{"id":8178,"date":"2015-10-04T18:00:04","date_gmt":"2015-10-05T00:00:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/financenewmexico.org\/?p=8178"},"modified":"2015-11-20T09:27:32","modified_gmt":"2015-11-20T16:27:32","slug":"consultants-help-yarn-cafe-owner-raise-business-profile","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/financenewmexico.org\/sandbox\/articles\/starting-or-growing-a-business\/consultants-help-yarn-cafe-owner-raise-business-profile\/","title":{"rendered":"Consultants Help Yarn Cafe Owner Raise Business Profile"},"content":{"rendered":"
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By George Kenefic, Director of Enterprise Empowerment, The Loan Fund<\/p><\/div>\n

About a year after she had secured a small-business startup loan through The Loan Fund, Deborah Grossman got a visit from two consultants who work for the nonprofit lender. The pair \u2014 Joaquin Amador and Andrew Carrabus \u2014 dropped by Grossman\u2019s Santa Fe store, Yarn & Coffee, to ask if she needed help with marketing, financial record keeping or any of the other tasks involved in starting and sustaining a business.<\/p>\n

The timing was fortunate. \u201cI was trying to figure out how to get more people in the door,\u201d Grossman said of her shop, where people can buy yarn, knitting and crocheting tools and accessories, patterns and books or take a needle-craft class \u2014 and enjoy a cup of coffee, tea or cold drink at the same time.<\/p>\n

Grossman strives to create a community atmosphere at her business housed in a stand-alone building tucked behind the Pantry Restaurant on Cerrillos Road and Fifth Street. The welcoming environment and comfortable couches have worked: Several groups of knitters and crocheters gather weekly to stitch and socialize.<\/p>\n

Amador and Carrabus helped Grossman develop a marketing plan, she said, and \u201cthey helped me put together a budget and cash-flow spreadsheet that I use daily. They were reaching out to all the Loan Fund clients. After that, I reached back.\u201d<\/p>\n

Free Advice From the Experts<\/strong><\/p>\n

To increase a business\u2019s odds of surviving startup and evolving into a sustainable enterprise, The Loan Fund offers a range of personalized business services at no cost to its existing clients and even to prospective borrowers.<\/p>\n

At least once a year \u2014 and more often if the client requests it \u2014 the lender\u2019s professional consultants visit borrowers to gauge the business\u2019s performance and help the owner improve marketing and promotion, financial management, record keeping or website development. They also help aspiring entrepreneurs prepare loan applications and develop business, strategic and financial plans.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have both been in business for ourselves and share decades of operational expertise with our Loan Fund clients,\u201d said Amador.\u00a0 \u201cWe can provide advice and guidance concerning just about any conceivable business issue, but we always begin with the issues that a business owner believes are priorities.\u201d<\/p>\n

Grossman, for example, needed help formalizing her business budget and adapting to seasonal fluctuations in customer interest. She improved her Internet profile to attract \u201cyarn tourists,\u201d serious crocheters and knitters who shop for regional yarns and associated products wherever they travel.<\/p>\n

Listening to the Pros<\/strong><\/p>\n

Grossman now calls the consultants monthly. \u201cI recently started a rewards program,\u201d she said. \u201cI was reluctant, but then I decided to do it. When putting the parameters together, I had Joaquin review the rules. It started at the beginning of August, and it\u2019s good. People love it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Consulting services are part of The Loan Fund\u2019s stated mission \u201cto provide loans and assistance to improve\u00a0the economic and social conditions\u00a0of New Mexicans.\u201d After all, when a business borrower succeeds and repays the loan, those funds become available to other entrepreneurs, including those who might not qualify for a loan from a traditional lender.<\/p>\n

Funding from the New Mexico Small Business Investment Corporation, USDA Rural Development, the Small Business Administration and private donations to The Loan Fund make that assistance possible. For more information, visit www.loanfund.org<\/a> or call 505-243-3196.<\/p>\n

Download 418_Consultants Help Yarn Cafe Owner Raise Business Profile<\/a>\u00a0PDF<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

About a year after she had secured a small-business startup loan through The Loan Fund, Deborah Grossman got a visit from two consultants who work for the nonprofit lender. The pair \u2014 Joaquin Amador and Andrew Carrabus \u2014 dropped by … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[9,3],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/financenewmexico.org\/sandbox\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8178"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/financenewmexico.org\/sandbox\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/financenewmexico.org\/sandbox\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/financenewmexico.org\/sandbox\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/financenewmexico.org\/sandbox\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8178"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/financenewmexico.org\/sandbox\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8178\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8257,"href":"https:\/\/financenewmexico.org\/sandbox\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8178\/revisions\/8257"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/financenewmexico.org\/sandbox\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8178"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/financenewmexico.org\/sandbox\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8178"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/financenewmexico.org\/sandbox\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8178"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}