Creative Duke
- 4 hours ago
- 2 min read
Albuquerque, NM: Jordan Tate is the owner of Creative Duke, a creative design company based in Albuquerque. He first approached WESST in July 2019 when he decided to turn his side project into a full-time company. Jordan initially received a WESST Hope loan and describes it as "the boost I needed to get my business operational." He was able to purchase equipment to secure his initial clients, providing him with a good starting point as far as quality he was able to offer to clients, which eventually led to long client relationships and referrals.
As Creative Duke continued to grow, he needed extra space for equipment and a central hub to provide office space to communicate with clients and photographers. The WESST Enterprise Center turned out to be just what he was looking for, and he became a resident member of our incubation program. "It's been a great advantage to leverage the space to host meetings, as well as community initiatives like our annual Play Ball Holiday Drive."
In 2025, Jordan and Creative Duke expanded the Play Ball Holiday Drive with a holiday market, creating a family-centered space to support local vendors and celebrate the season. Creative Duke's Play Ball Holiday Drive is focused on giving back and encouraging healthy, active play, where families can receive sports-related gifts at no-cost. His business has grown but not without facing challenges. As a Black-owned business servicing many non-profit clients, they have felt a direct impact due to federal budget cuts.
While this has been a huge challenge, Creative Duke has been able to pivot, as well as remain creative in their service offerings. "We have to move like water and become adaptable as technology changes as well. We remain grateful for organizations like WESST who continue to service our communities as uncertainty continues and things shift. Community is key," says Jordan.
Jordan was recently featured on KUNM's Let's Talk New Mexico. They highlighted small business incubators throughout New Mexico, and he shared his experience as a client and small business.
