in-house bookkeeper to steal from the busi-ness. Consider hiring a third-party book-keeper who reports directly to you.

Tightwad Trouble No. 3: Skimping onlegal services. A business owner I knowwent through a touchy legal matter a fewyears ago. When she described the mat-ter to a colleague, the colleague told herthis: “Your attorney is a nice guy, andhe’s good with general matters, but forthis situation you need someone who canstrike fear in opposing council.”

The business owner took her col-league’s advice. “And I’m so glad I did,”she says. “The matter went away quicklyand was some of the best money I everspent on high-priced billable hours.”

Tightwad Trouble No. 4: Thinkingyou’re a graphic designer. We’ve all seenbusinesses that made a poor impressionbecause its branding, marketing andsales materials were scruffy. Perhapsthe signage wasn’t professionally creat-ed or the forms, brochures, stationeryand website were poorly designed.

Customers will first — and always —judge a business by its covers. So if youwant to be paid like a great business, youalso need to look like one. There aremany talented freelance graphic andweb designers around who can makeyour materials — both digital and print— look great. And many of them are rea-sonably priced.

Tightwad Trouble No. 5: Thinkingword-of-mouth marketing is enough.Business owners tell me all the time thatthey believe in word-of-mouth market-ing (WOM). That’s great, WOM can bepowerful, but it’s not enough. Few if anyhighly successful small businesses owemore than a third of sales to word-of-mouth. If you try to save money by notbudgeting for marketing, you’ll saveyour way right out of business. You mustspend money to attract customers.

Bottom line: If you skimp on some-thing that directly affects customers orcompromises your ability to operate ef-ficiently, your efforts may come back tobite you. It’s good to be frugal. But it sel-dom pays to be a full-on tightwad.

Daniel Kehrer is a national authorityon small business, startups and entre-preneurship. Follow him at twitter.com/140Main.

Best BusinessDANIEL KEHRER

Five tightwad troubles to avoid in business

used often, he said. Hayward estimatedthat currently there are more than160,000 hybrids in the county.

Hayward said he invested $50,000 forthe training, equipment and addition ofthe division, which operates like a fran-chise of the Virginia company. This com-ponent has broadened Good Works’ ser-vice lineup.

When Good Works opened, it generat-ed $750,000 in annual sales, Haywardsaid. Within two years, that jumped to$1.5 million, a total it’s reaped each yearsince. The shop has also doubled in size.When the current expansion is complete,Good Works will span 11,000 square feet.

‘Good mechanics are hard to find’

Having the capability to work on justabout every type of older and newerautomobile has remained a key asset,from hybrids to diesels. On a Tuesdaymorning, a Ford, Kia, Jeep, Honda, Mer-cedes and an Audi were all on Hayward’slot.

As more car owners hang on to theirvehicles, repair shops that can care forolder models become more in demand.The average age of the U.S. vehicle fleethas increased 17 percent over the past 10years, with the typical car on the road be-ing 111⁄2 years old — a record high, ac-cording to research firm IHS Markit.Also, 75 percent of the aftermarket autorepair is performed by independent autorepair shops like Good Works.

Being active in the community andcharitable efforts is also part of the rou-tine. Among the efforts is the Brakes forBreasts campaign, for which RaeAnnspearheaded the collaboration. Itamounted to a donation of $20,000 frommore than 20 auto shops to the ClevelandClinic for Breast Cancer Research. Cus-tomers who donated to the cause re-ceived their brake pads for free.

This campaign is what initially drewTed Greene to Good Works about a yearago. After getting the brake pads on hisFord Taurus changed, Greene has re-turned for other services.

“Everything was absolutely fantas-tic,” said Greene, who lives in Tempe. “I

was very impressed with Glen’s knowl-edge, caring and full explanation of ev-erything before the work was done.”

