Young Entrepreneurs Important to Meridian

MTEAM interviewed Justin Caine, a participant in the Youth Entrepreneur Program and exhibitor at the MABA Expo.

MTEAM (Meridian Township Entrepreneurial Asset Movement) is a community based coalition leading an “economic gardening” effort to enhance Meridian Township as an entrepreneurial community. The Youth Entrepreneur Program (YEP) was started because young people are the greatest resource for new entrepreneurs and represent the future leaders of our community. MTEAM asks Justin Caine, a young entrepreneur, a few questions.

MTEAM: What is the nature of your business venture?
JUSTIN:  Good Time Communications (www.itisallgood.net) is a production house that provides largely media services such as video production and graphic design. We also do website development, audio recording and editing, and DVD authoring.
I am also a founding partner of a venture called Business for Kids, LLC. Business for Kids is an international organization committed to meeting fundraising goals for hospitals and foundations in their efforts to combat childhood cancer.

MTEAM: Wow! How did you get your start?
JUSTIN: I graduated from LCC with a degree Applied Sciences - Media Technology and immediately began working. My jobs paid the bills, but weren’t that fulfilling personally or professionally, so I started applying to hundreds of jobs in my field, throughout the country.  After little luck and months of extreme poverty, I decided that I couldn’t keep waiting for someone else to give me an opportunity… I had to create one myself.
I researched beginning a small business and registered a DBA, which is now my company, Good Time Communications.

MTEAM: How about your other venture?
JUSTIN: Around the same time, I contacted Sparrow Hospital because of my strong ties with them in the past (I am a 1994 CMN Miracle Child) and outlined an idea I had for a fundraising effort to help combat brain cancer. I figured, if I wasn’t working, I may as well do something to give back and contribute. 
Sparrow was very interested to have me volunteer, but also hired me to produce a video to celebrate the 20th year that Sparrow has been involved with the Children’s Miracle Network. That video now plays at the Hospital and portions will be broadcast during the CMN Telethon this year. I also became a spokesperson of Business for Kids, a fundraising program started by Dominic Carbone. We gave a speech in Delta Township and the resoundingly positive response, leading to multiple generous donations for Sparrow Hospital. After such success, we decided that Business for Kids could be also beneficial to other fundraisers, businesses and hospitals outside the local area if we developed the venture into an international corporation.

MTEAM: Pretty impressive, do you love it?
JUSTIN: Love is too small of a word to explain how I feel towards what I am doing today. It’s an incredible experience with big goals, but I didn’t get to this great position without enduring hundreds of failures, months of hard and financially non-profitable work to be where I am today.

MTEAM: How did you get to this point?  Has anyone helped you?
JUSTIN: I have so many people that have helped me get here... too many to list. People that have been there financially, socially, emotionally and even those who have encouraged me by discouraging me.

MTEAM: How do friends and social life mix with your business?
JUSTIN: Building a successful business forces you to sacrifice a lot… in my case, it’s been my social life and some sleep, at least until the company is large enough that I can hire people to help take some of the load off my shoulders.  Because I deeply believe in what I’m doing, I’ve had to let a lot of my social life go… for now.  Although, I am looking forward to being able to see my friends again in about a year or so.

MTEAM: We recently unveiled our Meridian Asset Resource Center (MARC) at the Okemos Library.  The MARC is an alliance of business, township government, education, public library and residential volunteers working together to offer support to entrepreneurs. What could the MARC do to help you, or someone like you, get started or grow?
JUSTIN: Any services or sources that any organization or individual can provide to a new business are greatly appreciated and should be used. Business and financial planning advice would be very helpful to a budding entrepreneur, as well as a single-point connection to other resources in the community, such as networking organizations, someone to help with legal and governmental regulations, as well as money and business management assistance.

MTEAM: You’ve just described the one stop shop that is the MARC.  Check us out by calling 347-2036 or email THEMARC@meridian.mi.us and take advantage of our counseling, networking, multi-media resources and educational opportunities. 
JUSTIN: Thanks, I would be extremely interested in meeting with someone from MARC.

MTEAM and MARC committee members Julie Avery, Curator, Rural Life & Culture, MSU Museum and Julie Brixie, Meridian Township Trustee contributed to this interview.