Upcoming Events
January 14, 2010 - Mike Johnston of the Michigan Manufacturers Association
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2010
Welcome to the New Year! By the end of January's first week, everything about resolutions has been said, and many are already broken. However, the changing of years, and decades, does give us time to reflect on our past (learn from it) and plan for our future. At SMEGA, we believe Southwest Michigan's future is bright! Our goal is to promote economic growth through business development and we will be working diligently with our municipalities, members, and partner organizations to achieve that goal.
As the "new" Executive Director I enjoyed getting to know you in 2009. It was an absolute privilege and joy to tour manufacturing companies in Southwest Michigan - we make a lot of cool stuff here and I want the world to know!
In 2010 we will get to know each other even better as we are already setting up calendars of events and visits, initiating new methods of communication, and new methods of pro-active business attraction, just to name a few.
We want to do our best for you and, as always, invite your input and your assistance.
Shelley
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Southwest Michigan Winter Wonderland
As we all know, the show must go on, the mail must be delivered, and business has to continue in spite of the weather. But it was pretty wonderful to catch this picture of sunshine for next week's forecast. At the risk of being a little too poetic, the snow truly does shine like diamond dust under the street lights at the industrial park. When it is really cold, (and if you squinch your eyes up) the lights at the Jerry Tyler airport look like the northern lights as they cast their rays into the frozen atmosphere. The sound of trucks moving products in and out of the park, through the snow, is music to our ears too.
What is the point? Just that we appreciate all the things that make doing business in southwest Michigan a great (and beautiful) experience.
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Mike Johnston to Address Southwest Michigan
The Berrien County Manufacturers Council has invited Mike Johnston, vice president of governmental affairs for the Michigan Manufacturing Association, to speak at their first luncheon meeting of 2010.  Mr. Johnston will be talking about how important manufacturing is to the economy and how state government needs to change to grow the economy and how we need to compete on the basis of cost in the global economy.
The luncheon is January 14, 2010 at 12:00 noon and is located at the Lake Michigan College Bertrand Crossing Campus in Niles. Cost for members of BCMC and/or SMEGA is $8.00 and will be $10.00 for non-members. Please call the SMEGA office at 269-683-1833 to RSVP by January 11.
Be sure to bring your business cards as there will be a drawing for lunch at Wheatberry Restaurant.
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BUSINESS REVIEW LISTS FOR 2010
Quite a few SMEGA members made it into Business Review's "2010 Book of Lists" for West Michigan including our own Bertrand Crossing Industrial Park! The park is listed as #3 out of 20. Some other standouts from our membership include:
Modineer Company is one of the Top 50 Private Companies for number of employees.
Lakeland Regional Health System and Indiana Michigan Power are among the Top 100 Companies based on number of employees.
Lakeland is also ranked high in number of licensed patient beds/staffed beds.
From a list of over 30 Contractors, Lamar Construction Company and Shelton Construction Company are two of our members listed.
Abonmarche and Wightman & Associates are listed as top engineering firms.
Of 23 banks listed by regional deposits, five have local branches and are SMEGA members: Fifth Third, National City Bank (PNC), Huntington National Bank, Chemical Bank, and Bank of America.
Lake Michigan College (the Mendel Center) was given the #1 spot for meeting facilties based on available square feet.
And finally, Lake Michigan College and Southwestern Michigan College were ranked #8 and #13, respectively, based on enrollment in 2009.
We're proud of all that is going on in Southwest Michigan. We have many of the biggest and best companies, colleges, and healthcare providers in the region. Good job!
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TIPS FROM UNSTOPPABLE WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS*
While we all acknowledge the importance of new business start-ups to our economy, this article by Barbara Mannino focused on tips from four successful female entrepreneurs. The entire article is available online but we wanted to share the tips with all entrepreneurs (not just women).
Gina Berta of Breathe Fitness advises new businesses to "Spend money in the right places." She noted that when her company changed their marketing strategy their numbers jumped significantly. They hired a consultant who understood their goals and showed them how to invest in the right tools. Gina said, "It was the best money I ever spent."
Jeni Garrett of the Woodhouse Day Spa advises that entrepreneurs should always take time to plan. When times are slow, it is the best time to make changes in product line and update services. "You don't stop moving because things are slow, and if they're not slow, you create some down time to prepare your playing field."
Erica Peitler of Erica Peitler and Associates, Inc. says to "Take risk early on because there are a lot of opportunities to learn - even if you fail initially." "Failure isn't the end game, but another learning opportunity."
Heidi Krupp of Krupp Kommunications, Inc. gives credit to her mentor and advises entrepreneurs to, "Share what you've learned with the people around you." "Follow your instincts and your gut." "...Never miss an opportunity; 'no' is not an answer."
After reading through these tips, it seems that the advice isn't just for start-ups but might also be good advice for the new year for all of us.
*Excerpted from an article by Barbara Mannino, FoxBusiness, January 6, 2010.
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