Entrepreneurs and business owners looking for money to start or grow a business can gain insight into how lenders make small business loan decisions by attending a business finance fair. Events are often hosted online, while others, such as the February 29, 2024, Business Finance Fair in Santa Fe, are in-person events that also serve to connect business owners with local lenders.
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Entrepreneur Responds to Market Needs
When Las Cruces resident Silvia Terrazas looked for videos to rent in Spanish, she found none so she created a store to fill that need. In 2000, she obtained financing to open Video Exitos, where she placed a freezer filled with ice cream and the Mexican-style popsicles known as paletas.
Terrazas noticed the ice cream treats were popular and she decided to learn how to make her own Michoacan-style ice cream and paletas, venturing to the Mexican state of Michoacan to attend an ice cream-making course. She learned how to incorporate the state’s fresh fruit into popsicles and ice cream.
In 2005, Terrazas was ready to expand her business. She went to the nonprofit lender, The Loan Fund, for a loan to construct a building for her new ice cream and treat shop, Paleteria La Reyna Michoacana where she could also sell pinatas, candy, and other Mexican specialty items.
Continue readingNo-Interest Loan for Manufacturers and Technology Companies
Applications for zero-interest business loans of up to $20,000 will be accepted starting February 15, 2024. The no-interest loans are offered to Northern New Mexico manufacturing and technology-based companies by the Regional Development Corporation as part of its TEAM Fund. Applications are due by March 17.
Continue readingStartup Loan Enables Construction Entrepreneur
Aaron Gutierrez, owner and president of Albuquerque Construction & Concrete, can do it all. That’s because he spent years building and supervising multimillion-dollar construction projects across New Mexico, although always for other people. “I’ve been with some great employers who were pretty well established and had a good system set up,” he said. “I was able to learn a lot from them and pick up what I needed.”
When he decided to strike out on his own, Gutierrez got his general contracting license and went to school for an associate degree in Construction Management. He had the technical skills, management experience, and rock-solid relationships with tradespeople and suppliers — not to mention clients who were eager to work with him. Now he just needed working capital to get started.
Continue readingNMSBA Program Accepting Applications for Leveraged Projects
The NMSBA program allows Los Alamos and Sandia national laboratories to apply their unique expertise and capabilities to help for-profit, New Mexico small businesses solve critical challenges. Technical assistance is provided at no cost to the businesses and is rendered in the form of laboratory staff time and incidental materials.
Continue readingNew Owners Put Silver City Tile Company on Path for Growth
Within two years of purchasing Syzygy Tile Works in Silver City, Josh and Carolyn White knew they needed to expand the business to meet national and international demand for their high-end, handcrafted ceramic tiles.
Josh had worked for the company for 16 years before the previous owner retired, and he quickly made improvements to shorten production times. But with employees needing as much as three years to fully learn their craft, customers were waiting four to five months for product delivery.
The Whites knew this was an unsustainable interval. In 2020, they contacted the state Economic Development Department to ask what resources were available to small manufacturers. They were referred to New Mexico Manufacturing Extension Partnership (New Mexico MEP), a nonprofit dedicated to helping small manufacturers streamline production and become more competitive.
Continue readingAn Investment of Operatic Proportions
Tony Zancanella has a lot of ideas and big plans when it comes to transforming old industrial buildings into places where art can flourish. As the director of Opera Southwest (OSW) in Albuquerque, he has been working for the past ten years to bring one vision in particular to fruition. That vision became a reality in September of 2022 with the purchase of the 11,500 s.f. former Spitzer Automotive warehouse on 3rd and Mountain, just north of the downtown area. The building will now function as the Opera’s technical production facility where a staff of skilled technicians and artists can work their magic creating the sets, props and costumes that are integral to the opera experience.
Tony’s energy, enthusiasm and focus are evident from the moment he starts speaking of OSW’s latest investment. “This space allows us to build our own sets right here in Albuquerque, whereas formerly we’ve had to contract with companies in Texas, New England, and California.” OSW, he emphasizes, is now poised to provide critical jobs for the production side of theater. “These are good jobs, interesting jobs that will bring economic diversity and opportunity for skilled workers to one of Albuquerque’s core historic neighborhoods.”
Continue readingShop Small Businesses This Saturday
Small Business Saturday — the Saturday after Thanksgiving — draws attention to the important role that independent merchants in New Mexico play in the local, state, and national economy.
Continue readingThe Loan Fund Helps Mycologist Cultivate a Business
Estevan Hernandez started growing mushrooms in his garage about 12 years ago while still in high school. It was an interest he developed after adopting a vegan diet.
Years later, after embarking on a career in electrical engineering, Hernandez decided to focus on his mushroom passion. He left his job, studied mycology under a master grower to become a Senior Mycologist, and opened an urban farm. He also turned to The Loan Fund, a nonprofit lender, for funds to help him start New Mexico Fungi, his Albuquerque business.
“I would probably still be working out of my garage, and I certainly wouldn’t be operating on the scale I am now,” said Hernandez.
New Mexico Fungi grows about a dozen mushroom species year-round using temperature-controlled incubators and rotating crops to produce Enoki, Chestnut, Lion’s Mane, Reishi, Shiitake, Shimeji, Turkey Tail, and several oyster varieties including black pearl, blue, golden, and pink. Harvesting about 140 pounds each week, the company meets the needs of customers searching for fresh produce and medicinal fungi, as well as commercial customers such as Vernon’s Speakeasy and Los Poblanos.
Continue readingA Loan Denial Can Be Beneficial
Getting turned down by a bank for a business loan may feel like failure and a personal rejection, but it is often the best thing that can happen to a business owner. Banks operate under strict regulations that don’t fit all situations. When the fit isn’t right, a good banker will refer the borrower to a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) that offers support services to increase the business’s odds of success. CDFIs are nonprofit organizations with advisors and consultants who work with borrowers to manage their businesses.
Joshua Smith, New Mexico Senior Vice President of Washington Federal Bank (WaFd Bank), regularly refers small businesses to CDFIs when they aren’t fully established or operational.
“Sometimes these folks don’t have entity documents, they don’t have articles of incorporation, they don’t have an EIN,” he said. That’s when Smith tells the customer, “Let’s get you partnered with a local small business support organization to get you to a point where you can come back to me.” Often, these support organizations are CDFI’s.
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