Tag Archives: small business loans

Gas Service Company Grows with Help from LiftFund

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After years of working for a large corporation in the gas & propane industry, Randy Peralta decided to pursue his own entrepreneurial project that would allow him to draw on his experience and be his own boss. In 2021, Peralta launched Gas Register Specialty Services, known as GRS Services, a mobile gas meter calibration company. Peralta’s specialty business serves commercial clients from Lea to San Juan counties.

While 28 years of technical experience in the propane industry were imperative for the nature of work that GRS Services set out to offer, operating a sole proprietorship did not come without its challenges.

“Having experience in the propane industry did not necessarily prepare me to handle all of the business and operational aspects,” said Peralta, adding that while he learned a lot in the field during his years in the industry, financial reporting and project management were new to him. He also needed to attend what he calls ‘meter school’ to be able to legally calibrate both electronic and mechanical meters.

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TrueGrit Loan Aims to Recharge Small Businesses

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The TrueGrit Growth loan, offered by the nonprofit lender DreamSpring in partnership with Wells Fargo,* provides eligible business owners continuing to recover from the pandemic with up to $10,000 to rebuild the business and position it for long-term growth. The unsecured, low-interest, fixed-rate loan offers flexible terms that are hard to beat.

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DreamSpring Helps Restaurant Launch – and Recover from Setbacks

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Twenty-two years after moving to Albuquerque to attend the University of New Mexico on a basketball scholarship, Frank Willis and his sister Tiffany moved their home-based catering operation, Frank’s Famous Chicken and Waffles, to a building on San Mateo Boulevard. The siblings did so with a $1,500 starter loan from the microlender DreamSpring and business advice from their mother Lola Beavers.

The Willises moved to New Mexico from California, where Frank grew up eating his signature dish and other traditional soul food at the Los Angeles eatery Roscoe’s Chicken and Waffles. Finding no such cuisine in New Mexico, Frank and Tiffany started cooking dishes in their shared apartment and selling them via Facebook orders.

In 2019, their first restaurant moved to a larger facility at 400 Washington St. SE. “It’s a much bigger, nicer restaurant,” said Beavers, who moved to Albuquerque in 2016 after retiring from her state government job in California. “The décor is similar, in that it has a music theme with photos of musicians on the walls, but it’s a little more classy.”

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Small Business Pros and Funding Available at All Levels

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According to the U.S. Small Business Administration Office of Advocacy, the top reasons for starting a business have not changed much in the past decade. Chief among those reasons is the desire to be one’s own boss and have greater control over one’s income. New Mexico, whose businesses are predominantly small (as defined by the SBA), is fortunate to be home to so many people with a drive for personal self-determination.

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Small Business Recovery Loan – One Month Left to Apply

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The application window for the Small Business Recovery Loan Fund program is about to close. Authorized by the State of New Mexico and available through the New Mexico Finance Authority, the Small Business Recovery Loan program offers loans of up to $150,000 to businesses that were negatively impacted by the pandemic. Applications must be submitted by early- to mid-December in order for a loan to close by the program’s deadline of December 31, 2022.

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The Loan Fund Fuels Adobe Tradition

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Albuquerque Joinery is a small design-build company that specializes in new home construction using traditional adobe building techniques and fine carpentry.

Kenny DeLapp and Esther Fredrickson launched the business in February 2020 after building their own adobe home in Albuquerque’s South Valley. Built under an owner-builder permit, their 1,600 square foot home is a showcase of modern construction and traditional materials with brick floors, exposed vigas, adobe mud plaster walls, and site-built solid wood doors.

DeLapp, who is skilled in masonry and fine carpentry, learned traditional building techniques while working with his uncle Win, a long-time adobe builder known for custom furniture, cabinets, and museum exhibits.

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Short-Term 0% Interest Loan For Contractors

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The nonprofit lender DreamSpring has introduced a new loan product to help contractors move projects ahead despite rising costs. The Fast Forward loan, which provides short-term financing for 1-3 months at 0% interest, is specifically for contractors, service providers, project-based businesses, and construction industry businesses. Funds can be used for working capital to complete projects or get new initiatives off the ground.

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Low-Interest Recovery Loans Still Available

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Businesses that were impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic still have access to a few recovery loan programs designed to propel companies toward growth by offering low interest rates and deferred payments. These loans are even more attractive as interest rates on traditional loans increase.

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New Program Offers Loans to Cannabis Businesses

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Until cannabis is legalized by the U.S. federal government, cannabis businesses have limited banking and loan options. But access to capital in New Mexico has improved since legislators authorized the New Mexico Finance Authority to offer microloans of up to $250,000 to small businesses engaged in the sale or production of cannabis.

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