Livonia

Same-sex wedding expo points to growing industry

By Newsroom

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April 21, 2011

Pride Source Media Group and Detroit Marriott Livonia are getting ready to co-host "To Have and to Hold: A wedding expo for same-sex couples" next month, an event sparked by a little bit of bigotry.The hotel first broached the idea of the event to Pride Source Media Group, publisher of Michigan's premier gay newspaper, after it received two inquiries in a month from same-sex couples. The couples had lost confirmed bookings at their original venue when managers discovered their sexual orientation. That's when the two groups decided to bring the growing market of gay marriages out of the closet."It's a huge market," says Jan Stevenson, co-publisher of Between The Lines and co-owner of Pride Source Media Group. "There is a very large gay population in Michigan that numbers in the hundreds of thousands."Stevenson points out that about 1,000 same-sex couples make their wedding vows in Michigan annually. At an average cost of $20,000 per wedding, who wouldn't want a part of that market regardless of the state's regressive laws banning gay marriage. Stevens says that a number of local businesses already depend on same-sex customers, such as Ann Arbor-based jewelers Abracadabra. He claims thirty percent of that company's business comes from gay customers."Even though it's not legal we're going to do it anyway," Stevenson says. "People will go to where it is legal, like Canada, and come back for the reception."The expo will feature 40 vendors, including caterers, jewelers, salons, photographers, officiants, churches, florists, gift registries, clothiers, printers, travel agents and entertainers. It take place between 3-8 p.m. on May 1. Admission is $10, with a $2 discount for those who register in advance online.Source: Jan Stevenson, co-publisher of Between The Lines and co-owner of Pride Source Media GroupWriter: Jon ZemkeRead more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

Technology Solutions doubles staffing, preps for 100% revenue jump in 2011

By Newsroom

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Arts and Culture

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March 17, 2011

Since it began offering services for phone systems and data networks, Livonia-based Technology Solutions has become a one-stop shop for telecommunication services. "We are a single-source solution," says Steve Futrell, CEO of Technology Solutions.The 16-year-old firm has grown its existing client base with its new, bundled offerings. It has also attracted some new clients, such as Clarkston State Bank and Professional Pump. Revenue was up 85 percent in 2010 and Futrell expects it to jump 100 percent this year.This allowed the company to hire two more employees, two independent contractors, and two interns in the last year. That rounds up its staff to a dozen people, with plans to add more this year."We've got some large clients to potentially add," Futrell says. "And some of our existing clients are growing dramatically."Source: Steve Futrell, CEO of Technology SolutionsWriter: Jon ZemkeRead more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

Boeing contract with USAF could mean $25M, 450 jobs for Michigan

By Newsroom

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General

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March 3, 2011

It's the economic butterfly effect. A big contract win by Boeing in Chicago means money and jobs for Michigan's aerospace-related companies. Excerpt: "At least four Michigan manufacturers are ready to produce components on the NewGen Tanker. One is Livonia-based LaSalle Electric Supply Co., which will provide electrical standards, lighting products and tie straps. LaSalle currently stocks aircraft lamps for Boeing, including the 767 aircraft. The NewGen Tanker is a wide-body, multimission aircraft based on the Boeing 767 commercial airplane and updated with advanced technology. "There's a lot of homegrown interest in this," said Jim Gatward, president of LaSalle Electric Supply. "It does two things for us: extends the lifeline of the Boeing 767 aircraft platform for many years and all ancillary product and support that go into that aircraft."" Read the rest of the story here.

Maxsar Digital Studios opens in Livonia

By Newsroom

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Arts and Culture

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February 17, 2011

Maxsar Digital Studios isn't only creating jobs in Metro Detroit and doing its part to staunch the region's brain drain, the film studio started by Hollywood producer Philippe Martinez is also helping bring a few ex-pats back to the Motor City.The Livonia-based studio now has 50 employees and one intern. That's one year after the venture got its start with five people in Metro Detroit developing several film scripts. Martinez has served as a producer for more than 30 films over the last 20 years, including Van Wilder 2, Harsh Times, and Games of Death."It was Philippe identifying people from here and who were interested in moving back from L.A.," says Franklin Walker, a spokesman for Maxsar Digital Studios. "He was also looking at people who were graduating from the local schools." The studio is currently in the midst of developing a few movies now, including Bag Monkeys, a low-budget comedy about baggage handlers at an airport, and Scar 23, which is in CGI pre-production. Both films are set to come out in mid-to-late 2012.Maxsar Digital Studios is occupying about 60,000 square feet of space in a former ROUSH building. It hopes to continue to expand, which hinges on the status of Michigan's film tax credits.Source: Franklin Walker, a spokesman for Maxsar Digital Studios Writer: Jon ZemkeRead more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

Service And Sustenance

By Kelly Quintanilla

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Community Development

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February 3, 2011

April Meyers is from here, wanted to stay here, and wanted to make a difference. But that's harder than it sounds when you're a recent college grad in search of work. Luckily, VISTA offered her an opportunity to do good and do it in Metro Detroit. Now, Meyers is helping establish a food pantry and community garden program at Schoolcraft College.

