Imagine a world where entrepreneurs didn't operate in individual silos, but rather turned to each other for ideas, shared experiences and moral support. That's the world imagined by the founders of the Ocotillo Collective.
The Ocotillo Collective meets monthly at the Graham County Chamber of Commerce to discuss topics that are pertinent to local business such as marketing and networking. Torey Cranford, who works with the Eastern Arizona College Small Business Development Center, said she is excited for the group’s future.
“I would like to see the business owners developing friendships and finding a common ground while sharing experience. It would be such an amazing business community,” she said.
Although the collective is still new, Cranford said she has already seen several business owners forming connections and talking to each other after the meetings.
“I saw connections being made,” she said. “Owners stay and keep talking after. And I’m already seeing them put a few of their ideas into play, which is amazing.”
While Cranford is one of the key members of the team, she credits local business owner Marquette LaRee with the actual creation of this group.
LaRee is a professional photographer who offers a variety of services.
“My involvement with the Ocotillo Collective has a bit of a backstory," she recalled. "I began growing my photography business when we moved to Silver City in 2010 but found it extremely lonely and other photographers were wary of connecting because we were 'competitors.' We moved to Winslow, Arizona, for my husband's job in 2015 and I decided to dive in fully to make my business successful and I knew I could not do it alone. In Phoenix, there was a chapter of the Rising Tide Society, a group specifically about 'Community Over Competition' and businesses coming together to support each other. I would make the three-hour drive occasionally to make the meetups there to connect with other business owners and to learn and grow.”
As a mom of two young kids, LaRee said she could not make the meetings very often and relied on the online group for connection and learning. After moving to Payson in 2017, LaRee soon decided to apply to start a Rising Tide Society chapter there. She was the leader of that group for two years as she connected with other businesses in the area. In 2019, she took a business break and handed the leadership of the group to another business owner but tried to stay active in the group. LaRee and the other business owner traveled between Winslow, Payson and the White Mountains to facilitate business meetups and encourage collaboration.
Eventually LaRee started working at weddings in the Gila Valley, and that was how she connected with Torey Cranford and Stasha Barlow.
“Being able to work as a team with other businesses was incredible," she said. "We quickly saw how we could buoy each other up and collaborate rather than each trying to forge our own path on our own. Our friendship and businesses flourished because of this. All the time I was in Winslow and Payson I would think, 'I'd love to get a group going in the Gila Valley! It would do amazing there!'"
So far LaRee said the response to the collective has been positive, with a lot of curiosity within the community.
“The idea of working together to support each other, bring in and share education, and to collaborate together has been very well received, but I think people are unsure yet how to take the ideals and put them into practice (which we knew would be a hurdle),” she said. “We've spent the first few months mostly getting the idea out, working to facilitate conversation, and get a feel for what those who join the collective are needing so we can shape the group to fit the needs of the members and the needs of the community. Now we can start working to take the idea and heart of the group and put it more into practice.”
On a personal level, the collective is also bettering LaRee’s business. She said she’s been able to meet people and make connections, and she’s learned from the specific themes of the meetings. Also, being a co-founder of the group has meant that her research has encouraged her personal education in business connectivity.
“Diving into the topics helps me learn from others as well as to grow personally and in the business,” she said.
The goal of the collective is to work together as a whole to bring stability, resources and resilience to fellow small business owners in the area, LaRee said.
“We have a range of businesses represented in the collective already, with new businesses, people with business ideas, people in the first five years of business and people with established businesses,” she said. “I'm a firm believer that what you get out of something depends on what you're willing to put into it. Any business owner of any level of experience can get something out of the Ocotillo Collective, it just depends on them, their willingness to engage in discussions and conversations, their willingness to reach out a hand and work with other businesses instead of tearing them down as the competition, and their willingness to continue learning and growing no matter what level they are at.”
Desiree Schnell is the third founding member of the Ocotillo Collective. Schnell owns Josie James Co, a clothing boutique in Safford. As a business owner, Schnell said she can vouch firsthand that owners need more community involvement with each other.
“I think just being able to hear from other business owners and finding out what works for them and being able to call on friends when I need advice is huge,” she said. “I didn’t have that before the collective.”
For the future of the collective, Schnell said she hopes to create a strong group for the business community.
“Our big dream is to have a solid core group of people that come together each month to empower each other and teach each other,” she said. “Once we get a solid core group that trusts each other, it’s going to be more prominent in each one of our businesses. I would encourage everyone who owns a business to participate.”
The Ocotillo Collective can be contacted through Facebook. Their next meeting is May 30 at 6 p.m. at the Graham County Chamber of Commerce. Admission is free.