Albuquerque Journal from Albuquerque, New Mexico • Page 61

Journal North INSIDE BUSINESS Monday, June 30, 1997 3 PUGH SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS kon Takiiig Uncharted Course Map 7 I f. Owner Says Store Not Profitable, May Face Closing By Lori Pugh Journal Staff Writer If Mardes York could do it all over again, he would've made Access Maps Gear a travel center complete with a travel agency and foreign maps from everywhere. "I feel like maybe we're too narrow of a niche," York says of the 4-year-old store on Guadalupe Street. "Unless something dramatic happens, we will be closing. We've tried a number of things." In spite of the enthusiasm for the map store where U.S.

Geological Survey maps of New Mexico and travel maps of far-flung places like Costa Rica abound, York says the store isn't making enough of a profit to continue past August. Unless someone wants to buy it or invest in it, York says the store will be having a big sale in August to get rid of most of its inventory. "Santa Fe is a very small town for this kind of store," York says. York and his wife, Ginny, started the 1,000 square-foot store adjacent to Frame- Crafters in 1991 after seeing the excitement maps caused in the frame shop. They started an Access Maps Accessories catalog and opened the store as a secondary business, he says.

"I couldnt resist putting everything on display," he says. York stopped sending out the catalog in 1994 because it wasn't doing very well. York rotates the colorful and dramatic mounted maps on the wall every once in a while for variety. "I think maps are so appealing, it's great to have them up," he says. "Maps are pleasurable in themselves, not just as a tool." There are raised relief maps with moun-' tains you can feel, as well as reproductions of antique maps.

The shaded relief map of the state of the New Mexico is the most popular and is also York's favorite. But he always travels with a more technical map that shows the state's geological layers in vibrant colors so he can compare the geology of different areas on his travels. The store carries more than 2,000 different kinds of topographical maps put out by -the U.S. Geological Survey. York says Access Maps is one of two stores in the state that carries all the state maps done by the USGS.

Leftover maps are made into stationery and envelopes. York says the most "map-. pish" customers usually have to figure out what part of the state their stationery page covers before they'll write on it. One dull, battered cap that used to have a colorful map on it is not for sale. A customer left the hat in the store when he bought a from PAGE 1 Promoter Rosanne Gain says she's already received calls from people in Europe and Japan interested in attending.

The following businesses and organizations also are participating or sponsoring events: Cowgirl Hall of Fame, De Vargas Center, J.W. Eaves Movie Ranch, EI Corazon de Santa Fe In the Heart of Santa Fe, El Rancho de las Golondrinas, Inn of the Anasazi, Mountain Trail Gallery, Palace of the Governors, Rancho Encantado, Rodeo de Santa Fe, Rodeo Nites, Santa Fe Children's Museum and the Santa Fe Southern Railroad. Stovall provided the following partial list of some of the businesses supporting Rodeo de Santa Fe: De Bella Fine Gems and Jewelry Art, 360 Communications, Pajarito Travel, Coca-Cola Bottling Company of Santa Fe, Western Warehouse, Santa Fe Dodge, New Mexico Sports Physical Therapy, Austin's Steakhouse, The Feed Bin, Santa Fe Southern Railway, KSWV, Rodeo Plaza Shopping Center, On the Scene, Journal North, Rodeo Nites, First National Bank of Santa Fe, Santa Fe Chevrolet, Camelrock Casino, Mountain Air Express and Santa Fe Printing. Leading the way Kathy Jahner is on her way to meeting a 25-year professional goal. Jahner, owner of a business management consulting firm, is running for national treasurer of the nonprofit Business and Professional Women.

So far she's the only candidate in the July 21 election. But that's not her real long-term goal. Jahner says she made a pledge in 1972 to someday become president of the national organization. Currently, she's president of Santa Fe Economic Development a local nonprofit group that tries to retain existing business and attract new business to the City Different. "I have gotten a lot out of BPW," says Jahner, who has been a member of Capital City Business and Professional Women for years.

