Sbam Shorts, Your Weekly Small Business Success Tip

There are many great reasons for entrepreneurs like you to belong to the Small Business Association of Michigan. Jennifer Jurgens, CEO/Founder of 1 Bold Step, is an SBAM VIP Member. “Really enjoyed the just general networking and camaraderie at the events --- going by myself and I won't be standing by myself so long. It's just been a combination of great connections, not only potential clients, but potential partners, and helping get some of these crazy small businesses up and up and running.” Jurgens also gets a lot of value from public policy engagement. “I have really enjoyed the connection to our legislators that I didn't realize would be a part of being part of SBAM, understanding how businesses are driving policies, and how policies impact businesses. Suddenly, I feel like I have a voice in some of the legislation that is, you know, on the docket that's going to affect how we how we run and if we're successful, really or not. So that's been huge.” Leverage the value of your involvement with the Small

There are many great reasons for entrepreneurs like you to belong to the Small Business Association of Michigan. “I like the way that they are dedicated to the small business community, both politically and community wise.” That’s SBAM VIP Member Teresa Renaud, owner of Outsourced Sales Management Services LLC. “They have a number of fantastic events that I've attended throughout the last year. And from a networking perspective, it's been great to be able to meet other business owners meet other people that I might be able to serve as well, or that can serve me. So the bi-directional support I think has been fabulous. It just seems like every time I go to an event or meet additional people within the SBAM organization, I'm delighted by the caliber of their business acumen and feel like they offer a lot in terms of knowledge, and I guess networking.” Leverage the value of your involvement with the Small Business Association of Michigan. Learn more by calling today at 800-362-5461.

There are many great reasons for entrepreneurs like you to belong to the Small Business Association of Michigan. Law firm Warner Norcross + Judd uses their engagement to stay connected to the small business community. “The smaller businesses, our sweet spot, we have to know what's going on with these companies, what's keeping them up at night.” That’s Warner Norcross + Judd attorney Robert Nolan. “By way of our participation with SBAM, be it the the meetings where we're getting together the Leadership Council that we're a part of, we're interacting face-to-face with people. They may not be our client, but we're hearing it face-to-face as to what are the issues that are disconcerting for them, or wondering where are we going in this direction. And we get to interact face-to-face. So that's been that's just been great for us.” Leverage the value of your involvement with the Small Business Association of Michigan. Learn more by calling today at 800-362-5461.

There are many great reasons for entrepreneurs like you to belong to the Small Business Association of Michigan. Barbara Muller-Wilson is an attorney with Muller, Myers, & Ferran PC in Ada. “Small Business Association of Michigan does a stellar job of keeping up on legislative changes, and they are sending emails out to their constituents about what is new, what is happening and how they lobby on behalf of their members. They are very engaged organization and I don't think one thing that goes by that involves a small business in Lansing that they don't report on and I find that very, very helpful.” Leverage the value of your involvement with the Small Business Association of Michigan. Learn more by calling today at 800-362-5461.

There are many great reasons for entrepreneurs like you to belong to the Small Business Association of Michigan. “The Small Business Association of Michigan is a phenomenal group, 26,000 members in the state of Michigan, wide variety of businesses, everything from dairy farmers to software implementers. It's a group of very intelligent and strong business people who want to work together to make small business prosper.” Kevin Heinl is an intellectual property attorney with Brooks Kushman in Southfield. “It is very difficult to find out about Michigan State politics, but I found in the SBAM that they have a great focus on Michigan legislative issues, which affect small businesses immensely. Working with the people that do the publications has been very rewarding and they've been very cooperative. And it's been a great experience all-in-all.” Leverage the value of your involvement with the Small Business Association of Michigan. Learn more by calling today at 800-362-5461.

There are many great reasons for entrepreneurs like you to belong to the Small Business Association of Michigan. “The quickest word is alignment. So as a community based bank here in Michigan, each of our little branches that are across the state is an individual business. If there's a branch manager that has the goals of maintaining profitability, if you will, in the branch, of providing quality customer service, that's directly in line with every business owner that we work with.” Marc Judge is VP Community Banker for Independent Bank in Traverse City. “The sponsorship arrangement that we have with the Small Business Association is the subset leadership group that we've partnered with. And what's really just encouraging is a lot of the same business owners that I work with and see and deal with on a daily, weekly, monthly basis are the same folks that are participating in that. And I would just encourage any business owner the value that you can get out of the Small Business Association of Michigan, you kn

There are many great reasons for entrepreneurs like you to belong to the Small Business Association of Michigan. “Build a different relationship because you know that the people in that group, they're trying to better their business. And I think for me, that's a big point, like that's one thing we have in common.” Adam McCauley is a member of SBAM’s Leadership Council and co-owner of Sandlot Sports in Bay City/Saginaw. “We didn't come in here to be business owners, we came here to be screen printer embroiderers and that type of thing. It's nice to have somebody around us that has experience running companies handling 22 employees that we can bounce ideas off of. That's been to me, you know, the most rewarding thing on my end, and I've got other people in SBAM and even the Leadership Council [who] will tell you something completely different. But for me, that's what's more valuable now. In a year from now, there may be something totally different that's more valuable to me. But right now I'm happy with being p

