By Claudia Serrano, Projects Coordinator, New Mexico MEP

New Mexico Manufacturing businesses that want to know how their performance stacks up against industry standards have a new tool to make that measurement — and it’s available at no cost.

The Manufacturing Performance Institute, in conjunction with the American Small Manufacturers Coalition and the New Mexico Manufacturing Extension Partnership, created the Next Generation Manufacturing Assessment Tool after surveying thousands of U.S. manufacturers in 2009, 2011 and 2013.

The biennial survey asks manufacturers what strategic benchmarks they use to measure their efficiency and effectiveness in six critical areas: human resources, supply-chain management, sustainability, process improvement, innovation and global engagement. Continue reading →

By Amanda Molina, Public Relations Director, The Garrity Group Public Relations

Doing business in New Mexico requires an awareness of — and sensitivity to — the attitudes and preferences of people who identify as Hispanic or Latino, because this demographic represents a plurality of New Mexico’s population. Hispanics are 47 percent of the state’s residents — the largest percentage of any other racial or ethnic group.

In its annual statewide perception survey, the Garrity Group learned how Hispanics and Anglos feel about 17 industries and institutions and 14 professions and how people in both groups use different media for news, information and shopping. Continue reading →

By Celerah Hewes-Rutledge, Chief Operating Officer, New Mexico Green Chamber of Commerce

Renee Frank is perfectly positioned to demonstrate that sustainable practices can improve a business’s bottom line and its “upper line” — its appeal to customers who want to do business with green companies.

Frank is a real estate agent and a certified “ecobroker” — the leader of Steinborn and Associates’ Smart Living Team and a founding member of the Las Cruces Green Chamber of Commerce.

Her job is to help clients choose wisely where and how they’ll live in a new home. Her mission is to help other entrepreneurs realize how quickly they’ll recover the costs of incorporating energy-efficient and sustainable features and practices by generating savings and attracting customers. Continue reading →

By Finance New Mexico

In the world of business, it can be hard to distinguish between a goal and an objective, but the distinction is more than a matter of semantics. When discussing corporate strategy, the difference is critical.

While both are tools that business owners can use to compare where they are with where they want to be, goals represent that distant accomplishment and objectives are mile markers along the way. Goals can be as hazy as an image on the desert horizon, but an objective is fixed and measurable; it follows a series of steps or a timeline. Continue reading →

By Julianna Silva, Regional Manager, WESST

Building a business website is much like any other construction project: The better the foundation, the better the results — and the savings in time and money.

While laying the groundwork for an online debut, the business owner should consider how a website furthers the overall marketing strategy and how much of a website presence is needed to accomplish the company’s goals.

A simple, highly navigable website with key information is essential when starting out. If the foundation is laid correctly, the website can expand as the company grows. Continue reading →

By Tom Garrity, President, The Garrity Group Public Relations

Good policy fosters good public relations, just as flawed policy fosters bad public relations.

New Mexico residents have only to look at recent crises at the Albuquerque Police Department, Waste Isolation Pilot Plant and state Human Services Department for proof of how an organization can exacerbate its situation with poor communication and vague, inconsistent messaging.

Business owners can learn from these examples how — and how not — to handle crisis communications. First they need to understand why high-profile accidents or events develop into stories with “legs” that carry them forward for weeks or longer. Continue reading →

By Wendy Ederer, ACAS, Statewide Program Manager, NMSBDC/Procurement Technical Assistance Program

A business owner who believes the federal, state or local government could use his product or service often has little clue about how and where to make a pitch.

Gil Torres found himself in this situation when he purchased Sigma Science in 2013 and wanted to expand the Los Alamos company’s reach beyond the work it did providing risk management and environmental safety and health services for Los Alamos and Sandia national laboratories.

Torres needed specific certifications to bid on certain government contracts. He began his search on the Small Business Administration website, where he discovered the New Mexico Small Business Development Center network’s Procurement Technical Assistance Program. Continue reading →

By Finance New Mexico

Planning in business isn’t just a matter of deciding how to assign capital and resources to create a profitable venture. Equally essential is developing a distance vision.

The most effective business leaders are planners and visionaries with creative, dynamic and specific ideas about where they want their company to be three years or five years from now. Their focus is “macro” and “micro”: Continue reading →

By Kristelle Siarza, Online Account Executive, The Garrity Group Public Relations

It’s not enough to have a physical presence in a world where business is conducted around the planet and around the clock. The most competitive businesses operate in cyberspace as well, because that’s where their customers are — shopping, researching, discussing and buying.

New Mexico residents turn increasingly to digital resources when seeking out all types of information. According to the most recent (2013) annual Garrity Perception Survey, New Mexicans use television as a news and information source 58 percent of the time, newspaper 39 percent of the time and internet news sites 29 percent of the time. Those sources are followed by radio (28 percent), internet blogs (17 percent) and social networking sites (17 percent). When internet news sources, blogs and social media are combined, New Mexico residents turn to digital sources 63 percent of the time, Continue reading →

By Jocelyn Barrett, Attorney at Law, Montgomery & Andrews, P.A.

There are many circumstances under which an employee and employer part ways. An employee can choose to leave a job, or the company may make a unilateral decision to end the employment relationship. Whatever the case, the separation should be documented in writing to protect both parties.

For the employee’s benefit, a separation agreement should detail in writing what the employer intends to provide at the parting. These might include the final paycheck, severance pay, pay-out of unused vacation or sick time and/or any continuation of coverage under the company’s health-care plan.

For the employer, an agreement can help protect against some potential lawsuits and clarify what the employee agreed to provide the company when hired. Continue reading →