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Give a gift to the Journalism Collaborative to keep our community informed!
By Chidalu Nnorukah, Matthew Studier, Sasha Wilson & Tabassum Sayeka Tarannum
This story was produced by a collaborative team of students from the Community-Engaged Digital Storytelling (CEDST) Lab at Western Michigan University. It is a joint project with the Southwest Michigan Journalism Collaborative and its equitable community development reporting project.
After leaving the hospital, David Blair realized he couldn’t go back to a regular 40-hour job. Still recovering from a serious illness, he needed a way to earn a living at his own pace. Turning to his family’s experience selling at farmers’ markets, Blair started a bakery and fruit syrup business.
But turning an idea into a viable business required guidance, which he found through Kalamazoo-based nonprofit Can-Do Kalamazoo. Blair joined the organization’s 12-week program, where he received support to scale his operations and plan for expansion. “It was a great starting point,” he said. “If you don’t know where to go, they help you figure it out.”
Blair is one of many entrepreneurs supported by Can-Do Kalamazoo, a nonprofit organization that helps small business owners move from concept to launch through shared kitchen space, training programs, and mentorship. For many small business owners, finding affordable commercial space is a major challenge.
Nearly 50% of small businesses operate out of their owners’ homes, often because renting or leasing space is too expensive (The Zebra, 2026). High overhead costs, including rent, remain one of the leading reasons small businesses struggle to survive. According to The Zebra, more than 50% of small businesses fail within their first year.
In Kalamazoo, Michigan, a non-governmental organization, Can-Do Kalamazoo, is working to ease that burden for home-based bakers and entrepreneurs. Founded in 2007 by Lucy Dilley, Can-Do Kalamazoo was a response to the challenges small food business owners face in getting an office space. Initially founded as a food business incubator, the business has grown over the years to support any business type.
Building a Space for Local Entrepreneurs
Dilley started Can-Do after recognizing the limited resources and space to produce food items. “I was working in the local food system, and there was a lot of demand for locally made food, and there were a lot of people that wanted to make it, but there wasn’t a place to make it. That sparked the idea for me to build a shared kitchen that people could rent and make food that they could sell to other customers who wanted it,” says Dilley.
Can-Do Kalamazoo started small. At first, Dilley conducted paper surveys to gauge interest and launched a pilot using a mobile trailer kitchen through a nonprofit partnership. When demand quickly outgrew the trailer, the organization moved into a church kitchen before eventually expanding into a full incubation program.
“I just started small. I worked with a non-profit called Michigan Organic Food Alliance, which had this trailer that was a kitchen, and I heard about it and applied to use it. We got it and started the pilot program,” says Dilley. “We quickly grew out of that, and we found a church that had a kitchen they wanted to rent out to a non-profit, and that was a good fit.”
From Recipes to Running a Business
As the business grew, Dilley quickly realized that not everybody knows how to run a business off the bat. The business owners had amazing recipes and a good customer base, but were not knowledgeable in the other aspects of business management. In response to this, she incorporated a business incubation program to train small business owners on how to successfully run a business.
“We were seeing very quickly that not everyone knows how to run a business off the bat. They were makers and had their delicious recipes, but the other pieces of running the business weren’t necessarily there,” she said.
The organization started adding programs, workshops, classes, and funding opportunities to help with business management skills and learn how to move from concept to launch to sustainability.
Growing Dessert First
One example of the program’s impact is Dessert First, founded by Meka Phillips after winning a Can-Do scholarship in 2014. Phillips began her business while working a full-time job and gradually expanded her brand, eventually opening a downtown storefront and hiring employees after 10 years.
Can-Do offered support for Phillips through its programs, connecting her to build expertise in marketing, branding, and distribution.
“She was very persistent,” says Dilley. “She was able to get her own spot downtown, and that’s in a nice part of the town. It was beautiful, and she expanded her menu, which was tricky to do, but she did a really great job with it. She is big enough to hire people. She is making an impact.”
Helping small businesses grow can create a ripple effect. As they expand, they create jobs and open doors for other entrepreneurs. Dessert First is one example. By installing a hoodless vent oven system, a much cheaper alternative to traditional kitchen hoods, owner Meka Phillips made it easier for other small businesses to consider opening their own spaces.
“Hoods are so expensive to build, and that’s a big barrier to a lot of people who are trying to get into a physical space”, Dilley said. “But she worked her magic and got inspectors to approve her to get that kind of oven. She opened the door to upcoming folks that can’t put up 50 to 100 dollars into a hood,” she said.
Supporting New Ideas
Hound and Harbor, a dog beverage company founded by Tracy Lyons, is another example of Can-Do Kalamazoo’s impact. After being referred to the organization, Lyons gained access to mentorship, regulatory guidance, and industry connections that helped shape her business. The connection has led her to connect with mentors and training that have helped her build her business.
“I could not have asked for a better partner than Can-Do Kalamazoo. They surrounded me with the support that I needed and gave me the tools and resources that I would not have had otherwise,” said Lyons. Can-Do Kalamazoo was instrumental in connecting her to community partners and ensuring the business complied with necessary regulations.
“They brought in state regulatory agencies to provide compliance guidance to ensure we are on the right track. They also connected me with Good Trade Depot. I would not have known about Good Trade Depot. They are an excellent partner for beverage companies,” she added.
Still in the pre-launch phase, Hound and Harbor provides an all-natural, healthy beverage option for dogs. The founder, Williams, saw the gap in providing natural, healthy beverages for dogs in Southwest Michigan and was determined to close this gap. She conducted a focus group experiment with dogs, formulating and modifying her formulas to create healthy beverage options for dogs.
She successfully created a natural beverage called Classic Coke made with all the ingredients that dogs need. “I worked with a very large focus group until we got the recipe just right. We worked closely with somebody who had a background at Zoetis [animal pharmaceutical company] at the director level to ensure animal safety,” she said.
Lucy Dilley and her team at Can-Do Kalamazoo say their goal is to strengthen the local economy by helping small and micro businesses grow. For them, supporting entrepreneurs is about building something that benefits the entire Kalamazoo community.
