Catherine Coleman, August 8th, 2022

Catherine Coleman, August 8th, 2022

In this interview, Catherine Coleman talks about growing up in a Detroit neighborhood and the creation of her bounce house business.

Detroit Historical Society

Detroit Historical Society

en-US

Catherine Coleman

Catherine Coleman was born in 1983 and grew up in Detroit. Today, she owns a company with her husband.

Billy Wall Winkle

Detroit, MI

8/8/2022

30:26

Taylor Claybrook

ColemanCatherineAudio.mp3

BWW [00:00:01] Hello. Today is August 8th, 2022. My name is Billy Wall-Winkel. This interview is for the Hustle. The Detroit Historical Society's newest oral history project and larger project. I am sitting down with Catherine Coleman. Thank you so much for sitting down with me today.

CC [00:00:21] Thank you.

BWW [00:00:22] Let's start off with just some basic facts for me. Where and when were you born?

CC [00:00:27] I was born in October 1983, in Detroit, Michigan.

BWW [00:00:31] Did you grow up in the city?

CC [00:00:32] I grew up in Hamtramck and then originally off of Linwood and Inverness Street.

BWW [00:00:47] Okay. What was it like growing up in that neighborhood?

CC [00:00:51] Growing up in the neighborhood was cool. I remember just all good things. There were a lot of small businesses and my father went and played his lottery numbers every day and we went to the neighborhood store. We patronized all the neighborhood businesses, the neighborhood hardware store. There wasn't like a big franchise as it is now with like Home Depot and stuff like that. Everything was more small based.

BWW [00:01:14] Growing up, did you like going to all these small businesses as you see yourself becoming a small business owner?

CC [00:01:22] I aspired to do it, of course. There was a big influence when my father's friend, he owned a store which is now known as the Livernois Fashion District, but he owned a store there and he just saw like knickknacks. And I always admired him and said when I grew up I wanted to own my own business. So now that I own one, I always reflect back on that. And that's a lot of the principles that are involved around how I run my business.

BWW [00:01:50] Awesome. One thing I forgot to mention that the response is great. If you could partially repeat my question back in your answer, I defer to you, but that was great nonetheless. So when when did you start getting the idea for your current business? And can you tell me what that current business is?

CC [00:02:12] All right. I got the idea for my business, which is bouncing around around the city. My mother passed the same year that I formed the company, and so she was telling me I didn't like my job. I worked at the Detroit Water Sewage Department. It wasn't a bad job, but it just wasn't what I wanted to do. I didn't have the passion when I woke up and doing what I do. And so she said, Well, why don't you do what you want to do? And so after, you know, tossing around ideas with my husband and that's when he came with the Bounce House Company and we originally did bounce houses, tables and chairs. But when we would show up to the events, there were so many aspects that were missing from their party, whether the people did not show up or they didn't have it available. And so that's when I sat down with my husband. I said, Well, what about if we had a one stop shop? What about if instead of them calling several companies, they could only make one phone call to us and we could handle every aspect of their event or party? And then that's when we ventured officer getting insurance. And we were able to do the NAACP work annually for education for three years straight consecutive prior to COVID. And we've been a pro vendor for about our state park for four years. So it just kind of blossomed. And once the company started forming, that's when I started looking into, Well, what about if I did go to university of Mercy to get my bachelor and my master of business administration? But I was like, what about the entrepreneur programs? And so that's when I started hearing Buzz going about, about prosperous bio institute and tech retail bootcamp. And so I talked to my husband about the programs and I was like, Well, what about if I did a program? And he was like, Which one? I'm like, I'm going to do all of them. And that's exactly what I did.

BWW [00:03:53] That was amazing.

CC [00:03:54] Thank you.

BWW [00:03:56] So my eight follow up questions real quick. What year did you found the company?

CC [00:04:01] In 2017 February.

BWW [00:04:05] And then what year did you decide to expand it?

