Whether it’s shopping at your favorite local boutique, planning a weekend trip up north, or gathering with friends to eat at a local restaurant, small businesses play more than a supporting role in our lives. He plays a role and is the main character.
As community ties, small businesses are important to Michigan’s economic growth. In fact, Michigan is home to more than 900,000 small businesses and 1.9 million small business employees. Additionally, over 99% of Michigan businesses are defined as small businesses with fewer than 500 employees.
The Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) recognizes the role small businesses play in our state’s success and works every day to provide small businesses with the support they need to succeed in Michigan. In fiscal year 2023, MEDC and its support partners supported small businesses across Michigan more than 10,500 times, helped drive $1.9 billion in small business revenue, and helped establish more than 400 new small businesses in the state. We supported.
In the spirit of honoring small business owners and recognizing the important role they play in our state, MEDC is also a proud sponsor. Michigan Celebrates Small Businesses.
Since its founding in 2004, the Michigan Small Business Celebration has championed small businesses and fostered the entrepreneurial spirit found throughout the state.
This year, the Michigan Small Business Celebration celebrates its 20th anniversary.th This anniversary marks a milestone that marks 20 years of recognizing and elevating the contributions of Michigan’s small businesses. As we celebrate our 20th anniversary,th At the annual Michigan Small Business Awards Ceremony, this year’s honorees reflect the diversity of industries, services and passionate business owners across Michigan’s two peninsulas.
With a shared goal of uplifting and encouraging small businesses and sharing their powerful stories, we can make a huge impact on the lives of our fellow Michiganders and the places we call home.
Michigan celebrates small business success stories
Musical Instruments for the Elderly Elderly Instruments has been recognized as a 2024 Michigan 50 Companies to Watch, but the family-owned music haven in Old Town Lansing is also gaining national attention. In October 2023, Elderly Instruments was named America’s Top Small Business by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, beating out 15,000 other applicants. In its announcement, the Chamber of Commerce said, “This music store embodies the innovation, resilience, and growth mindset of American entrepreneurship.”
In business since 1972, Elderly Instruments moved to Old Town Lansing in 1983, serving as a pioneering small business in a community that became the capital’s vibrant cultural and creative district. In 2006, Old Town Lansing was designated a Michigan Main Street Community, a program committed to creating quality places and building stronger communities through preservation-based economic development.
CEO Lillian Werbin credits the Michigan Small Business Development Center (SBDC) with helping her family’s business grow over the years and ensure future success. “The guidance we received from SBDC was not just advice, but a roadmap that enabled us to pinpoint and enhance critical aspects of our business. , who helped us fine-tune our operations and hone our financial strength. Their expertise has been a guiding light through the maze of possibilities and has made Elderly Instruments an important lighthouse for musicians around the world. At the same time, I was able to step into tomorrow with confidence.”
Another small business looking to help other small businesses step into the future with confidence is a 2024 Michigan 50 Companies to Watch honoree. Apex placement and consulting, a staffing and placement company based in Clawson. Founded by Jennifer Gavin in May 2021 and inspired by the changes in the work environment brought about by the pandemic, Apex Placement & Consulting provides flexible work opportunities and attracts top talent to both the company and its clients. We aim to attract.
Gavin is no stranger to working through difficult times at work. She began her career in staffing during the Great Recession.
“It was my first time actually applying for a job and getting an interview. It took me about six months to get used to it, but once I got used to it, I knew I would never leave the industry. Not only can we build a great career, but we can also help people every day.”
Gavin utilizes MEDC’s business support services to facilitate his company’s growth and frequently refers relocation candidates to The Michigan Life website, part of MEDC’s You Can in Michigan talent initiative.
From the office to the outdoors – chicken tramper ultralight gear Out of the Upper Peninsula is a pioneer in the outdoor equipment manufacturing industry and is one of this year’s SmartZone Best Small Business award winners.
Inspired by a 2018 hiking trip, Michigan Technological University mechanical engineers Austin Gongos and Nathan Ackerman went on a mission to revolutionize outdoor gear by combining lightweight design with unparalleled durability. We have launched Chicken Trumper Ultralight Gear.
The company offers a variety of products ranging from full-frame long-distance backpacks to smaller daypacks, fanny packs, wallets, water bottle holders, phone pockets, and a variety of accessories. Their products cater to the diverse needs of outdoor enthusiasts, from seasoned hikers to weekend warriors.
Through working with MEDC, Chicken Tramper Ultralight Gear was not only able to secure a number of grants and equipment loans, but it also gained connections to industry veterans and ongoing engagement groups that helped them streamline production operations and make processes run smoother and more efficiently.
“Michigan has a ton of resources available to small businesses, many of which are free,” co-founder Ackerman said. “As two engineers with no real business background, we’ve learned so much just by asking the right people. The more we work with the MEDC, the more people we get to meet and the more we learn.”
cerberus securityis a leading event-based security company founded by Army veteran Steven Parent and has been recognized as the 2024 Veteran-Owned Small Business of the Year. In 2017, Parent received multiple inquiries from his company, West Michigan K9, one of the state’s leading dog dealers, about the possibility of leasing dogs for security services. Recognizing the limitations of these arrangements, Parent partnered with Tony Raskowitz to form Cerberus Security to fill this gap in the security field.
As the company grew and looked to hire the right talent, it turned to the SBDC for guidance on its leadership team and compensation plan, with the parent company calling the SBDC “one of the best resources at the disposal of Michigan-based small businesses.”
The SBDC provides Cerberus Security with direction and advice that is invaluable to the company’s success, giving Parent and his team the confidence to move forward as they make difficult business decisions and meet challenges head-on. It was given to me. For aspiring entrepreneurs embarking on their own business, Parent says: Entrepreneurial success is enabled by collaboration and resilience. ” SBDC continues to invest in the success of its team and extends its entrepreneurial spirit throughout.
Milestones are an opportunity to reflect on how things have grown and changed, and for one small business, 20th The anniversary of the Michigan Small Business Celebration is a true full-circle moment. black star farmsBlack Star Farms, a Suttons Bay winery, was recognized as one of Michigan’s 50 Companies to Watch in 2005, the inaugural year of the award ceremony. Over the past 20 years, Black Star Farms’ flagship store in Suttons Bay has grown to include a vineyard. Winery production facilities, tasting rooms, boutique inns, bistros, equestrian facilities, and recreational trails. The winery also has a tasting room at the Old Mission Peninsula in Traverse City.
Owner Sherry Campbell Fenton says the first Michigan Small Business Awards Gala provided statewide visibility and networking opportunities for the winery in its early years.
“We ourselves are relatively new to the winery industry, having only been in business for five years. This experience has given us the opportunity to network with other companies in the industry and expand our event footprint. We were also able to gain recognition in the northern wine industry where we were starting out. We owe much of our early growth to this award and recognition.”
The 2024 MCSB Awards Gala honorees represent a diverse range of passionate people and opportunities available to small business owners in Michigan. After 20 years of working to advance the state’s small businesses, the Michigan Small Business Celebration shows no signs of slowing down as we look to the next 20 years and beyond.
MEDC understands the role it plays in supporting and helping small businesses succeed in Michigan, creating important and powerful economic opportunities. As part of Team Michigan, we will continue to ensure our state has a place for Michiganders to live, do business, and build their futures.
Learn more about MEDC’s small business support and resources.
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