New Mexico small business: help wanted - help provided - New Mexico Department of Economic Development and Tourism - includes related articles - Small Business Focus

New Mexico Business Journal, Jan, 1992 by LaNelda Rolley

SMALL BUSINESS IN NEW MEXICO has been called the backbone of the state's economy.

After all, the majority of the businesses in the state is classified as small.

Of the 35,376 businesses across New Mexico, 31,382 of them employ one to 19 people. They are engineers, inventors, mom and pop operations, and people who have decided "I can do it better."

They are what keeps New Mexico's entrepreneurial energy surging.

Over the past few years, efforts have been undertaken to shore up the small business community, strengthening the state's backbone.

Through the New Mexico Small Business Development Center Network, the New Mexico Business Innovation Center and other resources, small business owners have learned the nuts and bolts of the business world -- business planning, financial management, marketing and sources of capital.

Centers are operated at 16 two-year colleges and Western New Mexico University.

The mission of the NMSBDC is to facilitate entrepreneurial education and business assistance activities within the two-year post-secondary institutions; to promote community-based business development; and to foster cooperative relationships with other business assistance providers.

The centers provide one-on-one counseling at no charge to assist clients in preparing business plans, feasibility studies, financial analyses and loan packages; improving inventory control; modernizing businesses; developing marketing plans; and improving business and technical skills.

Training sessions are also offered from a practical applications standpoint with the small business in mind. These sessions may require a nominal attendance fee and often are co-sponsored with other community agencies.

In the training, businessmen and entrepreneurs are taught basic management skills, marketing and sales, international trade and the business of art.

In addition, most of the service centers have computers and software, textbooks, magazines, brochures, census information and other statistical data available for use by the small business community.

The New Mexico Business Innovation Center also is a member of New Mexico's small business development team. The center acts as a resource and information clearinghouse for small business development and provides facilities, business services and management assistance to entrepreneurs.

Two of the biggest problems still facing small business owners are the availability of capital and marketing assistance.

The help wanted signs are posted for all to see, responding with the needed assistance to ensure that small business owners are there and ready to succeed not only in New Mexico but in the global marketplace as well.

THE NEW MEXICO ECONOMIC Development Department is available to help small businessmen and women help themselves in three areas:

* Marketing -- market exportable goods and services and find new potential markets through the Trade Division;

* Finance -- look for methods and mechanisms that support business, i.e., Investment Tax Credit, the department's Community Revolving Loan Fund, Industrial Revenue Bonds and the Industrial Development Training Program;

* Technical Assistance -- referrals and networking.

Through the division's border development activities, small business owners have the opportunity to participate in maquila trade missions.

These missions provide the opportunity for New Mexico business owners to meet and visit with key decision makers in the maquiladora industry in Juarez, Chihuahua and Sonora.

In addition, several companies from around the state, including Albuquerque, Las Cruces and Roswell, are negotiating marketing or sales agreements in Mexico.

New Mexico exports in 1990 rose to $251 million, a 17.3 percent increase over 1989. New Mexico ranks 47 out of 50 states in export sales and 14 out of the 17 western states.

The state's products were exported to 75 countries in 1990 versus 77 in 1989. Orders ranged from $3 million to $66 million.

The United Kingdom was displaced by Korea as New Mexico's leading importer.

Due to Korea's extraordinary buying surge of $63 million in electric and electronic machinery, equipment and supplies, the Asian Trade Group took a substantial market share from the North American and the European Trade Group, capturing 38.1 percent of New Mexico's total export market.

The export figures for New Mexico reveal that 81.2 percent of exporters are small companies, compared with 80.6 percent for the Western U.S. and 80 percent for the U.S.

Small business owners can get the assistance they need from the Trade Division. The trade specialists will assist you in exploring markets for your products or services and exporting practices.

Seminars addressing such topics as "How to Export" and "Doing Business in . . ." are held in conjunction with the senior trade representative from the U.S. Department of Commerce's U.S. and Foreign Commercial Service.

THE DIVISION TRADE SPECIALISTS also can be valuable sources of referrals to other government and private trade information resources.

Japan historically ranks among the top 10 in New Mexico exports, averaging $10 million to $18 million annually. The Trade Division will intensify its efforts to further penetrate that market in cooperation with the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO).