The Statewide Advisory Council:  volunteering to help your small business

Margo Covington: Staying Green Financially and Environmentally

For over ten years, Margo Covington has been helping small businesses and government agencies balance the green of finances with the green of environmental friendliness.  For almost as long, she has been contributing valuable volunteer hours to the New Mexico Small Business Development Center network’s Statewide Advisory Council.

Ms. Covington’s firm, Covington Consulting of Santa Fe, has worked with clients ranging from the New Mexico Environment Department to Lucent Technologies and the Eight Northern Indian Pueblos Council, to facilitate change and increase profits while restoring the environment.  She is a Charter Examiner for the Governor’s Green Zia Awards, which are based on Malcolm Baldrige Quality criteria and which also include pollution prevention.  Ms. Covington recalls:  “I was one of the NMSBDC’s first clients in 1988 for my then-company, Emerald Green Sound Productions, a new age record label.  Ever since, I’ve been a strong advocate for their assistance and the excellent work they do.”

Ms. Covington applied the advice she received from the SBDC very well; in 1992 her company received the U.S. Small Business Administration’s award for New Mexico Exporter of the Year.

She has served on the NMSBDC Statewide Advisory Council for ten years, as its President for two years.  Why?  “I’ve enjoyed being part of the NMSBDC family:  great hugs!” she says.  More seriously, her statement of personal ideals offers a clue as to why such a capable person would devote so much time to helping other businesses:  “I am committed to bringing environmental excellence into the assistance offered to small business.  Also, I believe that entrepreneurship is the basis for strong democracy.”

The NMSBDC’s Statewide Advisory Council is a 25-member body that advises the State Director, performs community advocacy functions for small business issues, and helps get the word out about the free services the SBDCs provide.  Many Advisory Council members also work closely with their individual local SBDCs as consultants – all of this without pay.

To contact Margo Covington, call 982-0044 or go to www.covintonconsulting.net.