Sleeping Bear Dunes, MI
Why start a business? To make money, right? Sure. But after the newness and enthusiasm wears off, what’s going to get you out of bed in the morning to tally business expenses, count inventories and annotate tax write-offs? For a few, their passion is running the business itself and it matters less what the business actually does…entrepreneurs for the sake of being entrepreneurs. But for most, there needs to be a deeper meaning behind the drive to run a business.
So, M22 Tactical is a service-disabled veteran-owned small business operating out of beautiful Western Michigan…and the name, M22 Tactical, was chosen as tribute to where we came from (military service) and where we are (beautiful Western Michigan) as a result of our service.
This particular vet retired from service after 3 years in the navy and almost 22 years in the Air Force, with over two of those years spent on various deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan and other places in the mid-east. Service means a lot to me and to this business. The price of service is great and those that serve (service members, their families, their communities and a grateful nation) understand it all too well. The price is real and it is high. Statistically, an average of 22 Veterans commit suicide every day. Some leave us while they’re still in the service, others succumb later in life, after they have served. We’ve lost more than our fair share of brothers and sisters in arms…left to wonder what we can do to save service members, their families and communities from a pain that is all too real and all too common. Well, for many, the number 22 is a call to action–a call connect…and that simple act can start a struggling veteran begin a new journey to find a purpose…to reconnect with themselves, their families and their communities. For those still struggling it’s not too late and you are never alone…the number 22 is a reminder. If for nothing else, check in and see how your long-time friends are doing. So, for us it’s a call to action…and as M22 Tactical grows our efforts to support our veterans will grow with it.
Then there’s M-22, a state road that meanders up the western coastline of northern Michigan. M-22 is one of the most scenic drives in the country and a large portion of the road curves through the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. During the summer you’ll most likely find me up there riding my Super Duke or my Softail back and fourth along the shoreline of Lake Michigan…at a reasonable speed, of course. What makes M-22 even more special to us is that somewhere along that beautiful winding road, there’s a dirt driveway that leads to a small cabin in the woods overlooking an inland lake. The cabin has been in the family since it was built in the 1950s and has been a place for us to unplug, unwind and rejuvenate over the years. It’s our oasis. An oasis that is built and maintained with hard work, love, family and the simple joy of being on this planet. It is a place we love and respect…a place we’re proud of earning the right to be on. So for us, M-22 is also symbolic of a life well lived and a life worth living!
So on the days it’s a little hard to find the motivation to keep the books and count the widgets, a glance at the M22 logo can get us the kick in the pants we need to keep going.
Written by Alex at M22 Tactical