A new limited-time grant program will offer $10,000 grants to small Hispanic-owned food and beverage businesses in Albuquerque. The program comes from the PepsiCo Foundation, which is relying on Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs), such as LiftFund and DreamSpring, to ensure that grants reach 10 – 15 Hispanic-owned businesses in each of the 13 targeted U.S. cities. Besides Albuquerque, grants will be offered in Los Angeles, Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, El Paso, Chicago, Miami, Denver, New York City, Orlando, Phoenix, and Las Vegas.
Continue readingAuthor Archives: Admin
Business Finance Fair Will Provide Resource Overview
The New Mexico Economic Development Department is hosting a Business Finance Fair on June 9 from 12:00 to 2:00 pm for businesses located in the southeastern region of the state. The event, which will be conducted online, will provide an overview of the many financial resources available to New Mexico businesses. Event organizers aim to connect business owners with resources that can help them grow their enterprises.
Continue readingWESST a ‘Touchstone’ for Therapy Clinic Partners
Two months after COVID-related emergency orders shuttered the clinic that employed them, Melissa Esquibel and three colleagues launched Sandia Sunrise Therapy LLC to provide vital physical and occupational therapy services.
“Starting the business in the middle of a pandemic was definitely challenging,” clinic administrator Melissa Esquibel said. “We all worked very closely together (at the clinic that closed in March 2020). Keeping that connection was very important to us as we started the new business.”
Esquibel’s co-founders Teresa Ziomek and Oksana Tretiak practice occupational therapy, and Dr. Heather Armijo provides physical therapy. While all four women contributed to the business’s formation, Esquibel credits Ziomek with organizing the team and Tretiak with contacting business-development nonprofit WESST to help with the team’s strategic plan and other critical startup groundwork.
Before meeting with WESST, the four had written a business plan. “We drafted our goals, did our analysis on the market and the services we were going to provide,” Esquibel said. This laid the groundwork for their work with WESST, which has been offering its services at no cost during the pandemic.
Continue readingNew Program Launched to Help Native-led Businesses
The Indian Pueblo Cultural Center and Creative Startups are collaborating to accelerate entrepreneurship among Native American businesses. The collaboration is delivering a pre-accelerator virtual incubator program, along with information about financial and other resources designed specifically to meet the needs of Native-led businesses.
Continue readingLEDA Grant Program Now Open
The LEDA Recovery Grant Program was created by the State of New Mexico in the 2021 Legislative Session by House Bill 11 to provide $200 million in grant funding to New Mexico small businesses and nonprofit organizations that are experiencing financial hardship due to the pandemic. Applications will be accepted until June 15, 2021.
Continue readingUSDA Helps Businesses Install Renewable Energy Systems
The U.S. Department of Agriculture provides grants to agricultural producers and rural small businesses interested in saving money as they save energy. The Rural Energy for American Program (REAP), which aims to reduce the amount of greenhouse gas pollution that affects the climate, helps businesses purchase and install renewable energy systems and make energy-efficiency improvements.
Continue readingREBP Increases Profits by Reducing Energy Use
Rural businesses looking to reduce costs and increase profits have a friend in the Rural Efficient Business Program. REBP gives free energy-efficiency advice and resources to businesses located in communities of 50,000 inhabitants or less and agricultural producers throughout the state. The program, which is part of the New Mexico Economic Development Department’s suite of services, also offers financing options and financial incentives to help businesses put energy-efficient systems in place.
Continue readingMicro-Grant Application Deadline Nears
Northern New Mexico businesses that have an immediate need for money to diversify, sustain or grow revenue, leverage other investments, and/or put systems in place that will lead to growth and create job opportunities have until May 1 at 5:00 pm to submit an application for a grant of $500 to $2,000 from the Regional Development Corporation (RDC). Grants are made on a competitive basis to businesses in RDC’s service area, which is defined as the counties of Santa Fe, Sandoval, San Miguel, Mora, Los Alamos, Rio Arriba, and Taos.
Continue readingFinancial Knowledge Imperative to Success
Entrepreneurs who gauge business success by the amount of money in their checkbook are setting themselves up for failure and missing out on tools that can help them grow their business. Financial statements, easily created by standard bookkeeping systems, can provide financial snapshots, warnings about upcoming cash shortages, and rearview-mirror looks at past successes and failures that often indicate a path for the future. It doesn’t take an MBA to understand how to generate and navigate financial statements. But where does a business owner obtain the basic knowledge that can help her build a financial foundation?
Continue readingRestaurant Revitalization Fund Rules Emerge
The U.S. Small Business Administration has released more information about the rules that will govern the $28.6 billion Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF) grant program that will open on May 3. The RRF will provide grants of $1,000 to $5 million per location to restaurants, bars, pubs, food carts, caterers, and other restaurant-related businesses that have lost revenue due to the pandemic.
Continue reading