NM Restaurants Can Take GRT Deduction Now

Senate Bill 1, passed by the New Mexico Legislature and signed into law by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, allows New Mexico restaurants to take a Gross Receipts Tax deduction for sales of prepared food and drinks made after March 1, 2021 and before July 1, 2021. Restaurants can take the deduction immediately.

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Global Marketplace Offers Opportunity for Growth

According to the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Office of International Trade, U.S. businesses have a competitive advantage for producing high-quality, innovative goods and services; and advancements in e-commerce and logistics that have lowered the cost of doing business overseas make this an opportune time to export American-made goods.

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SBA Extends Payment Deferment Periods

Business owners with SBA disaster loans will have a little more time before they have to start making payments. The U.S. Small Business Administration announced it is extending deferment periods for all disaster loans, including the COVID-19 Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program, until 2022. (Scroll down to see the March 24 update about increased loan limits!)

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Social Media: Essential Tool for Business Recovery

Social Media

The social media community is a lot like a real-world neighborhood where people ask their friends for referrals to a hairstylist or mechanic or roofer. But businesses can use social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram proactively to market products and services in dynamic, interactive ways to the people who want them.

In that sense, social media is more potent than a website where people can learn about a business but can’t interact with the owners or other customers. Websites are a lot like online brochures, and they’re just as static. And few people see them if they don’t know what to look for or if the business doesn’t rank high on search engines.

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Shuttered Venue Operators Grant Program Details Slowly Emerging

The Shuttered Venue Operators (SVO) Grant program offers emergency assistance to venues that were closed due to COVID-19 emergency health orders. The application portal was slated to open on April 8, 2021; however, technical difficulties have delayed the program. Potential applicants can use the time delay to prepare themselves for accessing the fund.

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Self-Employed See Benefits of New PPP Loan Rules

Sole proprietors, self-employed, and gig workers can apply for more PPP money than was allowed under the program in the past. New rules released by the U.S. Small Business Administration on March 3 use gross income as the base calculation when determining the amount a solopreneur can access. Previous rules used net income, which often resulted in just a few hundred dollars of PPP loan eligibility for self-employed workers.

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Las Cruces Businesses Offered Free Social Media Training

The City of Las Cruces Economic Development Department and Arrowhead Center at New Mexico State University have teamed up to help entrepreneurs take their business online. The free assistance, which focuses on social media proficiency, aims to augment the marketing of local businesses, especially those that were impacted by the pandemic.

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