This kind of thoroughness is what haskept Harvey Gibson a satisfied custom-er for nearly two years after becomingdiscouraged with his former mechanic.Gibson’s 2008 Volvo, his wife’s 2011 Hon-da Accord and his stepson’s 2007 MiniCooper have all been serviced at GoodWorks.

Although the Volvo and Honda havehad routine services, the Mini Cooperhas undergone more extensive work thatrequired diagnostics, like transmissionwork and a new starter. Regardless ofthe service, Gibson appreciates thatHayward takes the time to explain theproblem, what needs to be done and allthe options so he can make an informeddecision.

At what Gibson called a reasonableprice, Hayward gets jobs done in a time-ly manner. For example, if he takes hiscar to the shop in the morning, he gets acall at noon saying it’ll be done later thatafternoon. If they need to send out for apart, it’s usually done by mid-morning

the next day.“He gets it fixed the first time so I

don’t have to worry about those kinds ofthings. Good mechanics are hard tofind,” said Gibson, who lives in Tempe.“When he tells you something will be tak-en care of, it will.”

Building relationships one repairat a time

Hayward left his native Wisconsinand followed his family, who had relo-cated to Arizona, in 1990. Here, he metnative Arizonan RaeAnn, his wife of 23years. They have three children.

Hayward and his former businesspartner decided to open Good Works,with RaeAnn, who had worked as a dis-patcher for a construction company,handling the accounting and phone du-ties. In 2015, Hayward bought out thatpartner and he and RaeAnn became thesole owners.

Hayward acknowledged that being inan industry with a questionable reputa-tion when it comes to being trustworthycan make his job tougher when trying to

win over skeptics. Decades of experi-ence has taught him that delivering ex-ceptional service and building relation-ships with every repair is the best way toaccomplish this.

This includes doing oil changes,which Hayward said he loses money on.But, it helps maintain clients’ vehiclesand gives his team a chance to look atthem and offer preventive maintenanceadvice, which they are free to take orleave. He shows them around the shopand takes photos of what he sees as po-tential costly problems and sends themto customers to evaluate.

He upped his previous two-year,24,000-mile warranty for parts and laborto an unheard-of three years and 36,000miles to further earn customers’ confi-dence.

“That’s a part of how you win people’strust, by offering a warranty that super-sedes anything that’s out there in the in-dustry,” he said. “It’s about treating peo-ple with respect and dignity … not think-ing about how much money you’re tryingto shake out of their pockets.”

Good WorksContinued from Page 1BG

MARK HENLE/THE REPUBLIC

Mechanic Raul Mendoza replaces a timing belt at Good Works Auto Repair Shop on June 8.

and chief sustainability and complianceexecutive.

The rebate will be provided by Nis-san.

Nissan advertises a 107-mile rangefor the Leaf, though that is reduced in ex-tremely hot or cold weather. The batteryon the vehicle has a capacity of 30 kilo-watt-hours. It also has an 8-year or

100,000 limited battery warranty.SRP also offers a way for potential

electric-vehicle drivers to calculatetheir savings by switching to electricfrom a gas vehicle atsrp.wattplan.com/ev. According to thecalculator, an SRP customer who owns agas-powered car with a combined miles-per-gallon rating of 25, and who drivesabout 24 miles a day, can save an estimat-ed $778 a year switching to a new Leaf.Those estimates factor in an increase inannual electricity bills offset by elimina-tion of gasoline expenses.

The calculator’s estimates are not

guarantees of actual savings, SRP notes.SRP offers a special rate plan for elec-

tric-vehicle owners that charges less forelectricity late at night when demand onthe grid is low. The rate plan is meant toencourage overnight charging.

“The EV price plan is great for EVowners because it offers a super off peakrate from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m., which is idealfor charging your EV overnight,” Barrsaid.

SRP has only about 857 customers onthe rate plan, and while that’s doubled inthe last year, Barr said, it is far shy of theestimated 4,000 electric-vehicle drivers

in SRP’s service area.Last year, about 1,000 new electric ve-

hicles were registered in the territory,including about 100 Leaf cars, she said.

