This article from the Lansing Bureau of the Free Press... We've got to think, act positive .... is an interview of our new Gov as of Saturday.  Dawson states in the very beginning, "... it's fair to say that most Michiganders care less about the words used to define the mission than they do about results."  

I love this!!!  

My family has been a part Michigan at least since the mid 1850s (when the population of the state was only around 400,000).  Some of us poor, some of us not. Some of us farmers, some of us line workers and some of us master tinkerers.  When my father graduated from high school he joined the Air Force, and a few years into his 21 year stint, he visited back home and bought a 40 acre plot of land he knew he would bring his family home to when he retired at the ripe old age of 39.  I was 16 when we moved back to Michigan and built the house (they still live in) as a family.  Blah, blah, blah.  My point is that we are deeply Michigan folk.  We love Michigan the way most of us here do ... deeply committed to staying and madly in love with the land.  Since we know we are staying we will make the most of it.

My interpretation of what the Gov is saying is that although we've had the snot beat out of us ... we need to get up, put a smile on our faces and truly feel the determination in our hearts to make Michigan.  I read this and felt like I felt as a young girl listening to a sermon.  Inspired, at peace and ready to go make shit happen. 

If you want to be part of making shit happen, do it.  If you want some help thinking about it, I'd be happy to be in that discussion with you.  

Read more: Snyder: We've got to think, act positive | freep.com | Detroit Free Press http://www.freep.com/article/20101230/NEWS06/12300471/Snyder-We-ve-got-to-think-act-positive#ixzz19bTXCuBt

 Read the great article and listen to the featured interview here.

I've been in the game of running a business for years.  I also got into being a Entrepreneur Support Professional (ESP as I call us) before it was trendy.  Now-a-days everyone is an Entrepreneur or Entrepreneurial or is an ESP.  (I read the other day that one of the top 10 words used in resumes  is Entrepreneurial.  It's just cool.)

I'd like to offer up an interpretation of Entrepreneur and flavor it a bit like Jeff Foxworthy might if he were from Lansing instead of the deep south.  :)

You know you are an Entrepreneur if:

• you can spell it properly every time
• you wake up at all hours writing up plans on how to market your business
• you wake up at all hours itching to talk with someone and can't because it's 2am so you write a book of an email to them instead, take a nap and then check your email at 6am hoping for a reply
• you've thrown up on the front lawn because you aren't sure if you will make payroll (and half of your employees you consider friends)
• you've moaned to your friends about not having enough business (working hard but no payoff)
• you've moaned to your friends about having too much business (working hard but can't keep up)
• you drive your car that has 210,000 miles on it (a few dents and scratches on it) to a business meeting and hope it doesn't convey "I'm not successful" but you know it's the right thing to NOT spend the money on a new car

These are just a few ways to know if you are an Entrepreneur.  Like Foxworthy, I can pull a few out of my hat every time I do this routine.  I don't distinguish between Entrepreneur and business owner as I work with people.  If you say you are an Entrepreneur, then you are.  It seems to have all become one for many of us ESPs and us Entrepreneurs (I still consider myself one of those too).

And a message to all those who get their panties in a bunch over someone declaring themselves an Entrepreneur when "they clearly are not", I say get over it and let's move on to the business of supporting growth in whatever venture it is, Entrepreneurial or not.

Cheers -- Miche

It's too short!  It goes by too fast!  You can't fit it all in!  This is a common chorus I hear when I ask what people think of the Boost events.

Being real, if you can't be compelling about your business in two minutes, you're in trouble anyway.  The point of a pitch this short is  to tell your audience enough to want to know more (get a coffee date or a dinner date) and to NOT convey anything that would want them to totally discount you or your idea.  

This requires for you to know the answers to at least these questions:

• What are the concerns of the person you are speaking to?
• What are the benefits (not features) of your product or service to them?
• How do you take a shower and dress?
• Is your body language conveying confidence and trust?

Jon Priebe (Citadel Defense Technologies), Merilee Griffin (Memo Touch), Robert Kamal (Kohorts) and Kimberly Aya (Fun Cakes Rental) apparently knew all this stuff.  They ended up at dinner with the panel getting all kinds of great thoughts.  They'll also get to go to a BlueWater Angels pitch night and give a longer pitch to the investment club.  Congrats people!

Stay warm! - Miche

Mood as defined by the dictionary is a "state of mind" or we can also think of it as "an orientation to the world".  Is it a place of abundance, possibility, collaboration, basic goodness?  Answers will most likely shape our mood.

