Kyle Weatherly
President
Solaris Inc.
6737 W. Washington St., West Allis
Solaris Inc., a designer and manufacturer of therapeutic medical garments based in West Allis, has seen significant growth since it opened in 2000. This year, the company was awarded Master Mettle status in the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce’s Future 50 business award program. The company’s success is due to its hard work, the vision of its founder and chief executive officer (Kathy Weatherly) and the good fortune of having the right product to sell to the right customers at the right time, says her son, Kyle Weatherly, president of Solaris.
“Over the last number of years, our company has enjoyed a healthy degree of success. This is due in no small part the hard work of our talented staff and a visionary CEO.
“That said, we have also benefited from being in a great market at a great time. This is not an earth-shattering insight. It is something along the lines of ‘offer excellent customer service’ or ‘treat your good customers well.’ Only in retrospect, however, do I appreciate how much this has contributed to our success. There are three features about the markets we serve that have aided our success.
“First, the overall size of the markets is growing and growing quickly. Our products assist people with conditions that, generally speaking, affect an older population. This is a growing demographic in the USA and will be for the next several decades.
“Second, all the products we sell are semi-durable and treat chronic conditions. If someone buys our product once and she is satisfied, we likely have a once-a-year customer for life.
“Third, the markets we serve are less affected by the ebbs and flows of the economy as a whole. A recession is tough on everyone, but health care products are typically the last thing that someone cuts out of his or her budget. More so, the person making the buying decision, the patient, is not footing the entire bill, which leads to less downward pricing pressure
“When Solaris was founded, we didn’t understand the above. We just happened to get lucky. That said, whether starting a new business or expanding an existing business into other markets, I would encourage anyone to channel their company’s resources toward offering transactional products and services to healthy, growing markets.
“As I stated from the onset, this is not novel advice. But the business world is chock full of wisdom coming from every direction. I would pay particular attention to this. I wish I had.”
