Native American entrepreneurs, business owners, and community members in New Mexico can learn how to start a business at an online workshop hosted by the American Indian Business Enterprise Center at NMSU’s Arrowhead Center. The one-hour event, called From Idea to Enterprise, starts at 4:30 pm MDT on August 5, 2026. Registration is required.
Continue readingTag Archives: business assistance
Unlock AI
The nonprofit lender DreamSpring is hosting two online workshops to help business owners initiate or expand their use of artificial intelligence. AI for Your Business: Getting Started takes place at 10:00 am MDT on Friday, July 24, 2026. The second session, AI for Your Business: Going Further, is at 10:00 am MDT on Friday, August 7.
Continue readingBusiness Technical Assistance is Part of the Job
Business owners looking for loans or lines of credit can face challenges that extend past financing needs. That’s why the nonprofit lender The Loan Fund offers business technical services to small businesses, entrepreneurs, and nonprofit organizations that need help with financial and other planning. Prospective borrowers can get assistance with developing their business plan, organization, and financial forecasts. Once they become borrowers, The Loan Fund clients can expect ongoing advice regarding marketing, cash flow, and other operational challenges.
Continue readingGovernment Programs Can Finance a Business
The nonprofit lender LiftFund is hosting an online introduction to government programs that business owners can tap into for business funding. The one-hour webinar takes place on July 15, 2026, at 10:30 am Mountain Daylight Time. Discover the latest government funding programs and resources available to help finance and grow a small business in 2026.
Continue readingIncubators Offer More Than Space
Roberta Easter dreamed of keeping her ancestor’s craft alive when she started Enchanting Soap Collections. Joined by her daughter, Chrystal Trykoski in 2022, the pair worked from Easter’s home, creating hand-poured soaps of unique designs with no two the same.
In 2025, Easter and her daughter moved the business into the WESST Enterprise Center business incubator, giving them room to grow, scale, and dream bigger than ever. As WESST incubator tenants, Easter and Trykoski are receiving operational support and resources that are already accelerating the company’s growth.
Barely a year after moving to the incubator, Enchanting Soap Collections was selected as one of nine businesses from a national applicant pool of 120 to pitch at a national airport concessions competition in St. Louis sponsored by the Airport Minority Advisory Council (AMAC). Contestants presented their concepts before a distinguished panel of airport concessions and travel retail executives who evaluated businesses based on innovation, scalability, and market readiness to sell their products in United States airports. While they did not advance to the next round of the competition, Easter and Trykoski are still winning big: they were invited to showcase and sell their products at the 41st Annual AMAC Conference in Maryland in June 2026.
Continue readingNational Labs Offer Help through NMSBA
New Mexico’s national labs are committed to helping businesses in the state through the New Mexico Small Business Assistance (NMSBA) Program. NMSBA is a statewide initiative that connects eligible small businesses with experts at Los Alamos National Laboratory and Sandia National Laboratories for specialized support from scientists and engineers to help solve technical challenges, improve products, strengthen operations, and accelerate growth. Business owners interested in learning more about the NMSBA Program can attend an in-person meeting at The BioScience Center in Albuquerque at 11:30 am on Wednesday, May 13, 2026.
Continue readingExplore Marketing Tools
Learn marketing strategy and explore marketing tools such as branding, websites, and e-commerce at a once-per-month workshop series offered in Santa Fe by the business development organization WESST. The series aims to give small business owners practical tools to increase visibility, attract customers, and support business growth. The series runs throughout 2026, with the upcoming April 29 session exploring ways customers find businesses.
Continue readingLoans and Resources Keep Business in the Air
Two years after launching High Country Air Service in Albuquerque, the COVID pandemic nearly grounded Dave Jesurun’s family business. Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans from the nonprofit lender DreamSpring kept the company in the air and forged a new relationship that would take it to new heights in subsequent years. High Country Air Service offers a suite of services for private aircraft owners. A plane under High Country’s care is always ready for takeoff, no matter the challenge.
Jesurun credits resilience for keeping him moving forward despite the ups and downs of running a small business.
Continue readingLiftFund Helps Owners Find Business Grants
The nonprofit lender LiftFund wants business owners to “secure the bag,” and it’s holding a webinar to increase access to business capital through grant funding. The webinar aims to help business owners find and win business grants.
Continue readingDreamSpring Lowers Loan Interest Rates
The nonprofit small-business lender DreamSpring has announced it has lowered interest rates and implemented a rate ceiling on loans. These and other 2026 measures aim to increase access to small business financing and ensure long-term affordability for its loan clients.
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