Exploring Life & Business with Megan Cyrulewski of Kokuaaku

Today we’d like to introduce you to Megan Cyrulewski.

Hi Megan, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
My story is a long and winding road! I’ve spent 20 years trying to figure out what my purpose is in this life. I’ve always been career-minded; the problem has always been finding that career. I started out working in the non-profit sector. Then when the recession hit in 2008, I decided to go to law school. I practiced family and civil mediation until a health issue forced me out of work for 18 months. By the time I was able to work again, Covid came along. I’m lucky that I had family support in that I didn’t have to work to ensure my 3rd grader (at the time) kept up with online school. She stayed virtual all during 4th grade, finally returning to school in 5th grade. After things started to return to normal, we could use our condo in north Michigan again. The first time driving after that Covid was incredibly sad. So many of my favorite small businesses had closed during Covid. With tourists, they had a chance of surviving. Then, I realized the next chapter of my career: helping small businesses.

Alright, let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what challenges have you had to overcome?
The short answer: No. Being an entrepreneur is like being on a roller coaster every day. One day, you might cry, laugh, want to give up or think you are brilliant.

I knew Kokuaaku needed to be different from Amazon, Faire, Etsy, etc., to have a chance. After doing some research and finding out that all online platforms for Small Businesses to sell products charge fees for almost everything: shipping, listing products, advertising, penalties for not selling products, and so much more. That’s when I knew Kokuaaku would be free to all businesses. Instead, Kokuaaku is subscription based. In exchange for subscribing, our subscribers can buy products 10-70% off retail prices, access blogs, giveaways, and much more.

There was a lot of promotion leading up to our launch in March. On the day of, we had a whopping 10 subscribers. I cried. Hard. I just felt like a complete failure. I let down all of our vendors on Kokuaaku. I let down my business coach, website developer, family, and friends. It was a bad week.

Thanks for sharing that. So, you could tell us a bit more about your business.
An old Hawaiian proverb is Kokua aku, which means Help Others. Many would be surprised to know that small businesses make up 99% of businesses in the United States. Unfortunately, only 50% of those businesses last a full year; in 10 years, only 18%. I am an ardent supporter of small businesses. The problem is that on websites such as Amazon, Etsy, Faire, etc., the first 10+ pages are big companies or businesses that can afford the ads to ensure they are in key spots for consumers. These platforms also charge fees for everything. Kokuaaku is filled with a variety of Small Businesses. We feature many artists, creators, jewelry makers, photographers, fashionistas, and more. Kokuaaku is a subscription-based platform. We do not charge participating businesses any fees or percentages. Instead, we are a subscriber-based platform.

Our subscriber’s fees are incredibly low: $49 annually or $4.99/month. As a Subscriber, you can buy retail items at Kokuaaku discounted prices, giveaways, blog content, early RSVPs for events, and much more! Also, 5% of all subscription fees will be donated to a small charity featured on our blog every month.

We offer your readers $20 off the annual subscription fee to thank Voyage for this fantastic opportunity. I hope you subscribe and buy from our incredible vendors, who have uploaded over 600 products to Kokuaaku! Please use the code 20OFFYEARLY.

If we knew you growing up, how would we have described you?
I was not a girlie girl and not an academic. I was much more interested in sports and my social life. I danced for 14 years (jazz, tap, ballet en pointe, lyrical) and played softball from elementary to high school.

In the summer, those were the days when our parents told us to “have fun” and to be home by dinner. Being outside was the best! Parks and Recreation softball leagues. Summer dance classes. We hung out with friends from morning to night, played in sprinklers, and rode bikes everywhere. My elementary school best friend and I used to play badminton. Our record was 102 consecutive hits without dropping the birdie. We’re still proud of that record. 🙂

The school was okay. Senior year was the best. The football games. The high school sweetheart (who dumped me on my birthday of all days!) Prom. Senior skip days.

I didn’t put much stock into school and graduated high school with a stellar 2.5 GPA. I was lucky that in 1996, colleges still accepted students like me, and I went to Grand Valley State University, which was when I realized I loved learning and ended up on the Dean’s List.

Pricing:

• $4.99/monthly
• $49/annually
• $20 off for all Voyage Readers
• Use Code 20OFFYEARLY
• FREE for businesses to join

Contact Info:

• Website: www.kokuaaku.net
• Instagram: @kokuaaku
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kokuaakua
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/megan-cyrulewski-655494128/
• Twitter: @kokuaaku

Image Credits
All images are from Kokuaaku