ODESSA, Texas — The oil and gas industry is very important in the Permian Basin. But, it's not just oil and gas that keep cities like Odessa afloat.
It's also the small businesses that keep the city going.
It's why Tyler Patton, the Small Business Development Center Director at University of Texas Permian Basin, speaks to the Odessa Development Corporation once a month.
When somebody wants to open a small business in Ector County, they usually go to someone like Patton.
“Those services include helping people prepare to get funded," Patton said. "In other words, going before a bank. Most companies will need a business plan, so we help them with that. We consult on a lot of other things, like marketing, such as safety, other issues that come up with businesses.”
He calls small businesses the lifeblood of a community.
Oil and gas might bring most of the money to the Permian Basin, but a wide range of businesses can protect a city when that industry has a cold streak.
“It’s critical for, not just the citizens, but also for the community as itself, the tax base, to make it as diversified as possible," Patton said. "Because there's going to be ups and downs in every industry, that’s normal. So you want those ups and downs to offset each other.”
It’s not all about the money though. Some of those mom and pop shops end up as major players within the local community.
“These small business owners, not only provide jobs, but they provide people going out and supporting other business," Patton said. "They tend to be the people who are most involved in the community. So whether it’s the school board or the Odessa Development Corporation, or the city at large, volunteers, things like that, they get very involved in the community. So, they help in a number of ways."
Patton's past month of work only brought a couple of new business to Odessa, but he was confident that more are on the way, including day cares, barber shops and beauty salons.