El Paso Small Business Report

Tax Tips for El Paso Small Businesses

admin — Tue, 28 Dec 2010 05:09:57 +0000

Small business owners in El Paso should definitely check out the new rules for health insurance.

Taking advantage of new tax breaks can help small businesses survive and grow in this tough economy.

The National Society of Accountants has put together a checklist of tax tips for businesses. To learn more, visit the small business pages of El Paso, Inc.

ONLC Training Centers Open Their Doors at Intelligent Office East Side Complex

admin — Tue, 28 Dec 2010 05:01:42 +0000

ONLC Training Centers is a Microsoft Gold level Training Partner with locations throughout Texas. Their newest Texas site is in the El Paso Intelligent Office complex located at 2300 George Dieter. ONLC provides live, hands-on instructor training in their new El Paso classroom. They offer 1 and 2-day classes in Microsoft Office and Adobe web development tools as well as 5-day technical classes on Microsoft, Citrix, and Oracle server products. ONLC has been offering IT training since 1982 and looks forward to serving the El Paso community.

Alfredo Angcayan
915-842-8400
aangcayan@intelligentoffice.com

El Paso, Texas Sets National Pace for Income Growth

admin — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 05:13:37 +0000

Portfolio.com – the national business news site for small business resources and mid-sized business (SMB) executives – today revealed its latest U.S. Uncovered study, ranking U.S. cities with the highest income growth. The study, which looked at the nation’s top 100 metropolitan areas, analyzed 25 years of federal income data to calculate how income level growth compares across the nation. El Paso, Texas, ranks in first place, with a 147 percent increase in income levels over the past 20 years.

The study used a 25-part formula to analyze the consistency and strength of per capita income (PCI) growth in each market. The formula compared each area’s growth rates against the U.S. averages for 25 different time spans, yielding an overall score for income growth. All 25 spans ended in 2009, ranging in length from 25 years (1984-2009) to a single year (2008-2009).

“When you consider the current high rate of unemployment in this country, our study suggests that people may want to explore job opportunities or start businesses in smaller cities, like El Paso, Baton Rouge and Oklahoma City, where income growth is higher and the economy has been relativity stable in comparison to other parts of the U.S.”, said J. Jennings Moss, editor of Portfolio.com.

El Paso, which ranks as the 99th lowest per capita income of $28,638, holds first place in 13 of the 25 time spans, including a 147 percent increase in income levels between 1989 and 2009, and two percent during the recessionary period of 2008 to 2009. Meanwhile, Bridgeport-Stamford, Connecticut, which had the highest PCI in 2009 ($73,720), ranks 33 in the income growth index.

Purity Bay Water Purification Company Joins The Intelligent Office

admin — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 06:48:09 +0000

Purity Bay, a residential water purification company has helped hundreds of thousands of homeowners in its first 25 years of operation and has expanded throughout the United States. The central factory, Level Edge, is serving Florida, New Mexico and Texas. The central factory also supplies dozens of the largest utilities, bottling companies and small businesses with their water and energy requirements. Operations Manager Dennis O’Brien will be the primary person to conduct training and conduct operations in the El Paso area. Local operations will based out of the Intelligent Office Complex West Side location at 7362 Remcon Circle.

8 Part Series Looks at Growing Businesses

admin — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 05:27:12 +0000

Small-business owners and empowerment zone residents can get help on topics including how to build a quality business plan and how to understand your credit at an eight-part workshop.

“Small Business Made EZ: Start & Grow Your Business — 8 Part Workshop” will be from 3 to 4:30 p.m. Feb. 16-18 and Feb. 22-25 at the El Paso Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, 2401 E. Missouri.

The series is free and for small-business owners and empowerment zone residents only. It is sponsored by the El Paso Empowerment Zone and the El Paso Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.

Information: Adriana Valverde, 566-4066 or avalverde@ephcc.org

Laurie and Mike Paternoster open Lynx Exhibits as part of downtown revitalization.

admin — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 05:05:12 +0000

Laurie Paternoster co-owns Lynx Exhibits with her husband Mike. What they do is an important piece of the El Paso downtown revitalization efforts and the exhibits they bring in give the opportunity to El Pasoan’s young and old to learn about subjects that might not be as accessible without an institution like Lynx.

First, a big thank you is owed to you and Mike for starting up Lynx, it truly is a wonderful learning facility for all of El Paso. What brought the two of you to start it, especially downtown?

We love this community. We had a dream for a venue the whole family could enjoy and we thought Downtown El Paso – with its vibrant culture, character and endless possibility – was a great place to start. Funny thing is, the project started out as something else – an indoor playground made of recyclables. But over inflated construction estimates and a floundering economy got in the way, so Mike came up with a less capital intensive dream – a showcase for first-class traveling exhibits that never seemed to make it to El Paso. And so, El Paso’s only traveling exhibit museum was born.

What do you think makes El Paso stand out from the rest of the crowd?

Wow. Where do I start? Although El Paso is a major city, it retains that small-town feel in a good way – people are kind and care for their neighbors, you can still park close to any business you patronize; the pace is slow enough to allow us to appreciate life and one another. Our children can learn a foreign language and actually use that gift daily. You can’t beat the weather most of the year and the cultural diversity rivals that of any city in the nation.

You have seen a lot of change already in downtown El Paso, what else would you like to see happen?

I would love to see a cohesive partnership for promoting Downtown businesses. With all that is going on, most El Paso small businesses and developments still operate in a vacuum. Restaurants and museums should be partnering together and developers of hotels and lofts should be partnering with retail businesses they don’t own. Everyone should be partnering with entertainment venues. We have a Border Museum Association that is trying to bring those entities together, but there still is a territorial aspect that prevents some from becoming committed partners. And what happened to the Downtown Development Plan? I would love to see the city take visible steps toward rewarding those putting dollars on the line. Those of us who are investing our own money – not relying on government funding in any way – need recognition and support. And by the way, how about free meter parking on Saturday?

To read the rest of this interview please visit Living in El Paso

Apple Contracting, Inc. Opens in the Intelligent Office East Side Location

admin — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 08:22:45 +0000

Apple Contracting, Inc works hand in hand with their customers from the initial damage inspection to filing an insurance claim, project planning and after project customer service. As one of the fastest growing storm reconstruction companies in the country, they have the expertise, experience, and qualified disaster staff to care of all their customer needs. Apple Contracting, Inc. will open operations at the Intelligent Office east side location at 2300 George Dieter. Alan Fails, Project Manger will head operations in El Paso.

The Law Office of Mark Smigiel Opens in the Intelligent Office Westside Location

admin — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 08:15:02 +0000

Attorney Mark Smigiel was born in Montgomery, Alabama and raised in Central Texas. He earned his Bachelor of Arts Degree from Marquette University in 1994 and his Doctor of Jurisprudence Degree from Southern Methodist University and Dedman School of Law in 1997. A member of the American Bar Association and the El Paso Bar Association, Mr. Smigiel is licensed to practice law in the state of Texas and has been practicing law for nine years. The new “Law Office of Mark Smigiel” will be located at the Intelligent Office complex located at 7362 Remcon Circle Westside location.