Studio One Six
Brittney was experiencing great success as a stylist but knew she wanted to grow her business. She was generating a high volume of sales while only operating out of one chair. The opportunity to become an entrepreneur was presented and Brittney knew that was her chance to capitalize on fulfilling her dream of being a business owner. Brittney was ready to move forward but knew she needed funding to get things started. Brittney had a strong foundation of operating her individua
Shining Stone Wellness
Erin Dixon is the owner of Shining Stone Wellness, a holistic health and wellness business. While researching support for women entrepreneurs, she discovered WESST. She was pleasantly surprised to find WESST’s small business workshops being offered at her local Shiprock Chapter House. As a new business owner, Erin felt overwhelmed at first, describing her doubts and fears as mountains. “Once I began working with WESST, I realized those mountains weren’t as big as they seemed,
Sonoma Acupuncture
Dr. Janet Quintanilla is the owner of Sonoma Acupuncture in Las Cruces. Her story is a powerful example of what support, passion, and purpose can create. When Janet first came to WESST, she had two goals: to build a life of financial security for her and her son, and to share her gift of healing through natural, holistic care. With a Doctor of Acupuncture license and a few years of practice under her belt, she knew she was ready to venture out on her own, but like so many, sh
Southwest Makeup Institute
Noel Dalton began her freelance makeup artistry business, The Vanity Makeup Studio, in 2009. Southwest Makeup Institute was founded in the Spring of 2019. Southwest Makeup Institute (SWMUI) is New Mexico’s and the SW region’s first 200-hour makeup artist certification course. They offer students the opportunity to become fully immersed in the makeup industry through a shadowing program; a one-of-a-kind partnership program with other working makeup artists and industry profe
Sweet Bella's Nutrition
When Carmen Coss started her small business, one of the biggest obstacles she faced was getting noticed in the community and promoting her business. “I didn’t know where to start,” Carmen says. After learning about WESST through her local bank, she found the support she needed and in the language she understood — Spanish. With the support she’s since received from WESST, Carmen’s business has expanded and so has her connection to community. “When my local bank couldn’t appr
Tesoro Integrated Health Center
Patricia McClure-Reedy has been a busy woman for the past nine years. Tesoro Integrative Health Center is the third business she’s opened since 2003 when she started selling her Wild Child Creations tie-dyed clothing line at the Artist’s and Farmer’s Market in downtown Las Cruces on Saturday mornings. She continued teaching full time while trying to build her business. Two years later, Patricia became a WESST client in hopes of increasing her sales so she could quit her teach
Vapour Organic Beauty
Krysia Boinis has much to be thankful about these days. The last couple of years have been a whirlwind of success for the young Taos, New Mexico-based entrepreneur and longtime WESST client. The private label natural lip balm manufacturing company that she founded with her husband, Greg Martin, gave her the hands-on product formulation experience and business acumen to help her launch an innovative organic cosmetics company called Vapour Organic Beauty in 2009. In just a litt
Warriors Karate
Refugio ‘Cookie’ Flores teaches all levels of karate up to and including black belts, provides individualized exercise training for small classes of students and teaches kick-boxing. He provides support through his years of training to address discipline issues, help students focus on positivity, and build both mental and physical toughness. Cookie learned karate when he was a teen and continued studying the art until he became a certified instructor and could have his own st
Zentra Wellness
Dr. Lisabeth Detwiler, DOM, is the owner of Zentral Wellness, a Chinese medicine dermatology clinic. The business offers acupuncture, Chinese herbs, massage therapy and beauty services. Their goal is not only to offer remedies for skin problems, but they also assist individuals in managing stress, pain and various other health concerns from allergies, fertility to weight loss. Lisa utilizes many alternative medicine modalities (including acupuncture, herbs, nutritional cou