Northern Initiatives and Our Customers are On the Move

  Despite the claim of this picture, there’s nothing magical about small (and large) businesses using a funnel strategy to move prospects into repeat buyers.…

Financial ratios aren’t usually the first topic at cocktail parties. But for small business owners, maybe they should be. A solid understanding of the role…

Shhhh. We have a secret to share with you.   Did you know on average 390 million people visited TripAdvisor last month alone? And 60…

Chart the right course. As a small business owner, you know that pricing your products correctly is crucial to sustaining and growing your business. But…

  New Data and New Information   The February jobless numbers came out last week and as would be expected all but two communities saw…

  Not unexpected for rural Michigan, winter brings seasonal adjustments and they are almost always upward with respect to joblessness.  Two of our 51 counties…

What is tax planning and why is it important to your small business?   First, let’s consider the word “plan.” According to Merriam-Webster, a plan…

Access to capital is a major barrier to starting a small business.   Because it is more risky to provide start-up loans, this type of…

  Every month we look at data that helps drive future strategies for the regions and businesses we serve. This blog series will provide you…