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Michigan Stories » Entrepreneurialism
Speaking of second-stage companies
January 28, 2010 – 10:18 am
'Can farming save Detroit?'
January 14, 2010 – 11:00 am
One of the most in-depth explorations of that question — or at least of one of the largest proponents of large-scale farming in Motown, appears in this month's Fortune Magazine. An excerpt…
Yes, a farm. A large-scale, for-profit agricultural enterprise, wholly contained within the city limits of Detroit. (Stockbroker John) Hantz thinks farming could do his city a lot of good: restore big chunks of tax-delinquent, resource-draining urban blight to pastoral productivity; provide decent jobs with benefits; supply local markets and restaurants with fresh produce; attract tourists from all over the world; and — most important of all — stimulate development around the edges as the local land market tilts from stultifying abundance to something more like scarcity and investors move in. Hantz is willing to commit $30 million to the project. He'll start with a pilot program this spring involving up to 50 acres on Detroit's east side. "Out of the gates," he says, "it'll be the largest urban farm in the world."
This is possibly not as crazy as it sounds. Granted, the notion of devoting valuable city land to agriculture would be unfathomable in New York, London, or Tokyo. But Detroit is a special case. The city that was once the fourth largest in the country and served as a symbol of America's industrial might has lately assumed a new role: North American poster child for the global phenomenon of shrinking postindustrial cities.
One of the most in-depth explorations of that question — or at least of one of the largest proponents of large-scale farming in Motown, appears in this month's Fortune Magazine. An excerpt…
Yes, a farm. A large-scale, for-profit agricultural enterprise, wholly contained within the city limits of Detroit. (Stockbroker John) Hantz thinks farming could do his city a lot of good: restore big chunks of tax-delinquent, resource-draining urban blight to pastoral productivity; provide decent jobs with benefits; supply local markets and restaurants with fresh produce; attract tourists from all over the world; and — most important of all — stimulate development around the edges as the local land market tilts from stultifying abundance to something more like scarcity and investors move in. Hantz is willing to commit $30 million to the project. He'll start with a pilot program this spring involving up to 50 acres on Detroit's east side. "Out of the gates," he says, "it'll be the largest urban farm in the world."
This is possibly not as crazy as it sounds. Granted, the notion of devoting valuable city land to agriculture would be unfathomable in New York, London, or Tokyo. But Detroit is a special case. The city that was once the fourth largest in the country and served as a symbol of America's industrial might has lately assumed a new role: North American poster child for the global phenomenon of shrinking postindustrial cities.
Small business, big government, and benefits reform
August 6, 2009 – 10:30 am
Two fresh pieces of news this week illustrate, in completely different ways, the value of considering House Speaker Andy Dillon's plan to overhaul and pool health care benefits for public employees.
First, small business owners got a shock when Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Michigan announced plans to begin rating small employers and charging premiums based on claims experience. The change is likely to result in higher premiums for many small businesses and their employees, according to Crain's Detroit Business.
Dillon's statewide pool could be expanded to allow small businesses and entrepreneurs to take advantage of pooling and gain bargaining power over prices.
Second, Wayne County Commissioners came under fire by the Detroit Free Press for refusing to make benefits sacrifices when many other public workers across the state, and in Wayne County government, had already done so….
"The 15 Wayne County commissioners aren't applying the tough love to themselves. The board laid off 11 of its 54 employees in January. But commissioners won't cut their own salaries (ranging from $68,676 to $80,676), their $500 monthly car stipend or fully paid (no premiums) health insurance," the Freep wrote. "In Oakland and Macomb counties, where commissioners earn less than half of their Wayne County counterparts, the politicians are taking their own medicine. Oakland's commissioners have pledged to cut their $33,782 salaries 2.5% in each of the next 2 years, the same pay cut they've asked of their employees. Macomb's commissioners voted last month to cut their $32,365 annual pay 5% beginning next year."
Dillon's statewide pooling approach could, if successful, assure fairness and consistent coverage levels across borders — and create economies of scale and bargaining power to the benefit of taxpayers.
To have your say on public employee benefits reform, take five seconds to email Lansing leaders…
Have your say today! It takes five seconds to send an email to Lansing leaders using the links below…
Send an email of thanks and support to House Speaker Andy Dillon
Send an email of thanks and support to Senate Majority Leader Mike Bishop
Find and email your local representative or senator.
