Palmer entrepreneurs invited to join monthly meeting Thursday

PALMER — Local business owners of all experience levels will gather at the Palmer Downtown Deli Thursday for the monthly Palmer Entrepreneurs Meetup. This month’s conversation is ‘How Collaboration Builds Business and Community’ with Bleeding Heart Brewery owners Zack Lanphier and Stefan Marty.

“The topic coming up is really, really good and I really, really want to make a point to go to it because it’s all it’s all about collaboration between businesses and community,” Andrea Fuller, owner of Cobb Street Market, said.

Cobb said that she attended one of the first meetups and is planning on attending Thursday’s session. She said, as someone in her first year owning her first brick and mortar business, the support from local shoppers and business owners alike has been vital to her success and will be moving forward.

“It’s phenomenal and we need to work together. That’s the key part,” Fuller said.

Fuller said she knows the key speakers Lanphier and Marty really well. She said that she is looking forward to hearing from them this Thursday since they will have a lot of experience to share after overcoming their own challenges.

“They’ve been through struggles with their own business in the last couple years so it’ll be good to hear their perspective as well,” Fuller said.

Fuller said that the Cobb Street Market is her second small business after establishing My Matanuska Marketplace with monthly themed pop up shopping events at the Palmer Train Depot. She said that she ran both of those businesses simultaneously last year to support small businesses without their own brick and mortar location. She said that between the local shoppers’ enthusiasm and the aid and referrals from nearby businesses, she’s found “a great space and jumped head over heels into doing a retail store.”

“We have fantastic support, local support. We’re a 95 percent Alaskan, handmade store so a lot of our customers really, really appreciate that. We’ve been very blessed to have fellow businesses in Palmer,” Fuller said.

Fuller chuckled and described her first year with Cobb Street Market as a “Baptism by fire.” She said that it’s been a learning curve but still a great experience.

“We’re so excited to go into our second year,” Fuller said.

Sonya Funaro is one of this meetup’s founders. Funaro has owned Just Botanicals for three years. She said the goal of this monthly meetup is to provide the opportunity for local aspiring and existing business owners to talk about challenges and solutions in their area. She said that participating business owners have continued to bring back positive feedback and there’s an average of 15 to 20 people per meeting.

“We believe in collaboration over competition,” Funaro said.

Funaro used examples like the annual event Who Let the Girls Out to pontificate how local business come together to keep each other going. She said that she hopes that more events like that culminate from Palmer businesses working together looking forward.

Funaro invited all local businesses to share their experiences this Thursday, from their blunders and downfalls to their resolve and rises to the occasion to make it as a small business owner today. She said that there is much to be gained by sharing each other’s trials and tribulations.

“Just come ready to learn and interact,” Funaro said.

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman reporter Jacob Mann at jacob.mann@frontiersman.com