70 percent who take advantage of WESST through the Santa Fe office are in the arts
HELPING SMALL BUSINESSES Every Step of the Way By Emmaly Weiderholt
Have you ever fantasized about owning your own business but don’t know where to start? Do you have a hobby or passion you’d like to turn into a full-time endeavor but don’t believe it’s possible? Imagine an organization specifically designed to aid in small business development. You’re in luck; WESST— founded in 1989 by Joellyn Murphy, Carol Radosevich and Jessica Glicken—has nurtured the entrepreneurial dreams of thousands of New Mexicans statewide through training, technical assistance and access to capital.
3,000 clients statewide benefit from WESST’s services every year
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65 percent of WESST’s current client base continues to be women
ESST currently operates six offices around the state. Although the founding emphasis was focused on helping women and minorities, the organization’s services are available to anyone seeking entrepreneurial assistance at any step along the way. The scope of WESST covers everything from creating to sustaining a business, and over 3,000 clients statewide benefit from those services every year.
WESST is partially funded by the Small Business Administration under the Office of Women’s Business Ownership, which provides funding to support WESST’s services for women and under-served communities. About 65 percent of WESST’s current client base continues to be women. Low cost fees are associated with the training and consulting. However, WESST offers financial assistance to those who income-qualify, according to federal requirements.
Julianna Silva, the managing director of the WESST Enterprise Center in Albuquerque, was an entrepreneur herself before working for WESST. She and her husband used WESST’s resources to develop their own business plan. After that, Silva knew instinctively that WESST was a place she wanted to work.
Bette Bradbury, the regional manager and director of training at WESST in Santa Fe, chaired WESST when she arrived in New Mexico. She became hooked on working with small and growing businesses, opened WESST’s five regional offices, and began giving back after enjoying a successful career in the corporate world. Bradbury’s a serial entrepreneur herself and understands the importance of taking informed risks and learning from both success and failure.
A popular resource at WESST is the business plan development course that covers everything one needs to know in order to build a platform for growing a successful business. Oftentimes, more than start-ups are in the class; when Silva herself took the class, she had been in business for 15 years. “WESST provides practical tools you can implement right away,” Silva describes. “Many of the WESST staff are business owners and know what it’s like. We develop tools that are useful, and we meet people where they are.”
“Our Santa Fe office serves 13 counties, many of which are comprised of rural communities where there might not be access to the kinds of workshops, training and one-on-one consultations we offer. One of WESST’s biggest differentiators is that we’re big on developing and maintaining relationships. We have clients we’ve worked with for more than 15 years,” Bradbury reflects.