Entrepreneurship is critical to job growth and enhancing Southeast Michigan’s business climate. As reported in the Kauffman Foundation’s 2015 publication, “The Importance of Young Firms for Economic Growth,” new businesses account for nearly all net new job creation, and new business growth is essential to almost 20 percent of gross job creation.
This is why Growing Entrepreneurship and Supporting Business Growth are among the 11 broad-based economic development strategies for our region included in Partnering for Prosperity, Southeast Michigan’s economic development strategy. At a SEMCOG University workshop this summer, SEMCOG members discussed what local governments can do to help support business growth through encouraging innovation and promoting entrepreneurship.
At this workshop, presenters discussed the importance of small businesses spanning several sectors. They talked about the ways in which their communities have been working collaboratively with entrepreneurs to promote an environment of innovation, community-building, and new business opportunities.
One Stop Shop
Oakland County’s One Stop Shop Business Centerhas been helping Oakland County entrepreneurs to navigate their way to business success. Catherine Abad, Senior Business Development Representative, provided several examples of how this initiative serves as a single point of contact for business owners, putting them in touch with needed resources. The One Stop Shop Business Center provides management counseling and educational services to any industry, in any market, at any stage of business development. Client success stories have included:
- Working with government entities to facilitate the repurposing of an old school gymnasium into a loft-style condominium project that features restaurant, retail, and office space;
PHOTO: Legacy Lake Orion
- Providing business operations assistance to Crispelli’s Pizzeria in the areas of marketing/advertising, press releases, social media, and job fair assistance; and
- Assisting Unified Business Technologies, Inc. with identifying a new location in Michigan and expanding into manufacturing while creating new jobs.
PHOTO: Unified Business Technologies, Inc. Open House
This presentation helped participants understand the range of services that the Oakland County One Stop Shop can provide to entrepreneurs to encourage new investment, and helped to generate conversation and an exchange of ideas among the SEMCOG University workshop attendees.
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