Hiring a full-time, in-house CFO is an expensive proposition, especially for small or mid-sized businesses without a lot of capital to burn. Perhaps not surprisingly, accounting firms and other businesses are filling the void by offering a service that frees businesses from needing a full-time CFO. These...
Is solar power the future of electricity generation? Or is it a costly fad unlikely to yield true return on investment for consumers? The answer, it proves, is more difficult to come by than most might realize. On the one hand, most metrics show that solar...
Thanks to a series of grants received by Munson Healthcare over the past year, northern Michigan will soon have a new set of options available for individuals struggling with opioid abuse and addiction. The first grant comes from the Michigan Opioid Partnership, a new public-private collaborative...
[caption id="attachment_24622" align="alignleft" width="508"] About a year ago, Spencer Crouch (middle) started talking with Dr. Bill Northway (left) and Dr. Bob Portenga, paving the way for a deal that amounts to a passing of the baton, a merger, and a business acquisition all in one.[/caption] For...
Could a Traverse City-based technology company help shape the future of the automotive industry? Thanks to a local startup called Promethient, the answer might just be “Yes.” [caption id="attachment_24613" align="alignleft" width="214"] Myers[/caption] According to Bill Myers, CEO of Promethient, the company is currently working with an original...
For Craig Wares of Wares Auto Sales, Inc., selling used cars was a birthright. His dad, Theron “Moose" Wares, launched the business in 1937, when he was just 19 years old. The dealership bounced around to a few different locations before settling into a former...
A Traverse City farm is finding innovative ways to protect the profitability of local crops during uncertain times. Last year, Wunsch Farms on Old Mission Peninsula purchased the area’s first fresh cherry packing line. The equipment cost half a million dollars, but according to Wunsch Farms'...
[caption id="attachment_22625" align="alignleft" width="300"] Growing markets like agriculture, transportation, security, mining and other industries are pushing more drones into the sky.[/caption] A technology company with northern Michigan roots is growing its business through drones and the air traffic control snarl expected to come with them. Aveopt, a...
On the list of the most in-demand employee benefits, paid family leave might just rank at the top. According to a 2019 survey by employee benefits insurance company Unum Group, paid family leave is the perk that most job seekers want. Fifty-eight percent of respondents expressed...
Group health insurance is getting more commonplace – and more complicated – for northern Michigan employers. According to Kim Boyer, who handles group health plans for Traverse City’s Ford Insurance, low unemployment rates and high competition for top talent have pushed some small businesses in the...
