Mark Maynard | entrepreneurship

Julia Collins, the owner of Ypsi Studio, on growing up in Ypsi, taking risks, and being successful when people thought you’d fail

By Mark | August 19, 2013

Almost ten years ago now, local entrepreneur Julia Collins decided to disregard the advice of many and open a small fitness studio in Downtown Ypsilanti, right next door to our local strip club. Well, it turns out that she was right. Her business, Ypsi Studio, has continued to grow since its initial launch, and, right […]

Posted in History, Local Business, Locally Owned Business, Uncategorized, Ypsilanti | Also tagged Aubree's, bikers, Bill French, Cleveland, Deja Vu, Depot Town, EMU, exercise, fitness, Ford, gangs, John Berchman Collins, John Norman Collins, judges, Julia Collins, Port Townsend LION, Pub 13, Sandee French, serial killers, Stacey Lei Krauss, The Alibi, Upper Peninsula, willPower & grace, Ypsi immigration interview, Ypsi Studio | 12 Comments

Inside Ann Arbor’s Workantile coworking community

By Mark | April 2, 2013

118 South Main Street in Ann Arbor is home to a coworking community known as Workantile. Over the last several years, I’ve probably scratched out notes to myself half a dozen times, reminding me that I needed to hunt down the folks in charge and interview them for the site. Well, a few days ago, […]

Posted in Ann Arbor, Uncategorized | Also tagged agoraphobia, Ann Arbor SPARK, ArbCamp, aversion therapy, Barbara Tozier, Bill Tozier, Brian Kerr, Chamber of Commerce, co-working, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, corporate subsidies, coworking, Coworking Society LLC, Dave Nelson, Dug Song, Ed Shaffran, freelancers, independent business, Indy Hall, IT Zone, Jelly, L3C, microcoworking, Mike Kessler, OCD, panic disorder, pêche à la frog, Pete Larson, Philadelphia, Primo Coffee, remote employees, Seed Toledo, solopreneurs, Starbucks, Systems in Motion, Tech Brewery, Tom Brandt, Trek Glowacki, work, Workantile, Workantile Exchange | 36 Comments

Having won the title of World’s Best Comic Book Store, Ann Arbor’s Vault of Midnight plots global domination

By Mark | February 25, 2013

After years of shopping at Ann Arbor’s much-beloved comic book shop Vault of Midnight, I finally had the occasion a few weeks ago, at an event hosted by Concentrate Media, to meet the store’s founder Curtis Sullivan. What started as a friendly conversation on the current state of Ann Arbor retail quickly escalated into an […]

Posted in Ann Arbor, Art and Culture, Local Business, Locally Owned Business, Pop Culture, Retail, Uncategorized | Also tagged Ann Arbor Skate Park, Art Prize, Batman, Comic Book Men, comic books, comics, Conan, Concentrate Media, Curtis Sullivan, Doctor Strange, Elizabeth Sullivan, entrepreneurism, Eye of Agamotto, games, Grand Rapids, graphic novels, Jay and Silent Bob's Secret Stash, Jim Ottaviani, Kevin Smith, Ming Chen, Morrison Restaurants, Norm Harris, retail in Ann Arbor, Ruby Tuesdays, Steve Fodale, superheroes, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, toys, Vault of Midnight, vinyl figures, Will Eisner Spirit of Comics Retailer Award | 21 Comments

David Landrum on the launch of Two James…. the first distillery in Detroit since Prohibition

By Mark | January 31, 2013

As you may have heard, a new distillery will soon be opening in the Corktown section of Detroit, not too far from where our friend Lisa Waud will be opening the new flower shop I told you about a few days ago. From what I’m told, it will be the first legal distillery to operate […]

Posted in Detroit, Food, Local Business, Locally Owned Business | Also tagged absinthe, Acetaldehyde, Acetone, American Liquor Company, bootlegging, bourbon, Cafe Felix, Calvados, Camp James, Canada, Chattanooga, cider vinegar, cocktails, Colorado, Corktown, Corktown 500, David Landrum, David Pickerell, Detroit River, Distilled Spirits Producer, Dry Fly, entrepreneurism, Ethanol, Farm to Bottle, Fred McLaren, Frederick Myll Co., George Washington, Hiram Walker, Lake St. Clair, Leopold Brothers, liquor, Lisa Waud, Makers Mark, martinis, Mercury Bar, Methanol, Michigan Avenue, Milk & Honey, Mount Vernon, Peter Bailey, Phyllis Diller, Portland, Pot and Box, prohibition, Purple Gang, Robinson and Aronheim, Rodney Dangerfield, rye whiskey, Sasha Petraske, scotch, smuggling, St. Clair River, Stone House, Thornsby, Todd Leopold, Two James Distillery, Volstead Act, Washington State, whiskey | 21 Comments

Lisa Waud on her plans to expand Ann Arbor’s Pot & Box into the thriving entrepreneurial hotbed that is Detroit’s Corktown

By Mark | January 17, 2013

A few days ago, Linete and I foud ourselves in Detroit, without kids, poking around Corktown. The plan was to get something warm to drink at Astro Coffee, but it looked too crowded. Linette peaked in, through one of the fogged-up windows, to see if there was space for me. (She can fit most anywhere. […]

Posted in Ann Arbor, entrepreneurism, Local Business, Locally Owned Business, Mark's Life, Uncategorized | Also tagged 2520 Michigan Avenue, absinthe, Andy Didorosi, Astro Coffee, Bureau of Urban Living, Canine to Five, City Bird, Claire Nelson, Cliff Bell’s, cocktails, Corktown, Dave Landrum, Detroit, Detroit Bus Company, Detroit Farm and Garden, Detroit gas stations, Downtown Home and Garden, Emily Linn, entrepreneurism, Felch Street, flowers, friends who do cooler stuff that I do, Gallery 555, gardening, Green Dot Stables, Hatch Detroit, Helen Harding, Honor & Folly, Hugh, ice cream truck, indy retail, Izzy’s, Jean Henry, Joe Posch, Katherine Yates, Le Petite Zinc, Lisa Waud, Liz Blondy, Mercury Bar, Michigan Avenue, Model D, Mudgie’s Deli, new ideas in retail, Open City Detroit, Paper Street, Pete Bailey, Pop-up for the Holidays, pop-up retail, Popular Mechanics, Pot and Box, Rachel Parke, retail in Detroit, Rooselvelt Park, scotch, Slows Bar BQ, Small & Mighty, St. Cece’s, Stagger Lee, The Sugar House, Two James Distillery, urban gardening, Valentine's Day, Xavier’s, YEP, Young Entrepreneurial People | 24 Comments

Tag Archives: entrepreneurship

Julia Collins, the owner of Ypsi Studio, on growing up in Ypsi, taking risks, and being successful when people thought you’d fail

Inside Ann Arbor’s Workantile coworking community

Having won the title of World’s Best Comic Book Store, Ann Arbor’s Vault of Midnight plots global domination

David Landrum on the launch of Two James…. the first distillery in Detroit since Prohibition

Lisa Waud on her plans to expand Ann Arbor’s Pot & Box into the thriving entrepreneurial hotbed that is Detroit’s Corktown

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