Arrowhead Center at New Mexico State University is accepting applications for several upcoming business sprint programs. BizSprint Roswell, a 6-week business acceleration program for startups and existing businesses located in the city of Roswell, is accepting applications until the end of the day on February 6, 2023. AgSprint, another 6-week business acceleration program — this one for existing or aspiring agricultural businesses located anywhere in the state — is accepting applications until February 15. And Feb. 27 is the deadline for San Miguel County businesses to apply to join the BizSprint San Miguel cohort.
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Abq Sunport Looking for Vendors
According to a January 18 Albuquerque Journal article, the Albuquerque International Sunport is undergoing renovations that will make room for up to ten retail businesses and 16 concessions. Renovations are expected to be completed by the end of 2024, and the airport authority plans to issue an RFP seeking retail vendors by the end of March 2023.
Continue readingHomewise 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 readingSBA Looking for Rural, Women-Owned Businesses
Women-owned small business owners located in rural areas are invited to apply to join the US Small Business Administration’s free Ascent Rural program. Ascent offers group virtual learning sessions that provide a forum for program participants to meet with other women who have been selected for the upcoming Ascent cohort. The program is a combination of online self-guided learning using the Ascent platform, as well as group virtual sessions.
Continue readingBusinesses Have Until Feb. 9 to Apply for NMSBA Leveraged Assistance
New Mexico businesses facing a shared challenge have until Feb. 9, 2023, to apply together for a New Mexico Small Business Assistance (NMSBA) Program leveraged projects award of up to $120,000 in national laboratory services.
Continue readingBernCo Essential-Business Grant Program Opens
For-profit and nonprofit organizations that were deemed “essential” during the pandemic and are located in Bernalillo County can apply for up to $50,000 in one-time financial support to assist in retaining workers. The money, which is part of the American Rescue Plan Act State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds, must be dispersed to workers by awarded companies and nonprofits. (See update below.)
Continue readingTrueGrit Loan Aims to Recharge Small Businesses
The TrueGrit Growth loan, offered by the nonprofit lender DreamSpring in partnership with Wells Fargo,* provides eligible business owners continuing to recover from the pandemic with up to $10,000 to rebuild the business and position it for long-term growth. The unsecured, low-interest, fixed-rate loan offers flexible terms that are hard to beat.
Continue readingDreamSpring Helps Restaurant Launch – and Recover from Setbacks
Twenty-two years after moving to Albuquerque to attend the University of New Mexico on a basketball scholarship, Frank Willis and his sister Tiffany moved their home-based catering operation, Frank’s Famous Chicken and Waffles, to a building on San Mateo Boulevard. The siblings did so with a $1,500 starter loan from the microlender DreamSpring and business advice from their mother Lola Beavers.
The Willises moved to New Mexico from California, where Frank grew up eating his signature dish and other traditional soul food at the Los Angeles eatery Roscoe’s Chicken and Waffles. Finding no such cuisine in New Mexico, Frank and Tiffany started cooking dishes in their shared apartment and selling them via Facebook orders.
In 2019, their first restaurant moved to a larger facility at 400 Washington St. SE. “It’s a much bigger, nicer restaurant,” said Beavers, who moved to Albuquerque in 2016 after retiring from her state government job in California. “The décor is similar, in that it has a music theme with photos of musicians on the walls, but it’s a little more classy.”
Continue readingSmall Business Pros and Funding Available at All Levels
According to the U.S. Small Business Administration Office of Advocacy, the top reasons for starting a business have not changed much in the past decade. Chief among those reasons is the desire to be one’s own boss and have greater control over one’s income. New Mexico, whose businesses are predominantly small (as defined by the SBA), is fortunate to be home to so many people with a drive for personal self-determination.
Continue readingSummit Aims to Propel Innovations
The New Mexico SBIR/STTR Innovation Summit will be held virtually on December 14, 2022, from 8:30 AM to 5:30 PM MST. The Summit brings together small businesses, federal program managers, defense representatives, experts, and local organizations vested in driving innovation through the SBIR and STTR programs. The event offers opportunities for entrepreneurs to discuss their innovations with experts in one-on-one meetings.
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