0New Mexico business owners face tough decisions every day in their effort to build and maintain their company. Unfortunately, many neglect to spend time on some of the most important issues facing their business. The following list provides a brief overview of the legal questions and issues business owners must face in order to survive and succeed in today’s business climate.
1. Entity Selection: Whether you operate as a sole proprietorship, limited partnership, LLC, S-Corp, or C-Corp, the choice of entity will have a major impact on the way you operate your business. Tax and liability implications differ based on the entity choice you make, and it must be a carefully considered decision.
2. Drafting an Operating Agreement or Bylaws: It is imperative for business owners to establish how their company will operate, from the management structure of the company to what happens if the company winds down. With no structure in place, businesses can fail after encountering even the most basic of problems.
3. Developing a Business Succession Plan: This step is crucial for any business owner. What happens when you decide to retire or, more crucially, if you unexpectedly pass away? Without a carefully considered succession plan, many businesses simply crater and disappear, without passing on the business or its value to loved ones.
4. Personal Estate Planning: Just as important as having a succession plan in place for your business is ensuring that the plan dovetails seamlessly with your personal estate plan. The last thing you want is all of your hard work to evaporate, leaving nothing of value for your family.
5. Obtaining Adequate Insurance Coverage: Planning for the worst can be the difference between your business surviving the long term or failing after encountering a bump in the road. Just as solid legal planning will protect you from frivolous law suits and high legal costs, insurance is absolutely necessary to protect yourself and your business from disaster.
6. Negotiating and Fully Understanding Commercial Leases: We receive many calls from business owners after they have had a dispute with their landlord. Many of these issues can be completely avoided by having your commercial lease reviewed before you sign it, to ensure you are not entering into a bad situation. New Mexico is a landlord friendly state, and business owners must understand their positions before entering into commercial leases.
7. Developing Solid Contracts: How your business interacts with its employees, vendors, and customers is crucial to its success. Having solid contracts that are clearly drafted so that both parties fully understand what they are signing is the best way to avoid conflicts down the road, and to avoid placing your business in a weak contractual position.
8. Developing Corporate Policies and Manuals: Clearly written manuals and policies will ensure that your employees and management team follow company protocol, and will ensure that that the protocol itself is compliant with the law.
9. Building your Team of Experts: Careers in our society have become more and more specialized. Business owners often mistakenly believe they can wear all of the hats and take care of every detail of the business. Having a stable of professionals to guide you and your business is crucial to success in today’s business world, and will aid you in avoiding legal missteps along the way. A successful business owner will have a solid relationship with a quality accountant, insurance broker, banker, PR and marketing rep, and most importantly, an attorney.
For more information visit us at www.prometheuslegal.com.
by Chad Mathis, Prometheus Legal on February 18th, 2011
by Chad Mathis, Prometheus Legal on February 4th, 2011
As the New Mexico Department of Tax and Revenue and the IRS seek out every nook and cranny to boost lagging revenue, they have begun to turn a keen eye on employers and their relationship to their workers. If an employer has been misrepresenting employees as independent contractors to the State or the IRS, she may be in for a big shock when the all seeing eye of government turns their direction. If the business is audited and found to have misrepresented workers it will be responsible for back payroll witholding, late fees, penalties, and will lose any deductions claimed on prior returns for contract work. Needless to say, this could amount to enough to cripple or even kill your business. This article uses the IRS' own language to spell out how you can determine how to treat your workers for tax purposes and avoid being unexpectedly slammed.
First, we’ll discuss the categories in which the IRS places workers in for the purpose of this topic. They fall into four categories: independent contractors, employees, statutory employees, and statutory nonemployees.
Independent Contractors
People such as lawyers, contractors, subcontractors and auctioneers who follow an independent trade, business, or profession in which they offer their services to the public, are generally not employees. However, whether such people are employees or independent contractors depends on the facts in each case. The general rule is that an individual is an independent contractor if you, the person for whom the services are performed, have the right to control or direct only the result of the work and not the means and methods of accomplishing the result.
