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Jose Balderrama, Alex Robles and Manuel Palma
Jamco
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Credit: Tom Brahl |
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Jamco Electric Motor Repair, Inc. is more than an electric motor repair shop. It’s a place where the brotherly bond of three friends is thicker than water, and their steadfast commitment to providing the best service in Albuquerque is what makes them successful.
Jose Balderrama, Alex Robles and Manuel Palma, Jamco’s founders, met as co-workers years ago. Soon after their introduction, they formed a close friendship that became the foundation of their business. “We’ve always been close,” Alex says. “We would hang out together, play basketball together and our families go camping together. Now, in our business, we always talk to each other. I can’t say enough about the guys I work with.”
In 1998, the men combined their strengths and dreams to start Jamco. Jose and Manuel learned the motor rewinding trade as children under the watchful eyes of an older generation of relatives in Mexico. Alex believes that this guidance provided Jose and Manuel with the best training possible.
While business today is thriving, it didn’t begin that way. Without a steady stream of customers, Jamco needed capital to grow. For two years the partners applied for a small business loan between $500 and $1,500 at various financial institutions, but time and time again, they were declined. The combination of their small loan request and status as a start-up business was a barrier to qualifying for traditional credit. The men did everything they could to keep Jamco going, but what they needed most was financing to move the business forward.
Then they learned about ACCION and everything changed. “These are great people to deal with,” says Alex. “ACCION approved our small loan request and we had the boost we needed to continue.”
“Owning this business means the world to us,” Alex states. “We pride ourselves in being reliable, honest and fair.” Like a proud brother, Alex adds, “I’m lucky – I get to work with two of the best rewinders in the southwest!" |
Credit: Tom Brahl |
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Toni Spies
Desert Blends of Taos
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Toni Spies is a survivor of the strongest kind: a survivor of child abuse, domestic violence and her own long-standing battle with low self-esteem. So, when she was mentored into a career in social work, Toni thought she’d discovered the best way to support her daughter and offer others the help she once needed.
Ten years into her job, the funding for her position was eliminated. Toni’s survival instincts kicked into high gear. A single parent and jobless, Toni turned to public assistance. She was determined, however, to fulfill her dream of flourishing and helping others to heal and flourish. A trained herbalist, Toni has always had a passion for the healing power of plants. This passion brought her to Taos where she found strength and spiritual renewal in the Southwest environment. Drawing on her determination, Toni created a new beginning in Taos; she founded Desert Blends, a line of all natural bath and body products.
As demand for Toni’s products grew, she turned to ACCION for a business loan. The credit she received from ACCION helped cover the manufacturing costs associated with increased product demand. While the money was helpful, Tony feels the support ACCION extended was essential. “I was alone, and it was the people at ACCION who said, ‘We believe in you. We want to support you.’ I didn’t know my value ‘til they said ‘You’ve done this.’ I needed that support and will always appreciate ACCION for what they did for me.”
Today, Desert Blends of Taos has a customer base that includes hotels in the Southwest and the East Coast. While her business continues to thrive, Toni’s greatest reward is helping others. “I want to make a difference in my community, and my business is a springboard for that.”
As a board member of a non profit organization dedicated to the healing and self empowerment of sexually and violently abused children, Toni has truly been able to help children who, like she did so long ago, need a healing hand. “With all of the pain that I have been through, one of my strongest values is helping this community and especially its children.”
“Starting Desert Blends in Taos took me on a very important journey in my life,” Toni says. “It forced me to ask myself, ‘Who am I?’ and ‘Am I making a difference in this life?’” A livelihood for Toni, Desert Blends has also become the catalyst Toni was searching for to heal others. |
Callie & Gary Ford
Callie's Cajun Smokehouse
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Credit: Ellen MacDonald |
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Callie and Gary Ford always wanted to run a Cajun restaurant in Santa Fe, New Mexico. So they scraped together some money and renovated a used trailer. Callie’s Cajun Smokehouse quickly became a local favorite.
But the high cost of electricity was draining most of their profits. Without $1,000 to buy a portable generator, the Fords faced the possibility of going out of business.
Callie and Gary applied for a bank loan, but lacking a business credit history, they were turned down. Then they heard about ACCION New Mexico -- but there wasn’t an office in Santa Fe. However, thanks to an innovative ACCION New Mexico partnership with First State Bank, the Fords got the money they needed.
Through this partnership, First State Bank staff members are trained to close ACCION New Mexico loans. It’s a win-win situation. The bank has an alternative when applicants do not meet their lending criteria. And ACCION New Mexico can serve clients throughout the state, even in areas where they don’t have offices.
“The loan has allowed us to be independent,” Callie says. “Now the sky’s the limit!”
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Credit: Kim Jew Photography |
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James Ghahate
Owner of Unknown Artists
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Native American artist James Ghahate launched his picture-framing business out of necessity. After finishing a painting he planned to give as a gift, James found he couldn’t afford the cost of a suitable frame for his work of art. So, the self-taught painter created a more affordable solution: he crafted and designed one himself.
James soon began making frames for relatives and friends. "Even though my frames were in demand, I couldn't get a loan for advertising and materials," he says, "so I gave my frames away to promote the product. But I couldn't make the business profitable without money to invest in its growth. Then a friend told me of an article he read about ACCION."
ACCION New Mexico helped James re-establish his credit and increase his self-confidence. "They were willing to take a chance with me," he says. "Starting a business can be scary and overwhelming. You need all the help you can get. Yet it can also be quite rewarding. If you've got the dream, take the risk."
That was almost 3 years ago. Today, his handsome frames are so popular that his home-based framing business, Unknown Artists, can barely keep up with the orders. Having built a successful business, James is closing in on a long-held dream of opening an art gallery to feature both his own work and that of other Native American artists. |
Merlinda Sedillo Welch
Merlinda’s Blue Ribbon Salsa
www.merlindaschile.com/
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When Merlinda Sedillo Welch began to have financial difficulties, she turned to what she knew best: canning green chile from her grandmother's secret recipe.
She started small, carting her chile from store to store to find buyers. "But my salsa is what my friends really love," she says, "so when one of the stores asked me to do a cooking demo, I decided to bring along some salsa samples too."
The customers loved it. Before Merlinda knew it, orders were mounting from grocery stores all around Albuquerque. But she didn’t have the money to keep up with demand. All she needed was $500 for some labels and packaging. But she couldn’t find a bank that would consider making such a small loan.
Then she heard about ACCION New Mexico. Two days after her first interview, Merlinda had a check in her hands. "That $500 was like a million dollars to anyone else," she recalls. And four months later, Merlinda repaid her entire loan – and sold over 4,000 jars of salsa in the process.
"It meant so much that ACCION believed in me," she says. "They gave me credit for being the kind of person I am – a fighter."
And Merlinda continues to fight for her business every day. Since that first loan, her business has grown beyond her wildest dreams. She used a second loan to move her chile-canning operation from her kitchen to a local cannery.
Note: Merlinda has been featured in Forbes and on CNN. In 1998, she was honored as ACCION New Mexico’s Emerging Entrepreneur of the Year.
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ACCION New Mexico
20 First Plaza NW, Suite 417
Albuquerque, New Mexico 87102
Phone: 505 243-8844
Toll-free: 800 508-7624
Fax: 505 243-1551
E-mail: accion@accionnm.org
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