Creating prosperous communities and thriving businesses

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,”…

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…

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.…

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…

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.…

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,…

  “Northern Initiatives saw the potential we saw and was the first lender who helped us ... You are the ones who made this happen.”…

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…

“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…