Small business owner message to legislature

We’ve all heard the saying: “Small businesses are the lifeblood of New Mexico’s economy.” It’s repeated at networking events, economic forums, political rallies, and ribbon cuttings across the state. But if that’s true, it’s time for the rubber to meet the road and for our state to start treating small businesses like the lifeblood that they are 

Small businesses have always been tenacious, forced to operate at the speed of ingenuity to make a profit. But the competition we face today is nothing like it was a generation ago. We’re no longer competing with Sears or Kmart. We’re competing with goliaths like Amazon, Temu, and mass-production corporations operating at a global scale.

As a proud New Mexican and owner of Rancho Rio Bravo, my family's small pecan farm, I see this reality every day. And the biggest advantage these corporate giants have isn’t just size, it’s data. 

From the moment you silence your phone alarm to the second you click “Accept All” on a website, your data is being collected. We are surrounded by technology, and it is constantly collecting our data. From every interaction we have on our phones to every swipe of our debit or credit cards, and even from the purchase of items automatically delivered to us as a subscription, like pet food, data collection has become so seamless that most people barely notice it anymore. But small business owners do, because while our giant competitors are using unimaginable amounts of data to target customers with precision, we simply can’t afford to.

Advertising has always been a cost of doing business, but technology has changed the rules. Platforms like Google and Facebook now control access to customers. One Texas business owner, Holly Homer, told NBC that a single Facebook algorithm change cut her revenue by 60 percent, with no warning and no explanation. With data monopolies dominating online advertising, small businesses are left with few alternatives and are forced to pay just to stay slightly visible on a playing field that is anything but level.

Companies like Google and Facebook are known to engage in self-preferencing, the practice of using their own algorithms to favor their own products or services over competitors. When you combine that with the massive amounts of daily consumer data they collect globally, you realize that the technology gap is not just a gap; it’s the Grand Canyon of gorges. 

I used to roll my eyes when I heard folks calling to “regulate the market” on the news. Not anymore. All you have to do is drive through Anthony or Las Cruces to see boarded-up storefronts and understand that our current approach isn’t working. What gives me hope is that there are pragmatic solutions that can reduce the use of these exploitative tactics.

Data minimization and stronger privacy protections, such as opt-in consent without loopholes for global corporations, would limit exploitative practices like predatory pricing and the use of consumer data to undercut smaller competitors. Higher privacy standards would also lower the cost of accessing insights, giving small businesses a fighting chance to operate without total dependence on these goliath platforms.

New Mexico is unique; we aren’t New York or California. We need community-first privacy protections and privacy laws tailored to NM small businesses and communities, not a cookie-cutter approach brought in from out of state. As our state representatives and senators head to Santa Fe for the 2026 legislative session, I hope they remember the phrase they so often repeat. Small businesses truly are the lifeblood of New Mexico’s economy, but only if we create an economy where they can survive.