There is nothing small about the impact that small business has on our community. Over the past nine months, we have seen small businesses throughout our region and state put their skills to the test to innovate and reinvent to better support customer needs. While nearly every small business was impacted by the pandemic, the economic impact of small businesses continues to be instrumental in the success of our communities. According to the U.S. Small Business Administration’s 2020 Small Business Profile of Michigan, the 886,557 small businesses located across the state are responsible for 49 percent of Michigan’s 1.9 million jobs. “The Small Business Profiles show the importance of each state’s small businesses to the local economy, especially during these challenging economic times,” said Acting Chief Counsel Major L. Clark, III. “Each of the 31.7 million small businesses in the U.S. are important drivers of innovation and job growth that can lead us towards economic recovery.” Supporting small businesses is vital to the economic and cultural success of our state.
In an effort to support the growth of our local small businesses, Southwest Michigan First, the team behind Catalyst University, developed Makers’ Mart, an entrepreneurial competition that operates with the goal of supporting young small businesses. Each year, Makers’ Mart competition finalists are selected from a pool of applicants, who own and operate a business in Southwest Michigan. The finalists then have the opportunity to sell their products during Catalyst University, the state’s largest annual leadership conference held virtually this year from December 2 through December 4. Beginning today, you can help decide which one will be voted Makers’ Mart Champion and receive a $2,500 cash prize awarded by Western Michigan University’s Haworth College of Business, as well as MiSpringboard legal services courtesy of Varnum LLP and marketing support from Newhall Klein. Cast your vote here and meet the makers below.
Make Your Coffee Brewsome With Factory Coffee
Falling in love over a good cup of coffee and with the coffee industry, Dan and Emily Kastner, co-owner of Factory Coffee and a 2020 Makers’ Mart Finalist, are sharing their passion with the rest of the Kalamazoo community. Starting out with a simple coffee bar, Factory Coffee now has two locations, is bottling cold brew, and selling wholesale coffee. The coffee is ethically sourced and roasted right here in Kalamazoo with a zero-emissions roaster, reducing the carbon footprint of every pound of coffee by 90 percent. A perfect gift for the coffee lover in your life would be a coffee box, which includes three bags of whole bean coffee. If you’re looking to go above and beyond, you could even set someone up with a coffee club subscription to have coffee delivered to their door for as long as you choose.
“We’re blessed to be in this bubble of creative workspaces. There are so many cool products being made in Kalamazoo,” Dan said. He celebrated buying local products, describing the uniqueness of small-batch handmade items, saying, “This interesting thing has a history and a story. It’s unique [to Kalamazoo] in the grand scheme of things.” Learn more about what Factory Coffee has brewing on their website.
Get Fit in the Perfect Outfit With Kamili Activewear
Activewear created by a true expert and perfected through experience Kamili Activewear is a clothing company established in Kalamazoo that has a primary objective to provide customers with the utmost quality and comfort in activewear. Its mission is “to promote rich health through living actively.” Carl McAllister, full-time application engineer, project manager, CEO of Kamili Activewear, and a 2020 Makers’ Mart Finalist founded the company with his intense passion for health, wellness, and fitness. Helping the community is also one of Carl’s passions, as each Kamili Activewear purchase creates jobs for individuals through the Goodwill Southwest Michigan product fulfillment center. Whether you’re a fan of exercising or lounging, Kamili products will exceed your expectations for performance, style, comfort, and durability.
For gift-giving, Carl recommends the joggers, which he says are more relaxed fitting, and extremely comfortable. “Being that we’re on a quarantine essentially right now, I think people are going more so for extreme comfort,” he said, laughing. Launching soon, Kamili is working on a prototype for a mask integrated with a shirt. “I’m refining the sizing and the different details to make sure that everyone is comfortable and to make sure that everyone is safe,” said Carl. “We’ll also be including this design for kids, so when they return to school you won’t have to worry about them losing their mask or sharing their mask or trading their mask.” Carl urged people to shop locally, saying, “We need to encompass the comradery of the community and try to help all [local businesses] stay in business and continue to progress with everything going on right now.” Stay in style by supporting our community: Find and purchase Kamili products online.
Style Yourself for All Day With Samson’s Haircare
With a heart for helping to shape their client’s style and soul Samson’s Haircare crafts fine men’s grooming products and hair care products right here in our hometown, with the products featured at their new barbershop right downtown. One of the 2020 Makers’ Mart finalists, Samson’s started in 2016 because President and CEO Adam Muncy’s business partner Jake, a then full-time barber, wasn’t able to build up his clients beyond the 16 people he could see in a day. To grow the operation, they decided to create Samson’s Haircare to allow for scaling. “Samson’s Haircare gave us the ability to do that for people all around the world,” said Adam. “There’s a lot of people we haven’t had the chance to impact yet, but we’ve been able to go to Australia, Hong Kong, the Philippines, and Singapore—really all over.” The duo started the adventure with a modified rice cooker in Jake’s basement. “Now we’re cooking 400-can batches in our 13-gallon wax melter, advertising heavily online, and servicing retail partners across the Midwest,” he continued. Adam Muncy.
If you have a guy with a beard, Adam suggests that the safest surprise gift option is the Beard Box which combines beard oil and beard balm at a discounted price. “Otherwise I always suggest our clay,” said Adam. “It’s a really easy starting point for any guy who’s maybe not familiar with hair products.” Encouraging people to support our local makers, Adam said, “Kalamazoo is a special place. I think it’s one of the few communities I’ve seen where everybody is focused on edifying each other and building each other up. We have a lot of great gems that the rest of the world is starting to recognize that are created in Kalamazoo.” Shape up your or a loved one’s style and see what Samson’s has to offer.
