James Windell
If you ask Kathy Wagaman about the business climate in South Haven, be prepared for an enthusiastic and ebullient assessment of the health of the area.
“We saw excellent growth in the number of businesses,” Wagaman, Executive Director of the South Haven Area Chamber of Commerce, said in reviewing the past year. “As a Chamber we welcomed at least 30 new businesses. Which was really exciting and amazing. We have done a lot of ribbon cuttings this year.”
Wagaman has been the head of the South Haven Area Chamber of Commerce for the past 14 years. “When I talk about new businesses, I want to clarify that not all of those are in South Haven,” she says. “We have local businesses in Bangor, Covert, and Grand Junction, so we’re not just talking about downtown South Haven.”
But she said the number of members of the Chamber has increased from 421 at the be-ginning of 2024 to its present membership of 456.
That’s not to say there aren’t challenges for South Haven area businesses.
“There’s always another side to that story,” she says. “When I say that, what I’m referring to is that our small businesses are being challenged. The COVID-19 pandemic was a terrible dis-aster for businesses because of the shutdown. It’s taken many small businesses quite some time to get to feel like they are back on track after dealing with staffing issues and with the higher costs of goods.”
She points to bills coming from Lansing that impact small businesses.
“Some of the legislation being passed by our state legislature does not seem to have their best interest in mind. An example of that are Michigan House Bills which would change sick leave policies and increase the minimum wage for employees. Those changes are slated to take effect on February 21, 2025. These are very challenging for business owners.”
Asked about the reasons for the growth of new businesses in the area, Wagaman attrib-utes it to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I think COVID opened up a lot of ideas for people,” she says. “It made many people who have always dreamed of being an entrepreneur to really look at pulling the trigger on that concept. I think people feel more adventurous about going into business on their own.”
She explains that the Chamber of Commerce tries to help new businesses in several ways. “Whether it’s marketing or understanding some of the legalities of their business, we can provide them resources,” she says. “We’re good at getting them to free resources so we can be supportive of things they will encounter.”
Wagaman says she especially enjoys helping businesses when they are at the “dream phase” of development. “I love consulting with somebody who is just planning and dreaming. When they are at that stage of planning and dreaming and starting to research, that’s when I en-joy meeting with them and giving them the information so their business will be lucrative.”
Even though she will be retiring in February, Wagaman has goals established for the com-ing year. “One of the goals is to figure out how the sick leave and minimum wage laws will im-pact our members,” she says. “We always try to keep our members informed.”
One of the ways the Chamber will keep members informed this next year will be through educational programs.
“We are working on our presentation of a two-hour seminar that is going to be free and open to the public,” she says. “This seminar will take place in March, 2025, and will be about cyber security.”
Finally, Kathy Wagaman talked about her retirement. “We will be going through a bit of a transition as I retire in February,” she says. “But I will be working hard to ensure continuity and try to see to it that whoever takes my place will continue to be energetic and ambitious and meet the needs of our local businesses.”