Two fresh pieces of news this week illustrate, in completely different ways, the value of considering House Speaker Andy Dillon's plan to overhaul and pool health care benefits for public employees.
First, small business owners got a shock when Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Michigan announced plans to begin rating small employers and charging premiums based on claims experience. The change is likely to result in higher premiums for many small businesses and their employees, according to Crain's Detroit Business.
Dillon's statewide pool could be expanded to allow small businesses and entrepreneurs to take advantage of pooling and gain bargaining power over prices.
Second, Wayne County Commissioners came under fire by the Detroit Free Press for refusing to make benefits sacrifices when many other public workers across the state, and in Wayne County government, had already done so….
"The 15 Wayne County commissioners aren't applying the tough love to themselves. The board laid off 11 of its 54 employees in January. But commissioners won't cut their own salaries (ranging from $68,676 to $80,676), their $500 monthly car stipend or fully paid (no premiums) health insurance," the Freep wrote. "In Oakland and Macomb counties, where commissioners earn less than half of their Wayne County counterparts, the politicians are taking their own medicine. Oakland's commissioners have pledged to cut their $33,782 salaries 2.5% in each of the next 2 years, the same pay cut they've asked of their employees. Macomb's commissioners voted last month to cut their $32,365 annual pay 5% beginning next year."
Dillon's statewide pooling approach could, if successful, assure fairness and consistent coverage levels across borders — and create economies of scale and bargaining power to the benefit of taxpayers.
To have your say on public employee benefits reform, take five seconds to email Lansing leaders…
Have your say today! It takes five seconds to send an email to Lansing leaders using the links below…
Send an email of thanks and support to House Speaker Andy Dillon
Send an email of thanks and support to Senate Majority Leader Mike Bishop
Find and email your local representative or senator.
Big Ideas for Business Growth
June 25, 2009 – 10:38 am
Most of us working stiffs didn't have time to head to downtown Motown for this months National Summit on the economy. But there's still time for us to catch up on the big-picture thinking. Go to PBS to watch quick prescriptions for economic growth from a couple dozen leading corporate execs.
Speaking of big-picture thinking, Chris Rizik, one of Michigan's most experienced venture capitalists, is guest blogger on Metromode this week. Among his conclusions…
Over 10% of the jobs and 18% of the GDP in the United States today are in companies with venture capital origins, and an entire generation of technology companies, from Intel to Google, are trophies of the venture capital community. At a time when states are throwing literally hundreds of thousands of dollars in incentives for each job created in manufacturing, statistics show that significantly smaller investments in venture capital yield more and higher paying jobs and companies that pay more taxes to states than their “old economy” counterparts, all while delivering returns to venture capital investors that materially outperform the stock market… In the venture capital business it means creating a generation of trained entrepreneurial managers (CEOs, CFOs, marketing people, etc.), professional service providers (i.e., lawyers, HR professionals and accountants), university technology transfer specialists and investment and banking professionals, all of whom have the relevant experience in creating and quickly growing technology-based companies in a changing world. But most of all, it means transforming a low-risk culture – a culture that has resulted from two generations of insulation by the unparalleled success of our large, institutional businesses, where innovation and daring decisions are often suppressed or bogged down by bureaucracy. This is all a major challenge that will test our region’s real desire for and commitment to change."
Finally, how 'bout a big cheer for the next step toward a major, jobs-and-wealth-producing Aerotropolis for Metro Detroit. Nine governments finally and formally signed on this month….
"The next step in the process is help pass legislation setting up incentives to bring businesses to the area, most notably setting up Renaissance Zones eliminating most state and local business taxes," the Detroit News reported. "Ficano said the state still stands to gain from income taxes, estimated to be about $67 million a year for over 64,000 jobs. The nine local governments involved are Romulus, Taylor, Belleville, Van Buren Township, Huron Township, Ypsilanti, Ypsilanti Township, Wayne County and Washtenaw County."
Most of us working stiffs didn't have time to head to downtown Motown for this months National Summit on the economy. But there's still time for us to catch up on the big-picture thinking. Go to PBS to watch quick prescriptions for economic growth from a couple dozen leading corporate execs.
