Courtesy @NativeWomenLead on Twitter
By Damon Scott, Finance New Mexico
New Mexico is home to a large Native American population, but business opportunities for Native women can be elusive. The Native Women’s Business Summit — scheduled for April 13-14 at the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center, 2401 12th Street NW in Albuquerque — aims to change that.
Summit co-founders Vanessa Roanhorse and Stephine Poston want to increase the number of businesses owned by Native women. Continue reading
Once limited to hallway discussions at Ivy League colleges, entrepreneurship is now taught at New Mexico’s public and private universities. Discoveries made in classrooms and university labs are being commercialized through licensing agreements and “technology transfer” departments created to connect student and faculty entrepreneurs with management expertise and capital.
Board members of the New Mexico Small Business Investment Corporation (NMSBIC) support this trend among college-age adults who have the knowledge, moxie and support systems to turn their ideas into viable commercial businesses.
That’s why NMSBIC hosted a networking session at the Inventors and Entrepreneurs Workshop sponsored by the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology (New Mexico Tech) Center for Technology Commercialization (CTC) in Socorro.
Continue reading
By Sandy Nelson, Finance New Mexico
The Santa Fe Business Incubator (SFBI) has plenty to show for its 20 years of existence: More than 145 companies have taken flight from the ever-expanding facility at 3900 Paseo del Sol in Santa Fe, and 1,000 new jobs have been created, 49 of them in the last fiscal year.
Paying attention to the business climate and adapting to opportunities explain SFBI’s longevity, according to president and CEO Marie Longserre. Continue reading
F-35A Lightning II aircraft receive fuel from a KC-10 Extender from Travis Air Force Base, Calif., July 13, 2015, during a flight from England to the U.S. Courtesy U.S. Air Force /Staff Sgt. Madelyn Brown
By Finance New Mexico
The federal government is the world’s biggest customer and a major driver in New Mexico’s economy.
While only a fraction of the $8.2 billion that Uncle Sam spent in New Mexico in fiscal year 2017 benefitted local companies, advisers at the state’s four Procurement Technical Assistance Centers (PTACs) work to increase the flow of federal dollars to small businesses that offer products or services the government wants. Continue reading
By Denise Williams, Innovation Director, Northwest Region, New Mexico Manufacturing Extension Partnership
New Mexico companies seeking higher-margin work often seek ISO certification, and the New Mexico Manufacturing Extension Partnership (NM MEP) can help them prepare to get it.
Certification with the most recent iteration of the best-known ISO quality management standard, ISO 9001:2015, is increasingly required by top-tier companies and government agencies that hire private contractors for supplies or services. Continue reading
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
By Sandy Nelson for Finance New Mexico
Reviewed by Adolfo Vasquez, deputy director, SBA New Mexico district
Winning a government contract requires diligence and deliberate focus. Fulfilling it and building a résumé on outstanding performance are even more demanding.
Failure to perform as promised — depriving a government agency of the expected product or service — will sour future opportunities for underperforming or defaulting businesses. And it might result in serious financial and legal problems for the business that breaches a contract. Continue reading
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
By Finance New Mexico
Entrepreneurs traditionally dipped into personal savings or tapped their friends-and-family network to fund a startup, and they used credit cards and home equity lines of credit to buy equipment or make payroll. If the venture stumbled and revenue evaporated, the owner faced years of compounding debt.
Those risks haven’t disappeared, but today’s business owners have more funding options, including a network of New Mexico nonprofit lenders. Continue reading
By Damon Scott for Finance New Mexico
willajunejewelry and Reuseful Candles are two of over 20 participants expected at WESST’s pop-up
The “pop-up retail” trend has helped many artists and entrepreneurs sell products and launch businesses in cities throughout the country. Pop-up shops allow artists and retailers to use temporarily donated commercial space to sell wares and land new customers.
Albuquerque’s WESST Enterprise Center hosted a holiday pop-up shop last year to showcase its artisan and “maker” clients as part of Manufacturing Day activities. The event was so successful that the nonprofit business development and training organization has scheduled the second incarnation for Friday, October 20. Continue reading