Category Archives: General Business Advice

2020 Economic Development Course Goes Online

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Participants in the 2019 NM Basic ED Course

Rather than cancel the annual New Mexico Economic Development Course in the face of COVID-19, organizers are pleased to announce the “Basic Course,” as it’s colloquially known, will be delivered online in 2020.

Students will begin the six-week course in mid-July via Zoom. Lectures, discussions and case studies will be conducted remotely and over a longer time frame than in previous years, allowing people who couldn’t attend in person in the past to participate from their office or home.

“We wish we were convening the course at Western New Mexico University this year, as we’ve done for decades,” course director Noreen Scott said. “With COVID-19 still such a looming threat, that’s just not possible; but we’re as resolved as ever to teach community leaders how to marshal their economies to recovery.”

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New Markets Tax Credits Boost Tucumcari Biofuel Project

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The men behind Tucumcari Bio-Energy Company are retooling an abandoned ethanol plant in this rural New Mexico town to turn manure from nearby dairies into methane for compressed natural gas vehicle fuel, food-grade carbon dioxide, and sterilized solid and liquid fertilizer.

After several years of foundational work, the startup owns the plant property. It has a business plan, engineering design, and environmental impact statement. It also qualified for $1.8 million in federal funds through the New Markets Tax Credit Program, but company vice president Steve Morgan and president Robert Hockaday haven’t heard when they will receive that money.

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MEP Workshops Help New-Hires Learn Company Culture

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Process Equipment and Service Company, Inc. (PESCO) in Farmington believes in making an investment in people and relationships. That’s why the 50-year-old engineering, design and manufacturing company sends its newly-hired employees to workshops offered by New Mexico Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP). The investment has paid off; PESCO’s more than 400 employees understand that their input is valued and small changes they identify can make a big difference in customer service and employee satisfaction.

PESCO prefers New Mexico MEP’s lean manufacturing workshop, but that’s just one training offered to businesses every month.

The core of lean manufacturing management philosophy is the idea that resources not creating value for a customer in the form of a product or service are wasted. While the Toyota Production System (TPS) is a relatively modern example of lean management, improving efficiency in the production of goods and services is a centuries-old idea.

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Businesses, nonprofits and governments eligible for Family Friendly Business Award™

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The City of Farmington and the City of Albuquerque have joined the State of New Mexico in receiving the Family Friendly Business Award™ in recognition of their family friendly workplace policies. Farmington and the State of New Mexico received Platinum level recognition (the highest), while Albuquerque was recognized at the Gold level. The awards are bestowed by Family Friendly New Mexico, a nonprofit organization that recognizes New Mexico businesses, governments and organizations that implement policies deemed friendly to working families.

Offering flexible work schedules is one method employers can support working families. Other family friendly policies include employer sponsored healthcare and retirement plans. Policies like telecommuting and job sharing have also been shown to help working families while at the same time provide employers with cost savings through lower real estate costs and reduced turnover.

In fact, studies show that employers benefit significantly when they take a family friendly approach. A recent study by Microsoft Japan demonstrated that productivity increased 40 percent after employees took advantage of an offer to work their typical weekly hours over a four-day week while still earning their five-day pay. Other research indicates that increased productivity more than makes up for the costs associated with implementing family friendly policies.

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Opportunity Zones are new tool in NM EDD’s tool chest

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Municipalities, businesses, tribes and economic development and other community organizations eager to attract capital investment to economically distressed areas of New Mexico have another avenue to do so.

One provision of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 law allowed governors to nominate qualified census tracts in their states as Opportunity Zones (OZs). That designation offers tax incentives for individual entrepreneurs, partnerships and corporations to invest in communities where unemployment and poverty are high. New Mexico has 63 such zones scattered among 22 of the state’s diverse counties and tribal lands.

To sweeten the offer, the state is providing $1 million OZ Jobs Bonus to investments that meet certain OZ project benchmarks and help the state’s economy diversify.

The federal tax initiative is tantalizing in New Mexico, where outside financing can be hard to attract. Investors can defer, reduce or even remove certain capital gains taxes from OZ real estate and business investments made through a qualified Opportunity Fund that benefits affected communities.

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New Mexico PTAC Helps Businesses Seize Upon Government Procurement Opportunities

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Chris Weil, President, and Royce Weil, Vice President, receive congratulations from Linda McMahon, Administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration in Washington DC.

When Chris Weil started his construction company in 2005, he planned to build it by delivering quality construction on-time and within budget. That strategy, along with a focus on government contracts, has allowed the company to expand and serve the western United States from five offices in four states. The New Mexico Procurement Technical Assistance Center (NMPTAC) has been Weil’s partner along the way.

“PTAC helped us with our business structure and taught us how to get into the federal world,” said Weil. “We work for several different federal clients, and they were able to help and guide us.”

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New Mexico Seeks Manufacturers for Mfg Day 2019

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Students touring Insight Lighting in Rio Rancho. Article by Roger Makin.

Manufacturing is a key contributor to New Mexico’s economy, producing state-of-the-art electronics, industrial and residential building products, food and beverages, and a variety of everyday and seldom-seen components.

Economic developers are keen to attract manufacturers to the state because of the well-paying jobs that are created. Local leaders anticipate increased tax revenue, especially when local products are exported beyond city limits and bring new money into the community to enhance public services. Continue reading →

Build a Business with Relationships

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No one likes to feel hustled while shopping, whether it’s in a retail store or trade show booth.

To attract customers without brazen hawking or downright pushiness, businesses need to refine the art of the soft sell. That begins by making the store or trade show booth an intentional destination for people who are truly interested in what the business sells.

Create relationships

While any business would like to sell at least one product to every person who walks in the door, that’s the type of unrealistic goal that can turn sales reps into apex predators.

A long-term perspective toward potential customers focuses on developing a relationship that lasts longer than one transaction. It lays a foundation through attraction rather than persuasion. Continue reading →

Manufacturing Make-Over Reaps Rewards for Albuquerque Business

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C. Aaron Velasquez knew it was time to modernize the equipment and processes his family’s metal-plating business had used for four decades, but he wasn’t sure where to start.

An industry contact introduced him to New Mexico Manufacturing Extension Partnership (NM MEP), a nonprofit that trains manufacturers in lean principles, value-stream mapping and other methodologies that help businesses increase profitability and competitiveness.

Theta Plate, a second-generation, family-owned Albuquerque-based business, specializes in electroplating of precious metals for industrial and commercial uses, such as friction reduction and conductivity enhancement in electrical and computer components and applications that improve the radiance of costume jewelry. Continue reading →

NM FAST Program Propels Anti-Counterfeit Entrepreneur

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Roy Montibon worked with the New Mexico FAST program. Article by Jason Gibbs.

Heritage. Honesty. Respect for tradition.

These are keys to Roy Montibon’s work as CEO of Montibon Provenance International Inc. His mission to ensure the authenticity of Native American art has drawn support from New Mexico State University’s Arrowhead Center, the Small Business Administration, and the respect of collectors and artists alike.

In 2017, Montibon tapped into resources offered by the New Mexico Federal and State Technology Partnership (NM FAST) program to develop a system to prevent counterfeit merchandise from polluting the Native American art market. Shoddy knock-off merchandise not only devalues the market, but it devalues the work that honest artists produce and harms the overall market, he said.

“The financial impact is three-fold,” said Montibon. “Collectors are ripped off. Native artists are deprived of revenue from sales of work that is falsely attributed to them. And, because the fake work is of poor quality compared to authentic work, the perceived value of the artist’s work is diminished in the marketplace, which also has a detrimental effect on future generations who may be considering a career in the arts.” Continue reading →