LPI Outreach: CEC Network Update
SEED Group Team
Interactive Evening Hosted by SEED Group
The Imlay City SEED Group hosted its fourth Entrepreneur Meet-Up on Tuesday, April 24, 2012.
The Meet-Up is intended to offer a venue for individuals with a business idea and those already established entrepreneurs to meet and share ideas and resources. The gatherings are an informal way to encourage business growth, while offering valuable information to entrepreneurs.
The guest speaker at the April 24 event was Malinda Barr of "Get Up and Grow." The evening was interactive, informative and inspiring. More than 20 people attended the event, many continued to network after the program was over.
Malinda Barr owns her own company and works with organizations teaching them how to better recognize and utilize the marketing opportunities they encounter every day. Attendees learned how to use the skill of networking as a tool to grow their business in these tough economic times.
Barr is a Haslett, MI, alumnus and returned to the area to begin her professional career in the late 80's as a corporate restaurant trainer where she opened 13 new locations and headed up a successful troubleshooting program for nearly 20 existing locations. In addition to the restaurant industry, her background consists of retail management, years of sales in the media industry and special project development.
The Entrepreneur Meet-Ups have been very well attended with a mix of people from Imlay City and surrounding communities and individuals from all aspects of business and in all stages of entrepreneurship.
Generate Sturgis Team
"Economic Gardening" a Focus at Open House
An open house Wednesday at Sturges-Young Auditorium to share information regarding the
Sturgis 2022 initiative drew more than 75 people. The initiative was a focused effort to determine the city's direction for improving the community over the next decade.
Ron Kitchens, CEO of Southwest Michigan First and a professional with 28 years of economic development experience, spoke on the pillars of economic success.
"The idea of economic development goes back 2,200 years to 190 B.C.," Kitchens said. "Economic gardening is the new buzzword."
He also said 75% of new jobs come from existing companies in the community. Kitchens stressed the importance of education in acquiring jobs. Training can come from a variety of sources, including career technology programs.
Kitchens said one challenge is to empower leaders of neighboring communities to work together.
Read the complete story at Economic Gardening.
WDB Community
The 2nd Annual "Where Development Begins" Business Awards Ceremony
The 2nd annual "Where Development Begins" Business Awards Ceremony was held on May 10, 2012, at Hawk Hollow in Bath Township. The "W," "D" and "B" in Where Development Begins is based upon the communities of Watertown Township, DeWitt Township, City of DeWitt and Bath Township.
This awards program was created as part of a regional grant that the communities of Bath, DeWitt and Watertown received called "Creating Entrepreneurial Communities." This grant is designed to expand and support entrepreneurial activities in the partnering communities. The purpose of this program is to help Michigan communities and regions embrace entrepreneurship as a core strategy for prosperity and economic development.
Small and medium businesses are not only major drivers for our local economy, they also add to the quality of life of our community. Small business creates a sense of place that we call our home; they are gathering spots, and they are integral parts of the fabric or our community. Through their donations they support our children, our sports, and our events. The purpose of the "Where Development Begins" Business Awards Ceremony is to honor businesses that add to the quality of life, that grow our local economy, and are instrumental in making southern Clinton County a great place to live and work. As part of the Creating Entrepreneurial Communities project, we want to find ways to grow and support entrepreneurism. This not only allows us to thank local businesses for what they have done, but also creates a culture that encourages entrepreneurism.
The "Where Development Begins" Business Awards Ceremony consists of five awards: Entrepreneurial Spirit, Contributing to our Community, Benefiting our Community, Food System, and Community Excellence. The awards are designed to recognize businesses that embody characteristics that are beneficial to the communities of southern Clinton County. . . The awards were presented to the following groups:
- Entrepreneurial Spirit - Greater Lansing Potter's Guild;
- Contributing to our Community - Granger;
- Benefitting the Community - Capital Wire and Steel;
- Food System - Felzke Farms; and
- Community Excellence - BS&A Software.
This year's event was sponsored by Firstbank. The MC for the event was Bob Trezise, President and CEO of the Lansing Economic Area Partnership. For more information on the "Where Development Begins" Business Award Ceremony, contact DeWitt Township Manager, Rod Taylor at 517.668.0270. Check out the full release at WDB Business Awards Ceremony.
LPI Events
Next ICE Meeting Wednesday, June 13, 2012: Starting a Profitable First Business
On Wednesday, June 13, 2012, the Innovation Club for Entrepreneurs (ICE) is hosting their monthly meeting from 6pm to 8pm at The Hatch (inside the Technology Innovation Center (TIC) at 325 E. Grand River, Suite 345), just West of Barnes & Noble Bookstore in East Lansing. Public parking is available in the ramp behind the bookstore on Charles Street or in the MSU Grand River ramp across the street.
The meeting will focus on the topic of "Starting a Profitable First Business." The guest speaker will be Antonio Lombardo, an entrepreneur and investor from Southfield, MI. He is a "serial entrepreneur," with experience starting businesses since high school. Lombardo has learned what it takes to make a business profitable and expandable. After graduating from MSU with a degree in Economics, he was pressured into full-time entrepreneurship during hiring freezes of 2009. Lombardo deciding that entrepreneurship was the best career option, and with strong motivation, started his first profitable business. During his talk he will illustrate the steps he took on the path to starting a new business, and what it takes to make a new business successful.
This event is open to the public, with a suggested $5 donation to help defray costs. Attendees should bring business cards, and start-up and concept ideas. Feel free to bring materials to share on the "Shameless Self Promotion" Table!
RSVPs are welcome and appreciated. Please sign up at ICE Meetup by clicking on the "count me in" button for the June meeting. Please send any questions about this month's meeting to ice@landpolicy.msu.edu.
Summaries from past meetings and more information about the Club are available at Innovation Club for Entrepreneurs. Be sure to check out ICE on Facebook, Twitter and Meetup. For questions about ICE, contact Dr. Barb Fails Raftshol at fails@landpolicy.msu.edu or call 517.749.1974.
The purpose of the monthly club is to provide a forum for innovators and entrepreneurs in the Greater Lansing area to share ideas in a positive and supportive environment, strengthen networks for collaboration and find resources to bring ideas to life. The ICE is a collaborative effort of the Michigan State University Land Policy Institute and the MSU Entrepreneurship Network.
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