February 29, 2016
What’s the reason some persist until they win and others quit?
Is there a secret to follow-up? No. Is there a best way to go about follow-up? No. Why do people quit too soon? Big question. Why do you quit too soon? Bigger question. Have you ever read “Think and Grow Rich”? Biggest question. Reason? “Think and Grow Rich” — written by Napoleon Hill 78 years […]
Retailers project modest sales growth for rest of this year
Despite a slow start in January, Michigan retailers are forecasting sales growth averaging 2 percent in 2016, according to the latest Michigan Retail Index survey, a joint project of Michigan Retailers Association and the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. More than two-thirds (69 percent) of retail businesses expect to increase their sales this year, while […]
Public Record
MORTGAGES Selected mortgages filed with Kent County Register of Deeds NGUYEN, Donny et al, Chemical Bank, Condo-Mela Via, $693,900 GISSENDANNER, Alfanso Jr. et al, MMS Mortgage Services, Condo-Grand River Estates, $216,000 CUMMINGS, Trevor et al, Lake Michigan Credit Union, Condo-Catamount, $585,000 SCHUITEMAN, Kurtis et al, Northern Mortgage Services, Byron Twp., 29-5-12, $228,000 PASSINAULT, James et […]
Street Talk: Downtown’s Doughnut
With the public and private sectors getting a better grasp on the retail needs of West Michigan at the International Council of Shopping Centers P3 Conference on Tuesday, many residents will wonder, “When’s a grocery store coming to downtown?” Unfortunately for those with visions of victuals, a grocery store doesn’t look promising in the near […]
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College program reaches captive audience
(As seen on WZZM TV 13) Calvin College has a new take on prison ministry. Calvin College, Calvin Theological Seminary and the Michigan Department of Corrections are collaborating to offer inmates in 31 prisons the chance to pursue a five-year Bachelor of Arts in Ministry Leadership at the Richard A. Handlon Correctional Facility in Ionia. […]
Seamless ignites spark for startups
For an entrepreneur, the transition from being a total stranger to sitting across the table from a possible multi-million dollar client needs to be seamless. That’s why Start Garden — Rick DeVos’ Grand Rapids-based startup fund — named its new entrepreneurial commercialization accelerator Seamless. The 12-week Seamless program, which recently finished its first group of […]
P3 conference examines city’s retail future
Grand Rapids will have a better idea of its retail future next week. Representatives from both the private and public sectors will convene Tuesday to discuss the region’s retail needs, ideas and direction at the International Council of Shopping Centers West Michigan P3 Retail Program at Grand Valley State University’s Loosemore Auditorium, 401 W. Fulton […]
ETM proposes accountability for charter school authorizers
Michigan’s statewide charter school system’s report card remains low compared to other leading academic performing states. In its latest report, Accountability for All: 2016, The Education Trust-Midwest has proposed implementing the first statewide performance-based accountability system to hold Michigan charter school authorizers accountable for academic performance and management. ETM, a Royal Oak-based research and advocacy […]
Region builds its construction profile
Need any proof that West Michigan is a big part of the now-booming construction industry? Two of the four nominees for the national Associated Builders and Contractors Craft Professional of the Year hail from the Western Michigan chapter of the organization: Kent Companies Superintendent Michael VanBemden and Dan Vos Construction Superintendent Scott Walters. Both candidates […]
Third Coast adds financing piece
Diamond Place LLC, an established entity by the principals of Third Coast Development, has added another piece to its financing package for the $42 million, mixed-use, multi-income Diamond Place redevelopment project in Midtown in northeast Grand Rapids. With the recent approval by the city’s Committee of the Whole, the project planned for 412 Diamond Ave. […]
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What’s keeping you up at night?
