“Every morning,” K-Tec Systems CEO Cathy Koch says, “I put on a bracelet that says: ‘She Believed She Could, and So She Did.’ I believe a woman must believe ‘she can’ from the day she opens her business.”
Cathy Koch’s United States-based K-Tec Systems is a woman-owned business that manufactures and assembles custom-designed thermocouples and wire harnesses for the major OEMs in Michigan. When the pandemic caused the economy to shut down, Cathy’s company saw a sheer decline, and her world appeared to be falling apart. “I was ready to cry. My doors were shut, and I was all out of money…” Eventually, a friend, mentor, and fellow women business owner reached out and provided her with the motivation to continue forging ahead through the fear and uncertainty of the pandemic economy. Thanks to being a member of Great Lakes Women’s Business Council and a CEED Lending loan client, “I realized that I was not alone.”
Today, Cathy has successfully pivoted her company to help Pfizer produce the COVID-19 vaccine, and her business continues to grow. K-Tec Systems has even opened an additional location in Washington State! Cathy Koch has exemplified extreme resilience in the face of the most challenging situations during the pandemic and overcame them. She attributes much credit to having access to resources, support, and a network of women peers that all have one another’s back during the smooth and turbulent times. Cathy explains that she did not have anywhere to turn for resources or support; she says that a pandemic without the Team at Great Lakes WBC would have been incredibly difficult.