CC [00:04:09] when I opened it up, um, that's when I quit my job at the editorial research department, and I went full force with my own company. And we were full fledged, we were booked out, booked, booked out. But that's when I noticed a gap in services was being offered in Detroit. And when we started back in 2017, unfortunately, a lot of companies in service Detroit, whether it was the stereotypical judgments of the city or whatnot, but we were booming. And so that's when we saw a gap and we identified the gap and we conquered the gap. And we expanded the balloons. And when we first start out, we offer the concessions table, share the bounce houses, but now we offer balloons, we offer linen decor, we offer a wedding planner. We've did over 200 weddings on Belle Isle State Park, where we have the weddings at the conservatory or at the Fountain. And so it just kind of just blossomed. We did officially become branded as like the one stop shop because there's nothing that we don't offer and an event that we do not offer by chance. We have a direct company and person who ask the company name where you can contact them for that in case we don't have it.

BWW [00:05:19] So in the beginning, it was you and your husband.

CC [00:05:21] Yes.

BWW [00:05:22] And so as you expanded your offerings and got picked up, did you find yourself hiring more people? Did the two of you take it on?

CC [00:05:29] We took it on for for as my son is a big help. He coincidentally was getting his license and learning how to drive around the time that he really started buying. And so he was able to do that. And now he does deliveries. And my stepdaughter, she does deliveries now. And my five and eight year old excuse me, six, she just had a birthday two days ago. My six and eight year old, they full fledged know how to do everything that I do. So like when we show up an event, they're either doing a balloon decor setup or they're doing a learning set up, but it's a family based business as of now I do have two people that work with me that are actually trained on what I do. And she has her own company where she's able to step in and do what I needed to do. But once we open a brick and mortar location, we plan on hiring at least about ten individuals from Detroit.

BWW [00:06:15] Nice. So. What has what has stopped you from having a brick and mortar location already?

CC [00:06:24] COVID 19. And I will tell you that because we were able to secure the contract for the first ever Detroit China Festival, at Hart Plaza, and it was going to be an annual thing. But of course when COVID hit that stop, that it stopped our NAACP annual for education. It stopped all our corporate bookings, our, uh, large gatherings organizations, the end of school or back to school events, everything, you know, stop. So we moved more to going to houses or setting up outside or doing drive by baby showers. So we were able to pivot and survive, but it was just a different immediate culture of how we do business. Well, we did like balloon yard display. So when people will pull up, they will see the balloons. And when I woke up, they would see a big array of balloons in their yard. We did the bounce houses. We did contactless delivery. We wiped them down in front of a customer. We had contactless payment options that way. If they did have a gathering, it was just their immediate group. And, you know, we tried to just pivot the best way we can, but if COVID wouldn’t have hit, we will be open for sure. Now, I'm sure of that. And we received the grant for the architectural design award right before COVID hit. And that kind of put a heart on the program because it was like we were in a time where the city was like, okay, we're going to end this program for right now because they didn't know what was to come. Nobody knew. And so that was a big part because we were making steps to opening up the brick wall. We had bought the building, we had got the first grant and marketing match comes the incremental grants. So you got to step one. Step two were track track one, track to track three, track four. So once we accomplished track three, we were like, okay, we're going for track forward within without COVID. So everything stopped. But now that they're back up and running, we are anticipating an award and actually the 22nd of this month to be announced for the rehabilitation of our building.

BWW [00:08:32] That's awesome. Where is the building?

CC [00:08:34] It's located at 13238 Fenkell. It's on the corner of Littlefield and Fenkell.

BWW [00:08:43] So that's the neighborhood just north of Rosedale.

CC [00:08:48] Yeah. I'm kind of over there on my own. I say I'm on my own, but I seen the city out there last week cleaning up and doing all the lights and tearing down a lot of shrubbery and stuff. I was so excited because I'm kind of over there on my own, but it's a beautiful piece of land. Um, I'm in purchase agreements to purchase all of the lots. To the west of the building, purchase two of the lots near my building. So we're going to have some unique offerings that's not going to be offered anywhere else. And it's going to be ground breaking for the city of Detroit once we do open the doors at a location. But we purchased about a third of Wayne County auction where everything called it like put a halt on us. But now we're back on track and we're just staying positive and moving forward.

