Entrepreneurship

Coverage of those starting up businesses and community resources to help them thrive.

Rainbow Loom bracelet kit is nation’s hot craze this summer

By Newsroom

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August 1, 2013

Metro Detroit inventor Cheong-Choon Ng has a hit on his hands. Youth across the country are keeping their hands busy with this new bracelet kit. Excerpt: "First there were slap bracelets, then friendship wristlets and Silly Bandz, and now comes the newest youth accessory obsession, the Rainbow Loom. It differs from its predecessors in that kids can express their creativity by forming the colorful rubber-band bracelets themselves. "We are selling the Rainbow Loom like crazy!" says Christine Gorham, owner of Cherry Hill's Sweet & Sassy. The summer obsession, also sold at Learning Express, Michaels, Hallmark, and various independently owned toy stores as well as online, is flying off shelves so quickly that stores can't keep them in stock for long..." More here.

Latest in Entrepreneurship

Next-gen workers concerned with resource conservation, more humanistic outlook

By Newsroom

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Community Development

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July 25, 2013

Organizations and employers may want to take note of this interesting piece in the Miami Herald. Will the newest generation of workers expect even more socially responsible employers to choose from? Excerpt: "Drew Miller clearly remembers the day his father was laid off. Miller, now 25, was a freshman at an Ohio college, full of hope and ready to take on the world. But here was this “red flag … a big wake-up call,” he says. The prosperous years of childhood were over, and his future was likely to be bumpier than he’d expected. Across the country, others of Miller’s generation heard that same wake-up call as the Great Recession set in. But would it change them? And would the impact last? The full effect won’t be known for a while, of course. But a new analysis of a long-term survey of high school students provides an early glimpse at ways their attitudes shifted in the first years of this most recent economic downturn. Among the findings: Young people showed signs of being more interested in conserving resources and a bit more concerned about their fellow human beings." More here.

Guest Blogger: Angela Barbash

By Angela Barbash

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Economic Development

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July 25, 2013

A hybrid breed of business that puts its profits to work for the social good is a new option for incorporation in Michigan. Reconsider CEO Angela Barbash tells us why the For-Benefit sector is where the money's at these days.

Nightclub and private party space comin’ to life at Stayin’ Alive Novi

By Newsroom

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Arts & Culture

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July 25, 2013

DJs, bartenders, security staff and servers are being lined up for a new nightclub and private party space that's opening in Novi in an era when dance clubs are borderline novel. Stayin' Alive, billed as a '70s, '80s, '90s and more nightclub and a place "where real people have fun," is scheduled to open in mid-to-late August in the Fountain Walk of Novi, 44325 Twelve Mile Road, on top of the Lucky Strike Entertainment complex. Renovations for Stayin' Alive a la John Travolta and the Bee Gees are turning the space that was formerly occupied by MBarGo into a weekend dance club with one of the biggest disco balls in the USA spinning over a huge lighted dance floor, say the owners and promoters, Vladimir Mirkovich, J. Kyle Hagerty and Brian DJ Godfather Jeffries, all metro Detroiters. They are teaming up with Lucky Strike Entertainment, a national chain of bowling lounges with 21 locations in the U.S. The club wil include a rooftop bar, VIP room and be available for conferences, private parties, bachelorette and divorce parties. Writer: Kim North Shine Source: J. Kyle Hagerty, developer, Stayin' Alive Novi