Speaking of big-picture thinking, Chris Rizik, one of Michigan's most experienced venture capitalists, is guest blogger on Metromode this week. Among his conclusions…
Over 10% of the jobs and 18% of the GDP in the United States today are in companies with venture capital origins, and an entire generation of technology companies, from Intel to Google, are trophies of the venture capital community. At a time when states are throwing literally hundreds of thousands of dollars in incentives for each job created in manufacturing, statistics show that significantly smaller investments in venture capital yield more and higher paying jobs and companies that pay more taxes to states than their “old economy” counterparts, all while delivering returns to venture capital investors that materially outperform the stock market… In the venture capital business it means creating a generation of trained entrepreneurial managers (CEOs, CFOs, marketing people, etc.), professional service providers (i.e., lawyers, HR professionals and accountants), university technology transfer specialists and investment and banking professionals, all of whom have the relevant experience in creating and quickly growing technology-based companies in a changing world. But most of all, it means transforming a low-risk culture – a culture that has resulted from two generations of insulation by the unparalleled success of our large, institutional businesses, where innovation and daring decisions are often suppressed or bogged down by bureaucracy. This is all a major challenge that will test our region’s real desire for and commitment to change."
Finally, how 'bout a big cheer for the next step toward a major, jobs-and-wealth-producing Aerotropolis for Metro Detroit. Nine governments finally and formally signed on this month….
"The next step in the process is help pass legislation setting up incentives to bring businesses to the area, most notably setting up Renaissance Zones eliminating most state and local business taxes," the Detroit News reported. "Ficano said the state still stands to gain from income taxes, estimated to be about $67 million a year for over 64,000 jobs. The nine local governments involved are Romulus, Taylor, Belleville, Van Buren Township, Huron Township, Ypsilanti, Ypsilanti Township, Wayne County and Washtenaw County."
If knocked down five times, get up six
June 3, 2009 – 5:18 pm
Six stories of Michigan's economic diversification, even in the face of the GM and Chrysler bankruptcies…
1. 50 Michigan Companies to Watch. This year's list of fast-growing Michigan entrepreneurs includes such firms as A & M Aquatics (a saltwater livestock wholesaler in Lansing), Burkard Industries (an old-line manufacturer in Macomb County that has trandformed into an industrial coatings supplier for the military), and Threefold Sensors (an Ann Arbor medical testing equipment firm that expects to more than double the size of its workforce this year. Altogether, this year's "Michigan 50" earned $405 million in revenue in 2008 (a 30 percent increase over 2007) and employ more than 1,500 people.
2. Michigan's Life Sciences Industry. This high-tech industry now includes 80,000 Michigan workers. Employment in this sector is up 10 percent in the past decade and wages are up nearly 30 percent.
3. Cherries, soybeans and grains. Michigan agriculture exports grew by 48 percent from 2003 to 2007.
4. The hearty Upper Peninsula. Outdoor Life Magazine just named Marquette the second best town in America for sportsmen. And with a thriving university culture and several strong high-tech employers, the region has an unemployment rate lower than the state average.
5. Mars Advertising. While numerous top advertising firms are caught up in the auto bankruptcies, Mars indeed seems like it's in outer space. "That's because Mars (based in Southfield and founded in 1973) specializes in one of the very few growing ad segments: in-store marketing that targets consumers already in the buying mode," Crain's wrote this week. "Mars conducts advertising and marketing campaigns inside stores such as Wal-Mart, Art Van, Sears and Best Buy, and does work for brands that include Little Caesars Pizza, Coca-Cola and Mattel."
6. Innovation Michigan finalists. More than two dozen additional examples of entrepreneurialism at work across the state.
Six stories of Michigan's economic diversification, even in the face of the GM and Chrysler bankruptcies…
1. 50 Michigan Companies to Watch. This year's list of fast-growing Michigan entrepreneurs includes such firms as A & M Aquatics (a saltwater livestock wholesaler in Lansing), Burkard Industries (an old-line manufacturer in Macomb County that has trandformed into an industrial coatings supplier for the military), and Threefold Sensors (an Ann Arbor medical testing equipment firm that expects to more than double the size of its workforce this year. Altogether, this year's "Michigan 50" earned $405 million in revenue in 2008 (a 30 percent increase over 2007) and employ more than 1,500 people.
2. Michigan's Life Sciences Industry. This high-tech industry now includes 80,000 Michigan workers. Employment in this sector is up 10 percent in the past decade and wages are up nearly 30 percent.
3. Cherries, soybeans and grains. Michigan agriculture exports grew by 48 percent from 2003 to 2007.
4. The hearty Upper Peninsula. Outdoor Life Magazine just named Marquette the second best town in America for sportsmen. And with a thriving university culture and several strong high-tech employers, the region has an unemployment rate lower than the state average.
