The first cohort of Leeward Community College's Aina to Makeke program recently graduated. The program, which is part of the Hawaii Ag & Culinary Alliance's From Cottage Industry to Commercial Enterprise initiative, helps entrepreneurs scale recipes into commercial products during a 12-week session.
The classes cover topics such as regulations, licensing, branding, packaging and pitch presentations. The inaugural cohort included 15 entrepreneurs, who participated in a product showcase on Thursday, April 20, as part of graduation.
Misty Sommo, owner and founder of Mossy Mokes LLC, was among the graduates last week. Her business produces sea moss supplements now sold at all six Lanikai Juice stores, three Down to Earth stores, The Source Natural Foods in Kailua and the Good Health Food Store in Aiea.
Originally, Sommo sold her products at farmers markets. A local publication, Go Kailua Magazine, picked up her story, and partnerships followed, she said.
"It was really within the first three to six months that I got the opportunity to meet with stores, and they actually all came to me," Sommo said. "They're all word of mouth. I've never had to go in and do a pitch. So word of mouth is very strong, especially in Hawaii."
Start-up costs for her business were less than $5,000, which she paid with savings, Sommo said. She also financed one of her larger purchases, a water ionizer machine with titanium plates, which cost $6,000 and is being paid off monthly, she said.
Sommo took a few minutes before her graduation last week to share how planning, careful financial records and word-of-mouth recommendations helped set her small business up for success.
What inspired you to start Mossy Mokes? I began amidst the pandemic making homemade elderberry syrup for my family to strengthen our immune system. I was taught and gained knowledge from the Hawaiian community about using the laau lapaau [traditional Native Hawaiian medical practice], and herbs. So I began gathering [plants] from all over the beautiful side of Koolaupoko and eventually planting some of my own at my house in Kailua. As I found myself more interested in natural healing, I stumbled across sea moss while web surfing one day. I was intrigued by all of the benefits and that it was an all-natural product.
What advice would you give small business owners? The first advice I would give is to have a planner. Have a planner and before you go anywhere, make sure you ... have manila folders, so that you can keep all of your finances monthly in the folders because that can get carried away so quickly as you're ... every day buying stuff. It just gets out of control for one person. ... You're doing so many things.
What's your favorite thing you've learned as part of the program? The COGs — so my cost of goods and my profit margins — was the best part of the program for me. ... Being a small business owner, you gotta be an accountant. You have to be your own inventory. You have to make your own invoices and just that whole back-end of it, as well as advertising and selling your product. You have to do it all, so learning, the legit way — the right way — to do things really helped me, and that was my favorite part.
To read more about Mossy Mokes, go to instagram.com/mossy.mokes.
