Urban Economic Forum offers guidance to Las Vegas businesses

As the storm clouds gathered over the real estate market four years ago, John Tippins decided he should not rework his business plan to fit prevailing fads.

The stream of deals that came his way during the good times as the broker for Northcap Commercial and the owner of Tippins Holdings largely dried up. Many others in his position had moved into foreclosures and short sales.

Instead, he said, "We stayed focused on what we knew." Although the days of easy six-figure incomes have not returned, his companies are still standing.

This was one insight from several panels at the Urban Economic Forum, which stopped at the Las Vegas Convention Center as part of a nine-city road show. Although similar in structure and scope to many small-business self-help seminars, this one carried the joint sponsorship of the White House Business Council, Obama administration and Small Business Administration.

Not surprisingly in an election year, the forum, attended by about 250 people, came with several mentions of the Obama administration's priority on business well-being.

The panel on which Tippins sat, covering best practices for entrepreneurs, raised several guideposts for businesspeople to follow.

Seth Schorr, the CEO of Fifth Street Gaming, identified ambition and risk as principal attributes to making a business thrive. While ambition is straightforward, "the risk part is a little more complicated," he said.

The latter involves assessing how far to go with a particular strategy or product.

"If something doesn't work out as planned," he said, "Do not be afraid to quit and admit the decision was a bad one."

When she moved into the front office of the family-owned El Cortez, executive manager Alexandra Epstein undertook an honest evaluation of where the hotel-casino stood and what changes could be made within a limited budget.

"We had a not-so-ideal reputation with a not-so-ideal air-filtration system," she said. "We wanted to change the El Cortez, improve its reputation and improve its standing in the community."

In tandem, she said she tried to ensure that longtime staff members, some of whom started working at the El Cortez before she was born, also bought into the new agenda.

Contact reporter Tim O'Reiley at toreiley@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5290.