Tag Archives: WESST

Growth Unlimited for Production Sewing Company

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Veronica Fuller has been sewing for more than 40 years. It’s what she loves to do.

The owner of Sandia Pet Products migrated from Juarez, Mexico, 32 years ago and began working in sewing production facilities around Albuquerque, lending her expertise to manufacturing companies like Southwest Creations Collaborative, Marpac, and Sierra Peaks Corporation. In her off hours, she did custom sewing jobs from her garage. She made pillows, clothing, and more.

In 2022, Fuller’s employer at Sandia Pet Products was ready to retire from the 30-year-old business and turned to Fuller and another worker with an offer to buy the company.

Fuller’s colleague was not interested but Fuller jumped at the chance to take over the wholesale business that specialized in dog collars and leashes.

“I started asking questions and looking for loans,” said Fuller. “I asked [my former employer] Susan from Southwest Creations, ‘do you know of people I can borrow some money from?  I’m a woman and I’m a Mexican.’” Fuller was directed to WESST, a business development organization that offers capital and technical assistance. “I called WESST and WESST gave me the loan.”

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How to Sell to the Government

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The federal government aims to award at least 5 percent of all federal prime contracting dollars to women-owned small businesses and 12 percent to small disadvantaged businesses. The State of New Mexico gives New Mexico resident-owned businesses preference in state contracts. Ready to get started selling to the government?

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Workshops Aim to Improve Leadership Skills

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The Albuquerque co-working organization FatPipe and the business development organization WESST want to help businesspeople become better leaders. FatPipe is offering a six-workshop series called “What type of leader are you?” and WESST’s Rio Rancho center will host virtually “Position Expectations,” a workshop to help business owners and managers provide clarity to employees and team members.

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WE Mean Business Coming to a Device Near You

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Arrowhead Center at New Mexico State University and WESST want women entrepreneurs (WE) to have the support they need to start and build their businesses. The two business development organizations have teamed up to offer WE Mean Business, a women’s entrepreneurship conference that will be held virtually from 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm on November 17.

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WESST Helps Hobbyists Become Business Owners

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Photo by @courtneymcook

According to Brad Crowson, a former regional program coordinator at WESST, more than 70 percent of business registrations in Rio Rancho are for home-based businesses. Crowson, who worked one-on-one with new and aspiring small-business owners as a consultant for the nonprofit business development organization, believes the home-based business trend is supported by the widespread availability of high-speed internet, among other factors.

“It’s also, in most cases, fairly low-risk financially and offers significant upside potential for both personal fulfillment and income generation — not to mention terrific tax benefits if structured properly,” Crowson said in a recent WESST blog post.

Many people engage in home-based hobby activities that turn into a source of income; however, to claim tax benefits referred to by Crowson, individuals must demonstrate to the Internal Revenue Service that their activities are intended to make a profit.

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What is an Entrepreneur?

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According to Lorena Schott, entrepreneurs pop up in all types of industries and can have widely different backgrounds. “Really anyone can be an entrepreneur, given the idea and the right tools to develop it into a functional business,” she said.

Schott should know. The director of marketing communications at WESST has met thousands of entrepreneurs since joining the business development organization in 2009. WESST is a nonprofit organization that offers business consulting, workshops, financial resources, business incubation, and support to help entrepreneurs start and grow a business.

“An entrepreneur is someone who sees a need and takes on the financial risk to start a business to fill that need,” she said in a WESST blog post. “It may sound vague, but that’s the point; there is no cookie-cutter entrepreneur…”

Schott contrasts the ‘classic’ entrepreneur — someone who creates a business like a new restaurant or a tech start-up — with today’s entrepreneurs. “There has been a shift in the global job market that has opened the door for entrepreneurship to become more mainstream,” she said.

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Wesst’s WBCs Support Women Entrepreneurs

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Celebrations of women’s accomplishments during Women’s History Month are incomplete without also celebrating the organizations that support women in their endeavors. The business development organization WESST supports women by offering services specifically designed for women entrepreneurs under a program developed by the U.S. Small Business Administration. While WESST offers its services to people of every gender identification, its seven offices are SBA-designated Women’s Business Centers.

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