Category Archives: Articles

Third Virtual Job Fair Targets Workers for High-Tech, Green Industries

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Michelle Mang of TVC

Michelle Mang, Promotions & Advertising Analyst, TVC

Technology Ventures Corporation and New Mexico WIRED (Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic Development) host their third virtual high tech job fair September 20-24. Because the setting is cyberspace, applicants can participate from anywhere in the world without standing in long lines.

New Mexico-based high tech and green tech companies that want to participate can register for their virtual booth by contacting Metta-Marie Stahl at 505-843-4143. The fair is limited to these industries because job-fair organizers say they offer opportunities for professional growth and better-than-average pay. (And they’re not all technical jobs, either: Many companies seek sales and marketing personnel and administrative staff.)

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Startups Should Weigh Partnership, Corporate Structures

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Candice Lee

Candice Lee, Attorney at Law

Partnerships and corporations are two common forms a startup business can take. Forming a corporation requires the business to register its articles or certificate of organization with the governing state agency. Partnerships aren’t usually required to register – though it’s recommended they do – and can exist by default.

A partnership consists of two or more owners operating a business. It can be a general or a limited partnership. Most state laws consider two or more people who own a business partners by default, but many new owners don’t realize the implications of this. Because each partner is jointly and severally, or individually, liable for the partnership’s obligations, the action of any partner binds the partnership, even if agreements are made without the other partners’ knowledge or consent.  Continue reading →

New Mexico Business Resources Aid Launch of Educational Games Company

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Monica Abeita

Monica Abeita, Regional Development Corp. for Northern NM Connect

In 2009, Scott Laidlaw and Jennifer Harris founded Imagine Education as a New Mexico-based startup company to develop and market educational games. Since then they’ve been assisted by numerous business and community resources, including a Las Vegas, N.M., charter school and other New Mexico educators, Los Alamos National Laboratory summer interns and LANL’s Northern New Mexico Connect.

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New Ownership Can Save Some Recession-Stressed Businesses

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John E. Barraclough Jr.

John E. Barraclough, Jr., CPA and Managing Principal, Barraclough & Associates, P.C.

Recessions tend to stress-test many businesses. When financing is tight and customers are pinching pennies, a business that was treading water despite poor management, chaotic cash flow or short-term planning might find itself going under. In some cases, the problems are insurmountable, and the owner is forced to sell or close a business.

As long as the failure wasn’t due to industry-wide crises, such as depletion of raw materials or a massive turn away from a product or service, one businessman’s failure can be another’s success. In fact, an entrepreneur with a sharp head for business can find many opportunities in a sluggish economy to turn a poorly run company into a profitable venture.

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SBA Extends Help to Minority-Owned Businesses

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Marie C. Johns

Marie C. Johns, Deputy Administrator, U.S. Small Business Administration

In July 2010, the Census Bureau reported that the number of minority-owned businesses increased by 46 percent from 2002 to 2007. This is good news. These new businesses are creating jobs and driving local economic growth all across the country.

However, this is no time to lessen the commitment or resources available to help minority small businesses grow and create jobs.

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A Board of Advisors Can Keep a Business on Track

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Roy Miller

J. Roy Miller, State Director, NMSBDC Network

A business doesn’t have to be big to benefit from the advice and expertise of other professionals. A savvy entrepreneur will assemble a board of trusted advisers to provide feedback and suggestions for leading the organization.

Unlike a board of directors, an advisory board comprises people with no legal authority, fiduciary responsibilities or other obligations to the business.

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Disaster Plans Essential for Small Businesses

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John Woosley

John Woosley, District Director, SBA NM District Office

Summer is prime disaster season in New Mexico, whether the disaster is a wildfire, flood or tornado. Two years ago saw the Manzano Fire in Estancia, tornadoes in Clovis and flooding in Ruidoso. Three years ago, floods hit Doña Ana County.

For a small business, closing for just one day due to an unforeseen disaster can often mean huge financial losses — especially at a time when small businesses are investing time and money into creating jobs to lead America’s economic recovery.

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State Has Stake in Success of New Mexico Businesses

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Paul Goblet

Paul Goblet, Financial Advisor, NM SBIC

When the New Mexico Small Business Investment Corp. formed in 2001, its founders envisioned the organization directly owning minority stakes in a large number of small New Mexico businesses that had received federal loans from the Small Business Administration or U.S. Department of Agriculture. While this seemed like a good idea at the time, it was a challenge to implement.

After several amendments to the founding statute, the NMSBIC formed cooperative agreements with professional capital and service providers, which the organization considered better qualified and staffed to make equity investments.

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Character Matters When Looking for a Loan

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Leslie Hoffman

Leslie Hoffman, V.P. of Lending and Client Service, ACCIÓN New Mexico ∙ Arizona ∙ Colorado

Emmy Award-winning documentary filmmaker Lena Carr needed money to buy filmmaking equipment and to travel to Arizona to wrap up work on a video about the life of an 18-year-old Native American man — a project she began when her subject was 6 years old.

The owner of Indian Summer Films turned to ACCIÓN New Mexico ∙ Arizona ∙ Colorado, a nonprofit lender, two years ago for her first loan of $500. ACCIÓN approved the loan for several reasons, including the social benefits of Carr’s chosen profession, which also provides her an income through DVD sales. As collateral for that loan, Carr offered a traditional Navajo dress woven by her mother — a sentimental possession that demonstrated her commitment to her business and her lender.

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Financing a Business in a Brave New Business World

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Tom Stephenson

Tom Stephenson, Managing General Partner, Verge Fund

The primary way in which banks make money is through loans.  But in today’s economic environment, regulators are requiring banks to increase their reserves – the capital that backs loans – to support an increasing number of loans at risk of default.  As banks work hard to reduce their bad loans, many are making far fewer new loans and decreasing the limits on existing lines of credit. Their problem is that they need to make more loans to make money, but they are being pressured to make fewer loans. 

For business owners in need of capital to grow or stay afloat, a bank’s problems can become their own.  A company that once qualified for a line of credit now might only qualify for a smaller line or no line at all. This is often true for a company seeking its first round of debt financing, but even companies with long-standing relationships with commercial lenders feel the scrutiny.  Banks and businesses operate in a vastly different financial world than a few years ago.

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