BWW [00:09:42] Okay. We're going to stay on the building track for a moment. So you mentioned that you feel kind of like on your own out there with this building. What is your hope that this space will do? Are you looking for the other businesses around you to get the buildings to be rehabilitated, or are you looking to be an anchor? What are you hoping for?

CC [00:10:03] I'm confident that we will be an anchor and we will also be encouraging for other businesses to open up in the area. I think that once we establish that, we are referring because Fenkell Avenue used to be a very, very, very successful strip for small businesses. So I'm thinking that once we start that we're going to have like a domino effect. We're going to bring life back to the neighborhood.

BWW [00:10:26] That's awesome. So how long do you anticipate the rest of the process taking? If everything goes according to plan you said it'll get you hope it'll get announced in March.

CC [00:10:43] No, this month.

BWW [00:10:44] Oh, this month, I thought you said this march. Sorry. And then after that, how long will it take?

CC [00:10:52] Seeing as my husband is doing 80% of my rehabilitation on the builder. I have a awesome husband that knows how to do all of that, but I'm thinking that. At the latest. By November, December, everything should be done.

BWW [00:11:06] That's awesome. And you said you're going to hire ten people. You mentioned you explicitly said ten Detroiters. Is it important to you to hire people from the neighborhood and people from the city?

CC [00:11:20] Yes. And the reason being. It used to be a time when the city of Detroit would only hire Detroit residents or you had to pay an additional amount. Or it was something in a verbiage where. But I think that it's important that I hire people that actually live in a community or a city in which they're doing business, because I think there is some higher level of pride. I honestly do, you know, even a sense of ownership or. You know.

BWW [00:11:47] Responsibility, investment.

CC [00:11:49] Back into where they actually live or the city that they actually live in.

BWW [00:11:58] And is it just wondering, does it also kind of remind you of where you when you said earlier that this industry didn't service Detroit. So is it kind of like coming full circle where now there's a Detroit company staffed with Detroiters serving Detroit?

CC [00:12:15] That, and it’s monumental to me because I never left. I've been here my whole life. Everything I have has revolved around Detroit, whether it was my elementary upbringing, my high school. I went to Mary Wright, Mark College. I went to University of Detroit Mercy. Like everything I do is grounded in Detroit. I've never gave up on a city. I've always stay positive. And now Detroit is Where is heaven in it? So I think that is monumental for me to do that and stay committed to the residents of Detroit because they show me love the entire, you know, pandemic and all. So I feel like the loyalty that they gave to me, I want to make sure I gave it back.

BWW [00:12:59] That's great. We're bouncing around a little bit. But you mentioned earlier that your husband came up with a name.

CC [00:13:08] No, he said. He told me to come up with the name. But the thing about the company name that makes this so unique is. You know, we were in a truck one day and we had all of the inflatables out, all of the concession machines, all the tables and chairs. We were like just strapped. And I think this was around like 2018, 2019 and we were just sending a car and we were just everywhere. We had a staff out, we were out, everybody was out. Everybody was doing something. And I told my husband, I said, you know, you told me to come up with a company name. I had no idea that I would literally be bouncing around the Motor City. We'd be everywhere. Literally it was now we’re in Saline, and we’re up in Ann Arbor, we up in Lansing, we in Pontiac, we in Detroit, we in Southwest Detroit. Clarkston, it's like literally bouncing around in Motor City. We literally are bouncing around the city, servicing our products. Yeah, that's the company and I, we, we wanted something that evolved what we do you want a sound we want a sound that captured what we do. So we're like, okay, bounce houses, you know, all right, we'll bounce. And I'm like the Motor City because, you know, when you hear the Motor City, if you tell anybody from out of town the first thing they say is, oh, the Motor City, like, you know. So I wanted to encompass that and touch on our history. And that I think becomes embedded in peoples heads because if they don't forget nothing else or remember nothing, nothing about my company. I remember it was a bounce house company in a Motor City, Bouncin around the Motor City.

BWW [00:14:38] That's great. And remind me who came up with the idea to go into bounce houses?

