Tuesday, June 10, 1997 | 11:03 a.m.
Don't listen to the pessimists.
That's advice from Tim Wong, Nevada's Small Business Person of the Year, to other entrepreneurs running or starting up their own companies.
"You will find that most small-business people will follow their dreams and they put their heart and soul into what they're doing," said the president of Arcata & Associates, a high-tech company in North Las Vegas.
"Even though you may have a lot of doubters around you and people don't think you can make it, with hard work, tenacity and a little bit of luck you can overcome the odds," said Wong, 36, who will be honored along with 12 other business people at the annual Small Business Awards luncheon Wednesday at the Palace Station.
Arcata was started by Tim's father, Buck, in 1975 in the Silicon Valley of California. By 1990, it had moved to Southern Nevada, boasted sales of more than $16 million and had more than 300 employees. More than sixty percent of Arcata's business came from Nellis Air Force Base.
Then the Cold War ended, defense spending was drastically cut and when Tim succeeded his father as president of the company in 1993, Arcata had 40 percent fewer workers. And coming up for renewal in just two years was a contract with Nellis that constituted more than half of the company's revenues.
Tim's first step at the helm of the company was to develop a diversification plan to lessen Arcata's dependence on the defense industry. He established strategic alliances, took a major financial risk to develop systems for the Federal Aviation Administration and won a National Aeronautics and Space Administration contract at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif.
And, he led a company-wide effort to gain renewal of Arcata's Nellis contract which turned out to be a five-year, $23.9 million deal.
Arcata currently employs 160 people at its offices in North Las Vegas, North Carolina and Pasadena, Calif.
Wong says the award is a "huge honor" for him and an honor that he shares will all the people at Arcata. "No one person make a company, especially this company which is a family-owned business," he said.
Limited reservations for the luncheon are still available and can be made by calling the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce at 641-LVCC. The cost is $25 per person.
Along with 12 others who will be honored at the Small Business Awards luncheon, community service awards will be presented to Ray Vega, president of Vega Enterprises, and Suzanne Thomas, community program consultant with the Governor's Committee on Employment of People With Disabilities.
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