Detroit Regional Aerotropolis takes off again with new name and new leader

By Newsroom

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Community Development

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July 25, 2013

Goodbye, Detroit Regional Aerotropolis. Hello, VantagePort. The economic development effort to attract transportation-centered companies and industries to developable land between Detroit Metropolitan and Willow Run airports is taking off with the naming of its first CEO and the launches of a new rebranding strategy and marketing plan. The new name, VantagePort, and the new CEO, Tim Keyes, will carry on the work -- and successes -- of what was the Detroit Regional Aerotropolis, which formed in 2006 and in the nearly seven years since claims to have facilitated nearly 2,500 new jobs and more than $300,000 million in investment by small and large businesses. While economic development has materialized, much of the work by the Aerotropolis board, including Wayne and Washtenaw County and state officials, has focused on information gathering, planning and preparation to achieve the goal of creating as many as 60,000 jobs and $10 billion in investment in 25 years. The goal is to shape 100,000-plus acres of land in, around and between the two airports into a global logistics hub by spreading the word about the area's convenient, potentially money-saving access to air, water, rail and highway and to make clear the benefits that might be reaped by companies needing these things to move their products, people and information all over the world. Keyes,the new CEO and former director of economic development for the city of Romulus, has been a part of Detroit Regional Aerotropolis since the beginning and is charged with executing a new strategic and marketing plan that was written by Greyhill Advisors, a global site selection and and economic development consultant from New York, and the rebranding that was the work of Applied Storytelling, which has offices in Detroit and Oakland, Calif. Metromode took a look at the plans and the concept of airport-centered economic development, in this 2011 story. Writer: Kim North Shine Source: Kelly Chesney, Business Leaders for Michigan

Yoga + Therapy = Zen business plan in Plymouth

By Newsroom

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Community Development

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July 25, 2013

Balance Yoga Therapy, a business that combines the physical and mental effects of yoga with emotional well-being through counseling, is moving into a larger space in downtown Plymouth to keep up with a growing number of clients and services. Owner Patricia Kozlowski, a licensed professional counselor and certified yoga therapist, is a believer in the positive effects of yoga and physical fitness on relationships and mental health. She designed her business around that connection. After 20-plus years as a counselor and six years as a yoga therapist at various studios and fitness facilities and for youth hockey teams and health system employees, she has also seen how yoga therapy can end chronic pain. It was yoga that finally cured her severe back pain following a car accident. Through yoga she began to see the parallels between yoga and physical and mental health. "I started realizing that the things I had learned in medical school I was learning in yoga," she says. After several years of counseling and teaching yoga around Southeast Michigan, she decided to open her own studio and counseling center in February 2012. She still counsels at a separate center in Northville, but was not able to incorporate yoga therapy so she decided to open Balance Yoga Therapy in February 2012. In just over two years she outgrew the 12-mat, 500-square-foot space in downtown Plymouth. On Aug. 1 she moves into a much larger spot with room for 60 yoga mats, a separate pilates studio, and counseling rooms. The interior will be calming, painted in colors of the sea, decorated with Spanish tile and bamboo and come with "revolutionary, state of the art flooring that you can't find within a five-state area from here," Kozlowski says. The new, larger studio opens at 589 South Main Street a few few blocks from the original location at 292 South Main. Kozlowski will celebrate the opening with a day of free yoga on Aug. 10. Go to Balance Therapy Yoga to register. The success of her practice, she says, is "the authenticity of the message I send to people. I genuinely live what I speak…It's absolutely addictive…never yelling..always encouraging, loving them through the process…very physically demanding…And it's so rewarding to work with a family with a child who no longer wants to commit suicide or to get a person through anxiety that's keeping them in bed all day and missing life. I feel so fortunate to meet and work with so many amazing people, and even though the days are long it never feels like work." Writer: Kim North Shine Source: Patricia Kozlowski, owner, Balance Yoga Therapy

FoodTruck Cafe’s trucks under one roof concept takes off

By Newsroom

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Arts & Culture

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July 25, 2013

The idea of re-creating faux food trucks inside a cafe is taking off in Berkley, where locals are walking and biking to the newest restaurant based on an off-beat idea. The FoodTruck Cafe, with its three food trucks without wheels, is also drawing destination diners, says Kerry Johnson, who co-owns the business with Jon Glab. Wherever they come from, they're looking for good food, creative food that's fast and in a fun setting, they say. The trucks inside the space at 28557 Woodward Ave., which previously was a Coffee Beanery, serve sandwiches, salads, Mexican, coffee, and smoothies. The Sideshow Sandwich Emporium, Air Stream Espresso and Nacho Ordinary Nacho are the creations of the pair with a background in restaurants and hospitality. Johnson founded the Cupcake Station and Glab owned the Strawberry Moon in Ferndale. They combined sit-down restaurants with the outdoor feel of food trucks by decorating the cafe with picnic tables inside and outside and plastering the main wall with photographs that look like an outdoor scene of Detroit from the early 1900s. Writer: Kim North Shine Source: Kerry Johnson, co-owner, FoodTruck Cafe