It’s been 25 years since a combination of partners did the last comprehensive assessment on the needs of Michigan’s small businesses. The Michigan Small Business Development Center and Small Business Association of Michigan recently teamed up to launch a new survey designed to determine what Michigan’s small and mid-size businesses need to succeed in terms […]
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Talent returning to West Michigan is boon for staffing firms, too
Talent is coming back to Michigan — and that means good things, not only for the Mitten State’s premier industries, but also for the companies that staff them. And in West Michigan, one of the state’s fastest-growing regions, it’s no different. “I think, in general, we have a variety of opportunities across all industries,” Elwood […]
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Change Ups: Builders honored for community service
The Home Builders Association of Greater Grand Rapids Foundation recognized Sable Homes with the Home Builders Care Award, Home Repair Services with the Community Builder Award, and Habitat for Humanity Kent with the Next Generation Workforce Development Award at its Home and Hearth Awards & Benefit. The three organizations were honored for carrying out the […]
Michigan should support the Trans-Pacific Partnership
As a kid from Ada, you can imagine the satisfaction I get finding myself introducing clients to project managers and other interested parties in embassies from around the globe — Africa, Asia, Europe, South and Central America. It is fascinating to experience the differences in negotiating tactics and how the many cultures form the discussions. […]
Analyzing your company financials: Don’t kill the messenger
What is reality? It is whatever you think it is. Your personality, value system, culture and exposure to varying concepts can distort your focus as to what something means. The next few months are financial statement time. Your first focus will probably be on the tax liability. A lot of you won't spend more than […]
City readies riverfront land for sale
After nearly a decade, Grand Rapids officials once again are looking to put about 18 acres at 201 Market Ave. SW up for sale, along with four other city-owned properties, also along the riverfront. City commissioners voted last week to invest $350,000 from the Transformation Fund to retain a consultant team to prepare the city-owned […]
Michigan begins to crumble for lack of oversight, accountability (the bill is in the mail)
Grand Rapids Business Journal is reporting on The Education Trust-Midwest study, “Accountability for All: 2016,” which shows 80 percent of Michigan charter schools performed below the state average for academic achievement in both math and reading. Even in West Michigan, only Grand Rapids Public Schools was not among them, achieving the highest ranking and “some […]
Commercial Bank opens downtown location
Alma-based Commercial Bank sees an opportunity in Grand Rapids. The bank is doubling its efforts with the opening of a small office in the CWD Building at 50 Louis St. NW in downtown and hopes to grow with the city as a community-focused bank — without leaving its rural markets in the dust, said Andy […]
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Inside Track: Van Dyke answers the call for nonprofit leadership
Ever since she was a little girl, Michelle Van Dyke wanted to own a bank. Van Dyke made her childhood dream of a career in banking a reality and spent 30 years at what is now Fifth Third Bank, eventually becoming the president of Fifth Third Mortgage Co. before leaving Jan. 1 of this year […]
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Camp touts summer experience for young adults
A new summer camp will open in Michigan this year, but it’s not for kids. Camp Forever Fun will be held over Memorial Day weekend, May 27-30, and Labor Day weekend, Sept. 2-5, at Kimball Camp YMCA in Reading. Joel Reisig, founder and head camper, said he wants to offer adults a chance to “come […]
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Hard times result in hard decisions for executives
It’s good to have a plan during tough times. When the caller ID on Noel Cuellar’s cell phone read “Washington, D.C.,” he knew something was up. Cuellar, the president and CEO of Zeeland-based Primera Plastics Inc., stepped out of a meeting to take the call. It was the day before Thanksgiving 2009. The country was […]
Forecast predicts favorable economy
Comerica’s latest economic update for the Central West Michigan area paints a rosy picture, with a forecast of continued increases in payroll jobs, reduction in unemployment and a rise in housing prices through 2016. Comerica is forecasting the number of payroll jobs will increase from 1.01 million in 2015 to 1.03 million in 2016 on […]
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Holland company sees excellent retention rates
It seems like employees at Worksighted Inc. never want to leave. The Holland-based managed service provider, which was founded in 2000 and has about 46 employees, recently reported it has maintained an approximately 99 percent retention rate for its engineers during the last 15 years. About three-quarters of the company are engineers. Worksighted has a […]
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Downtown livin’ is easy — and expensive
Bruce Thompson knows the way people think about the space they live in is changing. As founder of Urbaneer Spaces, Thompson is attempting to be part of a new wave of innovation in living spaces, which haven’t changed much in the last 100 years. Urbaneer designs small, adaptable spaces for living and working in urban […]
