STORIES OF IMPACT

At WESST, we believe the heart of our mission is best told through the journeys of the entrepreneurs we serve. In our Client Stories section, you’ll find inspiring accounts of New Mexican business owners—at every stage of their ventures—who have been transformed through WESST’s consulting, training, lending, and incubation support. These stories highlight how we partner with clients to turn ideas into thriving, sustainable businesses, showing the real impact of guidance, financial tools, and persistence.

From wellness centers, retail brands, and service businesses to manufacturing and tech enterprises, each narrative underscores how tailored resources, mentorship, and belief in their vision helped these founders overcome obstacles, build confidence, and grow with purpose.

Fire of Sandia: A Candle Bar

A recently retired nurse practitioner, Marsha Sours walked into her first WESST consultation in November 2023 saying, “tell me I’m crazy, but I have this idea.” Her idea was to start a candle bar in Albuquerque. She had visited one in Indianapolis and was inspired to bring something similar back home. With no prior business experience and unsure where to begin, she was referred to WESST by her CPA. Marsha was looking for guidance and she found it. She was introduced to DreamB

RETAIL

Flauteria Los Borrachos, LLC

Flauteria Los Borrachos, LLC is a food truck business born during the pandemic, located in the South Valley area of Albuquerque, NM. Their specialty is flautas ciudad Juárez style and other Mexican dishes. Carmen has always been interested in being her own boss. Prior to the pandemic, she operated Hamiel Bridals, an event center and dress shop for special events, including weddings and Quinceañeras. Because of the pandemic, she was forced to shut down her business as no event

FOOD & BEVERAGE

Fusion Concepts

Marche Karger, a military veteran, relocated to New Mexico in 2022, and was initially looking for support to start a business in Rio Rancho and secure a line of credit to purchase equipment. March officially launched Fusion Concepts in February 2023, a home improvement business specializing in building custom outdoor kitchens and patios. After starting his business and adjusting to a new state, Marche realized he needed allies in this new environment with different laws and r

CONSTRUCTION

FZK Franziska

At FZK, we are a partner who knows the brand in our clients’ hearts and translates it into a curated online presence. We’ve been building a customized online presence for our clients since 2005 and are proud to offer a full-service creative team at your fingertips. Most clients find that our services go beyond web development into the realm of true brand discovery. In essence, we first help our clients understand exactly who it is they serve (and how). We translate this inf

PROFESSIONAL SERVICES

Girl Friend Energy, LLC

Tramicia describes herself as an “ideas person” and wanted to start several businesses she saw a need for in her community, but realized she needed to commit to one business venture at a time. She learned about WESST while searching online for organizations that helped with small businesses and initially reached out in October 2022. She learned that our organization provided training, consultation, and small business loans. “At that time, I had several business ideas in the

HEALTH, WELLNESS, & BEAUTY

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