"I feel I can give something back to the organization by being a national leader." The group is dedicated to raising workplace standards for working women. "The days of knights on white horses in shining armor are over," Jahner says. "We should be paid equally, and we should be treated equally." Women are not aware of the major role they play in Santa Fe, Jahner says. "If you look at a lot of leadership positions and compositions of boards, not just in Santa Fe Economic Development but in other organizations, women are frequently under-represented," she says. "I'm not saying it's always on purpose.

I think sometimes women are not aware of the impact of the role we play." JANE BERNARDJOURNAL MAP MAESTRO: Mardes York, owner of Access Maps Gear, says the 4-year-old store Isn't making enough of a profit to remain open past August of this year. The store will be having an Inventory sale before going out of business if there's not an upturn. think maps are so appealing, it's great to have them up. Maps are pleasurable in themselves, not just as a tool." MARDIS YORK, ACCIII MAPS A I A Access Maps Gear EMPLOYEES: One in addition to the owners. ANNUAL SALES: Not available.

LOCATION: 321 S. Guadalupe. A 1 1 new one. In addition to maps, the store carries globes, a geochrome clock and Global Positioning System receivers that work with satellites to track your location or where you've parked your car. The store also carries items for kids, such as jigsaw puzzles of national parks and more sophisticated computer-assisted geography games.

"I've been in some map stores that are strictly business," York says. "I think adults get a kick out of this kids' stuff too." Hikers and teachers buy maps, and one man bought a world map because he needed a model for a tattoo he was getting, York says. "That's one of those encounters that raises more questions than answers," he says. MAP MANIA: Access Maps Gear sells maps for areas all over the world. The store also carries more than 2,000 different kinds of topographical maps put out by the U.S.

Geological Survey. Technical Support a Must Radio Is Moving Away From Local Stations If have had two problems with Working at Home my home office personal computer for the past few years. Although they are annoying, I If you've heard some of "everybody's business," call Lori Pugh at 992-6273. -i BANKRUPTCIES Chapter 7 ALICE IIKICDIN For the Journal LIQUIDATION i Lytle, George and Sarah, Cochitl Lake; no schedule filed. Chapter 13 diagnose, but it does provide resources.

This subscription-based technical support service provides advice columns, downloadable software utilities, bug fixes, automatic upgrades from a variety of vendors and data backup services. The first month is free; it's $4.95 a month thereafter. SupportIIelp.com (www.Supporthelp.com) also doesn't diagnose, but it provides resources to help you find a company that will. It lists Web locations, e-mail addresses, telephone support lines and other contact information for more than 2,500 technology-based companies. Of course, just because I have not had luck with my vendor doesn't mean you shouldn't try yours.

Compaq (www.compaq.com) and Packard Bell (www.packardbell.com) let you send e-mail directly to technical staff. Hewlett-Packard, (800) 752-0900, provides a toll-free number for support for small-business people for a year after purchase of the Vectra 500 PC. Compaq, (800) 345-1518, charges $35 per event (or $2 per minute) for phone support, although the charge isn't posted if the PC is on warranty. Dell, (800) 879-3355, offers free telephone support for the life of their PC, and IBM, (800) 426-2468, offers a variety of support depending on the PC you own. Alice Bredin Is author of the "Virtual Office Survival Handbook" and host of The American Express Small Business Exchange Web site at http:www.amert-canexpreM.comtmallbuslness You can write to her at Tribune Media Services, 435 N.

Michigan Chicago, III. 60611, or e-mail her at BredlnOaol.com ADJUSTMENT OF DEBT Utz, Heidi, Santa Fe; editorwriter; debts, property, $112,517. have put up with them because I haven't had time to resolve them. One is vertical lines that run through the screen of my portable PC, the other is that the mouse on my portable sticks. As I've mentioned before, I have a trusted PC fcchnician, Matt, who comes to my home office to handle most of my hardware and software needs.

