Success Stories

Creating prosperous communities and thriving businesses

Featured Success Stories

Grayson Accounting Services

Kalamazoo, Michigan
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.…
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Store in a Box

Muskegon, Michigan
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…
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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…
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Mitts 2 Pits

Battle Creek, Michigan
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…
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Everbloom Montessori School

Grand Rapids, Mich.
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…
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All Success Stories

First Catch
Baraga, Michigan
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.…
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Millie’s Farms
Newaygo, Michigan
A loan to Millie’s Farms, a woman-owned family farm in Big Prairie Township near Newaygo, put Northern Initiatives over the $100 million mark in loans…
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Buck’s Port Hope Diner
Port Hope, Michigan
The 217 residents of Port Hope are grateful. “Thank you for investing in our town.” “You’ve changed my business by opening yours.” “You put Port…
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Americana Manufacturing
Lapeer, Michigan
For Ben Logan, school was often a struggle. Dyslexia made traditional learning challenging, and he spent much of his time watching cartoons in a special…
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2024 Gift Guide
All Over Michigan
Support these wonderful small businesses this giving season This year, skip the big box stores and discover unique, thoughtfully crafted gifts from small businesses across…
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Cannas Capital
Muskegon, Michigan
Cimone Casson just wanted Martin Luther King Jr. Day off. When she asked for it, at her high-powered beauty stylist job in Chicago, and was…
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Myconaut
Marquette, Michigan
 While Joe Lane, left, and Ryan Iacovacci are growing mushrooms to feed people, they’re also working to save the planet. The owners of Myconaut were…
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Chalets offer shopping and valuable experience
Leiko Bergers, left, works with Northern Initiatives Business Coach Cailin Kelly Leiko Bergers has always shared her energy and “retail can…
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Working on Job Quality
West Michigan
Leandra Nisbet has looked and looked, but can’t find a practical way to provide healthcare for her small business, with two full-time employees. “Until you…
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