The Collateral Assistance Program (CAP) helps creditworthy small businesses obtain a loan for which they might not otherwise qualify. To help banks and other financial institutions make loans to small businesses in underserved markets, the New Mexico Economic Development Department can pledge cash to cover a collateral shortfall of a loan to enable commercial financing. Business owners apply through a participating bank or financial institution that can initiate the loan.
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WESST Launches HOPE Loan Fund
Economic developers believe a key contributor to economic inequality in the United States is the large and persistent racial and ethnic disparity found in business ownership and performance. Barriers to accessing capital that particularly impact Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) entrepreneurs include lack of initial wealth, financial literacy, education, and managerial experience. To address racial and income inequities, WESST launched the HOPE Fund (Helping Open Possibilities for Everyone), a “no barriers to accessing capital” approach for people of color and low-wealth New Mexicans.
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RCAC is a financial resource for rural communities and businesses that need capital and technical assistance.
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LiftFund transforms lives by opening doors and leveling the financial playing field in entrepreneurship.
Continue readingSmall Size No Deterrent for Nonprofit Lender DreamSpring
Charles Riley obtained a DreamSpring loan for his “solarlite” business. Article by Roger Makin.
Entrepreneurs come in all shapes and sizes, but they all share a love of what they do and the desire to further their endeavors.
For Charles Riley of Carrizozo, entrepreneurship began at an early age. He built his first house at age 21 on land donated by his parents. It was at that time he also started building and selling furniture as a hobby.
While serving as a firefighter in Stratford, Connecticut, Riley simultaneously worked a full-time construction job. As he put it, “I loved the job as a firefighter, but it also had very flexible hours.”
At one point he owned an art gallery in Sun Valley, Idaho. But Riley’s path eventually led him to Carrizozo, New Mexico, where he offered to build a house for his daughter. The construction project became his when his daughter decided to move back to Vermont. Riley finished the house, moved in and stayed. Continue reading
Following the Signs to Small Business Success
Virtually everyone in New Mexico has seen signs made by P&M Signs. Article by Jason Gibbs.
You’ve seen the signs.
For nearly half a century, Phil Archuletta, the CEO of P&M Signs, has crafted signs for the U.S. Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management. He got his start in 1970 in Ojo Caliente before opening P&M Signs in Mountainair in 1991. He now employs a dozen people in the rural community in Central New Mexico.
If you’ve toured a national forest, Archuletta’s signs likely guided your way. If you’ve seen the ubiquitous Smokey Bear fire danger signs in New Mexico, that’s his handiwork. Stopped to read a historical marker in the state? Yup, that’s his too.
The signs are produced in an 11,000 square-foot, $1 million facility in Mountainair. He’s designed and manufactured Forest Service road signs all over the country, “coast to coast,” he said. Around 70 percent of the signs in New Mexico are churned out of the giant, blue building in Mountainair with “lots of cars parked around it,” Archuletta said. He also holds a patent for the road closure signs used in the national forest and BLM lands. Continue reading
Loan Keeps Bakery at Top of Critics’ Lists
Pratt and Chris Morales in their Albuquerque bakery, Golden Crown Panaderia. Article by Sandy Nelson.
It’s one thing for a bakery to boast about its own tasty products, but it’s quite another for the publisher of a foodie blog to broadcast rave reviews from around the world and add a few superlatives of his own.
Gil Garduño, publisher of Gil’s Thrilling (and Filling) Blog, has eaten at more than 1,000 New Mexico restaurants over the past decade and calls Golden Crown Panaderia “the very best bakery in Albuquerque.” In a mouth-watering 2016 review, Garduño describes the artisan breads, pizzas and pastries that the family-owned, Old Town-area business has been making since 1972 and adds, “This humble Panaderia has been consistently ranked by TripAdvisor, the world’s largest travel community, as one of the top five out of 1,235 restaurants in the Duke City. Golden Crown receives similar praise from Yelp, while Lonely Planet, a French publication, calls Golden Crown ‘Albuquerque’s best place to eat.’ ” Continue reading
Entrepreneurial journey often misses financial mark
Guy Gaffney, Vice President of Credit at Los Alamos National Bank; Article by Damon Scott
Business owners and entrepreneurs get excited about their product and the market they serve. But to achieve long-term success, sooner or later they have to focus on a different critical area: their business finances.
Even when grants, initial sales or investments from family and friends have funded an idea from product development to market, most businesses will need financing in order to grow. If cash has been exhausted, the company’s financial position will be strained and its funding opportunities limited.
Guy Gaffney, vice president of credit at Los Alamos National Bank, has seen this situation many times during a decade with the bank. He encourages business owners to start the loan application process while they still have enough working capital to qualify for a loan. But just as important as cash, he said, is that the owner become financially literate. Continue reading
Define Need Before Applying for Business Loan
Cabra Coffee in Cedar Crest financed growth through The Loan Fund
Most New Mexico entrepreneurs can’t start or operate a small business without occasionally borrowing money. And that requires preparation and a methodical approach.
It begins by identifying why the money is needed and the most appropriate loan to fulfill that need. It continues with finding a lender that offers optimal terms and fees for clients with the borrower’s credit score and financial resources and gathering documents the lender needs to review.
Define the need: Businesses may need loans for daily operating expenses or to build reserves, renovate a commercial building or buy equipment. The specific need typically drives the decision about what type of loan to shop for. Continue reading
SBA Changes Intensify Business Lending Surge
By John Woosley, District Director, SBA New Mexico District
Jerome Garcia completed 23 years of military service, multiple overseas tours and one combat deployment before retiring in Las Cruces just before the economy collapsed in late 2008. Garcia and his wife, Michele, proceeded with plans to start their own business and launched Southwest General Construction in February 2009.
SGC is a service disabled veteran-owned small contracting business that builds and maintains airfields, railroads, roads and buildings in New Mexico and the Southwest. It also builds fences, drills wells, maintains grounds and conducts environmental remediation. Continue reading