5. Mars Advertising. While numerous top advertising firms are caught up in the auto bankruptcies, Mars indeed seems like it's in outer space. "That's because Mars (based in Southfield and founded in 1973) specializes in one of the very few growing ad segments: in-store marketing that targets consumers already in the buying mode," Crain's wrote this week. "Mars conducts advertising and marketing campaigns inside stores such as Wal-Mart, Art Van, Sears and Best Buy, and does work for brands that include Little Caesars Pizza, Coca-Cola and Mattel."
6. Innovation Michigan finalists. More than two dozen additional examples of entrepreneurialism at work across the state.
Michigan is not a high-tax state
March 12, 2009 – 10:44 am
The brand-new state-by-state business tax burden rankings once again contradict the common perception that Michigan drives away business with high taxes.
The 3rd annual state rankings by East Lansing-based Anderson Economic Group list Michigan at 22nd among the states in terms of business taxes as a share of profits. Michigan's taxes were listed at 14.94 percent of business profits — well below the national average of 16.69 percent of profits.
In fact, had Michigan's public sector collected business taxes at the national average, Michigan businesses would have paid another $1.6 billion in annual taxes — enough to solve quite a bit of public sector budget trouble.
But here's the rub… the Anderson study is based on 2006 numbers (the most recent national data.)
The rankings will be very interesting to watch over the next couple of years as they eventually account for the Michigan Business Tax surcharge passed by the Legislature at the end of 2007. As we pointed out in December, Michigan business tax revenues were up 8 percent in 2008 despite the frigid economy and business groups are howling for reform.
But tax breaks are up, too, by 6.7 percent in 2008. Altogether, Michigan doles out some $36 billion in tax breaks to businesses, pensioners and, well, just about everybody in some fashion.
All of the data points to one thing… a sustainable, fair, transparent, and competitive tax system in Michigan would require an overhaul of the entire tax code. Will legislators and a new governor be up to the task after the 2010 election?
The brand-new state-by-state business tax burden rankings once again contradict the common perception that Michigan drives away business with high taxes.
The 3rd annual state rankings by East Lansing-based Anderson Economic Group list Michigan at 22nd among the states in terms of business taxes as a share of profits. Michigan's taxes were listed at 14.94 percent of business profits — well below the national average of 16.69 percent of profits.
In fact, had Michigan's public sector collected business taxes at the national average, Michigan businesses would have paid another $1.6 billion in annual taxes — enough to solve quite a bit of public sector budget trouble.
But here's the rub… the Anderson study is based on 2006 numbers (the most recent national data.)
The rankings will be very interesting to watch over the next couple of years as they eventually account for the Michigan Business Tax surcharge passed by the Legislature at the end of 2007. As we pointed out in December, Michigan business tax revenues were up 8 percent in 2008 despite the frigid economy and business groups are howling for reform.
But tax breaks are up, too, by 6.7 percent in 2008. Altogether, Michigan doles out some $36 billion in tax breaks to businesses, pensioners and, well, just about everybody in some fashion.
All of the data points to one thing… a sustainable, fair, transparent, and competitive tax system in Michigan would require an overhaul of the entire tax code. Will legislators and a new governor be up to the task after the 2010 election?
It's the economy, Stupid
February 11, 2009 – 3:17 pm
Amidst the gloomy drumbeat of jobs and business news and bruises, four economic experts traded ideas with a packed house of interested citizens and business leaders this week at the University of Michigan's Ford School of Public Policy.
Highlights from "Michigan's Economy in 2009 and Beyond: A Panel Discussion of Economy Experts":
Quote of the Day: "We've got a school year that was developed in the 19th Century, which was fine when you wanted the kids to pick bugs off the potatoes all summer." — MSU Economist and author Charley Ballard.
Ballard used his pulpit to pitch a "grand compromise" on Michigan taxes — remove the reviled Michigan Business Tax and its surcharge and replace it with a graduated income tax. Michigan is one of only a handful of states without a graduated income tax. As a result, Charley argues, the folks at the middle and bottom share much more of Michigan's tax burden than those at the top who've seen large income gains in recent decades. (Observation: If we could lock Charley in a room for a weekend with several leaders of Michigan groups, they'd either kill each other or come out with an enlightened deal, we're not sure which.)
