WESST BLOG
WESST Named 2024 SBA New Mexico Microlender of the Year
We are thrilled to announce that WESST was named the winner of the 2024 SBA New Mexico Microlender of the Year award! Our Lending Team includes Sandro Tonini (VP of Lending), Melissa Williams (Loan Operations Officer), Teresa Rodriguez (Bilingual Loan Assistant), Adriana Martínez Guzmán (Special Programs Manager), Humberto Hijar (Financial Capability Consultant), Angelica Ortiz (Loan Analyst), and Marcela Mendoza-Palacios (Program Coordinator). Their passion for service and tireless dedication to our clients is the reason we received this recognition. We are so proud of our amazing team and feel honored to receive this award! For over…
Three Tips for Delivering the Perfect Pitch in 30 Seconds
How many times have you been asked to tell about yourself or your business only to stumble over your own words or hem and haw? It is embarrassing to say the least because who knows…
Invest in Yourself and Your Business
A common mistake that small business owners make is failing to take the time to invest in themselves and their businesses, prior to startup and during growth of the business. Unfortunately, years later, those same owners may not be ahead in the sense of investments, industry changes, trend shifts, market changes, or business analyses.
Big Green Structure Arrives at WESST Enterprise Center
What’s 16’ tall, green, smooth and techy, and whose name reminds you of your therapist? It’s a cyc wall, known in the film and advertising communities as a cyclorama wall. And what good is that you ask? The easiest explanation is to use your local TV weather forecaster as an example.
WESST and the Montezuma Ball: An Amazing and Grand Opportunity
One of the most generous of gestures in our community comes from Jim Long, owner of Heritage Hotels and Resorts, and the Montezuma Ball, through the New Mexico Multi-Cultural Foundation.
Back Where It All Began
A recent chance meeting with one of WESST’s first loan clients (from the early 1990s) provided one of the best testimonials about the amazing effect an experience at WESST can have on our clients.
Resolving Conflict and a Lack of Productivity in the Workplace
Like so many other people, Sue hates conflict. However, a problem untreated only grows bigger, and if it does not change, the results will continue to be the same or worse. It is a manager’s responsibility to consider the company (her employer) first.
Thinking Outside of the Box (a Technique for Marketing)
The term, “Thinking Out of the Box,” is one of the most overused and under-appreciated phrases in modern marketing. In fact, most people would define the term as “a different way, of thinking, from the norm.” However, the problem lies in asking and answering, “What is the norm?”
The Ultimate Buy-In
They say that you shouldn’t invest in an organization in which the participants don’t have “skin in the game”. There was a classic story told in which a group was meeting with an investment company to decide if they should make an investment in that company. The group asked the company where the employees had their own personal money. When told the employees had their money in bonds and other investment vehicles other than the investment company at issue, the group left the meeting. Nothing more needed to be said. Why should outsiders invest if those on the inside aren’t investing?
Shooting For the Stars is Awesome, But it Takes Some Prep Time – Just Ask an Astronaut
I had the opportunity this past weekend to hear Al Sacco speak about his journey to space as a payload specialist on board the Space Shuttle Columbia in 1995. Dr. Sacco, who is now the dean of the Edward E. Whitacre Jr. College of Engineering at Texas Tech University, was chosen for the mission because of his work in chemical engineering.
When I listen to amazing experiences like Dr. Sacco’s, I try to think of ways that it relates to my own life, since I can assure you I’m not going to going into space any day soon. And, it came to me that launching a business has the same requirements as a launch into space and that WESST is to our clients like NASA is to its astronauts.
Can Entrepreneurs Expect “Doom” or “Success” in 2012?
A man stepped into my office seeking business-startup assistance. The frantic look on his face and his uneasy demeanor caused me to label him as ‘desperate’ (the worst position to be in when starting a business). Automatically, I went through a series of questions regarding his business idea: did he have experience, money, and a passion? I also wanted to know about his personal finances – was he expecting to support himself right away from the business or did he have a “day job”?
What “Credit” Really Means
Even though buying on credit is convenient, it is not always a good decision. Once a person crosses that line, of buying now and paying later, the process becomes more tempting to buy items we do not need or items that are on sale.
Instead we should be asking ourselves, “Can I pay off the debt in a month before interest is added?” “What is the long-term benefit of this purchase?” “Will I end up paying more (in the long run) for the item than it is worth?” “If I had the cash, would I make that purchase?” “Is it a need or a want?”
The wise reasons for not using credit cards are:
Giving: It’s All About Perspective
As a non-profit, WESST only exists because of people and organizations giving us money to do what we do best—helping entrepreneurs from the idea stage to actually starting and expanding their own self-sufficient businesses. What is the perspective of our investors? Our investors want to know that the investment they are making is a good one. To answer that question, we have to be able to produce actual, quantifiable results.