When Mitch Reaume traded his role as pastor for entrepreneurship in 2014, he wasn’t just changing careers — he was answering a deeper calling to use business as a force for good. Now, through Twin Cities Print and Northern Goods, he has become a champion for small businesses while celebrating Minnesota’s iconic landscapes.
THE SPARK: “I started exploring different ways to see business used for good in the world,” Mitch reflects. “Over time I fell in love with the small-business community and their grit and the care for their communities that so many of them embody.”
DAILY DRIVE: What gets him out of bed each morning? “My family and my employees don’t eat if I don’t do my job well. That responsibility to do right by my people is probably the thing that weighs heaviest on me and inspires me the most.”
BEHIND THE SCENES: His workspace in three words? “Organized chaos. Help!” His favorite part of creation? “Handing over the things we make to other small businesses, knowing we get to play a small role in making them money to help keep the lights on.”
MILESTONE MEMORY: “Sleeping on the floor in our flagship store in Grand Marais with my family the night after we closed on the building is a memory I’ll always have.”
LAKE AND COMPANY CONNECTION: What’s been flying off the shelves? “We’ve sold a lot of Northern Goods pint glasses through Lake and Company over the years but have also sold a ton of custom apparel and drinkware ... so it’s a bit of a toss-up.”
LOOKING FORWARD: “The two things that make me tick these days are seeing small businesses win and sharing our love of Grand Marais and the North Shore with others.”
MAKER’S ESSENTIALS:
Favorite Minnesota lake: Superior
Essential tool: Cellphone. Incredibly unsexy answer ... but it’s the truth.
Morning ritual: I wake up and make my wife and myself coffee every morning while trying to keep my unhinged toddler from wreaking havoc before 8 a.m.
Advice for aspiring creators: Ignore the internet. The thread that connects most creators is that they just keep going. It’s not about being the smartest or shiniest presentation. Just be genuine and keep going.
Instagram: @twincitiesprint, @northerngoodslife
Website: twincitiesprint.com and northern-goods.com