NEW BUSINESSES ARE SUPPOSED TO STRUGGLE, RIGHT? After all, experts warn that it’s “rough going” for a new business, especially in the first year of operation.

According to the Small Business Administration, 30 to 35 percent of small businesses fail within that critical first year.

But apparently when you offer an excellent service in a market that truly needs what you have, the usual beginner’s blues can be bypassed. Just ask Mike Nuñez and David Tamayo, owners of Mike’s Paint Place Inc. This collision repair and paint shop opened in March 2005 on Polaris Drive behind the Laredo Entertainment Center, and already, this new enterprise is proving to be one of Laredo’s most successful businesses.

“We are having an incredible first year,” Tamayo reports. “In our third month of operation, we reached $350,000 in sales and have been growing ever since. We are very grateful to the people of the Laredo area, for trusting us to treat them and their vehicles right.”

Prior to opening the doors to Mike’s Paint Place Inc., Nuñez and Tamayo worked at a local auto dealership; Nuñez was the body shop manager and Tamayo was the parts and service director. Between the two of them, they had 20 years experience and an outstanding reputation with people in the area.

“We decided to open up our own place because we wanted our own business and because the Laredo market was definitely in need of a collision and paint shop that does exceptional work,” Nuñez said. “We got in this business to be the best. Our skills and our commitment to 100 percent customer satisfaction are paying off.”

Nuñez and Tamayo, both raised in Laredo, decided to name their new business Mike’s Paint Place because Mike Nuñez’s name is so well-known.

Mike’s Paint Place offers full collision repair, alignment and bodywork for cars, trucks and other vehicles. People often bring in vehicles as the result of an accident, and the shop also does work on hail-damaged vehicles. “No matter what brings you here, you will discover that we know how to treat people right,” Nuñez says.

All work at Mike’s Paint Place is done by skilled mechanics, certified by the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence (ASE). The shop has also achieved Gold certification by I-CAR, an independent, not-for-profit technical training organization. Each technician receives yearly training in the newest auto body and painting techniques. State-of-the-art equipment is used, including computer diagnostics and computerized color matching.