July 8, 2013
Make a sale or create an outcome?
The two least understood words in sales are also the most powerful. Both words are related. Both words have nothing and everything to do with the sale. Both words have more power than any other fact or figure about your product or service. Both words determine your understanding of the selling process and how it […]
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Change Ups: Gilda’s Club GR selects new president
Wendy Wigger is the new president of Gilda’s Club Grand Rapids. She previously served as its vice president of community relations and program development and, prior to that, was Priority Health’s wellness director. The organization provides free emotional support to people with cancer and those grieving the death of a family member due to any […]
Public Record
July 5 — Mortgages Selected mortgages filed with Kent County Register of Deeds DEJONG, Jamin et al, Bank Of Holland, Bluegrass Meadows No. 2, Lot 42, $238,000 HUGHES EQUITIES LLC, Basis Real Estate Capital II, Wyoming, 15-6-12, $135,000 ROBRAHN, Stephen P. et al, Grand River Bank, Waterford Woods No. 3, Lot 63, $232,000 ROTH, Michael […]
Business culture turning entrepreneurial, but work still needed
(Editor’s note: This is the second of a two-part series focusing on findings in the GVSU “Empowering Entrepreneurship” quadrennial report.) Business begins with culture. This was the conclusion Paul Isely, professor and chair of economics at Grand Valley State University’s Seidman College of Business, came to after a long assessment of Grand Rapids’ entrepreneurial and […]
Holland launches renewable energy opt-in program
The Holland Board of Public Works launched an opt-in renewable energy program last week that allows all customers the opportunity to have a portion of their electricity provided through renewable energy sources. Utility Services Director John Van Uffelen said the program was the result of growing requests from industrial and residential customers for renewable energy […]
Advertisers should focus on content
It’s getting harder and harder to get people to sit through a commercial these days with second and even third screens readily available to television and online content watchers, as well as skip options and TiVo. “The concept of the captive audience is dead,” said Vincent Boileau, video producer at Boileau Communications Management. “Even on […]
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Street Talk: Sequester haunts Area Agency on Aging
It’s no secret that state and federal funding have been going down as the older population increases. The Area Agency on Aging of Western Michigan lost 6 percent of its federal funding in 2013 due to the so-called “sequestration” imposed by President Barack Obama’s administration in response to a tight-fisted Congress. In July, the AAAWM […]
New Clark Retirement CEO focuses on baby boomers
Brian Pangle, the new president and CEO of Clark Retirement Community, considers himself to be on the tail-end of the baby boomer generation, and he said he knows members of his generation hope to live as independently as possible for as long as possible. “We are going to want to live at a very independent […]
Masterpiece Living program offers senior citizens volunteer work
Senior citizens well into their 80s are finding ways to volunteer through Masterpiece Living. Masterpiece Living, an aging initiative that encourages spiritual, intellectual, physical and social growth for the residents of Holland Home’s independent living campuses, was first launched at Holland Home’s Breton campus in January 2009, and then on the Raybrook campus in March […]
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Inside Track: A community of support for writers of all ages
Like many a bright idea, Lori Slager and her two business partners first came up with the concept for The Sparrows Coffee Tea and Newsstand one night while enjoying a few drinks. Unlike some bright ideas, however, this one didn’t fade with the rising of the sun. Instead, the trio moved forward and opened The […]
‘Turn, turn, turn’: Change may be final, but it’s rarely fatal
The sequence of words in the lyrics of the ’60’s-era song “Turn, Turn, Turn,” written by Pete Seeger and made an international hit by The Byrds, is rearranged from the original order but otherwise taken almost verbatim from Ecclesiastes Chapter 3 — traditionally ascribed to King Solomon. King Solomon was the recipient of great wisdom, […]
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Who should be responsible for arts education?
Who should be responsible for teaching arts education to kids and young people? Historically, it’s been the responsibility of schools, but as public schools struggle with tightening budgets and standardized test scores, arts education has taken a beating. Some schools have dropped their arts classes entirely, while others have had to cut back on those […]
Investing in and retaining employees crucial for the future
A report from the spring Mackinaw Policy Conference discussed the need for skills in order to meet the needs of businesses in Michigan. The gist of the report was that skill requirements are changing as jobs are changing, and we have lost some key skills that, in the past, brought business to Michigan. It is […]
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Ranger Die is heading to Coopersville
The former Best Packaging building in Coopersville is about to become the new best home for Ranger Die Inc. The longtime Walker-based manufacturer recently closed with Coastal Container on the 107,000-square-foot building that has sat vacant for more than three years. Ranger Die, which has been in Walker since 1955, will begin moving soon and […]
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Krautheim Building sold for $850,000
The Krautheim Building in Fruitport Township has changed hands. MSA Properties LLC, a Muskegon-based firm, recently bought the vacant, 15,000-square-foot office structure for $850,000 from TMT Development LLC of Grand Haven. Jim Olsen of Signature Associates negotiated the sale, as he represented both the seller and buyer. The two-story brick building, with a lower level, […]
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The Napa Valley of craft cider?
As brewmaster for Chicago’s Goose Island Beer Co., founded by his father, John, in 1988, Greg Hall’s first love was beer. But in 2000, he had a brief fling with a new drink. On his second-to-last night on a brewery tour of England, he and his fellow Goose Island brewers ended up at a bar […]
Foster Swift wins $5.15 million verdict for McCormick
A trial team led by Foster Swift attorney John Inhulsen won a $5.15 million unanimous jury verdict June 21 in favor of McCormick International LLC, a former Ionia County farm equipment dealer. The verdict was against Manitou North America Inc., a Texas-based distributor of farm equipment manufactured by France-based Manitou BF. The trial focused on […]
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Restaurant Week gets ready to serve local goodies
(As seen on WZZM TV 13) Local chefs, locally grown foods and the local food-service industry are in the spotlight this summer thanks to Downtown Market and Experience Grand Rapids. Experience GR will present its fourth annual Restaurant Week Aug. 14-24. The 11-day event is off to a good start, as 65 restaurants have already […]
West Michigan has four strategic advantages
Earlier this year, I was asked to participate in the Governor’s Economic Summit in Detroit, a gathering of business, academic and philanthropic leaders from around the state to focus on the key strategic advantages, weaknesses and opportunities for our cities and state. I was asked to help facilitate the data-gathering process for the Western or […]
Seidman study is a call to West Michigan business leaders for change
Grand Valley State University Seidman College of Business has provided a rare glimpse into the impact of the entrepreneurial efforts in West Michigan. The quadrennial research and the resulting report, “Empowering Entrepreneurship,” offers benchmarks by which the community can measure such successes — and important obstacles to be overcome. The likely most Tweeted line of […]
