The Mixing Bowl; photo courtesy Rio Grande Cuisine

By Finance New Mexico

Creativity is simmering at commercial-kitchen incubators in New Mexico, and leaders in the food-based-business movement want to turn the heat up under this promising economic-development sector.

Chris Madrid, director of economic development for Rio Arriba County, sees food-based entrepreneurism as a way to reverse population loss and economic decline in the state’s rural areas — and to offset “leakage” of money to other states that produce more than 90 percent of the food consumed in New Mexico. Continue reading →

By Eddie Ho, Chief Information Officer at Los Alamos National Bank

The Department of Homeland Security in 2004 deemed October as National Cyber Security Awareness Month — a time to raise public consciousness about the ever-more-sophisticated ways in which criminals are trying to steal from working people, businesses and the financial institutions in which they put their money for safekeeping.

But financial institutions think about this problem 365 days a year. Banks invest enormous resources to protect individual and commercial customers from financial security breaches.

Financial institutions have strengthened cybersecurity defenses by embedding chips into credit and debit cards and requiring customers to use two-part authentication to access accounts and bank online. Los Alamos National Bank has used two-factor authentication for all online banking access for many years. Continue reading →

By Claudia Infante, Projects Coordinator, New Mexico Manufacturing Extension Partnership

Karl Halpert’s collaborative relationships with multiple business service providers has helped the Taos entrepreneur build Private Label Select (PLS) into the personal-care industry’s premier maker of lip balms, lip tints and other cosmetics in just 22 years.

The business is growing so robustly — with annual growth of 40 to 50 percent — that the U.S. Small Business Administration recently named the company’s president and chief executive officer the Small Business Person of the Year for New Mexico. Before the celebration of that achievement May 5 in Albuquerque, Halpert will travel to Washington, D.C., to learn if he’s been named the nation’s top entrepreneur for 2016.

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By Finance New Mexico

Those who have gazed upon an infographic have experienced the core of a methodology that is captivating business leaders. ‘Visuality’ isn’t new, but its innovative application to workplace environments is improving efficiency, productivity and safety. Managers who have incorporated its principles into their business call it the language of leadership. Continue reading →

By Stephen S. Hamilton, attorney and mediator, Montgomery & Andrews, P.A.

Mediation can save disputing parties time and money, which makes it an increasingly popular — and sometimes mandatory — form of conflict resolution for businesses and individuals involved in civil litigation. In a mediation or settlement conference, a neutral negotiator tries to help adversaries reach a mutually acceptable agreement.

Mediation is relatively new in the U.S., but its success has prompted many New Mexico courts to require that parties try to reach pretrial accords.

Why Mediation?

Mediation reduces the expense of settling a conflict and increases the likelihood that parties will quickly reach a satisfactory outcome. Continue reading →

By Claudia Infante, Projects Coordinator, New Mexico Manufacturing Extension Partnership

Counterfeit products — from pharmaceuticals to steel parts to electronics — proliferate in the global economy, posing enormous risks to businesses and consumers.

Manufacturers lose big when warrantied products fail because of phony components, especially if injuries and fatalities result. The Federal Bureau of Investigation estimates that counterfeit parts in consumer and industrial products cost U.S. businesses more than $250 billion annually.

When counterfeit parts infiltrate the government supply chain, the cost falls on taxpayers. Counterfeit electronic products alone cost contractors and the federal government billions of dollars every year. Continue reading →

By Julianna Silva, Marketing Director and Managing Director, WESST Enterprise Center

Artists, artisans, designers and other “creatives” don’t need an M.B.A. to make a living from their artistic talents, but attaining some fluency in the language of business and finance gives them more control over a creative career.

To that end, WESST and ArtSpark, two New Mexico organizations dedicated to business development and entrepreneurship, are co-sponsoring an immersive, interactive “Business Canvas Workshop for Creatives.” The training will help arts-oriented professionals fashion an uncomplicated and useful blueprint for their chosen vocation.

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By Finance New Mexico

Just because a company invents a popular product or introduces a novel service doesn’t mean it won’t face competition from late movers eager to share the action. New Mexico entrepreneurs can fight for a niche in new industries — or even challenge a pioneering company with significant improvements on the original — but they need a clear strategy, good timing and the right product category.

The developer of a new commodity or service has the initial advantage. It sets a standard by which all competitors are judged, and it dominates the market at first because it created the market.
It maintains that place until a rival offers something compelling enough to persuade people to try a fresh alternative. Continue reading →