WESST In the News

March is Women’s History Month, a fitting time for WESST to kick off its newest campaign, “Invest in Yourself and Your Business.” (WESST, which originated as a small business resource for women, has since opened its services to everyone.) “We believe networking is very important, especially for women, so we have planned monthly networking meetings, as well as a series of classes to help people in all areas of their business,” said Jennifer Craig, WESST’s Regional Manager.

A digital media studio that opens soon at the 3-year-old WESST Enterprise Center business incubator in downtown Albuquerque will provide more resources to entrepreneurs and small businesses in New Mexico.

The 13th annual Women’s History Month celebration brunch, sponsored by WESST, was held Saturday at the Roswell Museum and Art Center where participants recognized achievements of women throughout the generations, and honored the local contributions of Barbara Gomez, Deborah Goluska, Diane Whetsel, and Sage the rescue dog.

Christie Green is a Santa Fe entrepreneur who developed her business as a landscape designer with the assistance of WESST and other small businesses assistance programs including a government-backed, no-interest loan from Century Bank. According to Green, Studio Succession is a “collaborative design, development and consulting firm, with a slow, integrated approach to the landscape.”

Ron Midgett opened New Earth Orchids out of a greenhouse in September 2010. A little over a year later, his orchid business is thriving. How has he been able to turn a profit during one of the nation’s worst economic downturns that has hit many New Mexico businesses particularly hard? Midgett attributes much of his company’s success to the assistance he received from various local economic development organizations.

Many small-scale artist-entrepreneurs never consider the underlying costs of getting their product or service to market. In this article, Kim Blueher, WESST’s Director of Lending, explains how WESST works with small-scale producers to help them add up the true costs of doing business and why understanding the pricing model of a business is one of the best investments a business owner can make.

USDA Rural Development State Director Terry Brunner and USDA Rural Housing Administrator announced today that WESST will receive two grants and a loan from USDA Rural Development totaling more than $675,000 for the development of business opportunities in rural New Mexico.

Business incubators provide fledgling startups with training, counseling, facilities, office space and access to funding. Here, CNN Money profiles “7 Hot Startup Incubators” — and the WESST Enterprise Center gets top billing.

Four local women were honored at the 12th annual Roswell Women’s History Month Celebration brunch at the Roswell Museum and Art Center, Saturday morning.

New Mexico agency helps women-owned firms chart path to success with training, resources and essential support.