Success Stories

Creating prosperous communities and thriving businesses

Featured Success Stories

Aspidistra Naturals

Battle Creek, Michigan
Lori Olsen is delighted with one benefit of owning a business – the jump in her confidence. “I’m doing things I never thought I’d do,”…
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Smith Truck Body

Rosebush, Michigan
Curtis Smith is sure of one thing: There will always be garbage. Smith has worked nearly a decade in waste hauling and recycling. He opened…
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Blossom Bird Bubble Tea

Marquette, Michigan
Kaila and Daniel Ball, newly married during the pandemic, had dreams of something fresh, away from metro Detroit. “We had plans to move to Oregon,”…
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PM School

Escanaba, Michigan
Mary Doyen and Peg Lippens have made some pretty savvy decisions for a couple of new business owners. “We had students who were completing school…
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Emmanuel Barbershop

Muskegon Heights, Michigan
The early days of the pandemic were tough on Carlton Briggs and his Emmanuel Barbershop. They were really tough on his customers. "This culture –…
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All Success Stories

Emmanuel Barbershop
Muskegon Heights, Michigan
The early days of the pandemic were tough on Carlton Briggs and his Emmanuel Barbershop. They were really tough on his customers. "This culture –…
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Sleepy Dog Books
Mt. Pleasant, Michigan
Riley and Jennifer Justis had always dreamed of owning a bookstore. The pandemic gave them more time to dream. And plan. And make it happen.…
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Messersmith Manufacturing
Bark River, Michigan
Messersmith Manufacturing of Bark River, Mich., designs, manufactures and installs biomass boiler systems. Messersmith was incorporated in 1982 by Gailyn and Valerie Messersmith and is…
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A | M Floral and Gifts
Newaygo, Michigan
Amy McKinley has run businesses before and even has a degree in business. But she knows enough about business to know she doesn’t know enough.…
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Brewery Outré
Kalamazoo, Michigan
Ted Linabury wrote his first business plan in high school. It was for custom rollercoasters rich people could build in their yards. The second one,…
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Supermercado Mexico
Grand Rapids, Michigan
  “Northern Initiatives saw the potential we saw and was the first lender who helped us ... You are the ones who made this happen.”…
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Snackwerks
Battle Creek, Michigan
The sweet smells of cinnamon and apples waft through a northside Battle Creek neighborhood that is traditionally one of the poorest in the state. A…
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Mallowfields
Grand Rapids, Michigan
Jessa Challa, CEO of Mallowfields, combines her passion for GIS with her passion for uplifting minority-owned businesses Jessa Challa is having a blast discovering places…
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Bake Superior Bread
Ironwood, Michigan
“The help we’ve received from Northern Initiatives has been extremely beneficial.” – Andrew Brand, Bake Superior Bread Andrew Brand isn’t sure where his business would…
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