Bistro 82 and Sabrage Lounge heating up downtown Royal Oak

By Newsroom

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Arts & Culture

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July 18, 2013

The buzz about a two-story restaurant and lounge under renovation in downtown Royal Oak is that it will be the next "it" place to eat and hang out in metro Detroit Bistro 82 and Sabrage will be opening in the space formerly occupied by Spanish tapas restaurant Sangria at the corner of 4th & S. Lafayette. An impressive lineup will staff Bistro 82, which will occupy the bottom floor of the nearly 10,000 square-foot corner spot. Sabrage, which is French for the technique of using a saber to open a champagne bottle, will take over the top floor with a garden terrace, a stage for live music and booth seating along with a white onyx bar for post-dinner drinks. The staff's resumes will bring experience from top restaurants around metro Detroit, Michigan and California under one roof when Bistro 82 and Sabrage open by fall. Besides fresh and often locally-sourced dishes and a wine selection that is expected to rival top-seeded restaurants around the country, owner Aaron F. Belen of AFB Hospitality Group wants the two-story restaurant and lounge's interior design and atmosphere to also be a standout. A large shark tank built into a DJ booth along with a floor-to-ceiling wine cellar, extensive champagne list, private dining room, a specialized sound system designed by Harman Co. and Euro-bistro influenced meals served in courses are part of owner Aaron F. Belen's vision for Bistro 82 and Sabrage. The establishment will seat at least 159 people and 226 in the lounge, make a major investment to Royal Oak and create 75 full- and part-time jobs. Writer: Kim North Shine Source: Justin Near, publicist for Aaron F. Belen and Bistro 82/Sabrage/AFB Hospitality Group

Tennis anyone? Lawn tennis club coming to Pontiac

By Newsroom

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Arts & Culture

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July 18, 2013

The city of Pontiac's waterworks building and grounds are springing back to life as the future home of a members-only lawn tennis club that's being designed by Cranbrook Academy's architect in residence. Architect and developer Bill Massie is behind the the Wessen Lawn Tennis Club at 235 Wessen Street, also the site of a closed recreation center. The grounds are are being transformed into an English-style layout of 24 grass courts, four hard courts and an Olympic-size swimming pool. The project includes the renovation of the 1929 Waterworks building. The club was inspired by the tennis-loving Massie family's visit about five years ago to the Longwood Cricket Club in Boston, Mass. Massie is the head of the architecture department at the Cranbrook Academy of Art in Bloomfield Hills. Founding memberships to the club, which is exptected to be open mid-2014, are now being accepted at the club's website. Writer: Kim North Shine Source: Wessen Lawn Tennis Club

Detroit Kitchen Connect cooks up affordable space for local culinary entrepreneurs

By Newsroom

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Arts & Culture

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July 18, 2013

It's the classic chicken-or-the-egg conundrum for food entrepreneurs: they're usually required to use commenercial kitchen facilities to prepare their goods, but many can't make the rent until their businesses are off the ground. Excerpt: "Now Davison, the newly hired community kitchen coordinator at Eastern Market Corp., and Daniel, founder of FoodLab Detroit, are helping the next wave of food entrepreneurs tackle one of the biggest obstacles to growth in their industry: finding affordable, reliable commercial kitchen space.... Many local churches and nonprofits have commercial kitchens tucked away in their basements and back rooms -- even the Detroit Symphony Orchestra has one -- but finding them is all word of mouth. And even when entrepreneurs do find a kitchen, the owners don't always want to rent time because the additional usage increases utility costs and creates scheduling challenges... It took Majid several months of looking -- he even considered building his own facility -- before he finally found a kitchen. It was 90 miles away in Holt. That experience is not uncommon for Detroit-area food businesses. In fact, seeing that struggle was one reason Daniel founded FoodLab Detroit, an informal community of nearly 300 area food producers focused on sustainability and social justice through food. Through her noodle shop, Daniel discovered the intense need for kitchen space and began informally brokering deals. "I started getting connected to all of these folks who wanted to offer their kitchen space or entrepreneurs who were seeking kitchen space," said Daniel, 28. "So I became this personal hub between the two. When I started FoodLab, it became the informal connector." More here.