B:Side Fund and Capital want to help small business owners access capital to grow their business. The nonprofit lender will lead an interactive session at the Albuquerque Hispano Chamber of Commerce on October 8, 2025.
Continue readingTag Archives: small business loans
What are the 5 Cs of Credit?
Owners looking for a loan for their small business should be familiar with the 5 Cs of Credit. Character, capital, collateral, capacity, and conditions determine if a traditional lender will offer a loan to a business owner. New and aspiring business owners can learn about the 5 Cs of Credit on Thursday, October 2, 2025, in a workshop hosted by the nonprofit lender WESST.
Continue readingLoan Funds a New Sense of Purpose
Cambri Gardner learned about the medical spa industry through her mother, a registered nurse working at a Colorado medical spa. Gardner now works alongside her mother at Roswell Aesthetics & Wellness, the business Gardner purchased in 2023 with the help of the nonprofit lender The Loan Fund.
Gardner had spent much of her professional career in sales and was ready for a change. “Sales was not fun for me,” said Gardner. “I really didn’t feel like I was benefiting people.”
In 2018, Gardner began working at a medical spa and was soon studying to obtain laser certification. Becoming an esthetician gave her a new sense of purpose, she said. “Seeing the changes that benefit people not just on the inside but on the outside, I felt was more life-changing for me.”
Continue readingLease or Buy a Building?
Owners of businesses seeing an increase in profits often wonder if they should continue to lease their building or buy one of their own. Increasing profit is just one factor to consider when deciding if it’s time to buy a commercial building. Many other factors are just as important.
Continue readingWESST Doubles Down to Help Businesses
The nonprofit organization WESST is strategically restructuring to serve businesses and startups throughout New Mexico well into the future. Much like the advice WESST consultants give business owners facing changes in the marketplace, WESST is responding to a volatile nonprofit-funding environment.
Continue readingReaching Rural with Small Business Loans
Carlos and Juany Chico went to several national banks for a loan to expand their lakeside food stand to a brick-and-mortar restaurant location. Like most small and startup entrepreneurs, they were turned down because they didn’t fit the lending requirements of traditional banks. That’s when they turned to the nonprofit lender DreamSpring for a small loan to fund operating and inventory expenses at the new location.
Chico’s Tortas y Pinas Lokas, now known simply as Chico’s Mexican Food, now operates out of a former KFC Restaurant building on Historic Route 66 in Santa Rosa and serves patrons in nearby Tucumcari from a food truck. The business is thriving, thanks to the tight-knit family of 12 and other staff, along with several DreamSpring loans that have enabled the company’s growth.
“DreamSpring is a good option,” Carlos said for people who don’t meet the lending requirements of traditional banks.
Continue readingBusiness Plan is Guide to Success
A business plan is a document that spells out a company’s expected course of action for a specified period, usually including a detailed listing and analysis of risks, uncertainties, and opportunities. For the small business, it should examine the proposed products, market, industry, management policies, marketing policies, production requirements, and financial needs.
Continue readingLaunch Your Business with LiftFund
The nonprofit lender LiftFund is offering a step-by-step checklist for starting a business. Join LiftFund online on Tuesday, July 11, 2025, to learn how to set up your new business and get the tools for business growth and success.
Continue readingREAP Program Guarantees Small-Business Loans
The Rural Energy for America Program helps agricultural entities and rural small businesses develop renewable energy systems or implement energy efficiency upgrades by making capital available. While the grant-making portion of REAP is closed until at least October 1, 2025 (and perhaps longer depending on Congressional funding), the loan portion of the program is open and accepting applications on an ongoing basis.
Continue readingSpecial Assistance for Rural Businesses
Entrepreneurs and business owners in rural areas can get business assistance from the nonprofit organization Rural Community Assistance Corporation. The nonprofit lender, known as RCAC, offers workshops, business consulting, and loans to entrepreneurs and businesses in western communities with less than 50,000 people.
Continue reading