Mark Maynard | Michael Shuman

Big Business vs. Small Business…. who’s right?

By Mark | February 28, 2013

Today, in response to an interview that I’d posted recently with the founders of the Ypsi/Arbor small business support group Small & Mighty, a reader by the name of KJC posted a link to an article titled “Small is not Beautiful,” implying, I think it’s pretty clear, that many of us are misguided in our [...]

Posted in Economics, Local Business, Locally Owned Business, Mark's Life, Observations, Uncategorized | Also tagged BALLE, business, cooperatives, Dug Song, health insurance, Jean Henry, KJC, Seva, Small and Mighty, Starbucks, The Shop Around the Corner, You've Got Mail, Zingerman's | 38 Comments

Local entrepreneurs Jean Henry, Lisa Waud and Helen Harding on what it means to be “Small and Mighty”

By Mark | February 19, 2013

We didn’t announce it until this evening, but the October recipient of the Ann Arbor Awesome Foundation’s monthly $1,000 cash grant was Small & Mighty, the scrappy, little entrepreneurial support network created in the fall of 2012 by brilliant local shit-stirrers Jean Henry, Helen Harding and the cheese-loving Lisa Waud. What follows is a transcript [...]

Posted in Ann Arbor, Detroit, entrepreneurism, Local Business, Michigan, Uncategorized | Also tagged A2Awesome, Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti Regional Chamber of Commerce, Blake Reetz, business ethics, business owners who get it, capitalization, Cliff Bell’s, EAT, Helen Harding, Jean Henry, Jefferson Market, Lisa Waud, networking, Open City, Pot and Box, Small and Mighty, small business, Sweet Heather Anne, The Wedding Party, Think Local First, Young Entrepreneurial People | 25 Comments

Michael Shuman… there’s a local business revolution on the horizon, and we can make it happen

By Mark | February 3, 2013

Last week, I had the opportunity to spend a day with economist and author Michael Shuman. Shuman, for those of you who aren’t familiar with his work, is probably our nation’s foremost authority on the importance of cultivating, supporting and investing in local businesses. The stated purpose of his visit to Ann Arbor, which was [...]

Posted in Economics, Local Business, Locally Owned Business, Michigan, Uncategorized | Also tagged Amy Cortese, Austin, banks, Book People, Borders, business attraction, business retention, Colgate-Palmolive, crowdfunding, Daryl Issa, economic development, Economics, Google, investing, IRA, local investing, locavesting, Mission Markets, Oregon, SEC, Securities and Exchange Commission, self-dircted IRA, self-directed IRA, smart growth, startup investing, tax abatements, Tom’s of Maine, triple bottom line, walkability, Washtenaw County Economic Development, Washtenaw County Office of Community & Economic Development | 29 Comments

Calling what happened during Michigan’s lame duck session “very, very bad,” former State Senator Joe Schwartz blames term limits and the unprecedented influence of corporate money

By Mark | January 22, 2013

As we recently discussed, Michigan Radio, as part of their Issues & Ale series, hosted a panel discussion in Ypsilanti late last week on the subject of Michigan’s newly passed right-to-work legislation. The panel, which included former Republican State Senator Joe Schwartz, Kristin Dziczek, the Director of the Labor & Industry Group at the Center [...]

Posted in Media, Politics, Uncategorized | Also tagged Ave Maria, Ave Maria graduates, Center for Automotive Research, collective bargaining, Community Capital Forum, Corner brewery, corporate takeover of politics, F. Vincent Vernuccio, get the money out of Washington, Gretchen Driskell, Issues & Ale, Jack Lessenberry, Koch brothers, Kristin Dziczek, Mackinac Center for Public Policy, MEDC, Michigan Economic Development Corporation, Michigan House of Representatives, Michigan Radio, Michigan Senate, Mike Finney, money in politics, partisan politics, Proposition 2, Pure Michigan, right-to-work, Ron Weiser, tea party, term limits, Tom Monaghan, union busting, unions | 25 Comments

BALLE founder Judy Wicks on the origins of Urban Outfitters, the birth of the Localist movement, and the necessity of local ownership

By Mark | June 23, 2012

Recently, while in Grand Rapids, I had the occasion to meet Judy Wicks, the founder of the White Dog Cafe in Philadelphia, and the woman who, ten years ago, brought the Business Alliance for Living Local Economies (BALLE) into being. Since the meeting, we’ve been chatting by way of email… Here’s the interview. MARK: Having [...]

Posted in Economics, Local Business, Locally Owned Business, Sustainability | Also tagged 1983, American Sustainable Business Council, Amy Goodman, ASBC, BALLE, Ben and Jerry's, Ben Cohen, Business Alliance for Local Living Economies, buy local, Chelsea Green, Chiapas, corporations, corporatocracy, democracy, Eskimo, factory farming, Fair Food, fair trade, fast food, Free People’s Store, George McGovern, Going Local, Good Morning Beautiful Business, Guy Bazzanni, Helen Caldicott, Honest Tea, human scale, Jim Hightower, Jim Slama, Joel Soloman, Judy Wicks, Lester Brown, local economy, local food, local food production, Localist, national chains, Odawalla Juice, ownership, Philadelphia, re-localization, Richard Hayne, sense of place, single-payer system, social change, Social Venture Network, socially responsible business, Starbucks, Stoneyfield Farms, Ted Rouse, The Body Shop, Tom’s of Maine, universal health care, Urban Outfitters, White Dog Cafe, Wicky Wacky Woods, Zapatistas | 10 Comments

Tag Archives: Michael Shuman

Big Business vs. Small Business…. who’s right?

Local entrepreneurs Jean Henry, Lisa Waud and Helen Harding on what it means to be “Small and Mighty”

Michael Shuman… there’s a local business revolution on the horizon, and we can make it happen

Calling what happened during Michigan’s lame duck session “very, very bad,” former State Senator Joe Schwartz blames term limits and the unprecedented influence of corporate money

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