Mom turns super hero capes biz into flyaway success

By Newsroom

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Arts and Culture

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January 20, 2011

Boil down the description of the SuperCapes.com business to one word, and what comes to mind is "serendipitous". The Livonia-based business got its start four years ago at a birthday party for Holly Bartman's son's fourth birthday. The special education teacher made her son and all of his guests superhero capes. The gift turned into such a hit at the party that one of the mothers suggested that Bartman sell them.Bartman took the bait and began selling the superhero capes on eBay and Etsy, an e-commerce site for handmade or vintage items, art and supplies. Demand soon dictated that Bartman move from her home operation to a small studio at the old Winery building in Farmington Hills, where she deployed a few commercial sewing machines and hired her first employee.Justin Draplin, owner of a social media and signage firm called CityDrip, happened to be next door. Soon he was designing a website for Bartman's superhero capes and wholesaling them. Now he is a managing partner of SuperCapes.com, a company that employs eight people (mostly mothers on a part-time basis) and has a goal of reaching $1 million in revenue this year."The next thing I know I am in the superhero cape business," Draplin says. "I never thought I would be in this business or that it would take off. We have been growing exponentially month over month."SuperCapes.com plans to buy its own building this year to accommodate its growth. Draplin expects its staff to hit 12-15 people by the end of the year as it continues to sell simple, non-branded capes made for budding superheroes. It's also looking to expand its product offering to tutus.Source: Justin Draplin, managing partner of SuperCapes.comWriter: Jon ZemkeRead more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

PR Easy expands media services, plans to double staff

By Newsroom

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Community Development

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December 9, 2010

What was considered one of Ford's darkest hours a few years ago turned into the spark that launched PR Easy.Janak Mehta had been working at the then-struggling automaker when he was offered a buyout in 2007. He took the money and decided to start his own business. Today the Livonia-based Internet marketing firm employs four people and gives work to four more independent contractors."I realized I had to focus on marketing," Mehta says. "At the core of every business is PR and marketing."PR Easy started by focusing on public relations work. It quickly assesses search engine optimization, Web marketing, and social media services. That has allowed PR Easy to double its client base to 35 customers and 12 consulting clients, along with hiring one employee and four independent contractors. Mehta expects to hire another four people next year.Mehta also started Social Media Michigan in 2008. It now has 70 members and he hopes to start a few more chapters in Michigan next year, with subsequent further expansion nationwide. Source: Janak Mehta, co-founder of PR EasyWriter: Jon ZemkeRead more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

Urobiologics guides parents in choice of baby gender while creating jobs

By Newsroom

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Community Development

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November 4, 2010

Some decry choosing a child's gender as playing God, but would that argument still hold up if the parents did so naturally? Religion politics aside, a startup is offering these services to new parents in its own version of natural family planning.Urobiologics is the brainchild of Kuldeep Verma, who has a PhD in biochemistry and biotechnology from Punjab Agricultural University. The 11-year-old Livonia-based company, of which Verma is the sole employee, offers consulting services to let potential parents know which menstrual cycle is most likely to produce a child of one sex or the other during conception. No hormones. No injections. Just good timing. "We're advising them to conceive at the right time if someone wants to plan for something," says Verma. However, he is developing a unique lateral flow test strip for use before pregnancy. The strip will guide couples as to the best cycle for conceiving a baby of the desired gender. It well also help them to identify the gender of the baby during the pregnancy.Verma recently presented Urobiologics' technology at the MichBio Expo and Conference in Ann Arbor last week. He expects it will spur Urobiologics on a big growth streak in 2011 that should allow it to hire "at least 15 people.""We have a cool technology," Verma says.Source: Kuldeep Verma, owner of UrobiologicsWriter: Jon ZemkeRead more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

U-M Dearborn names Livonia, Wixom top biz cities

By Newsroom

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Arts and Culture

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October 21, 2010

University of Michigan-Dearborn's Center for Innovation Research, commonly known as iLabs, has named Livonia and Wixom as two of the seven top-performing communities at fostering entrepreneurial growth and economic development in its eCities 2010 study.These top performers were recognized for their ability to communicate with businesses and capitalize on that ability to listen with their entrepreneurial programs. For instance, 94 percent of the businesses surveyed by iLabs said they wanted to be contacted by their local government. However, local officials have not reached out to a third of them."We approached it as the cities as businesses and the businesses as their customers," says Tim Davis, director of iLabs. "That left a lot of cities scratching their heads."That wasn't the case with Livonia and Wixom. The two suburbs both had business programs that focused on communications. Livonia's Business Ambassador program leveraged the city's mid-sized firms to find smaller companies and reach out to them so it could create a more hospitable entrepreneurial ecosystem. Wixom created an online networking hub that created a number of synergies and lines of communications between both businesses and the local government.The eCities research surveyed more than 100 communities in the state of Michigan that are home to 128,242 entrepreneurs earning $3.4 billion in annual income. These communities also had commercial development projects valued at $1.2 billion last year and account for nearly half the state's commercial property.Source: Tim Davis, director of iLabsWriter: Jon ZemkeRead more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

Livonia’s Talan SBS turns small-biz consulting into new jobs

By Newsroom

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Community Development

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September 16, 2010

Josh Holowicki and Todd Luthanen have been businessmen for years, but it took a while to decide which market to serve. That is until last year, when the two decided to go into the business of helping small businesses."We have always been passionate about small business," says Holowicki, director of business development for Talan SBS. The Livonia-based consultancy is on target to reach $350,000 in revenue this year and $500,000 next year. It now has a staff of two employees, six independent contractors, and one intern. It expects to add another 6-8 independent contractors over the next year as it grows its customer base from three full-time clients and a smattering of projects.Holowicki and Luthanen, both serial entrepreneurs, believe a business is a business at its core. They are there to make sure that purpose stays on track."We're not teaching dentists to be good dentists," Holowicki says. "We teach dentists how to run a good business."Source: Josh Holowicki, director of business development for Talan SBSWriter: Jon Zemke