Employees (Common Law)
Under common-law rules, anyone who performs services for you is your employee if you can control what will be done and how it will be done. This is so even when you give the employee freedom of action. What matters is that you have the right to control the details of how the services are performed.
Statutory Employees
If workers are independent contractors under the common law rules, such workers may nevertheless be treated as employees by statute (statutory employees) for certain employment tax purposes if they fall within any one of the following four categories and meet the three conditions described under Social Security and Medicare taxes, below.
- A driver who distributes beverages (other than milk) or meat, vegetable, fruit, or bakery products; or who picks up and delivers laundry or dry cleaning, if the driver is your agent or is paid on commission.
- A full-time life insurance sales agent whose principal business activity is selling life insurance or annuity contracts, or both, primarily for one life insurance company.
- An individual who works at home on materials or goods that you supply and that must be returned to you or to a person you name, if you also furnish specifications for the work to be done.
- A full-time traveling or city salesperson who works on your behalf and turns in orders to you from wholesalers, retailers, contractors, or operators of hotels, restaurants, or other similar establishments. The goods sold must be merchandise for resale or supplies for use in the buyer’s business operation. The work performed for you must be the salesperson's principal business activity.
Statutory Nonemployees
There are generally two categories of statutory nonemployees: direct sellers and licensed real estate agents. They are treated as self-employed for all Federal tax purposes, including income and employment taxes, if:
- Substantially all payments for their services as direct sellers or real estate agents are directly related to sales or other output, rather than to the number of hours worked
Common Law Rules for Determining Relationship
Facts that provide evidence of the degree of control and independence fall into three categories:
1. Behavioral: Does the company control or have the right to control what the worker does and how the worker does his or her job?
The behavioral control factors fall into the categories of:
- Type of instructions given (when, where, how)
- Degree of instruction (amount of detail)
- Evaluation systems (if details = employee, if end result = I.C.)
- Training
2. Financial: Are the business aspects of the worker’s job controlled by the payer? (these include things like how worker is paid, whether expenses are reimbursed, who provides tools/supplies, etc.)
The financial control factors fall into the categories of:
- Significant investment (not dispositive)
- Unreimbursed expenses
- Opportunity for profit or loss
- Services available to the market
- Method of payment (wage v. flat fee)
3. Type of Relationship: Are there written contracts or employee type benefits (i.e. pension plan, insurance, vacation pay, etc.)? Will the relationship continue and is the work performed a key aspect of the business?
The factors, for the type of relationship between two parties, generally fall into the categories of:
- Written contracts
- Employee benefits
- Permanency of the relationship
- Services provided as key activity of the business
Businesses must weigh all these factors when determining whether a worker is an employee or independent contractor. Some factors may indicate that the worker is an employee, while other factors indicate that the worker is an independent contractor. There is no “magic” or set number of factors that “makes” the worker an employee or an independent contractor, and no one factor stands alone in making this determination. Also, factors which are relevant in one situation may not be relevant in another.
Source: http://www.irs.gov/businesses/small/article/0,,id=99921,00.html
The keys are to look at the entire relationship, consider the degree or extent of the right to direct and control, and finally, to document each of the factors used in coming up with the determination.
Safe Harbor Provisions
There are safe harbor provisions which can aid an employer when determining how to treat workers. The following requirements must be met:
1. The institution has never treated the independent contractor as an employee, and has filed Form 1099's for him/her in a timely manner.
2. The institution has consistently treated workers in a substantially similar position as independent contractors.
3. The institution has a reasonable basis for treating the worker as an independent contractor. Reasonable basis means:
- Reliance on court decisions, published IRS rulings, and certain other kinds of technical advice; or
- In a past IRS audit, the institution was not assessed employment taxes for treating workers doing a similar type of work as independent contractors; or
- It is a recognized, long-standing practice for a large segment of the industry to treat certain types of workers as independent contractors.
- Their services are performed under a written contract providing that they will not be treated as employees for Federal tax purposes.