After attending Launched last Thursday in East Lansing and then sprinting from one meeting to the next around the lower part of Michigan through Saturday afternoon, I can honestly say that Lansing seems to be preferable.  We're humble but proud (not too self congratulatory but confident enough to say "Stuff is happening here!").  We've got a lot of stuff going on!!! (For those of you who know me, stuff is a polite replacement for the more harsh yet more exciting word I'd rather use.)

At Launched it began with T.J. Duckett speaking and being his authentic, extremely likable self.  He made it clear he was up to stuff in Lansing.  Then Bobby Bringi from MBI brought his gentle, intelligent and successful self to light and made it clear, once again that stuff is happening here too.  Followed closely on his heels was Brittney Hoszkiw from Lansing's Old Town and, my goodness, she made me want to march right over there and check out the stuff happening there!  And Chris Holman was quite humorous and delivered a powerful message ... not only is stuff happening now in the Greater Lansing region but it's going to continue to happen!  Business owners are now more confident than in a long while that their ventures will grow and be able to flex with the markets they are part of (is that a dangling participle?).

My point is, the mood is great here.  It jazzes me up (and I suspect everyone) knowing stuff is happening.  There is one thing that is clear, when we are in a bad mood, making good stuff happen is hard, sometimes impossible.  If you find yourself in a bad (or ineffective) mood: go for a walk, talk to someone who's in a good mood and ask them why, just listen, don't spread your bad mood.  Let's share that good mood with everyone for 2011.  

A call to action .... pick someone in your network of help.  Now send them a note, email or call them.  Tell them how appreciative you are of the stuff they are up to.  Stir the good mood and multiply it.  That's how more stuff will happen.

Go make it happen!

Cheers -- Miche

PS ... don't be angry I left out the part about the Innovator of the year awards ... I left early, my feet were killing me and I had another 14 hour day coming the next day!!  (just being real :))

 Good morning!!!

 The Edward Lowe Foundation began to narrowly focus on second-stage entrepreneurs in the early 2000s due to the important role second-stagers play in economic prosperity — and misperceptions about entrepreneurship.

“People frequently use the term ‘entrepreneur’ to refer to small businesses,” says Mark Lange, the foundation’s executive director.  “But entrepreneurship encompasses a broad spectrum, and there’s a big difference between small-business entrepreneurs and growth-oriented entrepreneurs.”  For example, some individuals, often referred to as “lifestyle entrepreneurs,” may be self-employed because they like being their own boss, but creating jobs isn’t a priority for them.  Then there are small businesses that provide jobs in a community, however, the local trading area they serve often restricts their growth.

 In contrast, growth entrepreneurs are significant job creators because of their appetite — and aptitude — for expansion. And because they often have national or global markets, they bring outside dollars into the community.

The foundation defines second-stage growth entrepreneurs as having 10 to 99 employees and annual revenue ranging between $1 million and $50 million.  These are soft boundaries and will fluctuate depending on industry,” Lange stresses. “The important distinction is that these companies are focused on growth, and they are powerhouses when it comes to job creation.”

Indeed, between 1993 and 2008, second-stage companies only represented 10.9 percent of U.S. resident establishments but represented 35.7 percent of jobs and 24.8 percent of positive job growth, according to YourEconomy.org, the foundation’s online research tool. (See chart) 

Many people associate second stage with gazelles (companies that grow 20 percent or more each year), but that’s only part of the story. Second stage also includes companies with potential for high growth and those with steady growth that may be less dramatic than gazelles but is still impressive.  “Granted, growth entrepreneurs pass through a variety of stages, but second stage is a critical juncture,” Lange says. “In his book ‘No Man’s Land,’ author Doug Tatum calls this the adolescence phase in companies’ lifecycles where they are ‘too big to be small but too small to be big.’ ”

Although funding and resources exist for small businesses and startups, second-stage entrepreneurs have different needs to continue growing. For example, second-stagers wrestle with:

• Refining core strategy
• Adapting to industry changes.
• Expanding markets.
• Building a management team.
• Embracing new leadership roles.

“It’s important to treat these growth entrepreneurs differently than small businesses,” Lange says. “Communities need to identify their second-stage companies and make sure services and resources are in place to help them continue to grow.” Stag

A perspective piece provided by the Edward Lowe Foundation.

