Success Stories

Creating prosperous communities and thriving businesses

Featured Success Stories

Edmonds Trucking

Hastings, Michigan
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…
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Beesmooth Cafe, The Buzz

Manistee, Michigan
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…
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The Candied Yam

Grand Rapids, Michigan
Jessica Tyson is involved. She’s involved in her community, her partnerships, her church, her family, and – at the center - her business. The Candied…
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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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All Success Stories

Tienda Mexicana El Cuñao
St. Louis, MIchigan
The workers who grow our food need food. Vanessa Muniz makes sure they get what they need – and it goes well beyond food. Her…
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Hiawatha Log Homes
Wetmore, Michigan
‘A TimberPro on Every 40’ Hiawatha Log Homes saves energy and customers benefit Joe Esbrook’s log home was built by his dad the year Joe…
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Wormie’s
Alto, MIchigan
Luis Chen-Aguilera turns compost at Wormie's Luis Chen-Aguilera is turning Kent County’s food and yard waste into fertile soil, with the…
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Flowers Automotive Recyclers
Kalamazoo, Michigan
Ronald Flowers is using his business to save the planet, as well as create a family legacy. Ronald Flowers talks about…
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2023 Gift Guide
One of the best things about supporting small businesses is we know exactly where to shop - and now, so do you!   🧡Aaahhh🧡 Float…
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Fox and Hen Vineyards
Grand Haven, Michigan
Wil Malski was pretty excited when he planted his first grapes in 2014. The heartbreak was equally strong when he had to rip them out…
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Tastefull Vegan
Wyoming, Michigan
Kalene McElveen grew up on the east side of Detroit in a food desert. “Our closest grocery store was a liquor store,” she says. There…
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Suipi’s East End Eatery
Battle Creek, Michigan
Za Nei Thuai knows her gift is feeding people. “God gave me the talent to cook,” says the 49-year-old Burmese refugee known as Suipi (Swee-Pee).…
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Yummy Delights on the Lakeshore
Muskegon, Michigan
If you need another example of how business ownership builds generational wealth, there’s one happening in Muskegon. Mari Romero owns Yummy Delights by the Lakeshore,…
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