Red Hen Food and Goods
In tiny Nisula, in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, Alison Kirksey and her neighbors were driving 45 minutes for basic groceries and supplies. With a successful food blog and a passion for…
Grayson Accounting Services
Tevyn Grayson is in the business of helping businesses. He thrives on bringing people together and he especially loves bringing them together with a purpose. He just needed a bigger…
Store in a Box
Being awarded a Business Equity Initiative grant gave Tay McBride one of the most important lessons ever: How to pivot. The BEI Fund, at the Community Foundation for Muskegon County,…
Storm hits hard and communities come together
When a devastating ice storm hit northern Lower Michigan at the end of March, people said the falling trees sounded like gunshots. Entire forests were wiped out, electricity was cut…
Mitts 2 Pits
Benny Young grew up cooking. He cooked at the church where his dad was the pastor and he cooked at home for his family of five brothers. Cooking was never…
Everbloom Montessori School
The search for a new home for Everbloom Montessori included important criteria: In the City of Grand Rapids In a child care desert On a bus line It took more…
Edmonds Trucking
Jerry Edmonds loves the freedom and the rush of trucking. “It’s hurry-up, but organized and structured,” he said. His family – parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles – have all worked in…
Beesmooth Cafe, The Buzz
Natasha Partridge is ready to move. Her café’s original location, with a furnace installed the same year she was born, is draining her. “Everything I earn goes right back into…
The Candied Yam
Jessica Tyson is involved. She’s involved in her community, her partnerships, her church, her family, and – at the center - her business. The Candied Yam is beloved in Grand…
First Catch
Paul Smith really likes to fish and is more than ready to make a living at it. But sometimes, the winds of fortune blow strangely. Just last year: His boat…
