Author Archives: Taura Costidis

Steeled for Success: Las Cruces Company Grows With Help From Partnership Loan

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By Taura Costidis and Sandy Nelson for Finance New Mexico

Mesilla Valley Metals owners Casey and Chancie RobertsCasey Roberts earned an MBA at the same time he was learning the family trade: welding. Today, the Las Cruces man and his wife, Chancie, own Mesilla Valley Metals, a manufacturer of pipes, structural steel, farm implements and custom-ordered metal products.

“My family has always been in the welding business,” Roberts said. “My dad was a rig welder in Farmington, where my uncle on my mom’s side owns a big fabrication shop. I always enjoyed making something and seeing results at the end of the day.” Continue reading →

Building a Business Reputation Starts With Basics

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Customer serviceBy Sandy Nelson for Finance New Mexico

A common complaint of people who hire specialists or tradespeople to provide a service is that the person didn’t show up as promised or didn’t even return a phone call. Sometimes all it takes to build a client base is to treat prospective customers with the basic decency you would use in personal relationships that matter to you. Continue reading →

Home Is Where the Startup Is

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Home-based businessBy Finance New Mexico

The blueprint for starting a home-based enterprise in New Mexico can be a simple sketch or a complicated technical drawing. It all depends on the business type and location.

Common to all businesses is the need to pick a structure, secure a Combined Reporting System number, register with the city or county, obtain required permits or certifications and decide whether to hire employees and interact with customers or to work alone as an independent contractor. Continue reading →

State’s Gross Receipts Tax: It’s Complicated

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New Mexico Gross Receipts TaxBy Finance New Mexico

New Mexico’s gross receipts tax is admittedly confusing, but the state still expects businesses to follow the law and pay what they owe from the sale of property or services.

In a nutshell, GRT is a substitute for the traditional sales tax that shoppers in other states pay when they make a purchase. In New Mexico, the seller pays the tax on the sales price of a product or service even if the seller doesn’t collect it from the buyer — and even if the buyer lives out of state. Continue reading →

WESST’s Holiday Pop-Up Shop Takes Artists Beyond Workshops

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By Damon Scott for Finance New Mexico

willajunejewelry and Reuseful Candles

willajunejewelry and Reuseful Candles are two of over 20 participants expected at WESST’s pop-up

The “pop-up retail” trend has helped many artists and entrepreneurs sell products and launch businesses in cities throughout the country. Pop-up shops allow artists and retailers to use temporarily donated commercial space to sell wares and land new customers.

Albuquerque’s WESST Enterprise Center hosted a holiday pop-up shop last year to showcase its artisan and “maker” clients as part of Manufacturing Day activities. The event was so successful that the nonprofit business development and training organization has scheduled the second incarnation for Friday, October 20. Continue reading →

Annual Review Yields Stronger JTIP Program

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By Damon Scott for Finance New Mexico

JTIP recipient Insight Lighting

JTIP recipient Insight Lighting; photo Jane Phillips photography

The Job Training Incentive Program, the economic development tool better known as JTIP, is responsible for creating 10,000 New Mexico jobs since 2011, according to the New Mexico Economic Development Department (EDD).

Since 1972, JTIP has been providing incentives for qualifying employers who are expanding or relocating in the state. Incentives include money for on-the-job training for up to six months and reimbursement of up to 75 percent of an approved employee’s wages and training costs at an approved New Mexico public education institution. Continue reading →

Landscape Business Puts Down Roots With Help From Accion

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By Brinn Pfeiffer, Accion Communications Specialist, and Sandy Nelson, Finance New Mexico

Oscar's Tree Service

Oscar’s Tree Service in Santa Fe

Before Oscar Apodaca talked to Accion, his Santa Fe tree service business was like many growing entrepreneurial enterprises — operating on the edge of society and extremely vulnerable — a position that could be significantly improved by greater access to capital.

Oscar and his wife, Charito, started their full-service landscape business on Rufina Street in 2008 after Oscar left his job at a local nursery. Their dream was to turn his landscaping gig into a full-time business with a permanent home — rather than running the venture from his trailer. Continue reading →

LANB Nurtures Path for Small Businesses to Thrive Through The Loan Fund

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By Damon Scott for Finance New Mexico

The Loan Fund partnership with LANBIf you’re a community bank still headquartered in New Mexico, there will naturally be businesses knocking at your door for financial advice and loans. But sometimes, due to a bank’s own regulations and requirements, some businesses won’t qualify for certain loans, and they must be turned away.

Instead of giving up on the startups, nonprofits and small businesses that may fall outside of a bank’s boundaries, institutions like Los Alamos National Bank (LANB) have found a way to keep them in New Mexico’s financial ecosystem. Continue reading →

Webinar Series Extends Economic Development Outreach Statewide

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By Sandy Nelson for Finance New Mexico

Creating and expanding businesses is essential to economic development in rural New Mexico, and broadband internet access is essential to helping those ventures succeed. In fact, few businesses anywhere in the state can reach all potential customers without fast, reliable and affordable connections to the web.

To share information about existing resources and suggest how broadband-deficient communities can obtain better service, the New Mexico Economic Development Department (NMEDD) recently hosted a webinar under the auspices of its FundIt initiative. Continue reading →

Certified ‘True’ Campaign Helps Businesses Increase Visibility, Bottom Line

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By Damon Scott for Finance New Mexico

New Mexico True State tourism departments are assigned a big task: drive visitors to cities, towns and attractions, where tourist dollars can spur the economy. When they’re successful, local businesses get a boost from increased sales.

For the New Mexico Tourism Department, much of selling the state is easy, as the Land of Enchantment’s natural beauty sells itself. And since the department’s 2012 launch of the New Mexico True campaign, businesses can leverage the visibility and heft of the state’s sales efforts by becoming certified as New Mexico True. Continue reading →