February 2, 2015
Three more big sales questions and bigger answers
Here are a few more sales, business and life answers that can help you make more sales today, and help you build a personal brand and reputation forever. 1. Jeffrey, what do you do every day to build attraction and brand? What do you do to create consistency in your daily business habits? And I […]
Michigan ranks among lowest states for export growth
According to the latest numbers on international trade released by the World Trade Organization, in the first 11 months of 2014 the value of world merchandise exports edged up 1.6 percent to $15.6 trillion from the same period in 2013. WTO’s trade figures on exports from January-November 2014 show that China was the world’s leading […]
Public Record
MORTGAGES Selected mortgages filed with Kent County Register of Deeds NGUYEN, Milton et al, E Mortgage Management, Railside West, Lot 2, $250,000 JACKSON, Matthew S. et al, Mortgage 1, Vergennes Twp., 32-7-9, $238,500 PIERRE-VANARTSEN, Soroya et al, Guaranteed Rate, Condo-Leaning Oaks, $407,000 PLACHTA, Daniel R. et al, Wells Fargo Bank, Condo-Ryann Ridge, $282,400 DAMGHANI, Maryam […]
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Change Ups: Ferris State opens University Center
Ferris State University in Big Rapids recently opened its remodeled University Center located in the heart of campus. The $34 million renovation features spaces for meetings, socializing, studying and relaxing, as well as a food, entertainment and retail venues. The renovated facility replaces the former Rankin Student Center. The Christman Co. construction management firm handled […]
Land Division Act could lead to lawsuits
Vagueness in the 1997 Land Division Act might soon lead to court battles if the Michigan legislature doesn’t step in with a bill clarifying the law’s intent. Mika, Meyers, Beckett & Jones attorney Ronald Redick said the Land Division Act specified the number of divisions and re-divisions allowed for a continuous piece of land under […]
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Local real estate agents are familiar with radon testing
Public health officials in Lansing and in Kent County — as well as Gov. Rick Snyder — take the threat of radon gas very seriously and urge people to test for its presence in their homes. Snyder issued a proclamation making January “Radon Action Month,” and the Kent County Health Department issued a news release […]
Small employer survey measures ACA impact
A number of small business employers in West and Southwest Michigan are looking at discontinuing their health insurance plans, as alternative options for employees and premiums for firms increase. Grand Valley State University announced recently the release of the Affordable Care Act Small Employer Survey, which indicates only a quarter of responding small firms in […]
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Varga, Silver Line cited with Newsmaker award
It’s been a long road for Peter Varga. The Rapid CEO spent the past 10-plus years haggling with the federal government for funding and approval for the state’s first bus rapid transit system. That effort came to fruition in August when the Silver Line began its runs north and south along the Division Avenue corridor, […]
Panel wants airport authority details amended
A committee of the Kent County Board of Commissioners has postponed for two weeks its approval of a 64-page draft document that will spell out key details of the proposed airport authority that would take over operation of Gerald R. Ford International Airport. The Legislative and Human Resources Committee last week voted unanimously to work […]
West Michigan retaining young, educated residents
LANSING — While many of Michigan’s counties are experiencing an exodus of the young and educated, the Greater Grand Rapids region is bucking the trend. According to 2013 census data, Michigan lost 3.5 percent of its population of people ages 22 to 34 with bachelor’s degrees to other states. This follows net migration losses of […]
Less state money for mandates makes counties pay
LANSING — Michigan is requiring Kent County to increase public health counseling with no additional state funding. Ottawa County has just discovered it must begin reimbursing foster parents’ mileage under requirements from the Department of Human Services. State funding for Marquette County’s senior services has dropped more than 20 percent since 2007, leaving these expenses […]
New law could extend use of parenting coordinators
A newly passed amendment to the Child Custody Act likely will expand the use of parenting coordinators to courts that previously have not used them. Elizabeth Bransdorfer, attorney with Mika, Meyers, Beckett & Jones, said while some courts have been using parenting coordinators for a while now, others have been unsure about whether or not […]
Brick-and-mortar businesses welcome online sales tax
LANSING — Many businesses across Michigan will benefit from a new law that subjects online retailers such as Amazon and Overstock.com to the same 6 percent sales tax that “brick-and-mortar” businesses collect from consumers. The Main Street Fairness Act will affect any online retailer that has a physical presence in Michigan, or has subsidiaries that […]
GVSU and WMU develop supply chain assessment tool
The Michigan Small Business Development Center at Grand Valley State University and Western Michigan University have jointly developed an online supply chain assessment tool free for small businesses. The assessment is based on 52 questions worked out over 2014 by Ken Jones of WMU and staff at the SBDC. “It probes all the major elements […]
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Auditors raise concerns about State Surplus inventory tracking
LANSING — The D.J. Jacobetti Home for Veterans in Marquette was looking to unload a Chevy transport van with a wheelchair lift. A medical transportation company in Flint was looking to pick one up. Buyer and seller met Jan. 20 on MiBid, an Internet auction site overseen by Michigan’s State Surplus program. The van, a […]