CC [00:14:45] My husband.

BWW [00:14:46] What was your initial reaction to that?

CC [00:14:49] I thought he was out of his mind. I was like, okay, you want me to quit a job that I've been at for ten years, like the city of Detroit. And I'm all right. I'm bounce houses and a popcorn machine. But he's very innovative, very smart. He was liked babe, people are going to have parties and people are going to spend money. He's like, if people don't spend money on nothing they’re going to spend the money on kids. And it's proven to be true. If people don't spend money on nothing else, they're going to have a party. They're going to have celebrations. Always a reason.

BWW [00:15:21] And so was the there was the demand there from the beginning, really from the get go, because you mentioned other companies in service tend to service Detroit.

CC [00:15:31] No, it jumped off immediately. And also it was a lot of the pivotal steps that I think we did the every door, direct mail fliers. I sent out over 15,000 fliers. I had people literally calling me like, girl, I just got your mail, your mail in the mail. So, you know, it was a lot of pivotal steps that we took ahead of time, I would say, before other people did. And just making sure I had access to all the programs, I want to rebrand Detroit to give them our website. So I literally went through every program, every thing to help me get the stuff that I make. As far as the logo and the brand I had Tech Town help me get a laptop and get my logo and everything together first. It's all been pivotal steps with the right people in my ear. We will be making monumental steps ahead of time.

BWW [00:16:32] Is it typical for folks and for entrepreneurs to go through every program, or do they tend to just go through a couple of them?

CC [00:16:40] They typically go to one if they're okay. But I identify things that I like about each one. And I know so many people that have completed the programs and they all have beautiful, awesome experiences to tell me about it. And I wanted to experience all of them.

BWW [00:17:03] That's great.

CC [00:17:04] And it also set me up for a relationship where I'm part of the like, you know, alumni. So, of course, they can say to me, you know, if I like if they need balloons or inflatables or imaginary things. So it's also a marketing aspect to it. So.

BWW [00:17:22] Is there. So you explicitly mentioned Belle Isle earlier. Is there were there extra steps you had to take to get to be a vendor in Belle Isle?

CC [00:17:30] You have to pay an annual fee and you have to have $1,000,000 insurance policy. The insurance policy has been a pivotal aspect of us being successful because not too many bounce houses are insured. It's easy just to open up a company, but to take the extra steps and do it, you know, the legal way and to cover yourself and stuff. It opens me up to corporate contracts, parks, Belle Isle, because you have to have an insurance policy.

BWW [00:17:56] Are you starting to see some of those larger contracts come back now that restrictions have eased up?

CC [00:18:02] Yes. I spoke with NAACP. If they don't do it this year, they'll definitely be back next year. A lot of the corporations are calling me. The schools are calling me. We've been on a lot of balloon setups at the schools.

BWW [00:18:15] So during the pandemic, it's safe to say that you were leaning on balloon sales more than bounce houses.

CC [00:18:23] And I would say no, but I would say there was a increase, a dramatic increase in stuffed balloons, which I’d say, stuffed balloons fit just about anything you want to add on in decorating. Those were popular because I could deliver on my somebodys porch and just keep it moving. So that was a contactless delivery. As far as the graduations and stuff. Some of the schools, when they first hit the schools, canceled the Proms, they canceled the graduations, they canceled all of this. And so a lot of parents said, you know what, I paid so much money for this dress or it's very important to me that they have some kind of moment. So they have me come set up balloons in the air where there was happy graduation. And I'm talking 40 to 60 inch balloons each. And it might say happy graduation with their name. Or they might have me do chips and waters and bags where the people drive by, maybe give a gift or just support it, and they get a little token for driving by. So it was a really definitely experience and it was very encouraging. So because people were so positive about pivoting to a new way of celebrating, so it was definitely monumental in balloon sales and increase and brand awareness. So because it was like who did it? And it was different because most people put the signs in the yards, you know, just to cut out words or letters. But I was doing it with balloons so it was more impactful.

BWW [00:19:45] And so even so, with that word of mouth, did you see your business increase?

CC [00:19:53] Increase in a different format?