If you simply cannot come to a conclusion as to how to treat your worker, have them fill out IRS form SS-8 for a determination from the IRS. The form can be found here: http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fss8.pdf
For more information on the difference between independent contractors and employees and how to avoid added tax liabilities for mistaking the two, visit www.prometheuslegal.com or email us at info@prometheuslegal.com.
First, we’ll discuss the categories in which the IRS places workers in for the purpose of this topic. They fall into four categories: independent contractors, employees, statutory employees, and statutory nonemployees.
Independent Contractors
People such as lawyers, contractors, subcontractors and auctioneers who follow an independent trade, business, or profession in which they offer their services to the public, are generally not employees. However, whether such people are employees or independent contractors depends on the facts in each case. The general rule is that an individual is an independent contractor if you, the person for whom the services are performed, have the right to control or direct only the result of the work and not the means and methods of accomplishing the result.
Employees (Common Law)
Under common-law rules, anyone who performs services for you is your employee if you can control what will be done and how it will be done. This is so even when you give the employee freedom of action. What matters is that you have the right to control the details of how the services are performed.
Statutory Employees
If workers are independent contractors under the common law rules, such workers may nevertheless be treated as employees by statute (statutory employees) for certain employment tax purposes if they fall within any one of the following four categories and meet the three conditions described under Social Security and Medicare taxes, below.
- A driver who distributes beverages (other than milk) or meat, vegetable, fruit, or bakery products; or who picks up and delivers laundry or dry cleaning, if the driver is your agent or is paid on commission.
- A full-time life insurance sales agent whose principal business activity is selling life insurance or annuity contracts, or both, primarily for one life insurance company.
- An individual who works at home on materials or goods that you supply and that must be returned to you or to a person you name, if you also furnish specifications for the work to be done.
- A full-time traveling or city salesperson who works on your behalf and turns in orders to you from wholesalers, retailers, contractors, or operators of hotels, restaurants, or other similar establishments. The goods sold must be merchandise for resale or supplies for use in the buyer’s business operation. The work performed for you must be the salesperson's principal business activity.
Statutory Nonemployees
There are generally two categories of statutory nonemployees: direct sellers and licensed real estate agents. They are treated as self-employed for all Federal tax purposes, including income and employment taxes, if:
- Substantially all payments for their services as direct sellers or real estate agents are directly related to sales or other output, rather than to the number of hours worked
Common Law Rules for Determining Relationship
Facts that provide evidence of the degree of control and independence fall into three categories:
1. Behavioral: Does the company control or have the right to control what the worker does and how the worker does his or her job?
The behavioral control factors fall into the categories of:
- Type of instructions given (when, where, how)
- Degree of instruction (amount of detail)
- Evaluation systems (if details = employee, if end result = I.C.)
- Training
2. Financial: Are the business aspects of the worker’s job controlled by the payer? (these include things like how worker is paid, whether expenses are reimbursed, who provides tools/supplies, etc.)
The financial control factors fall into the categories of:
- Significant investment (not dispositive)
- Unreimbursed expenses
- Opportunity for profit or loss
- Services available to the market
- Method of payment (wage v. flat fee)
3. Type of Relationship: Are there written contracts or employee type benefits (i.e. pension plan, insurance, vacation pay, etc.)? Will the relationship continue and is the work performed a key aspect of the business?
The factors, for the type of relationship between two parties, generally fall into the categories of:
- Written contracts
- Employee benefits
- Permanency of the relationship
- Services provided as key activity of the business
Businesses must weigh all these factors when determining whether a worker is an employee or independent contractor. Some factors may indicate that the worker is an employee, while other factors indicate that the worker is an independent contractor. There is no “magic” or set number of factors that “makes” the worker an employee or an independent contractor, and no one factor stands alone in making this determination. Also, factors which are relevant in one situation may not be relevant in another.
