Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Troy Stegner. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Troy, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. One of the most important things small businesses can do, in our view, is to serve underserved communities that are ignored by giant corporations who often are just creating mass-market, one-size-fits-all solutions. Talk to us about how you serve an underserved community.

When I moved to Las Cruces, NM back in 2004, there was no comic book store. There was a Hastings that sold comics and pop culture merchandise, but getting a subscription that delivered on a consistent basis was nearly impossible. After months of my comic book subscription not being filled or having issues missing, I decided I could do a much better job. I started Zia Comics in a small storefront and grew it to fit in an 8,000 square foot store over a few years.

There was a comic con in a city about an hour away. I asked the owner of that event if he had interest in doing a similar event in Las Cruces. He told me there was no way to make it work. I took that as a challenge. Las Cruces Comic Con started in 2014 and has grown in size every year. That promoter that told me he wouldn’t do an event in Las Cruces announced he was closing his event. I bought the rights to conduct business under that event’s name and have made El Paso Comic Con one of the larger pop culture events in the area.

Troy, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

My grandmother bought me my first comic at a yard sale when I was barely old enough to read. I was hooked. This was back in the day when they sold comic books on those white spinner racks in grocery stores. Every time we went to the store I begged for a comic book.

Where I live, there isn’t a lot of representation for nerds like me. There are lots of gun shows, sporting events, home shows, etc. I decided I wanted to make it easier for people to express their nerdiness without judgment. Zia Comics has expanded from just comics to also carrying board/card games, miniatures, and all sorts of other nerdy hobby stuff. Heck, we even have an arcade in the back with pinballs and video games.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

After leaving the military I went to work as a subcontractor for NASA as a satellite control tech. That is how I ended up in Las Cruces, NM working at White Sands Complex. I worked my way up to a Project Controls position. It was during this time I decided to open Zia Comics. I worked my day job at NASA and evenings at the comic book store for a few years until I got my feet under me.

It took a completely different approach to business when you are the owner. All the things you were used to having corporate take care of for you is now your responsibility. That includes paying all the bills and making sure the necessary paperwork has been done so you don’t get fined. Then you have to find distributors, set up payment plans, hire employees, and make sure those employees are taken care of.

Transitioning from a worker bee to being the big boss was a real learning experience.

How do you keep your team’s morale high?

I don’t ask my employees to do anything I wouldn’t do myself. In fact I am usually right there next to them helping do everything from inventory to running in store events.

Another thing is I think my employees should have an incentive to make the store better. I don’t expect them to bust their butts just to make me more money. I pay my full timers much more than minimum wage and let them have plenty of paid time off. They get a substantial employee discount on merchandise. The best perk is I do a profit share with them. Once the store hits the break even point each month, they get a percentage of the profit after that. The store functions much better when employees actually have some skin in the game.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.ziacomics.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/ziacomics
• Facebook: facebook.com/zia.comics
• Twitter: twitter.com/ziacomics
• Youtube: youtube.com/ziacomics
• Other: tiktok.com/@ziacomics