One-on-One Confidential Counseling and Consulting

From management consulting and business plan development to business tax help and bookkeeping classes, your local SBDC provides the resources and support needed to ensure sound business practices for long-term success.

Starting Your Business

Our business start-up guide and assistance to help you establish a solid foundation for getting started in business.

Business Plan Development

Good planning is a major key to business growth and survival. Our business advisors can help you develop an excellent business plan. Although you'll write the plan, they'll offer detailed advice and research, and review each section. Our advisors have extensive training and experience; they can help you modify a plan to use as a proposal for financing or for an investor prospectus.

Access to Capital

Whether you’re just starting a small business or expanding to take advantage of new opportunities, your business needs the right financing at the right time in order to succeed. The SBDC works closely with local lenders, the Small Business Administration, and a variety of government and non-government lending programs serving your local community. While it does not provide direct financing, we can help you identify your specific financing needs and develop proposals and loan packages required by various financial institutions. The SBDC has helped entrepreneurs like you obtain more than $20 billion in capital in the last 20 years.

Financials/Bookkeeping

Any successful entrepreneur will tell you that good financial records are vital to understanding how your business is performing, identifying problem areas, and planning for the future. Preparing projected financial statements can be challenging to the first-time entrepreneur. Understanding historical financial information for future planning is equally challenging to existing small business owners, who may find they are making a paper profit, but still suffer from cash flow problems. SBDC Advisors, who have extensive training and experience in financial analysis, can teach you how to interpret your business and personal financial statements. Whether you need basic or advanced financial records, our Advisors can help.

Human Resources Issues

Sooner or later, every owner of a growing business must deal with the issue of hiring some help. Correctly defining this relationship is important. There are many laws and regulations that will affect the employment relationship. SBDC Advisors can direct you through the proper steps and refer you to the appropriate agencies once you have made the determination to hire someone.

Taxes

If you generate income, own property, buy goods, or hire employees, you will most likely have to pay taxes. Many resources are available when it comes to understanding taxes. Advisors at the SBDC can direct you to the proper agencies that will help in determining what taxes you must pay. The SBDC has information on state, federal, local, and employment taxes, as well as how to obtain a federal tax ID number.

Marketing

Understanding your competitors and defining your target markets are key elements to success. SBDC advisors can help you use the 4 P's -- product, price, position, promotion -- to reach your target market successfully. They can also advise you on the cost-effective use of various marketing and advertising techniques.

Government Contracting

Government procurement can be a major source of revenue for small businesses, especially in this economy, with its many city, state, and federal government offices, military facilities, and many governmental agencies.  The SBDC provides procurement assistance to small businesses. Our staff of advisors are experienced in government contracting and provide a wide range of services, including individual counseling and training to enable businesses to successfully compete for government contracts.

International Trade

International trade is not just for big business. Local small businesses offer many products with global market potential. The SBDC may offer International Business Programs for small businesses that want to trade internationally, especially with Asia, Europe and Latin America. The program offers one-on-one counseling, an online resource guide, an electronic database of trade leads, joint venture opportunities, and tips on exporting & importing. Each SBDC center throughout New Mexico can also guide you through the international maze through direct assistance or referrals to a variety of state, federal, and out-of-state resources.

Special Programs

Women & minority-owned business programs
Women- and minority-owned businesses comprise an expanding segment of our state's entrepreneurial economy. Understanding the additional challenges they face, the SBDC provides training tailored to the specific needs of these entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurship training can be provided in several languages like Spanish, Korean and many other within the network of SBDC offices across the country.

Veterans Information Programs
Many veterans decide to start their own business where there is significant military presence in their state. The SBDC provides direct assistance to many existing veteran-owned small businesses, as well as to veterans and soon-to-be veterans interested in starting a business. The SBDC offices located near military installations often provide on-site entrepreneurship training in cooperation with the military's Transition Assistance Program (TAP).