By Misty Cryer
Starting and operating a business can be exhilarating, with a mixture of feelings ranging from excitement to frustration. Knowing where to turn for support is vital. Fortunately, there are organizations available to local businesses that are willing and able to walk entrepreneurs through the maze to turn a vision into reality.
The Carlsbad Department of Development (400-2 Cascades Ave. No. 201) is a good place to start. “We actually have a pretty good range of services that we provide to businesses,” said Jeff Campell, Director of Marketing. “Our biggest thing is we serve as a liaison for people to get information from various sources. Whether they need to contact the city or the county, we can help connect them to the right people, and we also do the same for anything that might need some state help,” he said.
“When entrepreneurs come in, we help them from generating ideas to getting a scope of what the whole business plan entails before sending them to the Small Business Development Center,” Campbell said. “We help them get ideas on how to do a survey of the market so they can see if the business will be viable here, so they don’t waste money putting it into something that is not going to work. We also talk about strategies with them, so we do some basic business and marketing consulting,” he said.
Providing property searches and assistance in applying for the state-funded Job Training Incentive Program (JTIP) are also services offered by the Carlsbad Department of Development, Campbell said.
“There are some industries in town that can actually benefit from tax credits based on the wages that they pay their employees in particular industries. They can get some great help from the state in that area,” he said.
“There are different criteria that the state has, but we try to make sure that they know what’s out there in terms of incentives. Sometimes, that helps us to actually land a business from another state,” Campbell said, adding that the incentives can be significant, especially for large businesses.
The Small Business Development Center (SBDC) at Southeast New Mexico College serves all of Eddy County. “We work with not only pre-venture entrepreneurs but also existing businesses,” said Della Bedingfield, Center Director. “The great thing is that our services are 100% free. It’s your tax dollars at work,” she said.
“We provide confidential one-on-one professional business counseling,” said Bedingfield. The activities mentioned included help with business plans and marketing plans, financial projections, and industry and community research.
“We offer one-on-one training as well as on-demand training for anything that is small-business-related,” she said. Examples she provided include training on QuickBooks and financial management programs.
“We also connect entrepreneurs with additional resource partners,” said Bedingfield.
Resource partners mentioned by Bedingfield include Apex, the International Business Accelerator Program, and the Technology Commercialization Accelerator. Apex helps with the process of becoming a government contractor. She said that the International Business Accelerator Program helps with importing and exporting matters, and the Technology Commercialization Accelerator provides technical assistance addressing things like trademarks, copyrights, and cybersecurity.
“The mission of the SBDC is to develop skilled entrepreneurs and strong businesses,” said Bedingfield. “What that means is that we are going to walk with the people the whole way, but we’re not going to carry them. We’re providing the skills. Sometimes, we’re accountability partners; sometimes, we’re cheerleaders. We say you don’t have to know everything about everything; you have to know people who know what you don’t know and have a willingness to learn,” she said.
In addition to the Department of Development and the Small Business Development Center, Chad Ingram, CEO of the Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce, suggested that business owners reach out to the local New Mexico Workforce Connection about programs that can be helpful to businesses, along with Southeast New Mexico College, which offers adult education courses.
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