There are many great reasons for entrepreneurs like you to belong to the Small Business Association of Michigan. Matthew Anderson is Chief Brand Officer for Engaged Education in Lansing and a member of the SBAM Leadership Council. He’s been involved in a lot of leadership activities, and one of the things he appreciates the most about his engagement with SBAM is the opportunity to give back. “[That’s] the thing that's been the most surprising and valuable to me about SBAM in particular. And having the opportunity to serve on the Leadership Council has been really truly focused on giving to the members. I mean sometimes I leave Leadership Council meetings and I'm like, man, what are you guys really getting out of this from me, like you're giving so much to me when what am I giving to you? It is truly the place that I feel so, so passionately appreciate it.” Leverage the value of your involvement with the Small Business Association of Michigan. Learn more by calling today at 800-362-5461.

There are many great reasons for entrepreneurs like you to belong to the Small Business Association of Michigan. “Well, SBAM has been great. For me, I think that generally speaking, many of us are joiners and so I'm pretty selective when I join a group and certainly when I’m going to bring my business into that group.” Paul Mead owns Clear Path Strategic in Traverse City and is part of SBAM’s Leadership Council. “I was exposed to it through other local business owners that encouraged me to explore SBAM and it's been a wonderful experience. I certainly, you know, as you would expect been able to network with fellow business owners, which is very valuable but also from my own needs, insurance or economic data, things like that. SBAM’s been a great resource for me in getting that and the team that works there will bend over backwards to try and help you with what you need. So it's really been a positive experience for me and and I look forward to continuing working with SBAM for quite some time.” Leverage the va

There are many great reasons for entrepreneurs like you to belong to the Small Business Association of Michigan. “My biggest benefit is my peer-to-peer relationships.” Erick Stewart is president and CEO of Stewart Industries and a member of the SBAM board of directors. “Because SBAM is, you know, a room full of mostly A-type personalities that are business owners and have been through a lot. But when you can walk into a safe environment, and ask the tough questions and get honest answers, that just makes you better as a person, and which translates into making Stewart industries better as a business. So I'd say that's my biggest benefit, that peer-to-peer relationship.” Leverage the value of your involvement with the Small Business Association of Michigan. Learn more by calling today at 800-362-5461.

There are many great reasons for entrepreneurs like you to belong to the Small Business Association of Michigan. “Number one would definitely be the peer to peer interaction.” SBAM board member Ginny Sherrow and her husband Matt founded the award-winning Fenton Winery & Brewery. “Networking events and different conferences that they do, I really enjoy getting to know other business owners around the state. These are business owners that I wouldn't otherwise meet locally in the community while working. So that's awesome. The second thing I would think is that SBAM provides me with some summaries and snapshots of what's happening in our state, and what's happening politically and what's happening with laws and different things that would affect my business. So that's really nice, having quick resources. They send something out regularly or whenever new things happen, and that's really nice to know that they're kind of watching out and will send me information and make sure I'm up to date on all that kind of stu

There are many great reasons for entrepreneurs like you to belong to the Small Business Association of Michigan. “I learn every time I'm with SBAM.” Sheri Welsh owns Welsh & Associates executive recruiters in Kalamazoo and serves on SBAM’s board of directors. “Whether it is from other business owners, or from the staff and the leadership of as spam keeping me informed about what's going on in Lansing or statewide. I learn all the time and I value that lifelong learning, I value the opportunity to take that and put that into practice in the way I run my business and just grow as an individual. So that is really what I love about it. The work of SBAM I think, is so, so powerful as an advocate for small business. There's just nothing like it anyplace else in the state of Michigan. And I'm so thrilled and honored to be a part of the board and to help move that work forward. It's really a joy.” Leverage the value of your involvement with the Small Business Association of Michigan. Learn more by calling today at 80

There are many great reasons for entrepreneurs like you to belong to the Small Business Association of Michigan. “I love the Small Business Association of Michigan.” Lorri Rishar is the CEO of Edge Publicom and a member of the SBAM board of directors. “I watched the Small Business Association go from kind of a second-tier player several decades ago to now the voice, truly the voice of small business in Michigan and throughout very active on the national scene as well. And so the opportunities that business owners have, no matter how many years you're into it, what you can learn from our colleagues. And that's what I take most from my SBAM involvement and then again the involvement on a policy level -- to be able to have an audience with the governor and with decision makers and legislators and SBAM provides that.” Leverage the value of your involvement with the Small Business Association of Michigan. Learn more by calling today at 800-362-5461.

