Tag Archives: small business

Jessica Meissner on assisting non-venture capital backed companies, and expanding the role of co-ops in Michigan

By Mark | May 5, 2013

Among the people in the audience at Thursday night’s “Doing Business in Ypsilanti” panel, was a woman who has been tasked by Washtenaw County to study the needs of non-venture capital funded entrepreneurs, and make suggestions as to how we might better support them. Her name is Jessica Meissner, and what follows is our email [...]

Posted in Economics, Michigan, Ypsilanti | Also tagged access to capital, Alternative Energy, BALLE, BEC, Business Alliance for Local Living Economies, co-ops, collaboration, cooperation, cooperatives, corporatocracy, Costa Rica, Dug Song, economic anthropology, Jessica Meissner, local procurement, Maker Works, Organic Valley, Paul Saginaw, purchasing, sharing assets, Small and Mighty, sustainably, The Shed, Tom Root, triple bottom line, underemployment, unemployment, University of Michigan, venture capital, Washtenaw County, Wisconsin, workforce development | 9 Comments

It might be too early to announce the company’s death, but good riddance to Groupon

By Mark | March 2, 2013

I’ve never liked Groupon. Rightly or wrongly, I’ve always thought that the company, and it’s well-known “daily deals,” were bad for small businesses. My sense, and I’ve had it verified by a few business owners, is that they gravitate toward Groupon when they’re desperate, offering deep, unsustainable discounts to Groupon users, who, for the most [...]

Posted in Economics, Local Business, Marketing, Other, Retail | Also tagged Andrew Mason, business ideas, business models, coupons, getting fired, Groupon | 16 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, Michael Shuman, networking, Open City, Pot and Box, Small and Mighty, Sweet Heather Anne, The Wedding Party, Think Local First, Young Entrepreneurial People | 25 Comments

Joe Posch, owner of Detroit’s Hugh, on the realities of retail

By Mark | December 10, 2009

A few days ago, the family and I ventured into Detroit, and, not only didn’t we die – we had a great time. And, while there, we dropped by our friend Joe Posch’s lovely new store, Hugh. What follows is a brief conversation between Joe and I on the idea behind the store, the challenges [...]