These problems, however, are not within his area of expertise. Because the problems only bother me when I travel (my docking station has a monitor and mouse that work perfectly) I have let them go rather than have them fixed. Another reason I never had the problems tended to is that I don't know where to turn. My warranty has expired; I have heard horror stories about PC technical repair work at the retail level, and I am not getting anywhere with the vendor. In preparation for having my assistant find someone to fix my problems while I am on vacation, I researched the options.

I listed some of them online services, newsgroups and PC user groups in another column; here are some others: Diagnostic software. Diagnostic software is my assistant Carol's first stop in her quest to have my PC fixed by the time I return from Spain. Utility software like Norton Utilities of Symantec (800) 441-7234, and Cybermedia's First Aid 97, (310) 5814700, search your PC for problems and provide a report that ALauuuMuut Mmnm. from PAGE 1 decision but the news format was just too expensive. Mark Bentley, former general manager of the station, who is starting KRSN-AM 1490 next month, hopes to the community format but says he can't do it without the support of both listeners and advertisers.

"The challenge almost always gets down to money," Simms says. If radio is done properly, Simms says there are enough advertisers to go around. "There's a tremendous amount of competition," he says. Simms and a partner have filed an application with the FCC to run a radio station based in Las Vegas, N.M. More than a year ago, FM station KIOT changed its format from adult alternative to oldies, leaving Santa Fe without an eclectic station featuring a broad range of music, Simms says.

Depending on the market, he says he would consider reviving that format on a new station. Simms says he has come under personal attack for selling KVSF to Withers Broadcasting. "They don't know what I owed the bank, my partners, my ex-wife, the IRS," Simms says. "Those people didn't have a clue as to the strain I was under to Joe McMahon, corporate manager for AGM Nevada, says his company, which purchased the adult alternative station KTMN-FM last fall, is moving the station, now reformatted as an oldies station, KABG from its office on Alameda Street to Albuquerque. "You had over $30 million in radio advertising spent in Albuquerque last year and $3 million in the Santa FeTaos area," he says.

"That right there tells the bigger part of the story." Companies that are buying more radio stations because of deregulation are putting their administrative offices and sales offices under one roof to save costs, he says. "You've got to locate where your sales folks are best located to do business," he says. Because of this consolidation, McMahon says he believes the market will see a resurgence toward local news because now companies can employ the same people to provide news to five or six stations rather than one or two. McMahon says his company, which owns 28 stations across the country, also is considering moving its other local station, KNYN-FM; which plays contemporary country music, from Santa Fe to Albuquerque. But McMahon says the company will always keep sales offices in Santa Fe and possibly a secondary studio.

Mark Crump, general manager for Simmons-New Mexico, says his company moved KIOT from Santa Fe more than a year ago so it could be with the five other stations it owns in Albuquerque. "It's just better for us to be under one roof," Crump says. "I don't want it to be perceived by the Santa Fe people reading this article that we've abandoned them. We have not." Crump says salespeople still cover Santa Fe and all listeners are invited to participate with the station. About the station's format change, he says Albuquerque and Santa Fe had a "format hole" that was missing rock appealing to baby boomers.

"The study (done by the station) has born out that in this market, this town likes to rock," Crump says. lets you know what is wrong. Diagnostic software cannot resolve all PC problems, but it can identify them, which will make them easier to fix. Online diagnostic software. A similar service can be accessed online through TuneUp.com (www.tuneup.com), an online service that uses Symantec's Norton utilities and anti-virus software.

You can also access TuneUp's technical staff at the site. Touchstone Software's e.Support (www.esupport.com or (800) 531-0450). On this site, you are prompted to fill out a form that provides technicians with enough information to diagnose your computer problem. The information on the form and details of your computer configuration are e-mailed to the vendor of your PC. Support technicians can then analyze your information and respond to your request via e-mail.

The only catch is if your vendor does not subscribe to Touchstone's service, you are likely to get an abbreviated answer, if any. HealthyPC.com (www.healthypc.com) doesn't OutlookE EuzuoraauB- For Moro Business News, See Today's Business Outlook Rain or shine? Weatherline Forecast Service 821-1111.