Sabrina Hallman has learned a lot about how to grow a successful family business. A former principal at a Tucson school, Hallman took a leave of absence from her job in 2007 to go to Nogales to check on her father Rod and the seed company he’d started in1989. “I heard from people who were concerned about my father’s health,” she says. Rod was in the early stages of dementia and could no longer run the company. Hallman decided to stay and run the company but only if the current COO, Carlos Fisher agreed to stay on. He did and Hallman began learning the business from the ground up, calling it a crash course in seeds and seed management. She took classes in biotech, agriculture and management. Her background in education helped. “I knew that I could learn it if I could find the information,” she recalls. “The seed business is extremely competitive and very international.” On a recent visit to Mexico, where the company does a huge business, she ran into a contingent of Israeli customers in the back room of a Chinese restaurant. “The next day, I was out with a Greek agronomist who was looking for tomato seeds in Mexico. There is a lot more money invested in produce than most people realize.” Hallman met Tucson Small Business Development Center (SBDC) counselor Alex Cooper in 2010 after the company’s bank was sold. As a result, Sierra Seed needed a new line of credit to carry its receivables during the off season. “The seed business is seasonal, but our bills are not,” notes Hallman. “Our primary business is in Mexico and most of our receivables and assets are there. Many banks won’t touch us because of that.” Cooper, who had been in the banking industry for over 30 years, connected Hallman with numerous banking contacts and Chase Bank came through to provide a line of credit that also helped Sierra Seed finance a greenhouse expansion that diversified the company’s offerings. Its new capacity won the company recognition from Syngenta International, one of the largest agribusiness companies in the world. As Hallman puts it, “The contacts that the SBDC shared with us were willing to cross the border and look at our facilities. Unless you go and experience the agriculture business in Mexico firsthand, you have no idea how big and profitable it is.” The sun has shone on Sierra Seed’s investment and in 2011 the company’s revenues topped $10 million. Hallman has remained a client of the SBDC, working with counselors there on finance, accounting and strategic planning. “SBDC workshops are also exceptional,” she says. “You walk out at the end of the day with new knowledge that you can put to work right away.” Being a female business owner in a male-dominated industry and culture can be challenging, but Hallman keeps her eye on the goal. “The culture of México is very male-dominated, so our COO Carlos takes the lead when we are down there,” she notes. “You have to be okay with that, forget about your ego and take a back seat, knowing that it’s all for the good of the company.”