Coworking space helps build business
Adecade ago, Roberto Mendez was broke, his real estate business wiped out by a devastating recession and his wife sidelined by a debilitating stroke. Today he runs a thriving family business built on his favorite snack food: popcorn.
“Ten years ago, life was hell,” said the owner of Albuquerquebased Cornivore. “We were trying to survive, so we would make a couple of hundred bucks here and there” selling homemade gourmet concoctions created in a kettle corn popper to friends and acquaintances.
Cornivore was a bootstrapped business, started with Mendez’s limited resources, as no one would lend to him at the time. First, he found a niche market—people willing to pay several dollars for a bag of fresh popcorn coated with natural flavors. Then he expanded
his clientele beyond friends and family, experimenting with wholesaling and concession sales before landing a ready-made sales force in the fundraising market.
As his company continued to grow, Mendez found the WESST Enterprise Center, a business incubator started by the New Mexico nonprofit. “A couple of people mentioned it to me, but I thought it was for women only. They said, “You can work there. They have this amazing coworking space with everything you need to get a business started.”
It’s true that WESST started 30 years ago “by women for women,” according to its website. But success has enabled it to provide consulting, training and lending to anyone aspiring to start a business.
Mendez, a disabled Navy veteran, was eligible to use the Veterans Suite at the Enterprise Center and was impressed by all the resources that came with it. He also took advantage of classes and networking opportunities. “Most people like me don’t need money,” he said. “They need resources.”
Coworking spaces like those at the WESST Enterprise Center increase opportunities for emerging or expanding businesses like Cornivore. “I made connections at WESST that we never would have been able to make anywhere else,” he said. “They helped with everything, for a minimal amount of money.”
His growing prosperity means Mendez now can share the wealth: Last year he returned $60,000 to the community while still growing 100 percent.
And WESST isn’t the only place to find coworking spaces in New Mexico. Many libraries host publicly accessible workspaces, and more—especially in rural areas— could join the trend by reaching
out to local entrepreneurs and libraries with coworking experience, including Loma Colorado Library in Rio Rancho.
New Mexico also has privately sponsored spaces, including FatPipe, which boasts 24/7 access to “the community of a coworking space, with the privacy of an office.” Launched five years ago, the membershipbased organization expanded to Rio Rancho and Raton within the past couple of years.
The Grow It website (https:// growitnm.org/), sponsored by the Municipal League, is a good place to find spaces. Entrepreneurs should click on their municipality in index, then use the yellow category box to select “coworking.”
Coworking spaces offer networking opportunities and benefits of working alongside others are multiplied when workshops and experts are also available.
For information about WESST’s coworking spaces and more, visit https://www.wesst. org/. To learn more about its 30th-anniversary events, visit www.wesst.org/event/wesstalbuquerque-30th-anniversarypopup-shop/