Nissan is offering the deal in other cit-ies, she said.

“When we heard about this plan, wethought it would be a great opportunityfor our customers who are interested inpurchasing an EV save money,” she said.

While SRP will sell more electricitythrough such vehicles, Barr said the util-ity was participating in the deal to helpimprove air quality in the metro Phoenixarea.

NissanContinued from Page 1BG

through the Affordable Care Act mar-ketplace this year, but it did sell “off-ex-change” insurance directly to individ-uals. It’s unclear how many people areaffected by Aetna’s decision to exit theindividual market in Arizona.

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona andCentene’s Ambetter from Health Net,the two insurance companies that soldplans on Arizona’s health-insurance mar-ketplace this year, have taken steps toagain offer plans in 2018. Both notifiedthe Arizona Department of Insurance oftheir intent to sell Affordable Care Actinsurance next year.

Arizona also will have at least one oth-er non-marketplace offering in the state.

Cigna confirmed that it will continueto sell individual plans off-exchange inArizona next year, but the Connecticut-based insurer will narrow its options.

Cigna will discontinue its “open ac-cess plus” plans that it sold to individualsand families this year. These PPO-styleplans offer a broader network of medicalproviders, but the insurer said the “rela-tive instability” of these plans in Arizonaprompted it to pull the offering for 2018.

Cigna spokesman Joe Mondy said theinsurer could not develop a combinationof affordability, quality and value tokeep the plans next year.

However, Cigna will continue to sellan HMO-style plan in Maricopa Countywith a narrower network of providersthat includes Cigna Medical Group.

It’s unknown how rates will changefor either the marketplace or off-ex-change plans for Arizona. The ArizonaDepartment of Insurance will not re-lease detail about the insurer filings, in-cluding requested rate increases, untilthe state agency reviews the documents.

Most people get health insurancethrough an employer or government in-surer such as Medicare, Medicaid, Tri-care or the Department of Veterans Af-fairs and are not affected by the individ-

ual insurance market.But an estimated 4 percent of Arizo-

nans purchased insurance directly froman insurer or through the ACA market-place in 2015, according to Kaiser FamilyFoundation estimates based on surveydata from the U.S. Census Bureau.

Consumers who depend on the indi-vidual market lament the narrowing op-tions. Mesa resident Linda Baird, 61, saidshe purchased Aetna this year becauseshe considered the network of providersbetter than what Cigna or Ambetter of-fered. Now, with Aetna no longer avail-able, she said she’s not sure what she’lldo for coverage next year.

“I paid a third of my income this yearin premiums, prescriptions, and co-pays,” Baird said. “I object to paying$1,007 a month for my plan now, but ex-pect more of my retirement funds to bewasted next year on narrow network, ex-pensive, high deductible limited op-tions.”

Last year, insurer after insurer an-nounced plans to drop coverage in themonths leading up to the Nov. 1 start of

open enrollment. The ACA marketplacefor insurance had far fewer options thanwhen the marketplace launched in 2014.

The narrowing choices and large pre-mium increases last year prompted sev-eral Republican leaders, including Presi-dent Donald J. Trump, House SpeakerPaul Ryan and Gov. Doug Ducey, to citeArizona as evidence that the AffordableCare Act, or “Obamacare,” needed to berepealed and replaced.

A vote on the U.S. Senate’s proposedreplacement has been delayed until af-ter the Fourth of July break as GOP lead-ers seek to shore up the 50 votes needs topass the sweeping legislation. A USATODAY/Suffolk University poll foundjust 12 percent of Americans support thebill.

Arizona business and health leaderswarned that the bill would trigger deepcuts to the health-care industry thatcould ripple through the economy. TheCongressional Budget Office estimatesthat the Senate health bill would increasethe number of uninsured Americans by22 million by 2026.

AetnaContinued from Page 1BG