Source: http://www.irs.gov/businesses/small/article/0,,id=99921,00.html
The keys are to look at the entire relationship, consider the degree or extent of the right to direct and control, and finally, to document each of the factors used in coming up with the determination.
Safe Harbor Provisions
There are safe harbor provisions which can aid an employer when determining how to treat workers. The following requirements must be met:
1. The institution has never treated the independent contractor as an employee, and has filed Form 1099's for him/her in a timely manner.
2. The institution has consistently treated workers in a substantially similar position as independent contractors.
3. The institution has a reasonable basis for treating the worker as an independent contractor. Reasonable basis means:
- Reliance on court decisions, published IRS rulings, and certain other kinds of technical advice; or
- In a past IRS audit, the institution was not assessed employment taxes for treating workers doing a similar type of work as independent contractors; or
- It is a recognized, long-standing practice for a large segment of the industry to treat certain types of workers as independent contractors.
- Their services are performed under a written contract providing that they will not be treated as employees for Federal tax purposes.
If you simply cannot come to a conclusion as to how to treat your worker, have them fill out IRS form SS-8 for a determination from the IRS. The form can be found here: http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fss8.pdf
For more information on the difference between independent contractors and employees and how to avoid added tax liabilities for mistaking the two, visit www.prometheuslegal.com or email us at info@prometheuslegal.com.
by Chad Mathis, Prometheus Legal on January 28th, 2011
17th century French author Jean de La Bruyère wrote, “Avoid lawsuits beyond all things; they pervert your conscience, impair your health, and dissipate your property.” Few things can derail a business as efficiently and ruthlessly as a lawsuit. Whether you win or lose it will cost you money, time, and energy that few business owners can afford to spare. Fortunately, there are things you can do to limit your exposure to lawsuits and minimize their impact when they inevitably occur. Here are eight tips to get you started.
1. Be Proactive
The worst thing you can do is ignore that you are exposed to litigation. The head in the sand approach just doesn’t work. Even ostriches don’t actually do this, despite what you may have heard. Analyze your business and locate potential hazards. Do you sell potentially dangerous widgets? Do you have difficulty keeping your employees satisfied and working hard? Are there competitors in the market that may attempt to put you under by utilizing the courts? Think now so you can minimize these risks with proper legal planning.
2. Always Get it in Writing
In this day and age, there is simply no excuse for not getting every single agreement in writing. I don’t care that your father sealed deals with a handshake. We know better now. Whether you are providing services, engaging a vendor, hiring an employee, or even providing an in-kind trade of services, get it in writing.
3. Arbitration and Liquidated Damages
Every agreement you enter into should contain language that dictates how disputes between the parties to the contract will be settled. A couple of common methods are arbitration clauses and liquidated damages. Arbitration can keep you out of the courtroom, and limit your legal costs. Liquidated damages set forth beforehand the amount that will be paid by a party breaching the contract.
4. Don’t Ignore Angry Customers
It is easy to assume that your disgruntled customer or client is off their rocker and ignore them in the hopes that they will go away. Unfortunately, the irrationally angry customer is often the one most likely to take you to court. Many people seek litigation in order to simply be heard. Isn’t it a better practice to listen to them now rather than in a courtroom?
5. Have an Attorney Draft or Review All of Your Agreements
Yes, attorneys cost money. However, they cost less when they are reviewing contracts than they do when they are litigating them in court. Too often business owners find themselves in legal trouble due to small discrepancies or omissions in their contracts. Build a relationship with an attorney you trust and make sure they are part of your team when it comes time to enter into contracts. Remember the number one tip? Be proactive rather than reactive.
6. Pay Your Taxes
Anyone who reads the paper knows that even established businesses seem to ignore this necessity. No one enjoys paying taxes, especially small business owners. Nonetheless, you have to stay on top of your payroll and gross receipts taxes or the government will come after you – and they always win.
7. Don’t Forget About Intellectual Property
Before choosing a name for your business, or naming a new product, you must conduct careful trademark searches to ensure you are not infringing upon the intellectual property rights of another. Trademark and copyright litigation can be very costly. Additionally, it is important to register your trademarks and copyrighted materials so that you can more easily protect them from others who may attempt to benefit from the goodwill of your business.
