While the majority of sports involve a substantial need for teamwork, the game of golf more often than not is all about the individual player. With the exception of notable events like the Ryder Cup or the Solheim Cup where teams are involved, the self-sufficiency and talent of each individual plays a key role in the ultimate success or failure in golf. Here in Michigan’s Great Southwest, teamwork and individualism have led to overwhelming success for Benton Harbor’s Pipestone Indoor Country Club, and it’s a story that needs to be shared.
Adam and Dustin Lester are the owners and operators of Pipestone Indoor Country Club, and while they have exhibited incredible self-sufficiency from the very beginning of their concept for indoor golf, they’ll be the first to admit that they benefited mightily from the team at the Women’s Business Center at Cornerstone Alliance.
Dubelsa Mata-Garcia, a veteran Business Development Associate for the Women’s Business Center, first met Adam Lester when he was working at the family’s Pipestone Creek Golf Course in Eau Claire, a long-running local favorite golf course. He shared with Mata-Garcia their vision of Pipestone Indoor Country Club. Even though the brothers were confident in the success of their concept, Adam and Dustin were asking the same kinds of questions many entrepreneurs ask like, “I’ve got these ideas, but how do I make these ideas come to fruition. How do I make them work?” Knowing she could help, Mata-Garcia was able to throw out one of her favorite lines, “Yeah, we can do that too!”
Dubelsa and the Women’s Business Center (WBC) team have extensive resources to help existing and potential business owners take their idea from concept to reality. Most commonly, the WBC is known for business counseling services and lending money through their microloan program. But that’s far from all they do, as Adam and Dustin Lester can attest. The WBC assists entrepreneurs in working with developers, finding a location for your business, working with municipalities, helping acquire liquor licenses and various permits, marketing, writing effective business plans, working with banks and other invaluable services.
The Lesters first sought help from the WBC when they were applying for a business loan. Dubelsa helped in the loan application process and with their written business plan. This first collaboration resulted in a success when their loan was approved. Now looking to secure a brick and mortar location, she connected Adam and Dustin with Shane Franks who was instrumental in helping them find their building, located in the Benton Harbor Arts District. As it turns out, this was just the beginning of their successful teamwork.
If you’ve ever held the dream of owning your own business, and started working through the myriad potential hurdles, the stress can be overwhelming. Imagine the escalation of that stress if a global pandemic strikes right in the middle of it all. Faced with executive orders requiring Adam and Dustin to shut down the country club, Dubelsa and the WBC team immediately informed them of an available grant, helped them successfully fill out the application and receive the much-needed funding. Dustin says, “I can’t even tell you – there would have been some serious questions on whether or not we’d even be able to continue to operate, without some of that help…I can’t say enough about how important it was to the business.”
The Women’s Business Center can help you start the process of opening a business, they can help you in the middle of it, or they can help wrap things up. Even if your business plan is, “a hand written one-sheeter,” Dubelsa comments, you’re encouraged to contact them. They can help create connections that you may not be aware of, armed with the type of resources that you perhaps don’t have on your own. Dustin expresses it best, “You never really know until you make that leap and you start to realize how many little pieces you might not know even exist, and having a resource like them they were able to very happily, very easily help us navigate those different pieces. We couldn’t thank them enough.”
The resources and services provided to the Lester brothers and the Pipestone Indoor CC are available to other local businesses throughout Berrien, Cass and Van Buren counties too. Mata-Garcia says, “Maybe you’re not ready to have that conversation with us, but we want to make sure that you know that you can come to us at any time when you are ready to have that conversation.” You can start by learning more at www.cornerstonewbc.com
Even during a pandemic, small businesses can survive and they can grow, as evidenced by Pipestone Indoor Country Club. They’re already looking into physical expansion of their space, acquiring a liquor license and adding additional simulators and equipment. They’re just one grateful success story that has partnered with the WBC.
If you want to give your business (or idea for a business) a sporting chance, make sure that the Women’s Business Center at Cornerstone Alliance is on your team. It’s a winning combination worthy of your consideration.
Would you like more information about the Women’s Business Center at Cornerstone Alliance? Let us know!