Can you hear it?  There’s a buzz in Greater Lansing that entrepreneurship is thriving.  Whether you’ve heard about it in the local media, via your social media network of choice, a national publication, or from your neighbouring business owner, Lansing is gaining ground and getting recognized for fostering an entrepreneurial mindset and creating a knowledge-based economy that inspires entrepreneurialism. 

There is so much happening, and the month of November is no exception.  In fact, we designated it “Engaging Entrepreneurs and Inspiring Innovation” month because of the numerous events and programs being hosted by regional resource providers.  Hundreds of aspiring entrepreneurs, area high school and college students, and even established business owners looking to expand or transform their companies have already participated in the broad range of programs that have taken place in the area.  Start-up Weekend drew a crowd of young innovators interested advancing their entrepreneurial ideas to the next stage of development.   The Extreme Entrepreneurship Tour inspired hundreds of students from area high schools and colleges.  The Next Bright Idea competition is once again open for submissions.  And several “fundamentals” workshops like how to start a business, writing your business plan and achieving fiscal fitness are being hosted by the Small Business Development & Technology Center.  This menu of programs is designed to inspire, assist and support our current and future entrepreneurs in generating innovative ideas and developing business ventures.
 

With entrepreneurship at the top of the list of positive things happening in the area, this month’s Greater Lansing Forward features just a few of our local entrepreneurs that have found success here in Greater Lansing.  It is also a reflection of the things that are currently happening around us that are creating an entrepreneurial spirit in the minds of our youth and helping to foster this mindset within everyone who has something to bring to the table.  And, we feature two tremendous national foundations who provide a national perspective on entrepreneurship  - the Kauffman Foundation and the Edward Lowe Foundation.

There is great news to be heard in Greater Lansing.  We invite you to spend a few minutes with this month’s edition of Greater Lansing Forward to read all about it.

Denyse Ferguson
President & CEO
Leap, Inc. 

 In the face of so many proclaiming the virtues of entrepreneurship and the capacity of new business formation to save our economy, Scott Shane, a professor at Case Western University, argues there is a “myth” to entrepreneurship. His point is that if we all just start a new sandwich shop, or dry cleaner operation, our economy will not improve. 

His point is well taken. It’s not the starting of new businesses that matters; it’s the starting of new businesses that contain innovation.

Businesses are simply the legal packaging for a value proposition. What adds value to an economy is when someone figures out how to improve an existing value proposition or how to provide a whole new value proposition. Consider some examples. BIGGBY Coffee isn’t wildly successful because it makes coffee, or even because it makes good coffee—it’s wildly successful because of its tremendous customer service.

Apple’s new iPad isn’t interesting because it provides a new way to read books, but rather because reading books can now be coupled in new and interesting ways with computing operations on the Web and with other new and imaginative opportunities, like social media. The key lesson here is that innovation is not always the next newfangled invention that contains lots of intellectual property.

While the Lansing area certainly is seeing a growing share of these kinds of innovation, whether in nuclear technology with the new FRIB, or bio-economy breakthroughs with MBI, or a growing number of firms in IT, innovation can be just as evident in many new and existing firms in traditional industries, such as food service, real estate and manufacturing.

So how do firms and communities foster both innovation and venture creation? Much of the answer can be found in the intangibles of an “innovation ecosystem.” Over the past several years, the Lansing area has worked hard to create many of the component parts of a sustainable economic ecosystem. These labors are beginning to bear fruit. New industries are emerging in the bio-economy, renewable energy, nuclear physics, IT and transportation, among others.

Dynamic groups of students and young entrepreneurs are starting ventures that are beginning to turn heads. Entrepreneurs are working with city leaders in East Lansing and Lansing to create incubation space. Collaborative efforts driven by LEAP, the SBTDC, the MEDC and others are galvanizing resources and applying these to create a shared vision.

To this impressive, emerging ecosystem, Michigan State University launched the Entrepreneurship Network, or msuENet (www.entrepreneurship.msu.edu). The msuENet is working to educate the next generation of innovation entrepreneurs for our region through courses and certificates open to both students and nonstudents alike.

But perhaps more importantly, msuENet brings together all of the resources for entrepreneurship on campus and couples these with the resources in the community to create just-in-time access for those looking to create innovative, new ventures, or innovate within their current firms.

Recent investments in MSU-Technologies and MSUBusinessConnect to facilitate technology transfer and business development are now connected with the msuENet to facilitate new venture startup and growth. These efforts will be tightly connected to the operation of LEAP and other city and community organizations.