8. Invest in Risk Management
Most business owners are aware that they need insurance coverage of various types. This is a crucial step to ensure that your business will not go under do to a simple mistake or accident. It is also important to assess and prepare for legal exposures before they occur. Whether it is a properly drafted employee handbook, the right entity structure, a well drafted operating agreement, or even proper warning labels on your products, there are many ways a business owner exposes herself to litigation that can be avoided by spending a bit of money up front to ensure everything is in place.
Business owners must constantly reevaluate aspects of their business to ensure they stay one step ahead of the competition in order to keep their doors open. Don’t forget to include legal exposure in your ongoing analysis of your business or a lawsuit may destroy everything you have worked so hard to build. Careful planning and a proactive approach will minimize your risk and minimize the impact when legal issues rear their ugly head.
For more information on protecting your business from lawsuits, visit Prometheus Legal at www.prometheuslegal.com.
1. Be Proactive
The worst thing you can do is ignore that you are exposed to litigation. The head in the sand approach just doesn’t work. Even ostriches don’t actually do this, despite what you may have heard. Analyze your business and locate potential hazards. Do you sell potentially dangerous widgets? Do you have difficulty keeping your employees satisfied and working hard? Are there competitors in the market that may attempt to put you under by utilizing the courts? Think now so you can minimize these risks with proper legal planning.
2. Always Get it in Writing
In this day and age, there is simply no excuse for not getting every single agreement in writing. I don’t care that your father sealed deals with a handshake. We know better now. Whether you are providing services, engaging a vendor, hiring an employee, or even providing an in-kind trade of services, get it in writing.
3. Arbitration and Liquidated Damages
Every agreement you enter into should contain language that dictates how disputes between the parties to the contract will be settled. A couple of common methods are arbitration clauses and liquidated damages. Arbitration can keep you out of the courtroom, and limit your legal costs. Liquidated damages set forth beforehand the amount that will be paid by a party breaching the contract.
4. Don’t Ignore Angry Customers
It is easy to assume that your disgruntled customer or client is off their rocker and ignore them in the hopes that they will go away. Unfortunately, the irrationally angry customer is often the one most likely to take you to court. Many people seek litigation in order to simply be heard. Isn’t it a better practice to listen to them now rather than in a courtroom?
5. Have an Attorney Draft or Review All of Your Agreements
Yes, attorneys cost money. However, they cost less when they are reviewing contracts than they do when they are litigating them in court. Too often business owners find themselves in legal trouble due to small discrepancies or omissions in their contracts. Build a relationship with an attorney you trust and make sure they are part of your team when it comes time to enter into contracts. Remember the number one tip? Be proactive rather than reactive.
6. Pay Your Taxes
Anyone who reads the paper knows that even established businesses seem to ignore this necessity. No one enjoys paying taxes, especially small business owners. Nonetheless, you have to stay on top of your payroll and gross receipts taxes or the government will come after you – and they always win.
7. Don’t Forget About Intellectual Property
Before choosing a name for your business, or naming a new product, you must conduct careful trademark searches to ensure you are not infringing upon the intellectual property rights of another. Trademark and copyright litigation can be very costly. Additionally, it is important to register your trademarks and copyrighted materials so that you can more easily protect them from others who may attempt to benefit from the goodwill of your business.
8. Invest in Risk Management
Most business owners are aware that they need insurance coverage of various types. This is a crucial step to ensure that your business will not go under do to a simple mistake or accident. It is also important to assess and prepare for legal exposures before they occur. Whether it is a properly drafted employee handbook, the right entity structure, a well drafted operating agreement, or even proper warning labels on your products, there are many ways a business owner exposes herself to litigation that can be avoided by spending a bit of money up front to ensure everything is in place.
