2022 SBA Wisconsin Small Business Exporter of the Year

Eric Coffman, Graftobian Make-Up Co., Madison

Graftobian Make-Up Co. was founded by owner Eric Coffman’s parents Gene and Evelyn in 1978 and started creating child-safe face paint sticks. When Eric and his wife Susan took over, they expanded into professional-grade theatrical makeup.  Today the business makes professional-quality high-definition makeup and body paint for theater, film, TV, fashion, and special effects.  The company has participated in one in-person and four virtual trade missions funded by SBA’s State Trade and Export Program award to the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. As a result, Graftobian has exporting relationships in Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, Australia, Africa, the Far East, Mexico, Canada, and beyond.  The company is in the process of moving its manufacturing from New York to Madison and will soon open a new facility there.  Eric has encouraged other businesses to export and created a how-to video on exporting.

2022 SBA Wisconsin Emerging Small Business of the Year

Donisha Nesbitt, CoveredCare, Racine

Donisha Nesbitt started CoveredCare in 2015 to provide compassionate non-medical in-home caregiving.  She wanted to address three concerns:  matching care providers to individuals, the guilt associated with being a caregiver, and a lack of specialized services to meet specific needs.  CoveredCare uses a matchmaking system similar to those of dating websites to match clients with the right caregiver—and the system has been very successful. CoveredCare has seen extensive growth in both staff and in revenues. Donisha has since expanded her services to respite care and Community Based Residential Facility and Passenger Carrying Vehicle training to help make staff more employable.  She worked closely with SBA partner WWBIC, participating in training and one-on-one advising, and she also participated in a WWBIC-run accelerator program.  She has since become a mentor for this program and a training facilitator for WWBIC, is an accomplished public speaker, a minority owner of two other businesses, and a member of her local BID.

2022 SBA Wisconsin Rural Small Business of the Year

Teresa and Rod Peters, Backroads Coffee and Tea, Hayward

Teresa and Rod Peters started their coffee retail and roasting business in Hayward, Wis. 35 years ago.  In 2010, they separated the retail business from the roastery and established Backroads Coffee and Tea on Dakota Avenue in downtown Hayward.  They also have a kiosk serving both drinks and food along the Berkie trail for those taking advantage of trail activities.  With the pandemic, they took advantage of the SBA’s EIDL loan program, which helped them continue the business. They built a new website which saw traffic increase 35% in 2021 with coffee sales, online food orders, accessories and more.  They also opened a drive-through along a local highway and established Vibes Bakery to supply the retail outlets with scratch-made baked goods. Teresa is the marketing chair for the local BID, and the business donates to many American Birkinbeiner trail activities as well as Hayward schools.

Join these winners on Friday at 9 am at the virtual panel discussion at the Lieutenant Governor’s Small Business Academy. Stay tuned for the other three panelists tomorrow!

By SBA Regional Administrator Geri Aglipay

During National Small Business Week, SBA is proud to celebrate the people who make the engine of our economy purr and frankly, the ones who create most of our jobs.  Small businesses employ almost half of the people working in the Great Lakes six-state region, so this is the one time of the year when it is safe to say, ‘let’s celebrate the boss!’ 

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