Betsy Gillette
Pricing a product really isn’t that complicated, even for high-tech products; it’s just a matter of using educated judgment. Before settling on a price, the entrepreneur must assemble facts about the competition and customer base and know what the product cost to produce, among other things.
Terry Brunner, State Director, USDA Rural Development Agency
An energy-efficient water pump just went online at the San Miguel County ranch of Robert Quintana, and solar panels now power the Lifestyle Medicine office building in the county seat of Las Vegas, N.M. Both projects received partial funding from the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) — a rural development program of the U.S. Department of Agriculture that offsets the cost of replacing outdated or inefficient energy technology in eligible rural businesses.
The Quintana ranch’s new electric pump powers a circle irrigation system that provides water to 193 acres of farmland; REAP contributed a $5,439 grant toward the $21,000 system that replaced the old diesel pump setup. Fourteen solar panels were installed on the roof at Lifestyle Medicine in downtownLas Vegas, and they produce enough electricity to reduce the facility’s energy costs. Owner Dr. Bradley Kanode received a $4,854 grant to help install the $19,000 solar-power system.
Ray C. Roberts CPA, Managing Partner, Accounting & Consulting Group LLP
More than 95 percent of New Mexico businesses are defined as small by the U.S. Small Business Administration, and many were founded by entrepreneurs who intend to pass the assets they build to their children. Yet less than half take the steps necessary to ensure their heirs will inherit a viable enterprise.
Whether a business owner plans ahead for retirement or is forced to leave her company by illness or death, a succession plan is the single greatest tool for ensuring that her family and employees are protected. A succession plan can be the glue that keeps a business from breaking apart and destroying the assets an owner has worked hard to build.
Brent M. Eastwood, PhD, Director of Business Advocacy, NM EDD
To launch a business in New Mexico, an entrepreneur needs a legal structure, business name, employer identification number (EIN), state registration, business license and other permits. As complicated as it sounds, it takes most entrepreneurs only a few days to obtain what’s needed.
Paul F. Goblet, Financial Advisor, NM SBIC
While national indicators show unemployment beginning to ease and consumer confidence rebounding, the depth and duration of the recession that began four years ago exacted a heavy toll on businesses as sales revenue plummeted and cash flow dropped to a trickle.
Traditional bank lending dropped by $1 billion annually since 2008, and companies have seen their lines of credit reduced or eliminated during the banking crisis – just when they needed them most.
But 2011 was not all gloom and doom in New Mexico– Continue reading
Andrew Siegel, Owner, Payday Inc.
Hiring a new employee is just the beginning of the company’s relationship with this member of its work force. An employee who seems ideal during a job interview might prove a poor match for the job once the probation period ends and he settles into the workplace routine. Studies show that over 70 percent of workers are disengaged. Much of that is because of mismatch between a person’s natural talents and the requirements of the job.
While a small-business owner who asks questions tailored to the behavioral and professional requirements of a specific job improves the odds of recruiting the right person, hiring isn’t an exact science. Human resource consultants who use job benchmarking tools can improve the odds; but in the long run, matching employees to the right job in a small business requires ongoing involvement in workplace dynamics and a willingness to make adjustments where needed.
Trevor Loy, Partner, Flywheel Ventures
When searching for investors, many entrepreneurs and inventors first present their product or technological innovation and then vaguely present the target market as “people who need this product.” But this isn’t how customers think when deciding whether to spend money.
Consumers start with a problem or “pain point” they desperately want to go away. They watch for anything that proposes to solve this problem. Discovering it, they decide whether it’s affordable or whether another product offers a better or cheaper solution. They might even decide they’re willing to live with the inconvenience if the solution is too costly.
Kim Blueher, Director of Lending, WESST
WESST is a statewide small-business development and training organization that works with many small-scale entrepreneurs who have never accounted for all the underlying costs of getting their product or service to market. Some haven’t asked themselves how to know they’re operating at a profit and how few sales they can make and still break even.
Floyd Morelos, Vice President, Century Bank
One silver lining in the economy’s slow recovery is that deflated real-estate values have given many business owners the opportunity to purchase the building they’ve been leasing or to buy land on which they can construct a new building for their business. The federal government helps by offering loan guarantees through its 504 loan program. Under temporary provisions of the Small Business Jobs Act, the 504 program lets borrowers refinance mortgages on properties they already own.
Created in 1980 to encourage economic development, the 504 program has made it easier for businesses — the biggest job-creators in the country — to expand through the acquisition of assets. The program provides long-term, fixed-rate financing for the purchase of land, buildings, machinery, equipment and certain improvements. Continue reading
Christy Valdez, President and CEO, ReForm Spine & Injury Care Center
As U.S. troops withdraw from Iraq and Afghanistan, the military’s focus is moving from international hot spots to hospitals and veterans centers at home. Images of service men and women striving to function with the loss of limbs stir compassion, but no images adequately portray the pain of those struggling to reintegrate into families and communities or those suffering from the debilitating effects of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Nearly one of five recently returning veterans describes symptoms of PTSD. For Vietnam vets, the statistics are more alarming; 25 years after a 1988 study of Vietnam Continue reading