What are the 5 Cs of Credit?

Owners looking for a loan for their small business should be familiar with the 5 Cs of Credit. Character, capital, collateral, capacity, and conditions determine if a traditional lender will offer a loan to a business owner. New and aspiring business owners can learn about the 5 Cs of Credit on Thursday, October 2, 2025, in a workshop hosted by the nonprofit lender WESST.

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Loan Funds a New Sense of Purpose

Cambri Gardner with her mother Tori Greer, RN
The Loan Fund helped Cambri Gardner change careers and find a new sense of purpose.

Cambri Gardner learned about the medical spa industry through her mother, a registered nurse working at a Colorado medical spa. Gardner now works alongside her mother at Roswell Aesthetics & Wellness, the business Gardner purchased in 2023 with the help of the nonprofit lender The Loan Fund.

Gardner had spent much of her professional career in sales and was ready for a change. “Sales was not fun for me,” said Gardner. “I really didn’t feel like I was benefiting people.”

In 2018, Gardner began working at a medical spa and was soon studying to obtain laser certification. Becoming an esthetician gave her a new sense of purpose, she said. “Seeing the changes that benefit people not just on the inside but on the outside, I felt was more life-changing for me.”

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WESST Doubles Down to Help Businesses

The nonprofit organization WESST is strategically restructuring to serve businesses and startups throughout New Mexico well into the future. Much like the advice WESST consultants give business owners facing changes in the marketplace, WESST is responding to a volatile nonprofit-funding environment.

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Reaching Rural with Small Business Loans

Carlos and Juany Chico went to several national banks for a loan to expand their lakeside food stand to a brick-and-mortar restaurant location. Like most small and startup entrepreneurs, they were turned down because they didn’t fit the lending requirements of traditional banks. That’s when they turned to the nonprofit lender DreamSpring for a small loan to fund operating and inventory expenses at the new location.

Chico’s Tortas y Pinas Lokas, now known simply as Chico’s Mexican Food, now operates out of a former KFC Restaurant building on Historic Route 66 in Santa Rosa and serves patrons in nearby Tucumcari from a food truck. The business is thriving, thanks to the tight-knit family of 12 and other staff, along with several DreamSpring loans that have enabled the company’s growth.

“DreamSpring is a good option,” Carlos said for people who don’t meet the lending requirements of traditional banks.

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Business Plan is Guide to Success

A business plan is a document that spells out a company’s expected course of action for a specified period, usually including a detailed listing and analysis of risks, uncertainties, and opportunities. For the small business, it should examine the proposed products, market, industry, management policies, marketing policies, production requirements, and financial needs.

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