By Chris Wendel3.5 stars out of 52013 - Hardcover $19.99, Kindle $$9.99It's not often that I'm able to write about farm animals that run a fictional company. At first glance, it's easy to be pessimistic about the potential of the fable-esque...
Success in business is not always just about a good idea and a business plan.For Matt and Keegan Myers, success hinges on happiness and good relationships. Be happy where you are and who you are working with. Then you can build it, and they will...
TRAVERSE CITY - Numbers don't lie, and the statistics and stories alike point to a new real estate boom in Traverse City.The residential real estate rebound is a classic case of supply and demand, with supply of homes in Traverse City down 41 percent in...
According to the Family Firm Institute, only 30 percent of family businesses survive into the second generation, and by the third generation, only 12 percent remain viable. There are many reasons why family businesses fail, but all too often, they succumb because the owners neglect...
A new venture that could help farmers and budding entrepreneurs turn ideas and recipes into marketable products - and possibly businesses - is coming onto the northern Michigan food scene.Grow Benzie, the community nonprofit farmstead in Benzie County's Benzonia, is launching a state-licensed incubator kitchen...
Many entrepreneurs are just as cavalier in an unsteady business environment as they are during boom times. When I opened my own web presence and digital marketing business last year I jumped in with both feet. Like a geek, I always enjoyed building websites, blogging...
TRAVERSE CITY - Carter Schmidt's business sense belies his age - except when he shows off the toy figurines that the budding entrepreneur buys with some of his earnings.Schmidt is eight years old, a third grader at Eastern Elementary, and has just celebrated the one-year...
Two enterprising youths launch businesses aimed to help - and help feed - animals.Declan Hilt's wish for a dog led not only to his family getting Bauer, a Jack Russell and Beagle mix, but also the start of a successful business."I haven't met a dog...
Maxbauer Ace HardwareOpened 1954Three locations: Front Street, Chum's Corners, AcmeCo-owned by:Joan Boyd and Don Maxbauer'If you're smart, you adjust.'In the months before Lowe's and Menards opened their doors in 2005, the co-owners of Maxbauer Ace Hardware buckled down and strategized."We'd been through it before," said...
Ask any business owner to name the worst job they've ever held, and they'll often point to work they did in high school: flipping burgers, washing dishes, or cleaning cars. But for Traverse City entrepreneur Dan Brady, a $7-an-hour high school job painting houses led to...
