Doctors Need Capital Too

Martha Manquero-Butler witnessed firsthand the difficulties elderly patients face when trying to access health care. As a doctor at Texas Tech El Paso’s residency program, she helped by visiting patients where they were located instead of asking them to go to a clinic.

A few years later, with the support of family and savings, Manquero-Butler launched New Light Primary Care to bring the art and science of medical house calls to El Paso. It did not take long for the three-person practice to grow to 30+ employees who served more than 800 patients by 2017.

That’s when the El Paso Hispanic Chamber of Commerce referred Manquero-Butler to LiftFund, a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI), for a commercial real estate loan that would help her acquire a building to serve as a base for staff and patients.

Continue reading

Growth Unlimited for Production Sewing Company

Veronica Fuller has been sewing for more than 40 years. It’s what she loves to do.

The owner of Sandia Pet Products migrated from Juarez, Mexico, 32 years ago and began working in sewing production facilities around Albuquerque, lending her expertise to manufacturing companies like Southwest Creations Collaborative, Marpac, and Sierra Peaks Corporation. In her off hours, she did custom sewing jobs from her garage. She made pillows, clothing, and more.

In 2022, Fuller’s employer at Sandia Pet Products was ready to retire from the 30-year-old business and turned to Fuller and another worker with an offer to buy the company.

Fuller’s colleague was not interested but Fuller jumped at the chance to take over the wholesale business that specialized in dog collars and leashes.

“I started asking questions and looking for loans,” said Fuller. “I asked [my former employer] Susan from Southwest Creations, ‘do you know of people I can borrow some money from?  I’m a woman and I’m a Mexican.’” Fuller was directed to WESST, a business development organization that offers capital and technical assistance. “I called WESST and WESST gave me the loan.”

Continue reading

Loan Officer Lauds Business Owners, Says ‘Entrepreneurs are Resourceful’  

 Angelina Romo believes small businesses in the central region of New Mexico are standing on their own again after the devastating effects of the pandemic. She should know. Romo is a loan officer with The Loan Fund, a nonprofit lender that offers loans and technical assistance to businesses and nonprofit organizations throughout the state. Romo serves the Community Development Financial Institution’s (CDFI’s) central region encompassing Albuquerque and surrounding areas.

“Many small businesses did a tremendous job learning to pivot with COVID limitations,” she said, citing clients who switched to selling sterilization items and protective gear or utilizing delivery services when they were unable to work directly with their customers.

Three years on, Romo sees businesses expanding their networks to achieve growth.

“Some of my independent trucking clients have even taken subcontracts with large corporations to ensure they continue to prosper,” she said. “Covid separated everyone for so long, but businesses have now banded together to continue growth and to survive.”

Continue reading

RCAC Boosts Food Truck “Over the Moon”

Melinda Arquero’s dream of owning a food truck business came true in 2019. Spurred by childhood memories of selling frybread from a roadside tent alongside her mother, the Cochiti Pueblo native purchased a truck to maintain the Pueblo frybread tradition and honor the dream she shared with the mother she lost to cancer 10 years earlier. Her plan was to serve frybread to Cochiti Pueblo residents and visitors at tribal events.

And then the pandemic hit. Pueblo communities were placed on lockdown prohibiting visitors from entering tribal lands where they could pass the virus to Native Americans – a population that suffered virus deaths at one of the highest rates of any race or ethnicity. Arquero’s new Over The Moon food truck was forced to sit idle.

A Chance Meeting

Arquero, known by family and friends as Moon, learned about the nonprofit lender Rural Community Assistance Corporation (RCAC) by chance soon after pandemic health regulations loosened. She was invited to bring Over The Moon to a regional housing meeting at the Cochiti Housing Department. Hosted by RCAC, the meeting focused on RCAC housing and development programs, but conversations revealed RCAC’s work with rural small businesses. Subsequent conversations resulted in a loan and a relationship that has put the business on solid footing and given it more opportunities than Arquero originally envisioned.

Continue reading

Gallup Bakery Thriving

A book changed Jacqueline Ahasteen’s life. As a teenager, she stumbled across a culinary arts encyclopedia that had belonged to her father, and she was captivated by words and images so vivid that she could almost taste the wonders they described. Smitten with what was tucked in the pages of that tome, Jacqueline began experimenting with baking tarts, cupcakes and doughnuts, all from scratch. She was in the kitchen, and she was in heaven.

When she grew up, however, she put that passion aside in favor of a steady paycheck and a job in IT. That lasted until 2016, when Jacqueline posed to her husband the idea of opening a bakery. They secured a location, signed a lease, and began renovations with his enthusiastic support. The couple opened the doors of I Knead Sugar, their sweet treat bakery in Gallup, New Mexico, in May 2017.