Business owners must constantly reevaluate aspects of their business to ensure they stay one step ahead of the competition in order to keep their doors open. Don’t forget to include legal exposure in your ongoing analysis of your business or a lawsuit may destroy everything you have worked so hard to build. Careful planning and a proactive approach will minimize your risk and minimize the impact when legal issues rear their ugly head.
For more information on protecting your business from lawsuits, visit Prometheus Legal at www.prometheuslegal.com.
by Chad Mathis, Prometheus Legal on January 13th, 2011
What is arguably the most significant bill passed since Medicare was enacted in 1965, H.R.3590, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, will have a major impact on many businesses when it takes full effect on January 1, 2014.
Only “applicable large employers” are subject to the mandate to offer coverage. If your company employs fifty or fewer full time employees, there is no requirement to provide health insurance coverage. A full time employee is one who works on average at least thirty hours per week. This is good news for many small businesses in New Mexico. However, there are many companies with more than fifty employees that still operate as, and consider themselves, a small business. These companies will have to work the hardest to ensure they are in compliance with the new law.
If your company employs more than fifty full time employees you have two options. The first option is to forego providing health coverage for your employees. If you decide not to provide coverage, and even one of your employees is receiving the premium tax credit through the new state health insurance exchanges, you will be fined $2000 per month for each employee, less thirty employees. For example, if your business employs seventy full time workers, you will be fined $2000 X 40 employees. $80,000 per month is a hit most businesses just can’t handle. For those larger companies who believe it may be more affordable to simply pay the penalty, remember that the penalties are not deductible for income tax purposes.
The second option is to provide health coverage for your employees and avoid the penalties. If you do so, the coverage must meet some minimum requirements. Under your company’s plan, the premium payments must not exceed 9.5% of the employee’s income, or in the alternative must have at least a 60% actuarial value. If you fail to provide affordable insurance to full time employees, and one of your employees receives the premium tax credit by utilizing the new state health insurance exchanges, your business will be fined $3000 per month for each employee who is receiving the premium tax credit. The penalty is capped at the number of full time employees at the company.
For those businesses that employ more than two hundred full time employees, newly hired employees must be automatically enrolled in the employer plan, unless the employee chooses to opt out.
Tax credit for small employers offering health coverage. Beginning in the 2010 tax year, qualifying small businesses will be eligible for tax credits should they elect to provide health insurance for their employees. To be minimally eligible, a company must have twenty five or fewer full time employees with an average annual salary of no more than $50,000. To receive the full credit, a company must have ten or fewer full time employees with an average annual salary of no more than $25,000.
Finally, a disclaimer: The recently passed healthcare bill may never actually take full effect and impact your business. The House will soon be taking a simple yes or no vote on whether to repeal the bill in its entirety. This is a symbolic gesture as the Senate will not follow suit. Nonetheless, business owners of any political stripe should keep their eye on the 2012 election. Should the Republican Party retain control in the House, and take control of the Senate and the White House, the healthcare bill will likely be repealed in its entirety.
For more information on how healthcare reform may affect your business, visit Prometheus Legal at www.prometheuslegal.com.
Only “applicable large employers” are subject to the mandate to offer coverage. If your company employs fifty or fewer full time employees, there is no requirement to provide health insurance coverage. A full time employee is one who works on average at least thirty hours per week. This is good news for many small businesses in New Mexico. However, there are many companies with more than fifty employees that still operate as, and consider themselves, a small business. These companies will have to work the hardest to ensure they are in compliance with the new law.
If your company employs more than fifty full time employees you have two options. The first option is to forego providing health coverage for your employees. If you decide not to provide coverage, and even one of your employees is receiving the premium tax credit through the new state health insurance exchanges, you will be fined $2000 per month for each employee, less thirty employees. For example, if your business employs seventy full time workers, you will be fined $2000 X 40 employees. $80,000 per month is a hit most businesses just can’t handle. For those larger companies who believe it may be more affordable to simply pay the penalty, remember that the penalties are not deductible for income tax purposes.
