Newcomer maintains small-business tradition with Accion ZipPay loan

Posted on June 24, 2018 by Admin

When Nick Harrison couldn’t persuade his mom to let him buy her trophy shop in Oregon, he moved with his wife to New Mexico and bought a complementary business in Albuquerque.

Harrison purchased The Ribbon Place in March 2017. The 37-year-old Albuquerque company makes custom award ribbons, rosettes, sashes, buttons and other promotional items. It employs seven people, including Nick and his wife.

The business is a perfect fit for the Harrisons, who maintain other jobs until the enterprise can fully support them. Just as appropriate was the loan the couple procured to purchase the company: The ZipPay loan offered by nonprofit community development lender Accion, allows Harrison to automatically divert a percentage of every credit card sale to the lender to pay off his loan. Continue reading →

State Program Helps Businesses Clear Loan Collateral Gap

Posted on June 10, 2018 by Taura Costidis

By Sandy Nelson, Finance New Mexico

Editor’s Note: This program is now known as the Collateral Assistance Program.

Joshua Grassham recognized a novel approach to supporting small business financing when he saw one. The vice president of commercial lending at Lea County State Bank in Hobbs was the first New Mexico banker to secure a client’s loan through a new state program to help collateral-poor businesses.

The New Mexico Economic Development Department (EDD) introduced the Credit Enhancement Program (CEP) earlier this year as a way to help businesses, especially startups, by purchasing short-term certificates of deposit that businesses can use as collateral for larger loans. Continue reading →

Lender Referrals Help Bankers Maintain Trusted Relationships

Posted on May 13, 2018 by Taura Costidis

By Matt Loehman, Director of Development and Special Projects, The Loan Fund

Since the financial meltdown of 2008, bankers have endeavored to serve the borrowing needs of their entrepreneurial customers. But laws such as Dodd-Frank — meant to regulate large banks and curb excessive risk-taking — put an overall squeeze on access to capital, especially for those with business startup dreams and little credit history.

Banks now have money to lend, but many entrepreneurs don’t fit a typical bank’s customer profile. Startups often lack a track record of business success and the collateral necessary to secure a traditional bank loan.

But savvy community bankers don’t turn away business customers whose borrowing needs can’t be met internally. Continue reading →

Quick Ratios Help Businesses Take Their Financial Pulse

Posted on April 29, 2018 by Taura Costidis

By the commercial lending team (led by Alan Overton) at Century Bank

Operating a successful business requires attention to numbers — especially to basic financial ratios derived from the business’s financial statements.

The current and quick ratios calculate a company’s liquidity, while the debt ratio evaluates its long-term solvency. The gross profit margin shows if sales revenue covers the expenses incurred in making those sales. Continue reading →

Loan Enables Investment in Vintage Motel, Local Economy

Posted on February 25, 2018 by Taura Costidis

Mike and Debbie Pogue

By Sandy Nelson and Taura Costidis for Finance New Mexico

Mike Pogue couldn’t stand the idea of strangers buying the family business, which had been in operation since 1959. His father, Bill, who flew B-17G bombers during World War II, met his mother, Elaine, at Otto Intermediate Landing Field 73A, a little airway space a few miles north of Moriarty, where she worked as a weatherperson and air traffic controller. The family spent a decade building the 18-unit Moriarty motel by hand, brick by brick.

When Bill died and Elaine put the Sunset Motel on the market in 1974, Pogue approached the realtor with an offer. “Mom came back to the family and she said ‘We’ve got an offer, and I want to take it,’” said Pogue. “And then the realtor said ‘By the way, it’s your son.’ So everybody was thrilled.” Continue reading →

Return on LEDA Investment Enriches NM Economy

Posted on February 11, 2018 by Taura Costidis

By Finance New Mexico

For evidence of the Local Economic Development Act (LEDA)’s power to stimulate the state’s entrepreneurial ecosystem, New Mexico residents need look no further than the massive industrial building at 2600 Camino Entrada in Santa Fe.

The former home of CleanAIR Systems and Caterpillar Inc. is now the world headquarters for Meow Wolf Inc., a leader in the vibrant “experience economy” that expects to employ as many as 360 highly skilled workers over the next five years. Continue reading →

VAF Info Sessions Prepare Companies to Apply for Funding

Posted on January 21, 2018 by Taura Costidis

By Damon Scott for Finance New Mexico

Early-stage businesses, or even those that are more established, often find it hard to land the right cash infusion, especially when traditional bank financing can be elusive. Under this common scenario, funding through the Venture Acceleration Fund (VAF) could be the needed boost.

Information sessions to help businesses apply for VAF are taking place in Northern New Mexico until Feb. 9, when the application process officially opens. Applications for funding will be accepted until March 12. Continue reading →

WESST Wraps Banner Year; New Programs Expected in 2018

Posted on December 31, 2017 by Taura Costidis

By Damon Scott for Finance New Mexico

Dineland Protection Services Inc., photo courtesy Chris Hunter, WESST

WESST, the statewide nonprofit best known for consulting and training programs that support entrepreneurs and small businesses, hit a milestone in 2017: It made its largest loan ever. WESST loaned $150,000 to Dinéland Protection Services Inc. of Fruitland to help the company launch the security services it provides to the Navajo coal mine on the Navajo Nation.

While the bulk of WESST’s services focus on one-on-one consulting and deep-dive business workshops, WESST also wants to make sure its clients have the funds needed to grow their businesses. Kim Blueher, vice president of lending at WESST, said the loan program is about 10 percent of the overall services they offer, but it makes a significant impact. Continue reading →

Cedar Crest Woman Brews Up Business With Help From Nonprofit Lender

Posted on December 17, 2017 by Taura Costidis

Hannah Johnson

By Finance New Mexico

Hannah Johnson left Cedar Crest, New Mexico, to get a biology degree, and after a stint in shorebird conservation, she returned to start a coffee shop in her hometown in the eastern Sandia Mountain foothills.

The owner of Cabra Coffee, which opened in spring 2017, started making quality coffee at college. “My first job working in the industry was when I was going to school at the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma. It was just the coffee shop in the school, but we were getting coffee from a cafe in Seattle, and they would come down and train us. That’s where I first learned how to make coffee professionally.” Continue reading →

Nonprofit Lenders Lower Startup Funding Risk

Posted on December 10, 2017 by Taura Costidis