Category Archives: Articles

Industrial Revenue Bonds Offer Novel Approach to Economic Development

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By Harold W. Lavender, Jr., Of Counsel, Montgomery & Andrews, P.A.

By Harold W. Lavender, Jr.

Industrial revenue bonds are a form of public-private partnership — a tool that governments can use to stimulate economic development, allowing them to offer tax subsidies for new or expanding businesses that create jobs and improve communities. Subsidies may include a property tax exemption; a gross receipts tax deduction and compensating tax exemption if certain equipment is purchased with bond proceeds; an exemption for bond interest from New Mexico income tax; and in some cases, an exemption of bond interest from federal income tax.

These types of bond issues have been popular as a way to help New Mexico cities and towns compete — without assuming financial liability — for capital-intensive projects by extending tax subsidies to reduce the risks and costs for a company to move here. New Mexico cities and counties are authorized to issue IRBs. Continue reading →

Preparation Matters When Applying for a Business Loan

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By James A. McCormick, Senior Vice President Commercial Lending, Century Bank

By James A. McCormick

Lenders let the documents do the talking when a business applies for a loan, which is why a well-prepared loan application articulates why the business needs the money, what it plans to do with it and what other obligations it has.

Most bank lenders have their own proprietary loan application paperwork for the borrower, but all lenders want the same basic information. While the lender will obtain credit reports and scores independently, documentation brought to the loan discussion will demonstrate the borrower’s ability to repay the loan. Continue reading →

Data-Rich Repositories Can Help State’s Businesses Research Their Markets

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graphs and charts

By Finance New Mexico

A business plan is incomplete without a financial section that forecasts how the owner expects the company to grow and how much revenue he believes the company will generate based on his reading of the market for its products or services.

But unless that projection is grounded in reality, it won’t make the desired impression on a lender or investor — or even on a landlord who wants some assurance the business will last as long as the commercial lease. Continue reading →

Business Tools Empower Owners to Shape Financial Future

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By Julianna Silva, Albuquerque Regional Director, WESST

By Julianna Silva, Albuquerque Regional Director, WESST

Entrepreneurs are naturally passionate about providing a service or product, but many avoid digging into the financial aspects of running a small business — perhaps because they don’t have simple tools that can help them understand their finances.

This avoidance can cost a business dearly, because financial success requires that the owner understand the target customer, how to price a product or service and how to keep track of cash flowing in and out of the business. Continue reading →

‘Lean Startup’ Turns Traditional Business Model on its Head

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By Sandy Nelson, Finance New Mexico team member

By Sandy Nelson, Finance New Mexico team member

Many innovators wouldn’t dream of launching a business without a plan and a pile of money, but that’s precisely the “lean startup” approach that advocates say is revolutionizing and democratizing entrepreneurship.

The methodology, introduced in 2011 by serial entrepreneur and startup coach Eric Ries, shuffles the traditional deck by putting the cart (the product or service idea) before the horse (the business organization), “selling” the wares before investing time and money building something that customers don’t really want.

If it sounds counterintuitive, it’s because the conventional business development template begins with a business plan, followed by a search for financial backing and recruitment of a core management team. Continue reading →

Small-Business Champion Brings Lessons From Her Own Business Experiences

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John Woosley

By John Woosley, New Mexico District Director, U.S. Small Business Administration

Julianna Silva was a small-business advocate well before she joined the staff of WESST and became the Albuquerque regional manager of the nonprofit business-development organization.

After earning a bachelor’s degree from the University of New Mexico’s Anderson School of Management, Silva worked in marketing for various nonprofits, including the Trust for Public Land in Santa Fe. In 1996, she left that job to help her husband with his handcrafted furniture venture. “I got my MBA by building that store,” she quipped.

On May 12, Silva will receive the Small Business Administration’s New Mexico Women in Business Champion of the Year award in recognition of her work at WESST helping other New Mexicans start and sustain businesses of their own. Continue reading →

Character and Teamwork Keep Bus Company in the Family

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By Matt Loehman, Development and Special Projects Coordinator, The Loan Fund

By Matt Loehman, Development and Special Projects Coordinator, The Loan Fund

The Silver City economy was thriving in 1996 when Christina Montoya bought her family’s bus company from her parents and continued its contract with the Cobre Consolidated School District to transport students. In 2001, Montoya approached The Loan Fund for money to finance the replacement of two of Montoya Transportation’s older buses.

When two Silver City bus companies announced they were looking for buyers, Montoya secured a loan with local AMBank to buy both fleets and assume their contracts with Silver City schools.

But just as Montoya’s business was expanding, the local economy contracted. Continue reading →

Manufacturers Share Machines, Expertise With Outside Entrepreneurs

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Claudia Serrano

By Claudia Infante, Projects Coordinator, New Mexico Manufacturing Extension Partnership

Any entrepreneur with a product idea or prototype can find someone to build it in New Mexico.

Two companies that do just that for a variety of clients are Marpac, a maker of devices that secure medical tubes and collars, and TEAM Technologies Inc., which designs and fabricates products that require advanced engineering and electronics.

Both Albuquerque companies opened their doors for New Mexico Manufacturing Day activities last fall and plan to participate again this year. Continue reading →

Get a Handle on Gross Receipts Tax if Doing Business in New Mexico

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By Finance New Mexico

By Finance New Mexico

Anyone who operates a business in New Mexico is familiar with the gross receipts tax, or GRT — a tax not on sales but on companies and people who do business here.

Unlike a sales tax, the GRT is imposed on the seller of property or services. It is not a tax the seller collects from the buyer and delivers to the state; it’s due even if the seller doesn’t charge the buyer. Continue reading →

Businesses Have Stake in Enhanced Credit Card Security

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By Missy Galle, Operations Officer, Los Alamos National Bank

By Missy Galle, Operations Officer, Los Alamos National Bank

Major credit card processors are imposing tougher security measures on credit card issuers in the industry’s ongoing efforts to combat credit card fraud.

These global standards — called EMV for Europay, MasterCard and Visa, the companies collaborating on the new system — include embedding computer chips into “smart” credit cards that offer greater security for point of sale (POS) transactions than the magnetic strips on traditional credit cards.

Many chip-embedded cards require a personal identification number (PIN) instead of a signature to complete the POS transaction and close the security loop; these “chip-and-PIN” cards are the norm around the world, though they’ve been slow to catch on in the United States. Continue reading →