When a business or organization wants to introduce a new product, break into a new market, or assess their reach and impact, who do they call? If they’re in Traverse City, the answer is usually Woody Smith. You might call Smith “Mr. Market Research” – though he...
How much of an organization’s success is fueled by good marketing? Just about all of it. From logos to slogans to websites to social media content, a surprising amount of the public-facing identity and messaging of any business or nonprofit (and even some public entities) is...
Executive directors, board members, employees, volunteers, and donors: Those five groups are what most people think of when they envision the key cogs behind America’s more than 1.5 million nonprofit organizations. But what about the people working behind the scenes – the people who aren’t listed...
It could’ve been better; it could’ve been worse. That’s the general consensus among nonprofits as 2021 draws to a close. COVID-19 could have been kinder to nonprofit organizations, but it also could have been much more devastating. Early on, the pandemic was eyed as a potential extinction-level event...
For decades, shopping malls, big box stores and retail centers were designed with one especially abundant asset: parking. Due to a mix of zoning requirements and consumer demand, retail developments throughout northern Michigan and beyond were planned and executed with sprawling parking lots stretching as...
[caption id="attachment_69850" align="alignleft" width="288"] CEO Scott Wick[/caption] If you’ve been watching the insurance landscape over the past several years, you may have noticed a significant uptick in the amount of mergers-and-acquisitions (M&A) activity in that space. For a variety of reasons – ranging from technology to...
Northern Michigan has no shortage of impressive green leaders, from nonprofit leaders whose organizations are aimed specifically at protecting the environment, to local businesspeople who have taken it upon themselves to embrace sustainability as a core value. Here are just 11 of the local folks...
Dr. Ramona Pleva wants to change the way that people think about chiropractic care in Traverse City – and she wants to do it by offering tech-driven services that aren’t available anywhere else within hundreds of miles. [caption id="attachment_69022" align="alignleft" width="221"] Dr. Ramona Pleva[/caption] Typically, chiropractic care is...
A new partnership between Munson Healthcare and the Grand Traverse Bay YMCA that will make physical therapy services more readily available to the local community. A growing movement of functional wellness and medicine in northern Michigan. A reconfiguration of services at local salons to focus...
COVID-19 was an earthquake for the fitness industry. That metaphor is especially true for Yen Yoga & Fitness. Prior to the pandemic, Yen Yoga had staked a claim for itself as one of the biggest class-based fitness studios in northern Michigan. But despite an extremely loyal customer...