The second option is to provide health coverage for your employees and avoid the penalties. If you do so, the coverage must meet some minimum requirements. Under your company’s plan, the premium payments must not exceed 9.5% of the employee’s income, or in the alternative must have at least a 60% actuarial value. If you fail to provide affordable insurance to full time employees, and one of your employees receives the premium tax credit by utilizing the new state health insurance exchanges, your business will be fined $3000 per month for each employee who is receiving the premium tax credit. The penalty is capped at the number of full time employees at the company.
For those businesses that employ more than two hundred full time employees, newly hired employees must be automatically enrolled in the employer plan, unless the employee chooses to opt out.
Tax credit for small employers offering health coverage. Beginning in the 2010 tax year, qualifying small businesses will be eligible for tax credits should they elect to provide health insurance for their employees. To be minimally eligible, a company must have twenty five or fewer full time employees with an average annual salary of no more than $50,000. To receive the full credit, a company must have ten or fewer full time employees with an average annual salary of no more than $25,000.
Finally, a disclaimer: The recently passed healthcare bill may never actually take full effect and impact your business. The House will soon be taking a simple yes or no vote on whether to repeal the bill in its entirety. This is a symbolic gesture as the Senate will not follow suit. Nonetheless, business owners of any political stripe should keep their eye on the 2012 election. Should the Republican Party retain control in the House, and take control of the Senate and the White House, the healthcare bill will likely be repealed in its entirety.
For more information on how healthcare reform may affect your business, visit Prometheus Legal at www.prometheuslegal.com.
by Becky Raichur, Sonic SEO on January 7th, 2011
In the past few years, there has been a major undertaking to convince the general public that buying locally grown and manufactured products is the way to go. While big box and chain stores offer convenience, the dollars invested by one Albuquerque family will hardly be noticed by the CEOs of Wal-Mart or Target.
Locally owned and operated businesses depend on the support of the community and, in return, offer quality products and a unique flare. Supporting local Albuquerque, New Mexico businesses has many economic, social, and cultural advantages including:
The next time you need to buy groceries or find the perfect birthday present for a special person in your life, think local. Your patronage can start the nurturing cycle of success for the entire Albuquerque community: you, business owners, manufacturers, non-profits, community. When an entire community is thriving, it is less dependent on chain stores and foreign-made goods. Shop local, shop success.
Locally owned and operated businesses depend on the support of the community and, in return, offer quality products and a unique flare. Supporting local Albuquerque, New Mexico businesses has many economic, social, and cultural advantages including:
- Stable Money Flow: When individuals shop locally, their dollars will be invested back into the community. Rather than sending the profits to an unseen corporate headquarters, business owners reinvest their profits into other local operations. This cycle nurtures the lives of business owners, manufacturers, and customers of the same community.
- Job Production: Although large, chain stores boast the job opportunities they bring to a community, they don't brag about their turnover rates. With local businesses, individuals are able to find a stable job where they feel appreciated. Employees can work side-by-side with the owner and know their work is worthwhile.
- One-of-a-kind Selection: If you walk into a Target or Wal-Mart in Albuquerque and then another one in Tulsa, you are going to find the same products and the same store setup. This cookie-cutter business plan can be boring; local businesses provide a unique selection of products that you may not be able to find anywhere else.
- Community Building: In general, the employees and managers of large chain stores will not remember the names of all of their customers-it's just not feasible. However, locally-owned, small businesses can talk to you like a friend because you are their friend. Shopping locally lets you buy the products you need without feeling like an anonymous customer.
- Non-profit Support: Many thriving local businesses will give back to the community that has made them so successful. Churches, sports teams, children's organizations, and many other non-profits greatly benefit from the success of local businesses-which the entire community can then enjoy.
The next time you need to buy groceries or find the perfect birthday present for a special person in your life, think local. Your patronage can start the nurturing cycle of success for the entire Albuquerque community: you, business owners, manufacturers, non-profits, community. When an entire community is thriving, it is less dependent on chain stores and foreign-made goods. Shop local, shop success.
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