BWW [00:19:55] Yes.

CC [00:19:56] So I had a decrease. I had a decrease in corporations booking or larger organizations, but I had a monumental increase in individuals, whether it was my moms, aunts, uncles, grandpas, you know, people calling me saying, I've got to do something for my baby or I got to do something, or we're going to have a barbecue. But can you set up the bounce house at 8 a.m. and it all starts with 1:00 or something like that. So they had time to do whatever they did to feel safe celebrating in a pandemic time.

BWW [00:20:27] As you've been doing this for the past five years now, have you seen other businesses pop up or are you?

CC [00:20:36] Oh, yeah, I see them coming. I see them go. But being in business five years, I haven't completed all the programs. And so some of the knowledge that I have, I can easily look at a company and say, okay, well, maybe if they did this, they will last longer. But I definitely doing this, they're not going to last like you can't come out. And I made the mistake of the one. That's when I first came out. But you can't come out and say, Oh, I want to be the cheapest company because then you can burn yourself out. Instead, what you share say is, I want to be the best company. I want people to feel confident when they spend their money with me. When I quote somebody, you know, if they booked, they booked. But if they don't make sure you still send out a thank you or acknowledge that at least for considering you, and maybe in the future you can service what they need or something like that. But a lot of companies have popped up. But you know, the other thing like on the strength of. I don't think is really the strong I think it's the smart, making smarter decisions and approaching stuff and really focus in on which you want to have embedded in people mind when it comes to your company. Like when it comes of mind out of order products and services we offer our best and most popular thing is our customer service. Whether you spend in $5 with me or you spending $5,000 with me, you'll get the same treatment and the same respect and the same amount of attention.

BWW [00:21:56] That's great. What is your favorite type of event to do? Do you tend to enjoy the larger corporate ones or like the smaller family ones?

CC [00:22:14] I can't choose because I treat my customers in a universal format. I can't choose the one of my favorite things in the world is to paint kids faces, because you get to talk to the kids when I want and you'll be amazed at what kids say, being a mother of four and a mom-preneur or myself like you, just be amazed by what kids like you say the darndest things, you know. And so just that one on one happy faces in a joy that they get when they see the transformation of their face. My face paint is definitely one of the highlights of my business.

BWW [00:22:49] That's adorable. So you've expanded. So you so you offer that as well. That was a one of those threes was that was one of the things you mentioned earlier. So what is the full compliment you can get if someone comes if someone comes to you and says, I want the full suite? What would you offer their party?

CC [00:23:17] What kind of event is it?

BWW [00:23:18] Oh, that's a fair point. Like a street fair.

CC [00:23:22] So it would be outdoors? Yeah. So a street fair. We can have the stilt walkers. We can have fruit carvings, we can have inflatables. We can have interactive inflatables. We can do face painting. We could do balloons with, uh, we could do interactive games. You can have party favors, celebration favors, to-go whether it's the chip bags or the logo or your company or child's picture on a water bottles and ship it. But the stilt walkers are always a hit. We could do a live dance show literally it’s whatever your budget will like to take on. We're ready.

BWW [00:23:59] That's awesome. Backtracking to something we were talking about earlier, the programs you were a part of, what was your either your favorite one? Well, let's go with both. What was your favorite program you went through? And then what was the most impactful one you went through?

CC [00:24:15] Okay. I will say out of all of them, my favorite one was Tech Town camp because I had completed Prosperous as my first program and then I did Build Institute and then it was like Tech Town was something that I have been hearing about constantly. And it was just buzzing in my ear and it was like the elite in my hair is the elite of our program. And when we first had class they were talking about a pitch competition and I was like, Oh, that's nice and stuff like that. But like the more intense and the more they train with me and develop me, help me get my business plan together and my PowerPoint presentation. I became so empowered and it was like, okay, this is really what I'm doing. I'm really a female black business owner, booked up. Sales are crazy. The business is banging. You know, I have these beautiful, lovely kids. Just everything is perfect. And then when they started training me for a pitch competition, I got the confidence like, I'm going to win this. Not only am I going to win it, I'm going to score at this. And that's exactly what I did when I got done pitching it was so empowering. Like everybody in the room was standing up and it was just amazing. And so after that, it was like my name was everywhere. And, you know, tech towns is buzzing about buzzing about Buzz and Mark. Catherine called me buzzing around Motor City. So then I had tech town at the time, and so I was like, okay, I have to do something impactful. You know, people are expecting something from me because I always come waiting. So what did I do? I wore a balloon dress. And at the end of the night, I have one little thing. You just switched it off, and then I dropped the dress and left it there. Like Cinderella left her shoes. So I would say, Tech Town, because it was just monumental. It gave me the confidence that I can do anything in the world when it comes to bouncing around and motivating.

