Greater Kalamazoo Business Resources Network

Helping small businesses in Kalamazoo.

Targeted support to small businesses in Greater Kalamazoo

South Haven Area Business Hub

Mark your calendar for a series of business workshops and informational roundtables to help local small businesses in the South Haven area grow. The sessions are designed to help the budding entrepreneur, the early start-up or the existing business improve their business acumen, marketing, and operations, and find new sources of funding and investment to support growth.

The series of events is free but registration is required.

Success starts here

Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) Kalamazoo

Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) Kalamazoo is a local office of the nation’s leading community development support organization, working in Kalamazoo neighborhoods. We help make neighborhoods stronger!

Setting a big goal can be daunting, but help is here. We’ve just launched 11 new courses.

Money mindset: Removing blockers
Customer journey: Map the steps to success
Effective funnels: How to turn leads into sales
Email marketing: Creating a winning strategy
Social media marketing: Keeping the conversation going
Boost your business: Leveraging technology for productivity and profit
Pay yourself
A/B testing: Optimizing through experimentation
Optimizing eCommerce logistics
Digital tools for financial readiness
Navigating online loans

City of Kalamazoo programs through the United Way

The City of Kalamazoo is still offering programs through United Way for small business owners. Click the buttons below to learn more about the programs and their eligibility requirements.

Small businesses in the City of Kalamazoo area may be eligible for reimbursement of up to $2,500 for health and human safety costs associated with COVID-19. Applications have reopened and grant funds can be used for COVID-19 related costs. For more information, contact Molly Trueblood.

Small Business Support

Kalamazoo Small Business Health Protection Grants

Kalamazoo Micro-Enterprise Grants

Southwest Michigan PTAC 2022 Class Schedule

The Southwest Michigan PTAC team is ready to assist you with your government contracting needs.

This training is available to businesses in Berrien, Branch, Calhoun, Cass, Kalamazoo, St. Joseph, and Van Buren counties of Southwest Michigan.

Make Connections

Find local business owners and resources that will help you advance your business.

Fund

Find capital resources for new, growing, or troubled businesses.

Grow

How to take your business to the next level. Learn how to grow your business.

Mentoring

Free advice for business owners. Find your mentor through our network.

Plan

Resources to help you develop a business and marketing plan.

Research

Sources for primary and secondary research about your business market.

Start

Get solid advice for launching a new business or idea.

Success Stories

TheEcoDryer®

With the idea for a solution firmly in mind, in 2014, Smoots began working with the Southwest Michigan Small Business Development Center, hosted at Western Michigan University in the Haworth College.

Bogan Developments

When Jamauri Bogan started Bogan Developments LLC in March 2020, it was fairly important to do it right…the importance of the project couldn’t be overlooked—“affordable housing for all.”

Teresa’s Kitchen

How do you go from making 100 tamales a week to making close to 700 tamales a week? You open a tamale business!

Global Clinical Connections

Global Clinical Connections is an international provider of clinical supply chain management services for companies in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical device industries.

Congratulations to Gregory Shelton of Grand Unique Laundry for receiving his first loan through Northern Initiatives. With help from his SCORE mentor, Cheri Bales, Gregory did a fantastic job on developing his business plan and showing real entrepreneurial spirit. We wish you much success, and look forward to your upward movement. You are a wonderful role model.

—Gregory Shelton of Grand Unique Laundry

I appreciate your ears for listening, your eyes that see my vision and your heart that makes you who you are. I thank you for your time. You are making a difference.

—Shawntel Lindsey, Director, The Artbor Community Connections Center

The WMed Innovation Center is a perfect environment for innovation to grow and become a successful commercial enterprise.

—Client

Whether you are seeking a research partner or want to enlist the help of student groups in developing business plans, or just looking for ways to engage with WMU, the Business Connection office can find the resource to help move your business forward.

—Mentor

A loan (from Local Initiatives Support Corporation) helped expand our cafe to triple our seating, add a kids space, increase much needed staff work areas, and make other improvements to the space.

—Krystal

The Michigan eLibrary (MeL) is the State of Michigan's digital library. It has excellent resources available to Michigan residents at no cost.

—Owner

Western Michigan University's Starting Gate helped me take an idea and transform it into a much more attainable reality. Whether providing talks with investors and business owners or accountability, the ultimate goal is helping your business succeed.

—Peter Shutt

The Kalamazoo Land Bank did robust community engagement around the vision and gave us something to work with that was solidly desired by people in the neighborhood. Having a vision meant we had to protect it. That’s something I thank the Land Bank for. It was difficult. It didn’t make anything faster or easier, but we got a better project in the end as a result of it.

—Matt Hollander

Buy Local Greater Kalamazoo is a hard working grassroots group focused on the greater Kalamazoo community and its small businesses. Their events and networking opportunities are the best!

—Cheri Bales

Michigan SBDC is a great company providing top notch service to local businesses all over Michigan. The consultants are professional and the student workers contribute with excellent work!

—Martin Herman Sorensen

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Greater Kalamazoo Business Resources Network

Helping small businesses in Kalamazoo.