Tag Archives: small business loans

Loan Keeps Bakery at Top of Critics’ Lists

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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

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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

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Cabra Coffee in Cedar Crest, New Mexico

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

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John Woosley

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 →

Simple Ratios Offer Symptoms of Financial Health or Malaise

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Gary Lenzo

Gary Lenzo, Las Cruces Market President, Century Bank

Operating a successful business requires attention to numbers — especially to basic financial ratios derived from the business’s financial statements.

The current and quick ratios calculate a company’s liquidity, while the debt ratio evaluates its long-term solvency. The gross profit margin shows if sales revenue covers the expenses incurred in making those sales.

Lenders and investors use business health assessments like these to determine if a company qualifies for a loan or is a good candidate for venture capital. Business owners should use them to regularly evaluate their business’s financial standing.

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The Loan Fund Helps Launch In-Home Care Service

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Joe Justice

Joe Justice, Community Development Officer, The Loan Fund

Leslie Van Pelt knew she wanted to do some type of work that improved people’s lives when she visited the Albuquerque offices of Comfort Keepers, a national for-profit company that provides in-home nonmedical care to the elderly and other adults recovering from illness and injuries. What she saw persuaded Van Pelt, co-owner of Cutlery of Santa Fe, to begin searching for funding to open a Santa Fe franchise.

Van Pelt already had a home equity line of credit, but she needed more money to launch the franchise. Her inquiries led her to The Loan Fund, an alternative lender that provides capital to businesses and nonprofits in New Mexico.

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Identity Theft Victim Gets Accion Loan to Start Educational Nonprofit

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Edwin Rios

Edwin Rios, Loan Assistant, Accion New Mexico – Arizona – Colorado

Mark Medley was working with a business consultant to recover from identity theft when he heard about Accion New Mexico–Arizona–Colorado. What Medley learned while trying to repair his credit prompted him to start a nonprofit — ID Theft Resolutions — to help others protect themselves from identity thieves and to rebound as quickly and completely as possible if their efforts fail.

Medley got a loan from Accion to help him get the nonprofit going after obtaining his designation as a 501c(3) nonprofit. Accion offers loans as small as $200 and as large as $300,000 to people who might otherwise be turned down by lenders because they are a startup or have credit problems.

Medley qualified in both cases: His credit score was destroyed by identity theft and his nonprofit was the equivalent of a startup.

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Truck Puts Chef on Road to Prosperity

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F. Leroy Pacheco

F. Leroy Pacheco, CEO, The Loan Fund

Kimberley Calvo relishes creativity. The former executive chef at Intel and UNM introduced healthy cuisine to employees and students before starting The Seasonal Palate, a catering company. While looking for a restaurant location to expand her business, Calvo realized that her business model could be just as creative as her cooking.

“It was going to be a small fortune,” she said about the cost of renting and equipping the building she was considering in the small town ofPlacitas. She also wondered if there were enough residents to support a full-time restaurant. “So instead of trying to bring them to me,” she said, “I would bring me to them.”

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Investment Capital Gives New Mexico Businesses a Boost

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The following article offers a historical perspective on the Finance New Mexico project.

As New Mexico’s lieutenant governor, one of my highest priorities has been to support small businesses throughout the state. I’ve owned a small business and know the challenges that confront people like me – particularly in finding the money and getting well-founded advice on how to start and maintain a business. The largest chunk of the business community is businesses that have fewer than 25 workers. While major employers like state, federal and local government, the military, financial service industry and health care providers provide a large number of jobs, small businesses are the ones creating new jobs and providing stability to smaller communities around the state.

In addition to an improved business environment and tax structure, providing investment capital has been a priority of our administration. Investments in large projects like Eclipse Aviation capture the headlines, but they’re not the only ones. Statewide, money to small businesses has been increasing. Private equity capital has been flowing into New Mexico at an accelerated pace, much of it aimed at the vast pool of technology developed at the national research labs and universities.

The State Investment Council has played a leading role in attracting venture capital funds. Since 1996, it has given money to funds that agree to set up shop in the state and invest in New Mexico companies. Those investments have increased over the past years and have helped New Mexico businesses. One of them helped Aridien, Inc., a Belen company that makes the desiccant products you find in packaging.

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