Small businesses in need of workers can hire an intern and receive pay reimbursement of up to $4,800 per intern through the Paid Internship Assistance for Employers program at Central New Mexico Community College. The program aims to give students real-world working experience as it connects businesses to a talent pipeline of potential future employees from CNM.
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Resources for Creative Entrepreneurs Suffering Hardship
Suppose a disaster, illness, or other hardship disrupts your ability to work as a creative entrepreneur. In that case, you can apply for emergency relief funding or support services based on your artistic field.
Continue readingNew Mexico MEP Helps Company Go Lean

In 2014, Adam Wagoner attended a Lean 101 workshop conducted by Denise Williams, Northwest Region Innovation Director for New Mexico Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP), when it hit him that lean strategies would be a good fit for Largo Tank’s longstanding company culture of promoting from within and encouraging professional development among workers.
Wagoner is an owner and vice president of Largo Tank and Equipment, a three-location manufacturing and service facility for truck-mounted equipment, fire equipment, truck tanks, and tank trailers in the Four Corners region.
Largo’s focus is welding and mechanical service work on all types of semi-trailers, tankers, and truck-mounted equipment. The company holds an American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) U-stamp for pressure vessel manufacturing and an R-stamp for pressure vessel repairs.
Continue readingVAPG Grant Awards Up To $75,000 For Feasibility Studies
The portal to apply for a Value Added Producer Grant is open until April 17, 2025, but agriculture producers and food manufacturers should prepare now to apply. The VAPG program, funded and administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development, awards up to $75,000 for feasibility research and planning and up to $250,000 for operating expenses to individual businesses and organizations engaged in adding value to agricultural products.
Continue readingDo You Know if Your Business Idea is Feasible?
The nonprofit lender and business development organization WESST aims to help entrepreneurs discover if their business idea is feasible. Join WESST online on Monday, February 3, 2025, from 12:30 pm to 2:00 pm to learn about the research and resources every entrepreneur should explore before launching a new business.
Continue readingApply to Free Business Support Program
Arrowhead Center, in collaboration with the U.S. Economic Development Administration, is accepting applications until January 31, 2025, for its newest free business support program. BizSprint San Juan is for existing and aspiring business owners in San Juan County.
Continue readingSki Lift Pitch Offers $10,000 Grant
Nine pre-seed and series-seed New Mexico startup businesses will compete for $10,000 at this year’s Ski Lift Pitch on February 4 at Taos Ski Valley. Organized by Activate NM and powered by CNM Ingenuity, the Ski Lift Pitch brings together New Mexico’s best startups and world-class VC funds for a fun-filled day on the slopes. The competitors have already been selected, but entrepreneurs can attend to learn what a successful pitch looks like.
Continue readingBusiness Grants for Technology Acceleration
The New Mexico Economic Development Department is accepting applications for an Advanced Energy Award Pilot Program (NM AEAPP) grant award of up to $1 million to accelerate the development and commercialization of technologies in the Advanced Energy Sector.
Continue readingUNM Business Summit Aims to Inspire
Entrepreneurs who missed hearing inspiration from Victor V. Hwang, founder and CEO of Right to Start, last fall in Albuquerque have another chance on Tuesday, January 14, 2025, when Hwang headlines the UNM Business and Economic Summit at the Lobo Rainforest building in Albuquerque.
Continue readingConsider Giving to Business This Tuesday
The Tuesday after Thanksgiving marks Giving Tuesday when nonprofit organizations encourage charitable donations that can enable their charitable work. Often overlooked are grass-roots economic development organizations such as nonprofit lenders and business resource programs that support entrepreneurship in our state. Nonprofit lenders like DreamSpring, WESST, and others rely on private and public money they make available to startups and small businesses in New Mexico.
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