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.
One of the biggest demographics of entrepreneurs who have benefitted from WESST’s services are artists; Bradbury estimates that 70 percent of the folks who take advantage of WESST through the Santa Fe office are in the arts. She says that many artists and artisans offer fabulous products but lack the skillsets to price their work in order to make a profit and market themselves. WESST seeks to remedy that. In fact, WESST enjoys a collaborative relationship with Etsy, the online marketplace for buying and selling homemade craft products. WESST is the only entity in New Mexico that has Etsy’s approval to use its name in providing entrepreneurial workshops. “It became obvious this was something that would benefit the rural markets greatly,” Bradbury relates. “There’s a big difference between a hobby and a business; we conduct our classes with the business side in mind. We’ve helped incredibly skilled artisans grow and sustain what they develop.” Whether you want to open a restaurant, market your crafts, or open your own law firm, a good place to start fleshing out your own entrepreneurial dreams is in one of WESST’s workshops. They begin with your idea, with reality checks, and with building relationships. WESST aims to be as user-friendly as possible. “From there, you can get additional one-on-one support,” Silva suggests. “We teach you how to map out your idea.” And if you’re at the end of your career and looking to get involved, WESST is a 501(c)3 that accepts tax-deductible donations to support its many programs and resources. Additionally, WESST is always looking to the community for experts in their fields to lend their expertise and insight. It’s a way for established professionals to give back to the entrepreneurial community. “I love getting to work with such an incredible breadth of people,” reflects Bradbury. Silva echoes: “It’s wonderful to see the confidence our clients gain when they start to understand the mechanics of building a thriving business.”
For more information, visit WESST.org.