Small Business Development Center Director Sandy Jones in her office. Photo by Kirsten Laskey/ladailypost.com
By KIRSTEN LASKEY
Los Alamos Daily Post
kirsten@ladailypost.com
Sandy Jones is the new Center Director for the Small Business Development Center (SBDC) at the University of New Mexico-Los Alamos (UNM-LA).
Jones said she knew this was the perfect job for her the moment she read the job ad.
“I couldn’t believe it when I saw the position advertised … because it encompasses everything I love – helping people and business.”
She has served as Center Director since Feb. 1. As the Center Director, “my job and mission of our organization is to build skilled entrepreneurs and strong businesses,” she said.
To achieve this, Jones said she represents the SBDC at different events and offers counseling to clients.
“We have no reason to exist except to help clients,” Jones said.
The SBDC offers help in numerous ways. Jones said she can help businesses with paperwork such as obtaining a business license and submitting articles of incorporation with the state. She added she can get business owners in touch with potential resources such as the International Business Acceleration, which focuses on importing and exporting, and New Mexico Procurement Technical Assistance Center, which assists companies to get into government procurement.
Additionally, she works with other centers that have folks with experience in marketing, finance, management, etc. and they collaborate to deliver help; in fact, different centers often co-counsel to bring all the resources they can to business clients.
“The most important thing is to know they are not alone,” Jones said. “There are so many people that can help assist.”
All counseling is confidential, she added.
Jones said she can also help local businesses tackle local challenges. For instance, finding office or retail space. She explained she can work with clients to determine how much space they need, where they would like to be located and what is the best use of resources.
Jones added she is looking forward to partnering with other local organizations such as the Chamber of Commerce, the Los Alamos Commerce and Development Corporation and projectY.
“I love meeting new people and Los Alamos is such as welcoming city for newcomers,” she said. “I’m happy to be in a small town.”
Jones said she came to Los Alamos as a “trailing spouse” but quickly fell in love with the aquatic center and local stores including Boomerang, Atomic City Quilts and Aspen Copies. Before serving as SBDC Director, Jones said she ran her family’s Airbnb and has spent most of her career in supervision and ecommerce.
To make an appointment with Jones, go to www.nmsbdc.org. She can be reached at 505.662.0337 or email sjones15@unm.edu.
