Valley business leaders share their playbook for competing against bigger companies at Mission chamber event

MISSION — Representatives from three of the Rio Grande Valley’s most recognizable local businesses shared success tips at the Greater Mission Chamber of Commerce’s Buenas Tardes Luncheon panel on Wednesday.

Those businesspeople included Byron Lewis, CEO of the almost-150-year-old Edinburg business Edwards Abstract and Title Co., Elizabeth Chavez, vice president of development and community engagement at Pharr-based Junior’s Supermarket, and Isaac Smith, co-owner of Matt’s Building Materials in Pharr.

Lewis said those companies represent Davids in a business arena filled with some fairly powerful Goliaths.

“All of us push hard against intense competition from some of the largest companies and corporations in Texas and the U.S., and we hold our ground here in the Rio Grande Valley because we love it and we have a legacy of service that allows us to do so,” Lewis said.

The panelists said the trick to being successful in the face of that challenge comes down to a few things, among them hard work. 

Smith called it “grinding,” and Chavez said she agreed.

“If you’re not working hard for your goal, then it’s literally just a dream,” she said. 

That grinding, she said, should be done from the frontlines, even for executives.

“You don’t need to ask me twice to stack chairs,” Chavez said. “If I’ve got to stack chairs, I’m gonna stack chairs. If I’ve gotta pick up stuff off of the floor — there’s times when I go to any one of my stores and there’s something on the floor — I go and I pick it up, and I throw it in the trash.”

Hard work, Smith said, is only part of the key to success.

Smith said success or failure can come down to the sort of community or network business people have around them. 

“You get to pick and choose who to have in your circle; who to bring around you,” he said. “You pick and choose. Even if they’re your friends or family, if they’re not good for me or they’re toxic in my life — get rid of them.”

That circle goes beyond just business associates or friends, Lewis said, agreeing with Smith.

Lewis pointed to the almost 150 years Edwards has operated in the Valley, to the role it’s played in the area’s development, and to how it’s part of the fabric of the community it serves.

Anyone who wants to be successful in business, Lewis said, should realize they’re part of the community too and look for opportunities to give back. 

“If you’re not willing to mentor, if you’re not willing to influence, if you’re not willing to be a part of your community’s success, it’s far less likely that you’re going to be successful,” he said.