John Austin, leader of Southeast Michigan's New Economy Initiative, continues to preach the long view about Michigan's competitive advantage — we sit on the world's greatest supply of fresh water, our technical capacity building is huge, and we're in the middle of a Midwestern-Canadian economy that ranks as the world's second largest.
"Let's diversify!" mocked Kim Hill, director of the Automotive Communities Program at the Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor who lauded Michigan as the state with the most industrial and mechanical engineers in the nation but chided us for being ready to abandon our auto industry in every recession in the past 30 years. "Let's diversify! That's what Michigan always says in a recession. We want to transition to a knowledge-based economy when we already have one. If you seek a knowledge-based economy, look about you."
But maybe we mean it this time about that diversification thing.
University of Michigan President Mary Sue Coleman was in Cleveland recently, touting universities' new roles in the changing economy. Some of what she had to say…
Research universities excel at creating solutions for our future. At Michigan, by drawing upon our vast and unique strengths of education and innovation, and finding partners outside of our traditional academic comfort zones, we will be a beacon of progress for America of the 21st century…We should take great pride in knowing that the Great Lakes region is home to more of the world’s top-ranked universities than any comparable region on the globe. When Shanghai Jiao Tong University – one of China’s leading research universities – created a list of 100 best universities in the world, 20 of them were here in the Great Lakes states. That’s one in five world-class institutions in our backyard – more than in the Northeast with the likes of Harvard and MIT, and more than along the West Coast, with Berkeley and UCLA… And we are nurturing a campus culture of entrepreneurship, where we encourage faculty, staff and students to push the envelope with innovative ideas for the marketplace… This entrepreneurial spirit showed its power this past semester with a competition we called 1,000 Pitches. It was a campus-wide initiative we hoped would produce 1,000 new business proposals from students eager to share their ideas and discoveries. We were worried we would not receive one thousand ideas. But, in fact, we received 1,044 – hundreds upon hundreds of proposals for new businesses, inventions, and non-profit organizations, all pulled together in three months’ time and posted on YouTube. One student proposed using cell phone technology to design a system that translates sign language into speech, and vice versa. His innovation joined such diverse proposals as one that converts wastewater into biodiesel fuel, and another that designs low-cost surgical lamps that are reliable in operating rooms in developing countries. One Thousand Pitches was a fabulous, engaging demonstration of students’ creativity and potential to innovate – skills that will be paramount as they move on from Michigan. Our graduates – and there are nearly a half-million of them – are our best ambassadors, as they transfer the knowledge they gained on campus to communities around the globe… Academe is known for saying, "Publish or perish." I say, "Partner or perish."
Oh, and those thousand students with their thousand ideas? They held an entrepreneurship fair this week.
Amidst the gloomy drumbeat of jobs and business news and bruises, four economic experts traded ideas with a packed house of interested citizens and business leaders this week at the University of Michigan's Ford School of Public Policy.
Highlights from "Michigan's Economy in 2009 and Beyond: A Panel Discussion of Economy Experts":
But maybe we mean it this time about that diversification thing.
University of Michigan President Mary Sue Coleman was in Cleveland recently, touting universities' new roles in the changing economy. Some of what she had to say…
Research universities excel at creating solutions for our future. At Michigan, by drawing upon our vast and unique strengths of education and innovation, and finding partners outside of our traditional academic comfort zones, we will be a beacon of progress for America of the 21st century…We should take great pride in knowing that the Great Lakes region is home to more of the world’s top-ranked universities than any comparable region on the globe. When Shanghai Jiao Tong University – one of China’s leading research universities – created a list of 100 best universities in the world, 20 of them were here in the Great Lakes states. That’s one in five world-class institutions in our backyard – more than in the Northeast with the likes of Harvard and MIT, and more than along the West Coast, with Berkeley and UCLA… And we are nurturing a campus culture of entrepreneurship, where we encourage faculty, staff and students to push the envelope with innovative ideas for the marketplace… This entrepreneurial spirit showed its power this past semester with a competition we called 1,000 Pitches. It was a campus-wide initiative we hoped would produce 1,000 new business proposals from students eager to share their ideas and discoveries. We were worried we would not receive one thousand ideas. But, in fact, we received 1,044 – hundreds upon hundreds of proposals for new businesses, inventions, and non-profit organizations, all pulled together in three months’ time and posted on YouTube. One student proposed using cell phone technology to design a system that translates sign language into speech, and vice versa. His innovation joined such diverse proposals as one that converts wastewater into biodiesel fuel, and another that designs low-cost surgical lamps that are reliable in operating rooms in developing countries. One Thousand Pitches was a fabulous, engaging demonstration of students’ creativity and potential to innovate – skills that will be paramount as they move on from Michigan. Our graduates – and there are nearly a half-million of them – are our best ambassadors, as they transfer the knowledge they gained on campus to communities around the globe… Academe is known for saying, "Publish or perish." I say, "Partner or perish."
