AEO Member Spotlight

The Women's Economic Self-Sufficiency Team (WESST)

www.wesst.org

About the Organization

Location: Statewide in New Mexico, with headquarters located in Albuquerque, NM.

Populations Served: Historically, WESST has primarily served low-income women and minorities in New Mexico but extends its services to any entrepreneurs who want to start or grow a business. Since its inception 20 years ago, WESST has facilitated the start-up of 2,025 businesses, the creation of over 3,100 jobs and the provision of $3.5 million in capital to 420 borrowers.

In 2009, WESST opened the WESST Enterprise Center (WEC), a 37,000 square foot LEED-certified small business incubator in downtown Albuquerque. Once fully occupied, the WEC will house between 18 to 22 growth-oriented businesses, each with the ability to create jobs for low-to moderate-income individuals.

Microenterprise Development Services Provided: WESST offers classes, workshops, seminars, consulting, loans, and business incubation. Over 50 training programs are available for clients, ranging from workshops on basic keyboarding skills and seminars like “Facebook for Business” to a 12-session course called Marketlink that addresses business goals, strategies, and set-up.

Mission Statement: The mission of WESST is to facilitate economic self-sufficiency through sustained self-employment, particularly for its target market of low-income women and minorities in the state of New Mexico. Founded in 1988, WESST promotes entrepreneurial development by offering clients a comprehensive array of training, technical assistance and access to capital services targeted to both start-up and existing businesses.

WESST receives a donation check of $15,000 from Allstate Insurance Company in support of the WESST IDA Program in Albuquerque and Las Cruces. From left are Clare Zurawski, Albuquerque Regional Manager for WESST; Barbara Lopez, IDA Program Coordinator for WESST; Scott Glazier, Territorial Sales Leader for Allstate; Agnes Noonan, Executive Director of WESST; and Karen McCann, Market Distribution Leader for Allstate.

Why Does Microenterprise Matter?

Why does microenterprise development matter in your community?
Small business is the backbone of the New Mexico economy. There are very few large corporate employers, particularly in rural areas.

What are the most pressing needs of entrepreneurs in your community?
Business management skills and access to capital are always in demand. Most of our clients come to us as experts in their given field with little experience actually marketing their product or service, managing people or business finances.

How is your organization assisting entrepreneurs survive the recession?
There is obviously no magic formula to survival, but in the case of our loan fund, we are allowing our borrowers to restructure their loans to get through these tough times. We are also offering training and consulting in affordable marketing strategies such as search engine optimization and social media. We are committed to developing our incubation program so that the early stage companies located at the WESST Enterprise Center will be well positioned to not only survive, but to leverage this economy to their benefit.

How do you think the US microenterprise development field can best help microentrepreneurs nationwide?
Microenterprise development programs can best help entrepreneurs nationwide by listening carefully to their needs and responding with as much depth and quality as possible. Some entrepreneurs need to change their core business model to survive; others need to cut costs and leverage the Internet to find new customers. To support small businesses effectively, our own organizations must adapt to the “new normal,” model the best practices we advise our clients to employ, and find ways to innovate ourselves.



WESST Enterprise Center,
609 Broadway Blvd. NE,
Albuquerque, NM 87102


Organization Successes and Challenges

What was your biggest success in 2008?
Finalizing the construction and set up of a new building, the creation of a small-business incubator and moving into the new facility was a great success for WESST. The culmination of several years of diligence made the WESST Enterprise Center a reality.

What was your biggest challenge in 2008?
Managing ongoing business training and creating new material for WESST clients appropriate to the economic situation while simultaneously moving into the Enterprise Center was a challenge, but the WESST staff achieved a seamless transition.

What are your goals for 2009?
• To continue to grow the WESST Enterprise Center incubator program by recruiting new companies, and to be fully occupied by the end of 2010.
• To develop and implement strategies regarding WESST’s distance learning initiative.
• To grow the WESST Loan Fund by 10%.

Organization Statistics

In 2008
Clients served: 1,265
Microloans: 43
Dollars loaned: $698,250
Average loan: $16,238
Jobs created by microenterprise clients: 162

Cumulative (last 10 years)
Clients served: N/A
Microloans: 410
Dollars loaned: $3,302,649
Average loan: $6,051
Jobs created by microenterprise clients: 3,100










WESST Grand Opening – Ribbon cutting ceremony.
From left: Dr. Jacki Peiracci Riggs, Senator Jeff Bingaman, Mayor Martin Chavez, Lt. Governor Diane Denish, WESST Past-Chair Carol Radosevich, EDA regional Manager Pedro Garcia and WESST Executive Director Agnes Noonan.