Category Archives: Obtaining a Loan

Access to Capital Unites State’s Entrepreneurs

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Russell Cummins

By Russ Cummins, executive director, New Mexico Small Business Investment Corporation

On the surface, Albuquerque’s Clínica la Esperanza, a medical clinic, has little in common with Desert Aire Copy & Fax Services, a convenience store and copy center that serves residents of the isolated border colonia of Chaparral. And it apparently has nothing in common with SSC Construction, a Native American-owned construction company based in San Felipe Pueblo that builds homes on tribal lands throughout New Mexico.

Yet all of these businesses got an early boost with loan funds that originated with the New Mexico Small Business Investment Corporation (NMSBIC) and were channeled through its network of lenders.

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Yogurt Business Takes Next Step Toward Franchise Goal

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Joe Justice

Joe Justice, Loan Officer, The Loan Fund

Los Angeles-based entrepreneurs Paula and Matthew Pope and Tom and Precious Haines knew they didn’t stand a chance convincing a bank to lend them startup capital for a build-it-yourself frozen yogurt “creative space” in Albuquerque. Besides their distance from the business’s home, none of the four had prior experience in retail.

So the couples pooled all their savings with investments from a few family members to open their first Olo Yogurt Studio in the Nob Hill neighborhood near UNM in 2010.

The store did so well that the partners made plans to open a second store in 2013 in a West Mesa shopping mall. But they hadn’t reached the three-year threshold that most traditional banks require of businesses before they’ll lend. Continue reading →

The Loan Fund Helps Veteran Buy Building To Expand Business

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Joe Justice, Loan Officer, The Loan Fund

By Joe Justice, Loan Officer, The Loan Fund

Jose Ocampo launched his Santa Fe Exclusive Honda and Acura auto repair and parts business 13 years ago in a small building in the New Mexico capital. He outgrew the space within three years and moved to a larger facility nearby.

As his business continued to grow, Ocampo started looking around for “a building with better parking and more room” that would be better to meet his customers’ needs and comfort.

About a year ago he found an ideal spot on Siler Lane with a metal building with 2,000 square feet of warehouse space. The lot was particularly attractive because it could accommodate construction of a 2,000-square-foot workspace addition. Continue reading →

Know the Landscape Before Requesting a Small Business Loan

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Jordan van Rijn, NM Loan Officer, Accion New Mexico ∙ Arizona ∙ Colorado

Jordan van Rijn, NM Loan Officer, Accion New Mexico ∙ Arizona ∙ Colorado

Many Americans long to see where their talents as inventors or craftsmen or cooks can take them. But businesses often struggle in their early years, and this makes some lenders wary of financing enterprises that don’t have an established track record. After repeated rejections from potential funders, many entrepreneurs simply give up.

Organizations like Accion are one option for the aspiring entrepreneur who can’t secure a loan through a more traditional financial institution, such as a bank or credit union. But getting a loan requires some groundwork, no matter where she looks.

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State’s Investment Funds Help Baker Continue Mexican Traditions

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F. Leroy Pacheco

F. Leroy Pacheco, CEO, The Loan Fund

“GOOD! GOOD! and more GOOD!” exults an online review from a satisfied customer of Albuquerque’s El Dorado Bakery. “This little gem of a bakery is probably one of the finest things in Albuquerque’s South East ‘San Jose’ neighborhood. …  People are lined up out the door on a Saturday and Sunday morning.”

Many of those early birds are Mexican immigrants and neighborhood residents who hunger for the traditional Mexican breads and pastries that make El Dorado unlike any other bakery anywhere near the intersection of Broadway and Gibson boulevards Southeast. The bakery also serves breakfast and lunch all week and features menudo on weekends. Continue reading →

Simple Ratios Offer Symptoms of Financial Health or Malaise

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Gary Lenzo

Gary Lenzo, Las Cruces Market President, 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.

Lenders and investors use business health assessments like these to determine if a company qualifies for a loan or is a good candidate for venture capital. Business owners should use them to regularly evaluate their business’s financial standing.

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The Loan Fund Helps Launch In-Home Care Service

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Joe Justice

Joe Justice, Community Development Officer, The Loan Fund

Leslie Van Pelt knew she wanted to do some type of work that improved people’s lives when she visited the Albuquerque offices of Comfort Keepers, a national for-profit company that provides in-home nonmedical care to the elderly and other adults recovering from illness and injuries. What she saw persuaded Van Pelt, co-owner of Cutlery of Santa Fe, to begin searching for funding to open a Santa Fe franchise.

Van Pelt already had a home equity line of credit, but she needed more money to launch the franchise. Her inquiries led her to The Loan Fund, an alternative lender that provides capital to businesses and nonprofits in New Mexico.

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B&I Loans Help Rural Communities

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Mike Hoyl

Mike Hoyl, Senior VP, Western Commerce Bank in Lovington

You don’t have to live off the map to qualify for a U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development loan in New Mexico.

Most of the state is considered rural for the purposes of this economic development program, which can back loans as high as $25 million to qualifying ventures in towns with 50,000 or fewer people. That excludes only Albuquerque, Rio Rancho, Bernalillo, Las Cruces and Santa Fe, while towns close to these metro areas easily qualify.

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Identity Theft Victim Gets Accion Loan to Start Educational Nonprofit

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Edwin Rios

Edwin Rios, Loan Assistant, Accion New Mexico – Arizona – Colorado

Mark Medley was working with a business consultant to recover from identity theft when he heard about Accion New Mexico–Arizona–Colorado. What Medley learned while trying to repair his credit prompted him to start a nonprofit — ID Theft Resolutions — to help others protect themselves from identity thieves and to rebound as quickly and completely as possible if their efforts fail.

Medley got a loan from Accion to help him get the nonprofit going after obtaining his designation as a 501c(3) nonprofit. Accion offers loans as small as $200 and as large as $300,000 to people who might otherwise be turned down by lenders because they are a startup or have credit problems.

Medley qualified in both cases: His credit score was destroyed by identity theft and his nonprofit was the equivalent of a startup.

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Loans Help Contractor Build, Renovate Homes in Native Communities

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F. Leroy Pacheco

F. Leroy Pacheco, CEO, The Loan Fund

Doris Sandoval works in an industry hard hit by the recession and lagging recovery, yet by following a strategic plan of borrowing through lines of credit, the owner of SSC Construction has kept her business going strong.

SSC Construction is based in San Felipe Pueblo in northern New Mexico near Algodones. The woman- and Native-owned company builds houses on tribal lands all over New Mexico and employs seven members of Sandoval’s family and numerous subcontractors.

While most contractors struggled to find work and financing as home construction slowed and home prices dropped, SSC Construction received five lines of credit from The Loan Fund to underwrite various building projects in Native communities.

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