There are many great reasons for entrepreneurs like you to belong to the Small Business Association of Michigan. SBAM board member Gina Thorsen is the president of iconic hat maker Stormy Kromer. “It's 100% the ability to sit down with other business owners from across the state and to pick their brains, to hear about their successes, their challenges, bounce ideas off of them.” That owner-to-owner connectivity is particularly valuable when you’re a company like Stormy Kromer that’s located in Michigan’s far western Upper Peninsula. “I think it's particularly helpful given our geography. You know, we are far away from other bigger communities. There’s obviously other businesses here, but to get that more rich and diverse opinions and outlooks of other business owners, it's been fantastic and it's well worth the time I spend in a car to get to Lansing or other places where some of these meetings are. The people are phenomenal, they've helped me tremendously and once you've made these connections with them at s

There are many great reasons for entrepreneurs like you to belong to the Small Business Association of Michigan. “Well, the people certainly are incredible.” SBAM board member Park Kersman owns Lorin Industries in Muskegon. “Both the staff of SBAM, and the board members, the Leadership Council members, and then it’s just all the members. I've had the opportunity to meet so many people that have an incredible passion for Michigan and for small businesses in Michigan and work very hard to find ways to to work effectively not only with other businesses but with everyone in Lansing. Just working hard to make Michigan a better state. And I really appreciate the hard work that goes into that and just the the people are very ethical and thoughtful in their methods of doing this.” Leverage the value of your involvement with the Small Business Association of Michigan. Learn more by calling today at 800-362-5461.

There are many great reasons for entrepreneurs like you to belong to the Small Business Association of Michigan. “Oh, my gosh. So I wish I knew exactly what year I got involved with SBAM. Because it changed the way I looked at my company. It changed the way I looked at leadership.” SBAM board member Sue Tellier, with her husband Jon, owns JetCo Solutions in Grand Rapids. Their firm helps small businesses sell to government agencies. “SBAM as an organization gives me direct access to other small business owners. The fact that you really need to be a small business owner to be involved in SBAM makes it a very, I don't know, a special place to be around. I know that there are people that have had the same pains that I'm having. If I come into work one day, and I have a challenge or I need something to add to overcome something, I can reach out to one of the other small business owners that I've met through SBAM and I can either avoid a failure or get an idea or something from them. And every time I'm at an SBAM

There are many great reasons for entrepreneurs like you to belong to the Small Business Association of Michigan. “SBAM has opened me up to a lot of opportunities. I've met lots and lots of great very, very interesting people and have learned a lot. One of the things that I would say about being with SBAM and being on the Board of SBAM, you get, it is such a great experience you get to meet the most incredible people in the world. I will say SBAM, like, if you're going to belong to any organization as a small business owner, SBAM is gonna be right up there.” Anita Abrol is a principal with Lewis & Knopf CPAs in Flint and also serves on the board of directors for the Small Business Association of Michigan. One of the things that she enjoys about her SBAM engagement is the opportunity to network with her fellow business owners. “It's very rare to have an organization where you can actually have, as Rob Fowler calls it, owner to owner conversation. But they happen directly at every single meeting you go to, and i

There are many great reasons for entrepreneurs like you to belong to the Small Business Association of Michigan. Steve Trecha is Chief Results Officer for Integrated Strategies, Inc. and a member of SBAM’s Board of Directors. “I've got great respect for for business owners, small business owners, and the way that they have been able to contribute, and I get to learn how they think about things, I get to learn how they do that. And I think that's number one.” Steve also admires the way that the SBAM organization operates. “If you look at the leadership team at SBAM, and you look at how they think about what they do, they really run like a small business. And they really do that in a way not only to best service their members across the state, but they do that in a way where they're continually improving how small businesses can attract, how small businesses can do work. And I find that really, really exciting. It's not an organization that sits on the shelf and and basically beats their chest -- and they full

There are many great reasons for entrepreneurs like you to belong to the Small Business Association of Michigan. Bill Grubb owns STAR EMS ambulance services in Oakland County. “I'm on the board of SBAM, which is humbling to me, because truly when I go to these meetings, and I listened to the business leaders from around the state, and what they do, and how they do it, and how they talk, I learned something from them every single time that I have an interaction with other business leaders in SBAM.“ Grubb shares these lessons learned with his STAR EMS employees. “When I would say that I've learned something at SBAM and I tell our staff I learned this it at SBAM, it does lend some credibility because SBAM is such a great organization and somebody else is saying this thing that we want to do.” Leverage the value of your involvement with the Small Business Association of Michigan. Learn more by calling today at 800-362-5461.

There are many great reasons for entrepreneurs like you to belong to the Small Business Association of Michigan. “I've had the privilege of working side by side with some incredible business owners from all over the state in all different categories that deal with a lot of the same problems.” Russ Knopp and his wife Leslie own Comfort Keepers Home Care Agencies in Traverse City. Russ is a past chair of the SBAM Board of Directors. “It's the coolest thing in the world to be in a room with other small business owners who are living the same things that you're living and to have those conversations about, how do you deal with this? have you dealt with this, or, oh, you're selling product through Amazon? How does that work?, These are conversations you just can't have, unless you're mixing it up with other small business owners.” Russ says that “owner-to-owner” connection makes all the difference. “It's a different conversation that you can have when you're talking to the owner. Unfortunately, what happens at so