Knowledge Is Power

by Jaime Pfeffer

March 26th, 2008 in Advice, Ann Arbor, Careers, Companies, Detroit, Jobs, Midland, Newsletter, Resources, Saginaw / Bay City, The Alt. Energy Issue, West Michigan

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Joe Minock is fed up.

As the founder of Accuget.com LLC, a small Web-based business in southeast Michigan, the 26-year-old says it’s time for Michigan to stop paying so much attention to the flailing auto industry and focus its attention instead on entrepreneurs and small business owners like himself.

Flickr ID: mizjellybean

“Because we are auto-based … small businesses like mine aren’t a focus for the state,” Minock says. “And that’s unfortunate, because we have a lot to offer.”

Minock is right. With small firms accounting for 98.5% of the state’s business employers, small companies and entrepreneurs are the heart of Michigan’s economy.

Sure, the Great Lakes State has a ways to go before it’s considered a hotbed for start-ups. But that’s not to say that groups around Michigan aren’t making strides to cultivate an environment where knowledge workers and creative types like Minock can flourish.

Consider the MORE Program, for instance. Officially known as the Michigan Opportunities and Resources for Entrepreneurs Program, this fledgling organization provides resources for entrepreneurs and small business owners by encouraging them to connect with research institutions and urging students to get involved with entrepreneurism.

In March, MORE held its first annual Entrepreneurial Opportunities Day at the University of Michigan, a day-long event connecting small, Michigan-based tech businesses with students from the University’s College of Engineering. Between 70 and 75 companies participated, along with more than one thousand students eager to hook up with high tech companies offering internships and jobs across the state.

The event also included faculty-led round table discussions and a community resource fair focusing on issues facing small business owners, like financing expansions and protecting trade secrets.

Executive director Jessica Pfeiffer says MORE has a few other activities up its sleeve later this year, too, including the Entrepreneurial Internship Grant Program, which will allow student entrepreneurs to work on their own ideas and “basically do an internship for their own business instead of someone else’s.” Currently being piloted at U-M, Pfeiffer hopes to take MORE to colleges statewide.

Open City is another fantastic resource for individuals looking to start a business. The brainchild of small business owners — Canine to Five’s Liz Blondy and Claire Nelson of Bureau of Urban Living — this informal Southeast Michigan group meets the third Tuesday of each month to network, and share resources and best practices. Guest speakers, who offer advice on small business challenges like legal issues and selecting the right location, highlight the gatherings.

“In between meetings, folks can exchange tips, ideas and resources through our Yahoo Group, which has over 150 members and can be accessed through our website,” says Nelson.

On the western side of the state, InnovationWorks (IW) is working hard at speeding up invention. A seven-county alliance of educational institutions, economic development organizations, manufacturers and tech experts, IW unites entrepreneurs and small business people with the resources they need to grow their businesses.

Helping knowledge workers mine their great ideas, IW takes it a step further — by then providing the connections, training, education and events to transform ideas into reality. In February, IW announced Idea Portal, a commercialization resource uniting inventors and their ideas with investors and companies on the hunt for new business prospects.

Not to be left out, Midland’s Mid Michigan Innovation Center (MMIC) is connecting entrepreneurs and start-ups in the center of the mitten with the services, resources, facilities, education and training needed to develop their own business ventures. MMIC is best known for its regional business incubator located inside the former agricultural research center of Dow Chemical. The incubator houses a dozen small companies sharing office space and a receptionist. Wireless Internet and a cafe are also available on-site.

MMIC also maintains a virtual tenant program offering many of the services its incubator tenants receive — website listings, use of conference rooms, administrative project support — without the traditional brick and mortar location. And, if that isn’t enough, the non-profit recently expanded its portfolio of services with its new Blue Water Angels Investment Group, a 25-member consortium with more than $1 million per year to invest in small, Michigan-based companies.

Pfeiffer of the MORE Program says she cannot stress how important groups like InnovationWorks and the Mid Michigan Innovation Center are in supporting and cultivating entrepreneurial spirit in Michigan.

“All of these types of organizations are helpful because they provide a support network for entrepreneurs and small business owners,” she says. “We have a lot of talented people in the state, and anything we can do to help them create worthwhile enterprises is great.”

One of Detroit's biggest cheerleaders, Jaime Pfeffer moved to the Motor City from suburban Detroit five years ago. She started a blog, Girl in the D, in September 2004 to promote the positive aspects of Detroit and hasn't stopped touting Motown's good side since. Jaime left corporate America in 2007 to pursue her first love, writing.