Oh, and those thousand students with their thousand ideas? They held an entrepreneurship fair this week.
SE Michigan's Competitive Position
December 5, 2008 – 9:56 am
Detroit Renaissance, the longstanding voice of metro Detroit's top executives, has surveyed the national landscape to best measure Metro Detroit's strengths and weaknesses.
The fresh results, as summarized by Renaissance President and Center for Michigan steering committe member Doug Rothwell:
The cost of doing business in Michigan makes us uncompetitive for attracting and retaining both manufacturing and knowledge industries.
We have a talent pool with pockets of expertise, yet the overall workforce is relatively less educated than peer regions.
We enjoy a quality of life in our region far better than perceptions.
We enjoy a flow of top-tier university graduates second to none and enjoy a robust research and development base.
Click here for the full report: "Assessing the Regional Competitiveness of Southeast Michigan."
Potential fixes Renaissance consultants proposed include…
1. "Turbo-charging government performance transformation," mainly through increased efficiency and effectiveness of state government.
2. Increasing attractive employment opportunities to better retain the strong flow of talent from Michigan universities. Ideas include greater tuition incentives and better efforts to connect students to employers.
3. Greater emphasis on marketing cultural assets to move negative perceptions of the region and bring them more in line with the high quality of life realities many residents enjoy.
Detroit Renaissance, the longstanding voice of metro Detroit's top executives, has surveyed the national landscape to best measure Metro Detroit's strengths and weaknesses.
The fresh results, as summarized by Renaissance President and Center for Michigan steering committe member Doug Rothwell:
Click here for the full report: "Assessing the Regional Competitiveness of Southeast Michigan."
Potential fixes Renaissance consultants proposed include…
1. "Turbo-charging government performance transformation," mainly through increased efficiency and effectiveness of state government.
2. Increasing attractive employment opportunities to better retain the strong flow of talent from Michigan universities. Ideas include greater tuition incentives and better efforts to connect students to employers.
3. Greater emphasis on marketing cultural assets to move negative perceptions of the region and bring them more in line with the high quality of life realities many residents enjoy.
SE Michigan's Entrepreneurial Cities
October 24, 2008 – 11:13 am
Congrats to six Metro Detroit communities for earning the title of the region's most entrepreneurial cities..
Auburn Hills, Dundee, Plymouth Township, Southfield, Tecumseh and Troy.
That news comes from the University of Michigan-Dearborn's Center for Innovation Research…
The 2008 “eCities” study (or “the Entrepreneurial Cities Index”) found that many southeast Michigan municipalities “are hard at work attracting, cultivating, building and holding entrepreneurial firms.”
The study, conducted by iLabs, the Center for Innovation Research in the UM–Dearborn School of Management, focuses on entrepreneurship because of its importance to expansion and diversification of Michigan’s regional economies and the impact small businesses have on job creation.
This second annual UM-Dearborn study found that successful communities work with entrepreneurial businesses to determine their needs and carry out relationship marketing akin to private sector firms.
“Economic development agencies, local chambers of commerce, and state agencies all are instrumental in helping bring firms to a community,” said Timothy Davis, director of iLabs. “Successful local governments also have professional and empowered staffs who champion new businesses, leading them to solutions and acting as a conduit for networking.”
For this year’s report, the UM-Dearborn researchers developed an online interface to allow communities to enter public data and 36 communities in southeastern Michigan took part in the study, up from 14 in 2007.
The UM-Dearborn study used the data supplied by the communities as well as other public records to assemble a six-factor, 31-item index to measure entrepreneurial activity, looking at such factors as “clustering,” incentives, growth, policies, community and education.
Congrats to six Metro Detroit communities for earning the title of the region's most entrepreneurial cities..
Auburn Hills, Dundee, Plymouth Township, Southfield, Tecumseh and Troy.
