Veteran looks to the stars with new Springs business

A year ago, Erikk Hurtt was wrapping up a deployment to Kosovo and looking for a new career after 17 years in the Army and the Army Reserves. He decided to indulge his childhood passion by opening a store devoted to astronomy.

But even if he'd had the Hubble telescope, Hurtt could not have foreseen the economic black hole that is sucking under U.S. business and industry.

Despite the gloomy financial climate, Hurtt opened on Nov. 8 his Stargate Astronomy store at 124 E. Cheyenne Mountain Blvd., in the Country Club Corners not far from The Broadmoor hotel.

His goal is to compete with online telescope suppliers by providing a wide range of telescopes, binoculars and spotting scopes for amateur enthusiasts and hard-core space geeks alike.

Besides the hardware, Hurtt is hoping there is a market for his selection of space history and astronomy DVDs.

And he's launched his Web site, www.stargateastronomystore.com, to supplement his store sales.

Now, he's just waiting and hoping customers will be able to find him in time for the Christmas season. Already he's blowing up the business plan he worked on for months.

We spoke with Hurtt after he'd been open about two weeks to see how it was going.

Question: You are starting a new business in such a tough economy. Did you have any idea what was coming?

Answer: I started working on my plan through the Small Business Development Center in January. I took classes and wrote my business plan and it was done by end of June and approved by the bank in mid-July. There was some talk about the subprime trouble and foreclosures. But nothing like what came later. By the time I opened doors, they said the end of the world was coming financially.

Q: How did the economy change your plans?

A: In my plan, I have a strategic reserve fund set up. Originally it was designed to carry me through six months. Now I've cut back some of the things I planned to do. I had planned for $10,000 in initial advertising, and I've scaled that back quite a bit. And I had hoped to hire someone initially. But I've decided to put that on hold. So it's just me. And I cut back some higher-end things I planned to order.

Now I'm hoping to stretch my reserve fund out a year. If I can survive two to three years until this turns around, then I should be OK.

Q: How did you pick your niche of astronomy?

A: I was having trouble finding a job I wanted after I got out of the Army. I decided to create the job I wanted. Astronomy always was a passion of mine since I was a kid. I just haven't had the opportunity to exercise my passion.

Q: How did you pick your location?

A: I did a lot of research. I went to the U.S. Census Bureau and looked at median household income demographics and median home values. And I wanted a location not far from where I live.

Q: Was it hard finding a lender?

A: Not at all. I went through Small Business Administration and used a Patriot Express loan. It's a loan program aimed at helping veterans start their own businesses.

Q: What kind of market research did you do?

A: Quite a bit. I knew there was only one other astronomy store on the Front Range, up in Littleton. There are other stores that sell a couple telescopes, but only one other dedicated to astronomy.

I used the Colorado Springs Public Library a lot. Especially Terry Zarsky, the business services librarian. She was phenomenal. She helped me look at county and city statistics, things like total population, demographics based on age, education, median income and other stuff.

I looked at case studies for other astronomy stores through the library's online database. I got those businesses' estimated annual sales and demographics and compared them to Colorado Springs.

Q: Obviously, you found a demand for telescopes?

A: My research showed that a store in Norman, Okla., averaged $1 million to $5 million a year in sales. Same thing for a store in Littleton. In Durango, I found a guy who just started and was averaging $500,000 to $1 million in sales. The original projections for my first year are $350,000 in sales. Whether that happens now, we'll see.

I found that major manufacturers of telescopes are doing $50 million to $100 million in sales. The store in Littleton has been in business for 28 years.

Q: What do you expect the impact of the Internet to be on your business?

A: The bricks-and-mortar store and the Internet have to go hand in hand if I'm going to be successful. My suppliers all have Internet sites where they sell directly to the public.

That makes it very difficult. They don't have to pay taxes like I do. So I have to do more.

That's why I'll be offering service. After I get going and get through Christmas, I intend to offer home set-up and service.

Some people have a hard time setting their telescopes up. I'll be able to go out to their home for a small fee and help them. I plan to really push the service aspect after Christmas.