BWW [00:26:14] That's fantastic. And I would guess that's exactly what you need if you're going to start something from scratch. Is there anything about the start, about bouncin around the Motor City or yourself that I haven't asked you about yet, that you wanted to chat about or share?

CC [00:26:36] I think you were pretty comprehensive in your interview. I would just say that one of the things that I want to be remembered for I was gonna say to you that we are able to retire in the face of a small business. That is like my pivotal goal. To accomplish that, I want to be in a neighborhood, a business neighborhood, reachable where you can call me. Um, you know, in my day, I used to have a problem with a business. First thing you say is like, where's the manager? The owner right here. You know, just accountability and a responsibility that I'm taking also to bring back to face of business, small business in a neighborhood.

BWW [00:27:18] That's great. Um, you fantastically answered so many of my questions all at once. I'm trying to make sure I cover my bases and didn't miss anything. While I think of that, though, do you remember how you heard about this? I told you that throughout the program for a moment. The hustle.

CC [00:27:43] Okay. A friend of mine called me up and was like I found out about something that I nominated for, and I was like, what is? And she was like, What are you allowed to do? I was like, I'm a hustler. What to me? So she was like, Exactly. She was like, you know, Detroit Historical Museum. And I was like, Oh, wow. I was like, what is it she is like to her? So she's like the hustle, Can you talk about or the ways that you her? So I said, What do you mean is what I do? And she's like, I need you to put it in words. And I'm like, Okay, you give me some time or whatever. So then she nominated me and then by the time y'all had contacted me, I was surprisingly, hopefully chosen. But I was ready to go. So, you know, ready to go because. Being a hustler is literally what I do. Like I wake up, breathe, what can I do? What can I do? What can I accomplished today? So I believe that when I found out about it, it was powerful for me because it's exactly what I do. I defined the Detroit Hustle. If not, nobody else define it. I do.

BWW [00:28:44] When you hear the word hustle, what do you think of what for? What's the first thing that comes to mind?

CC [00:28:49] Bouncin around a Motor City. Making sure orders are fullfiled. Make a show you innovative. Make a show you find out about. The North had its products. Making sure that you are on top. It is reaching out to that person. Calling customers on a birthday. Hey, how you doing it? And I just want to let you know just calling we remember your birthday. Let us know if you need anything. So I think the hustle just carefully doing some counseling, doing something like when I leave you, I got to go do four pickups that we have set up on Friday for the weekend. So it's just a constantly moving, constantly progressing, you know, constantly keep it going. Um, securing, uh, grants to marketing match, doing pitch competitions, making sure that I'm building on my brand awareness embedded in people minds about Bouncin around Motor City, giving back to the community, helping other entrepreneurs make a show. As I go up, I'm steady reaching back and bringing somebody else with me. So I think that's the hustle.

BWW [00:29:46] And what do you think of when you hear the word hustler?

CC [00:29:52] Catherine Coleman. Exactly what I just explained to you. Just doing what I do. Doing. Doing what you do. But loving why you do it. You know, it would be the most exhilarating aspect of your life. And your business will blossom. Because if you are chasing your passion, I. This is my passion. This is what I do. So it becomes second nature to me to get up and do it every day.

BWW [00:30:20] Awesome. Thank you so much for sitting down with us.

CC [00:30:23] Thank you.

BWW [00:30:23] Appreciate it.