That news comes from the University of Michigan-Dearborn's Center for Innovation Research…
The 2008 “eCities” study (or “the Entrepreneurial Cities Index”) found that many southeast Michigan municipalities “are hard at work attracting, cultivating, building and holding entrepreneurial firms.”
The study, conducted by iLabs, the Center for Innovation Research in the UM–Dearborn School of Management, focuses on entrepreneurship because of its importance to expansion and diversification of Michigan’s regional economies and the impact small businesses have on job creation.
This second annual UM-Dearborn study found that successful communities work with entrepreneurial businesses to determine their needs and carry out relationship marketing akin to private sector firms.
“Economic development agencies, local chambers of commerce, and state agencies all are instrumental in helping bring firms to a community,” said Timothy Davis, director of iLabs. “Successful local governments also have professional and empowered staffs who champion new businesses, leading them to solutions and acting as a conduit for networking.”
For this year’s report, the UM-Dearborn researchers developed an online interface to allow communities to enter public data and 36 communities in southeastern Michigan took part in the study, up from 14 in 2007.
The UM-Dearborn study used the data supplied by the communities as well as other public records to assemble a six-factor, 31-item index to measure entrepreneurial activity, looking at such factors as “clustering,” incentives, growth, policies, community and education.
Michigan's bizarre circular thinking on biz taxes
October 24, 2008 – 9:36 am
Doug Drake tried to warn us.
"Are you ready for some grumbling?" Drake asked a crowd two years ago at a statewide tax policy conference hosted by the Center for Michigan. A veteran of many state budget and tax fights, Drake raised concerns about the prospects of replacing Michigan's old SBT business tax.
Let me remind you of the crazy legacy of business tax "reform" dating back to the beginning of 2006…
Acting on pressure from business groups who said the SBT was an unfair, unreasonable, and overly complicated choke on growth, the Michigan Legislature voted in March 2006 to repeal the SBT, the state's main business tax, without offering any kind of replacement. "We are taking action because we cannot wait another minute," then-Speaker of the House Craig DeRoche declared. Nearly two years of unproductive, partisan in-fighting ensued, resulting in a near-government shutdown and a much-maligned new business tax, the MBT, with a 22 percent surcharge that instantly turned purple the faces of accountants everywhere.
Now comes a poll from Crain's saying businesses preferred the old SBT to the new MBT.
"Most businesses had conformed their practices to the SBT, understood the SBT, and while there were aspects of it they didn't like, it was a known quantity," said June Summers Haas, a partner at Honigman Miller Schwartz and Cohn and a recognized state tax expert.
At this point, it's hard to understand how anybody who's been involved in tax reform — the governor, legislators, chambers of commerce, lobbyists, convening groups like the Center — can feel anything but shame and embarrassment at this debacle.
Shouldn't the business groups who pushed for SBT repeal be just as concerned about a credibility problem as the elected folks in the Capitol? Aren't we all better than this? Michigan certainly deserves better.
Doug Drake tried to warn us.
"Are you ready for some grumbling?" Drake asked a crowd two years ago at a statewide tax policy conference hosted by the Center for Michigan. A veteran of many state budget and tax fights, Drake raised concerns about the prospects of replacing Michigan's old SBT business tax.
Let me remind you of the crazy legacy of business tax "reform" dating back to the beginning of 2006…
Acting on pressure from business groups who said the SBT was an unfair, unreasonable, and overly complicated choke on growth, the Michigan Legislature voted in March 2006 to repeal the SBT, the state's main business tax, without offering any kind of replacement. "We are taking action because we cannot wait another minute," then-Speaker of the House Craig DeRoche declared. Nearly two years of unproductive, partisan in-fighting ensued, resulting in a near-government shutdown and a much-maligned new business tax, the MBT, with a 22 percent surcharge that instantly turned purple the faces of accountants everywhere.
Now comes a poll from Crain's saying businesses preferred the old SBT to the new MBT.
"Most businesses had conformed their practices to the SBT, understood the SBT, and while there were aspects of it they didn't like, it was a known quantity," said June Summers Haas, a partner at Honigman Miller Schwartz and Cohn and a recognized state tax expert.
At this point, it's hard to understand how anybody who's been involved in tax reform — the governor, legislators, chambers of commerce, lobbyists, convening groups like the Center — can feel anything but shame and embarrassment at this debacle.
Shouldn't the business groups who pushed for SBT repeal be just as concerned about a credibility problem as the elected folks in the Capitol? Aren't we all better than this? Michigan certainly deserves better.
