Sandoval County Small Business Development Center Receives Excellence and Innovation Center Award

Melanie Martinez and Ted Trujillo with the New Mexico Small Business Development Center Service Excellence and Innovation Center Award. Photo by Delores Trujillo
 
By VINT MILLER
UNM-Los Alamos

The Sandoval County Small Business Development Center (SCSBDC) has received the New Mexico Small Business Development Center Service Excellence and Innovation Center Award from the United States Small Business Administration (USSBA.)

The formal announcement was made by John C. Woolsey, district director of the USSBA, New Mexico District office located in Albuquerque. The award was presented as part of the New Mexico Small Business Week Awards Luncheon held on June 4, at the Hotel Albuquerque.

 “I have never been associated with two people that are more dedicated to their job and assisting people than Melanie Martinez and Aaron Lundquist, Ted Trujillo, Director of the SCSBDC said. “We have a team effort and I feel a passion for providing top-notch information for our clients, no matter what their business idea is. I feel that the team earned this award.”

The Sandoval County SBDC opened in Bernalillo in 2005 and is part of a larger network of twenty New Mexico Small Business Development Centers throughout the state. These SBDC’s provide free, confidential small business consulting, affordable workshops and business training to aspiring entrepreneurs and small business owners.

The SCSBDC has counseled over 1,200 clients with over 3,900 counseling sessions in its short history. The Center has created a number of partnerships with banks, micro-lenders, economic development organizations, Veteran’s groups and other organizations that are vital to the small business owners that they serve.

According to the SCSBDC Business Profile, one of the accomplishments the SCSBDC is most proud of is the Individual Development Account Program whereby the State of New Mexico matches on a four-to-one ratio up to $1,000 for individuals to start a business. This nest egg of $5,000 is often enough for many people to get a new start in life by having sufficient capital to start their small business.

The SCSBDC is very active in assisting potential business owners with disabilities. The State of New Mexico refers many clients with special needs who are good prospects for starting their own business. The SCSBDC helps clients assess their prospective business and provides any needed counseling. Many clients the SCSBDC has assisted are either blind, suffering from PTSD, recovering addicts or simply have difficulty in a structured business, but can be successful entrepreneurs given their skills and some basic business guidance.

Small Business Development Centers are administered through local colleges and the University of New Mexico-Los Alamos currently hosts two, the SCSBDC with offices in Bernalillo and Rio Rancho, and the SBDC-Los Alamos on the UNM-LA campus.

For more information about the Los Alamos or Sandoval County Small Business Development Centers, visit http://www.nmsbdc.org Ted Trujillo may be reached at 505-662-0377, or by email at tedt@unm.edu.

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