Romulus pair with 6 daughters to open 3 companies in 1
Steve and Wendy Harmon are typically busy driving their six daughters to extracurricular activities, teaching them the ropes of functioning a organization and providing advice when needed.
But this 12 months, the household made a decision to incorporate one more point to their agenda: They are set to open a few businesses in the similar developing as a household in 2021.
The exceptional a few-in-one operation in Romulus will aspect Steve Harmon’s Major Steve’s Designz motorcycle customization and Wendy Harmon’s two businesses, We Beautique hair salon and Harmon Grounds Cafe.
“For me, it is surreal for the reason that it can be a aspiration come correct,” stated Wendy Harmon. “Even nevertheless I have been an entrepreneur most of my lifetime … this is a small business, time period, which is grounding for me. Which is how we arrived up with the name Harmon Grounds. It was grounding for us to depart a legacy to our daughters and we will be working below collectively as a relatives.”
The Harmon spouse and children,with daughters involving the ages of 11 and 28, had a goal to have all 3 of their organizations open last May, but when the pandemic closures occurred, matters had been pushed again. The family members now expects to have the motorcycle organization open up in February, and the hair salon and espresso shop in spring.
Motorbike customization in desire
Steve Harmon is generally found riding his purple 2011 Harley Davison Road Glide customized motorbike in Romulus enjoying audio that can be read down the road. Sometimes, his spouse and daughters trip together with him.
Driving motorcycles and bikes arrived easy for Harmon at a young age. He begun customizing motorcycles as a interest in 1995 a pal of his advised that he need to begin a business. Harmon worked in his garage for a number of decades, but his shopper record was expanding. Last year, he made the decision it was time to have his personal developing.
“I just took place to be driving past this location a yr back and it was just sitting down right here,” he explained of the constructing.
When Harmon and his apprentice Dante McGee the first achieved, McGee was obtaining his motorcycle tailored by Harmon. That’s when McGee, who drives from Flint to do the job with Harmon each day, realized that he desired to understand from Harmon.
Last calendar year, Harmon and McGee have custom-made concerning 50 to 60 motorcycles.
Just one day, McGee hopes to open his personal shop in Flint, but appropriate now, his major target is to assistance Harmon get begun.
“He desires me to turn into the guy in Flint at some point,” McGee reported. “He is training me the ins and outs. It is a mutual trade-off.”
Initially, Harmon was planning to use the full constructing for motorcycle customizations, but he understood that it would be greater to go his family’s organizations to 1 location so they could all be alongside one another.
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Get a hairstyle with a facet of coffee next doorway
Wendy Harmon opened her 1st hair salon in Belleville in 2011, doing sisterlocks, mainly very small dreadlocks, for her consumers. We Beautique hair salon was open until eventually the pandemic closures started, and the new site will be an expansion of what Harmon was undertaking at her unique salon.
But she desired to insert a twist to her hairstyling small business by adding a coffee store to the house. A glass divider will individual the two spaces, where Harmon hopes people will come to do homework, small business conferences and other similar things to do.
“We want to be the local community base in which folks can occur and be comfortable,” Harmon claimed. “And be that third location absent from property and location of worship.”
The espresso shop will have seating for 20, and Harmon will be making the coffee herself. In the hair salon, there will be three hair stations and just one remedy room for esthetic providers.
Erin Harmon, Steve and Wendy’s daughter, manages the hair salon, but she also rides motorcycles with her dad. And while she just isn’t intrigued in bike customizations, she’s satisfied to see her mom and dad satisfying their dream of bringing their firms to Romulus.
“I sense pretty thrilled,” she claimed. “I sense like we have all desired this, but they have desired this for a very long time. I am psyched about being the supervisor.”
Romulus is earning way for little businesses
Romulus is residence to a lot more than 700 organizations, and the Detroit Metro Airport sits in its center.
In the course of the striving calendar year of 2020, 27 new businesses opened in the city — 12 since the start out of the coronavirus pandemic, in accordance to a news release from the City of Romulus.
“We have industrial zone land, professional zone land and residential zoning that is nonetheless however to acquire,” Romulus Mayor LeRoy Burcroff stated. “If you appeared at individuals open up parts for growth, a large amount of them again in the day were much more of a farming community. So we’ve been genuinely on an intense route to establish that. That was a single of the No. 1 matters we listened to from residents in the visioning procedure, ‘We want work opportunities, work, jobs. We want advancement.’ “
Some of the most modern developments in the last couple of years include things like an Amazon success centre and a Penske Logistics distribution center that provides residence shipping and delivery expert services and contemporary deliver from Kroger Co.
When it comes to modest firms, Burcroff said there is a lot of opportunity. He claimed vacant buildings are setting up to fill up with brick and mortar firms and the serious estate current market is well-known ideal now.
“If it really is not an present developing, what we have seasoned is the simple fact that we even now have undeveloped land. We’re completely open to create up from the floor,” explained Burcroff. “COVID has manufactured an impression on things and it’s possible make folks sit restricted, in particular for smaller sized enterprises. But it also creates some possibilities. The industry is active.”
Steve and Wendy Harmon say they are fired up to be one particular of the small companies that will proceed rising in the Romulus neighborhood.
“I am just wanting to make a business, make use of some folks and make my brand name,” claimed Steve Harmon. “I am satisfied to be equipped to do what I appreciate for a residing.”
Make contact with staff members writer Chanel Stitt on Twitter: @ByChanelStitt. Become a subscriber.