Although fed by a dream, business ownership is about reality, and I Knead Sugar nearly closed before it even opened. After spending hard-earned personal resources on renovations and build-out, Jacqueline realized they didn’t have enough money for the ingredients that would make the bakery thrive.

Continue reading

Spanish is Natural for this Small Business Advisor

Spanish has historically been the language of choice for many multi-generational New Mexico families. And with Latin American immigration contributing to the number of small-business startups in New Mexico, it’s no surprise that many entrepreneurs can benefit from resources and assistance delivered in their first and natural language.

Enter Juan Albert, a Technical Assistance Advisor for the nonprofit lender The Loan Fund. Born in Cuba to a family from Spain, Albert uses his Spanish language skills to help deliver loans and lines of credit to small businesses and nonprofit organizations in the southern part of New Mexico. And then he offers technical support – in Spanish or English – to ensure those businesses thrive.

Albert’s 40-year career has taken him to 35 countries throughout Latin America, Europe, and Asia. After a stint at the U.S. Government Accountability Office in Washington DC, Albert was transferred to Panama to manage projects and personnel throughout Latin America. He later joined the firm PriceWaterhouseCoopers as a manager serving in Honduras with responsibilities overseeing projects and staff in five Central American countries. During his 10 years in Latin America, Albert worked primarily on programs related to economic and development assistance. 

Continue reading

Lenders Tailor Credit to Specific Needs

David Valdez, Vice President Small Business Lending, Century Bank

One loan isn’t the same as another when borrowing money to build or sustain a business. Lenders act as matchmakers, fitting business owners with the type of credit they need for specific business needs.

Most traditional and nonprofit lenders offer a menu of loan options tailored to an entrepreneur’s individual circumstances — his or her credit history, cash flow, collateral, capacity, and capital. The loans can be conventional, or they can be guaranteed with backing from the U.S. Small Business Administration if the business would otherwise have a hard time qualifying for a conventional loan and the owner needs more flexible loan terms, such as a longer repayment schedule and less stringent collateral requirements. When a bank is unable to lend to a business, loan officers typically refer the business to a nonprofit lender that offers business consulting as part of the loan package.

If a business needs money for working capital, an ideal product is a revolving line of credit, said David Valdez, a small business/commercial lender at Century Bank’s Santa Fe office. “The business uses the line when cash coming in is slow and pays it down when the cash is flush.”

Continue reading

Technical Assistance Advisors Offer More Than a Loan

Joaquin Amador, Technical Assistance Advisor at The Loan Fund

Matilda Scheurer purchased Teresa’s Tamales in January of 2021, and she did it with help from The Loan Fund, a nonprofit Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI). In addition to obtaining a loan to purchase the long-time Cleveland, New Mexico restaurant, Scheurer got access to a technical advisor she can call when she needs business advice, feedback, or an answer to a question.

Joaquin Amador is The Loan Fund’s Technical Assistance Advisor in the northern part of the state*. Based in Santa Fe, Amador helps provide loans and lines of credit to small businesses and nonprofits and then offers technical support to ensure those businesses thrive.

Amador is well-positioned to offer assistance. With more than 20 years of management and marketing experience ranging from tech startup to multibillion-dollar global businesses, he is equipped to offer advice on strategic issues like business improvements, as well tactical challenges such as online marketing and search engine optimization. Two advanced degrees – an MBA from the University of New Mexico and a Master of Science from the University of Chicago – give Amador a wide range of business knowledge he can share with The Loan Fund’s clients.

Continue reading

Gas Service Company Grows with Help from LiftFund

After years of working for a large corporation in the gas & propane industry, Randy Peralta decided to pursue his own entrepreneurial project that would allow him to draw on his experience and be his own boss. In 2021, Peralta launched Gas Register Specialty Services, known as GRS Services, a mobile gas meter calibration company. Peralta’s specialty business serves commercial clients from Lea to San Juan counties.

While 28 years of technical experience in the propane industry were imperative for the nature of work that GRS Services set out to offer, operating a sole proprietorship did not come without its challenges.

“Having experience in the propane industry did not necessarily prepare me to handle all of the business and operational aspects,” said Peralta, adding that while he learned a lot in the field during his years in the industry, financial reporting and project management were new to him. He also needed to attend what he calls ‘meter school’ to be able to legally calibrate both electronic and mechanical meters.

Continue reading

Homewise Partners with The Life Link

One of the toughest challenges that cities face is navigating how to best help people who are struggling with homelessness and mental health challenges.

The Life Link is a remarkable organization that provides Santa Fe with the services needed to help people at critical transition points – whether it be recovery from addiction or adjusting to life outside of incarceration.

Continue reading