Family, business and legacy meet at Albuquerque’s Batteries Plus

It was the height of the COVID pandemic, and Raul Larez was about to lose the job he had held for nearly three decades.

His employer, the owner of the local Batteries Plus store, was throwing in the towel and planning to shut down.

Larez and his wife, Megan Larez, acted with great speed. She quit her longtime job as an Eldorado High School counselor, and the couple bought the store, knowing that batteries at the time were considered an essential item for hospitals and utility companies.

“I think people were nervous for us, but as cliché as it sounds, I had so much confidence in (Raul’s) knowledge,” Megan says. “I quit my job, and we both jumped in and went full steam ahead, fully committed to making it work. And never looked back.”

The couple has since taken over another Batteries Plus location and now owns the rights to open two more franchise stores. They plan to open their third sometime next year.

Besides working together, the Larezes are raising two sons and are committed to donating their time and money to local youth sports teams and to the public schools.

Megan, in particular, has a soft spot for Albuquerque Public Schools, so the business has donated such things as food and supplies for a statewide teacher event and small coin batteries for a science project of making light-up Christmas cards.

“I think because I worked at APS for so long, I know how hard it is to be in the schools,” Megan says. “We try to do a lot of community outreach.”

Was it hard to jump into business ownership in the middle of the pandemic?

Raul: There’s always a risk when you take that leap. For us, it was more calculated. I had been here 20 years at the time, so I knew this business inside and out. And Megan is so optimistic with things. She grounds me in that sense. We had doubts and what ifs, (but) she was very confident that we would make this work.

Tell me about a difficulty you have confronted and how you dealt with it.

Raul: I think the biggest thing is the human element. We have such a great team. I will preface what I’m saying by saying that. Currently, we have 11 employees. You have so many different people that work for your business, which also means so many different personalities and families and kids and all these other factors. So when you talk about a business that’s open seven days a week … you have to have reliable people that you can trust. So when we find good people, you try to do what you can to keep them happy.

Megan: I remember when we first took over. Raul and one other gentleman were working from opening to close themselves every day. He was coming with little packed lunches because they couldn’t leave. That was challenging.

Do you have conflicts as business partners?

Megan: We choose our battles.

Raul: In any marriage — and ours is unique in that we’re business partners as well — there’s going to be challenges and disagreements. I think what’s helped us is we dated for so long before we got married, and I think that was very beneficial for our relationship, building that foundation. The things that Megan and I have endured in close to 30 years together — I think we’ve dealt with challenges pretty well.

How will the trade tariffs and federal funding cuts affect you?

Megan: Because of the corporate level, there are some things in place to mitigate some of the factors that other businesses are feeling because there is such a large buying power.

Raul: What corporate has tried to do is source from other locations, other than China. They got ahead of that knowing that some of the pressure was going to be put on China, primarily. Nevertheless, some of our product has been impacted by price increases. Unfortunately, we’ve had to pass some of those along to customers, but I think that’s a part of business. I don’t think we’ve seen as big an impact as other businesses have.

Is there anything you wish you’d done differently?

Raul: I don’t think so. I don’t live my life that way, as far as looking back on what-ifs or what could be. I think we’re exactly where we should be.

Megan: I would agree with that.

What’s your advice for an aspiring franchise owner or entrepreneur?

Megan: Don’t be afraid to ask for help. Me, coming from a counseling background, I knew nothing about accounting, payroll taxes, gross receipts taxes, and we were lucky enough to have a family friend who held my hand, step by step. There was a gentleman at corporate, he had a phone call with me every single week for six months. When things didn’t make sense, I was not ashamed or embarrassed … to say I have no idea what this is. I knew if this is going to be successful, I need to know what I’m doing.

Raul: I would say entrepreneurship isn’t for everyone. It’s not easy, especially when you’re building a business from the ground up, but if it’s something that you want, absolutely, of course, ask questions and work hard. Go after it.