Street Talk: Banks keep reshuffling; Mercantile keeps watching
“There’s a lot of M&A activity going on, and especially in Michigan,” notes Mike Price, CEO of Mercantile Bank. And yes, he’s talking specifically about bank mergers and acquisitions. Mercantile was among the notable bank deals in West Michigan lately, having completed its acquisition of Firstbank in Alma in 2014. That boosted Merc’s standing to […]
Major revisions to Michigan Nonprofit Corporation Act
By signing Michigan Senate Bills 623, 624 and 929 on Jan. 15, Gov. Rick Snyder ratified a significant set of revisions to the Michigan Nonprofit Corporation Act that every nonprofit should consider implementing, or at least be familiar with. The nonprofit act was amended in 1986 to allow a nonprofit corporation to include provisions in […]
Raising kids amidst family business success
The next generation of family business owners is required to be many things. They are expected to be smart — even smarter than their talented entrepreneurial parents. They also are expected to be financially fluent. Many will learn financial skills by accident and/or on their own, and this self-taught process tends to happen later in […]
City has little time to ponder what is already done
“The $1 billion in investments has changed the Michigan Street corridor persona to the Medical Mile and changed the face of several neighborhoods, especially as continued investment currently in discussion jumps north of the I-196 Ford Freeway.” The Business Journal so opined … in 2011. The suggestion was that the Grand Rapids planning study undertaken […]
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Tech wall centerpiece of collaborative space
Even though commercial real estate space in Grand Rapids is filling up, the digital real estate landscape has endless acres. When Holland-based Haworth Inc. and Rockford Development opened Blue35 as a collaborative workspace in downtown Grand Rapids in early February 2014, the centerpiece of the space was its Bluescape technology, a jointly owned collaboration between […]
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GrandPR offers students real-world experience
Advertising and public relations students at Grand Valley State University aren’t waiting until graduation to gain real-world experience in their future career field. Instead, they are running their own PR firm and completing a slew of projects for local clients. GrandPR is a student-run public relations firm that was launched in 2007 under the leadership […]
CARWM report shows a landlord’s market
Practically every report looking back at the economics of 2014 in West Michigan points to growth, and the Commercial Alliance of Realtors West Michigan report is no exception. CARWM, which recently released its 2014 Commercial Real Estate Market Review, combed through last year’s industrial, office and retail sectors of the community and reported business growth, […]
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Sports commission contributes $145M to local economy
Youth and amateur sports can fly under the radar, but the West Michigan Sports Commission has grabbed it by the horns and made it a major part of the West Michigan economy. The nationwide youth and amateur sports industry is worth nearly $8 billion, and since the West Michigan Sports Commission was founded in 2007, […]
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Field trip with a focus
Construction professionals recently gave more than 100 local high school freshman students the grand tour of a multi-stage residential project to expose them to the various aspects and opportunities in the industry. The Associated Builders and Contractors Western Michigan Chapter, in collaboration with C.D. Barnes Construction, Zeeland Lumber and the LaCati Group, welcomed roughly 110 […]
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Industrial real estate sector primed for movement
2014 was a busy year across all sectors of West Michigan real estate, but particularly in the industrial market. Last year, the region experienced a roughly 30 percent increase in volume, both in terms of transactional numbers and in terms of dollar numbers done in total over 2013, said Stu Kingma, an associate broker with […]
Corridor draws city planners’ attention
(As seen on WZZM TV 13) The Michigan Street Corridor has seen $1 billion worth of development in the past decade, and if projections are correct, the area — also known as the Medical Mile — will see millions of dollars more in development over the course of the next decade. Suzanne Schulz, city of […]
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Inside Track: Transition from food to beer started early for Crank
In the 1990s, Jim Crank spent a lot of time thinking about craft beer. He and his wife, Elizabeth, visited the breweries of Oregon where his aunt lived and even studied the early Michigan beer industry with establishments such as Big Buck Brewery popping up across the state. Crank, however, tamped down his desire to […]
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At Bros. Leather, it’s in the bag
Bros. Leather Supply Co. in Grand Rapids just got a big boost with a promotional partnership agreement with Garrett Goodwin, the drummer for singer Carrie Underwood for the past eight years. Adam Kail, a serial entrepreneur who already had started an executive search firm, started Bros. Leather a couple of months later in March 2013 […]
SBDC to offer online class for start-ups
The Michigan Small Business Development Center, located at Grand Valley State University, is launching a new program called Start Smart Online. The six-week training program focuses on starting new businesses quickly, and the fast-paced webinar series (one webinar each week) guides a budding entrepreneur through the key steps to launch. “The Start Smart Online program […]
