Category Archives: General Business Advice

Lunches Give Businesswomen a Chance to Find Clients, Make Contacts

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Jennifer Craig

Jennifer Craig, Regional Manager, WESST Las Cruces

Networking is a form of marketing that exponentially increases the influence that a professional or business owner can have when searching for new markets or clients. WESST, a nonprofit that helps build small businesses in New Mexico, used the occasion of Women’s History Month in March to teach women entrepreneurs how to use this powerful tool: The organization’s Las Cruces enterprise center started an Empowering Women in Business Networking lunch meeting so clients and other women could mingle, share ideas, get acquainted and help one another.

The gatherings started small — about three dozen women — but that number nearly doubled by June, suggesting that WESST had tapped into an unmet need.

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Employers Who Mislabel Employees Risk Penalties

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Suzanne C. Odom

Suzanne C. Odom, Attorney at Law, Montgomery & Andrews, P.A.

Under competitive pressures, some employers are tempted to label workers “independent contractors” rather than employees so they can avoid paying benefits, matching Social Security and Medicare taxes, paying federal and state unemployment taxes and following employment laws, such as the Fair Labor Standards Act. This practice of misclassification has created substantial problems for affected employees and for the United States Treasury, the Social Security and Medicare funds, and state unemployment and workers’ compensation funds.

As a result, the U.S. Department of Labor and Internal Revenue Service signed a memorandum of understanding in September 2011 so the agencies could work together and share information to reduce employee misclassification, close the tax gap and improve compliance with federal labor laws.  Continue reading →

TED Conference is Incubator for Innovative Ideas

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Tim Nisly

Tim Nisly, Founder, TEDxABQ

The adage that business success is 1 percent inspiration and 99 percent perspiration hit home for me through TED, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the spread of inspiring ideas. Established in 1996 by magazine publishing entrepreneur Chris Anderson on the basis of a 1984 gathering of leaders in the fields of design, technology and entertainment, TED aims to provide a platform for the world’s most innovative thinkers, visionaries and teachers to help people gain a better understanding of the world’s most serious problems and hear some ideas about how to solve them. The Sapling Foundation, TED’s parent organization since 2001, has supported projects that use these tools to create sustainable change in areas such as global public health, poverty alleviation and biodiversity through such organizations as the Acumen Fund, OneWorld Health, and PATH.

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Prepare Early When Planning a Business Sale

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Ray Roberts

Ray C. Roberts CPA, ACG Capital Advisors

Because selling a business is the most important financial transaction of an owner’s life, he should think carefully about his exit strategy before it’s time to leave.

The choices are many: He can transfer the enterprise to a family member or sell to a strategic partner and retain some involvement. He can take it public or sell and move on. Most exits follow this path.

To maximize the sales price, owners should begin preparing their company for sale well before the transaction. That requires understanding what buyers look for when acquiring a business and making sure these elements are present.

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Collaboration is Ingredient for Success of Culinary Business Incubator

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Tony Gallegos

Tony Gallegos, CEO, Rio Grande Community Development Corporation

New Mexico is home to delicious and distinctive foods and to one of the largest commercial kitchen incubators in the country.

Albuquerque’s South Valley Economic Development Center— a collaborative effort of Bernalillo County and the Rio Grande Community Development Corporation — houses a 3,500-square-foot commercial kitchen that’s available to entrepreneurs who want to turn their cooking skills into money-making ventures. More than 60 small businesses share the nonprofit Mixing Bowl Community Kitchen at any given time, and 200 potential entrepreneurs hatch their food-based businesses at the incubator every year.

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Energy Efficient Lighting Slashes Costs for Deming Manufacturer

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Terry Brunner

Terry Brunner, State Director, USDA Rural Development Agency

A new energy-efficient system installed at Compass Components Incorporated (CCI) is expected to save the Deming company more than 50 percent on its lighting bill. A $48,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Energy for America (REAP) made the upgrade possible in late 2011.

Lighting is critical at the company’s high-ceiling plant, where electrical components and wiring harness assemblies for buses are manufactured. CCI replaced the plant’s 630 fluorescent tube lights and fixtures with 48 T-8 Hi-Bay lights. In doing so, it removed and safely disposed of old ballasts containing liquid polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs); these highly toxic materials haven’t been produced in the United States since 1979 due to their classification as persistent organic pollutants.

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Buying Business Property Offers Numerous Perks – and Potential Pitfalls

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Alexia Constantaras

Alexia Constantaras, Attorney at Law, Montgomery & Andrews

Business owners can sometimes save money by buying the building where they’re housed. Rather than monthly payments going toward rent, mortgage payments build an asset the business can sell or use as loan collateral. Corporate business owners can buy property privately and rent it to the business, providing income for the owner and a deductible expense for the business. When the business owns the property, depreciation expense is maximized and the asset side of the balance sheet is strengthened. However the property is purchased, several aspects of the purchase agreement require review.

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State Helps Businesses Obtain Certification That Puts Major Contracts Within Reach

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Jeff Abrams

Jeff Abrams, Innovation Director, New Mexico MEP

Winning government contracts can enrich a business and workers in the community where the business is based. But getting contracts from government agencies and private industries that value quality-management certification can seem daunting at first.

To simplify the process for eligible businesses, the state Economic Development Department, in partnership with New Mexico MEP, created New Mexico 9000, or ISO 9000 — a class that trains businesses to procure the ISO 9001:2008 certification that is critical to winning big contracts and doing business with privately held national and international companies.

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Board Membership Offers Connections, Fulfillment

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Leslie McCarthy Apodaca

Leslie McCarthy Apodaca, Director, Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce; and Partner, Rodey, Dickason, Sloan, Akin & Robb, P.A.

Serving on the board of a nonprofit organization can be professionally and personally satisfying, or it can be an exercise in boredom and frustration. Getting the most from board membership requires a good fit between individual and organization, and that requires some research.


Pros and Cons

The benefits of board service are generally recognized, which is why the busiest and most successful members of a community often serve on community boards. Board membership offers an opportunity to collaborate with others who are interesting and like-minded. Board members can learn new skills and use skills they already possess to improve and benefit an organization they support. Most people who volunteer to serve on boards say they do so because of a desire to have an impact, to effect positive change and to give back to the community.

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Trade Missions Help New Mexico Businesses Expand into Global Market

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Edward R. Herrera

Edward R. Herrera, Acting Director, Office of International Trade, NM EDD

Glenn Mallory traveled to Chile and Argentina this winter to gauge the potential market for Kalwall, an energy-saving translucent building material made and marketed by Illuminación Natural Inc. and its Southwest affiliate, Daylighting Solutions. The trade mission was coordinated by the New Mexico Economic Development Department’s Office of International Trade.

“I had worked in both markets several years ago with no tangible results,” Mallory said. But on this trip, “I got very clear ideas about the potential in both markets. It will take months of follow-up and persistence to determine whether or not there will be direct economic benefit from the mission, but one small order would pay for the cost of making the trip, so it is worth the investment.”

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