Resources That Offer Entrepreneurs Guidance Through Every Stage of Business

WESST believes that ongoing exposure to entrepreneurship education is integral to the long-term success of small businesses. We offer a variety of free and low-cost training to help aspiring entrepreneurs and established business owners learn the skills to launch and sustain a small business. From instructor-led workshops and on-demand webinars, to podcasts and helpful how-to articles on our small business blog, WESST online learning options offer the flexibility that today’s time- and money-constrained entrepreneurs need. We serve clients from virtually every industry and type of background. Select services can be provided in both English and Spanish.

Whether you want general guidance on how to start a small business on a budget or you’d like to learn more about the different types of website marketing strategies, you’ll find all the direction you need at WESST.

One-on-One Business Consulting

WESST offers one-on-one consultations with on-staff business experts to address specific questions and issues about starting and running a small business. Our consulting services can help you at any stage of your business, from the idea stage to expanding your company. Our experienced counselors can help you with a wide range of topics, including:

  • Learning the steps to starting a small business
  • Understanding business legal structures, and incorporating a small business
  • How to file taxes for a small business
  • Small business banking, accounting, and financial management
  • Business planning, including writing a business plan and marketing plan
  • Marketing your business, including branding, public relations and search engine optimization
  • Leveraging different types of website marketing strategies to grow your business

Sliding scale hourly fees apply for most consulting services. Contact your nearest WESST regional office to schedule a business consultation appointment, or request consulting services online.

Specialized Training and Consulting in SEO and Social Media

WESST helps small businesses succeed online by providing search engine optimization (SEO) and social media optimization (SMO) services. SEO is the process of improving the volume and quality of traffic to a website from search engines via “natural” or “organic” search results as opposed to Pay-per-Click (PPC) search engine marketing which deals with paid inclusion. WESST also offers social media optimization consulting and training to help businesses market themselves on sites such as Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. More»

Workshops and Webinars

WESST offers a variety of workshops and webinars led by WESST staff and guest presenters who share their expertise on a wide range of business topics: from writing a business plan and managing cash flow to utilizing social media and other web-based tools to grow your business. Watch on-demand business videos to learn at your convenience. Our live workshop events change monthly, so, bookmark our workshop calendar and check back regularly to see if any scheduled topics might be helpful to you.

FREE Brown Bag Lunch Events

Meet other small business owners and learn about business during your lunch hour. WESST Regional Offices offer free Brown Bag Lunches during the work week (we provide beverages, you bring your own lunch) that feature local industry experts speaking about timely subjects and topics. Check our calendar to see if there’s an upcoming Brown Bag Lunch scheduled in your area.

MARKETLINK™ Training

MARKETLINK is a nationally-acclaimed training course developed by WESST’s own Bette Bradbury, our Director of Training and Northern New Mexico Regional Manager. This in-depth 6-week marketing series enhances participants’ ability to research, position, price and promote a small business to targeted customers. The course is typically offered on a quarterly basis throughout the year in our Albuquerque, Santa Fe and Las Cruces offices and covers topics ranging from writing a compelling mission statement to protecting intellectual property rights and developing your perfect elevator pitch.

Financial Literacy Training Through Our IDA Program

Participants in WESST’s IDA (Individual Development Account) program complete a 10-week financial literacy/money management course that focuses on budgeting, saving, and credit. Upon completion of the training, participants open an IDA savings account to which they contribute for a period of six months to two years. Participants’ contributions are matched by WESST at a rate of 4:1 over a two-year period. More»

Customized Training for Businesses, Nonprofits and Academic Insitutions

WESST is available to create customized training courses on topics related to business management, financial literacy, social media marketing, search engine optimization (SEO), and computer skills. Our expertise in developing training courses using adult learning methodologies allows us to create effective and customized programs that meet your organization’s specific needs. We can conduct such programs directly to end users, or we can train individuals or departments within your organization so that you can conduct trainings on your own.

If your organization or academic institution is interested in hiring WESST to develop a customized training program, please contact us for more information.

Coming soon: Distance Learning/Training

We’re expanding our information technology systems to offer real-time distance learning training to our clients in the near future. This will provide WESST clients with access to exclusive e-learning content including self-paced on-demand distance learning classes and instructor-led live streaming webcasts to help you stay up-to-speed on all the business issues and decisions that affect your success $mdash; no matter where you live.

Are you ready to start working with WESST?

In order to become a WESST client, you need to complete our intake form. This form helps our staff assess the type of business assistance you need and get to know you a bit prior to an in-person meeting. Rest assured that the information contained within this form is completely confidential.

You may download our intake form, print it out and mail it to the WESST office nearest you. Or, if you’ve already scheduled an appointment with a WESST consultant, bring the completed form with you to your initial meeting. Having the form completed prior to your meeting will allow you to spend more time discussing solutions to the challenges you face rather than filling out paperwork.

If you prefer to complete and sign our intake from electronically and email it to us (recommended) click the link below.
WESST Small Business Client Intake Form