By MATT PIKE
St. Joseph Post
A program led by the St. Joseph Chamber of Commerce has helped bring local business owners together for nine years.
Miu Edlin, owner of Miuze Marketing, says the Cup of Joe program helps local entrepreneurs come together to discuss challenges they all face.
"So, it's great to be in a room full of people with the same mindset and people in the same area," Edlin tells KFEQ Hotline host Barry Birr.
Vince Rutter, owner of Build a Quilt in St. Joseph, says the program can help business owners grow their business, but you have to stick with it.
"If you're a long hauler, as I call them, in this program I think you'll see some benefit from that," Rutter says.
Amanda Unzicker, owner of the Interior Shoppe, was one of those entrepreneurs that came to the group when she started her business. She says the Cup of Joe has helped her in multiple ways.
"I have done life coaching, and I met a life coach there who has helped me, a couple business mentors have really helped me, if I'm stuck on something with like QuickBooks, I have now people I can reach out to and really talk with about that," Unzicker explains. "Just learning about other people businesses and networking, and I've also got business from Cup of Joe also."
Edlin emphasizes Cup of Joe has helped many business owners in the area.
"Just having that support system, being around like-minded people, can really change how you view entrepreneurship and how you move forward in business," Edlin says.
Cup of Joe gathers every Wednesday at the East Hills Library at 8:30am. There is no charge to attend the weekly meetings.