Success Stories

Creating prosperous communities and thriving businesses

Featured Success Stories

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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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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All Success Stories

J.bird Provisions
Charlevoix, Michigan
Jessica Nagel didn’t realize the depths of plumbing knowledge she was going to need to start a business. “There was virtually no plumbing I could…
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Sip Coffee and Cocktails
Grand Rapids, Michigan
Jonathan Farman says the best business move he ever made was finding the right partner. Jonathan Frantz, his partner, agrees. The two met in 2016…
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2022 Gift Guide
Small business is the best business. These entrepreneurs support their families and their communities and we're proud to support them.     FOR SOMEONE WHO…
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Applecore General Store
Cedarville, Michigan
Activity comes in waves in the Les Cheneaux region. There’s the summer onslaught, because who wouldn’t want to spend time in an area surrounded by…
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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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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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