In many ways these efforts are simply taking us “back to the future.” Innovation and entrepreneurship is what created great wealth in autos, electronics and manufacturing throughout the 20th century. It will now be the thing that reinvents our economy in these and other exciting industries and opportunities.

With a growing ecosystem to help, now is the time to try something new, wherever you are.

Bryan K. Ritchie is a political economy professor at Michigan State University, where his current research and consulting focus on how economies upgrade from manufacturing to more knowledge-intensive industries. He is also director of the MSU Entrepreneurship Network and the co-director at the Center for Innovation and Economic Prosperity. Ritchie’s specific areas of expertise include innovation, technological development, skills education and training, and social capital.

A month-long series of events and educational programs to ignite our creative culture, support aspiring entrepreneurs and catalyze new venture creation.

Fundamentals of Starting a Business 
Presented by Small Business Technology & Development Center (SBTDC)
November 3, 2010 9:00am - 11:00am
MI-SBTDC Region 8 Office, Lansing Community College 
Washington Court Place, Lansing, MI 48912

 Start-up Weekend
Presented by MSU E-Network, SBTDC & Leap, Inc.
November 5, 2010 6:00pm - November 7, 2010 7:00pm
Technology Innovation Center
325 E. Grand River Ave. 
East Lansing, MI 48823

Entrepreneur Finance - How to Raise Money
Presented by the Meridian Asset Resource Center
November 8, 2010 6:00pm - 8:00pm
Okemos Library
4321 Okemos Rd. 
Okemos, MI

Innovation Club for Entrepreneurs Meeting (ICE)
Presented by Land Policy Institute and YSG
November 9, 2010 6:00pm - 8:00pm
Technology Innovation Center
325 E. Grand River Ave. 
East Lansing, MI 48823

Extreme Entrepreneurship Tour – College and High School
Presented by Lansing Economic Area Partnership (Leap, Inc.)
November 10, 2010 4:00pm - 8:00pm
Hannah Community Center
819 Abbot Rd. 
East Lansing, MI 48823

Leap Next Bright Idea Kick-off
Presented by Lansing Economic Area Partnership (Leap, Inc.)
November 10, 2010 

Port Lansing Global Logistics Conference
Presented by Lansing Regional Chamber of Commerce
November 10, 2010 9:30am - 4:30pm
Kellogg Hotel and Conference Center
55 S. Harrison Rd. 
East Lansing, MI 48823

Fundamentals of Writing a Business Plan
Presented by Small Business Technology & Development Center (SBTDC)
November 11, 2010 9:00am - 11:00am
MI-SBTDC Region 8 Office, Lansing Community College 
Washington Court Place, Lansing, MI 48912

EnGen Student Entrepreneurship Summit and Greater Lansing Boost Competition
Presented by Moving Ideas to Market
November 13, 2010 
Location: TBD

Global Entrepreneurship Week
November 15 - 19, 2010

5 Keys to Achieving Fiscal Fitness
Presented by Small Business Technology & Development Center (SBTDC)
November 18, 2010 8:00am - 12:00pm
MI-SBTDC Region 8 Office, Lansing Community College 
Washington Court Place, Lansing, MI 48912

Relationship Economics Workshop (RESCHEDULED)
Presented by MSU Professors Bryan Ritchie and Lindon Robison
Sponsored in part by Leap, Inc. and MSU E-Network
November 19, 2010 9:00am - 4:00pm
Lansing Center
333 E. Michigan Ave. 
Lansing, MI 48912

Maximizing the One-Minute “Elevator Pitch” for Your Idea (RESCHEDULED)
Presented by SPEEK founder Eleni Kelakos
Sponsored by Leap, Inc. 
November 29, 2010 8:30am - 11:00am 
Lansing Regional Chamber of Commerce Boardroom
500 E. Michigan Ave., Ste. 200
Lansing, MI 48912

Maximizing the One-Minute “Elevator Pitch” for Your Idea
Presented by SPEEK founder Eleni Kelakos
Sponsored by Leap, Inc. 
November 29, 2010 2:00pm - 4:30pm
Lansing Regional Chamber of Commerce Boardroom
500 E. Michigan Ave., Ste. 200
Lansing, MI 48912

Fundamentals of How to Finance Your Business
Presented by Small Business Technology & Development Center (SBTDC)
November 30, 2010 9:00am - 11:00am
MI-SBTDC Region 8 Office, Lansing Community College 
Washington Court Place, Lansing, MI 48912