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5 Blog Posts You Should Read
Post No. 5
Post No. 4
Post No. 3
Post No. 2
Post No. 1
Aaron Alston
Post No. 3
Post No. 2
Post No. 1
Aaron Kluza
Post No. 5
Post No. 4
Post No 3
Post No. 2
Post No. 1
Aaron Pilat
Aaron Pilat - Post 2: What More Can Detroit Learn from Rome?
Aaron Pilat - Post 1: What can Detroit Learn from Rome?
Adrian Pittman
Post No. 5: The Great Idea
Post 4: Leap of Faith
Post No 3: A Cause for Pause
Post No 2: Pyrrhic Victory
Post No 1: Man With No Name
Amanda Dentler
Post 1: Michiganistan
Amy Courter
Women in Michigan's Defense Industry
Why STEM?
Servant Leaders
Angela Kujava
Angela Kujava - Post 3: Serve rather than preside
Angela Kujava - Post 2: Speaking of those social safety nets
Angela Kujava - Post 1: Employers—talk money even when there is none to give
Anthony Morrow
Anthony Morrow - Post 3: Make It Work
Anthony Morrow - Post 2: Make It Happen
Anthony Morrow - Post 1: The Birth of a Detroit Blog
Antonio Lück
Post 3: Detroit Is....
Post 2: In Walk Detroit Young Professionals
Post 1: Adventure Detroit
Anuja Rajendra
Post 2 - Beyond Turfs and Towers: The "Ego Free Zone"
Post 1: Spawning an "Intimate Movement"
Arjen Oosterman
Arjen Oosterman - Post 1: Heart Of The Matter
Austin Black
Austin Black - Post 2: "Getting Involved and Making a Difference"
Austin Black - Post 1: Turning Challenges Into Opportunities
Best Blogs of the Year
The Nonprofit Utopia
Surviving the Economy in East Dearborn
New Growth Foresting of Detroit
Happy 10th Birthday, Detroit International Wildlife Refuge!
Making Data a Force for Equity
Beverly Price & Samara Johnson
Perfection At What Cost?
Why Eating Disorder Treatment is Underfunded
Bill Wagner & Dianne Marsh
Bill Wagner - Post 4: The Tech Culture in Michigan
Dianne Marsh - Post 3: Nontraditional Workspaces
Dianne Marsh - Post 2: Software to Help Companies Grow
Bill Wagner - Post 1: Software as a Growth Industry
Bill Wrobleski
Bill Wrobleski - Post 3: U-M is the leader & the best… and your organization can be, too!
Bill Wrobleski - Post 2: It takes a village
Bill Wrobleski - Post 1: Why UM Chose IT for Going Green
Brad Garmon
Post 5: Culture or Infrastructure?
Post 4: The New Sustainability
Post 3: Empowering the Metro Network
Post 2: Transportation, housing, and environmental agencies join forces in a revolutionary trio
Post 1: Sustainable Communities Aren't Born in Parking Lots
Brett Callwood
Post 7: Burning Records
Post 6: Music for the Decades
Post 5: Musical Scribes
Post 4: The Pencil Driver
Post 3: Across the Big Blue Sea
Post 2: Heralding the MC5
Post 1: From the Land of Shakespeare to the Lap of Rock
Brian Balasia
Brian Elias
Community offerings may cost a little, but the return is immeasurable
The first person who gets laid off is me
First I buy locally, then I buy American
Britany Affolter-Caine
Post 3 - Playing in the Sandbox: Facing the Challenges of Collaboration
Post 2: The Behaviors and Mechanisms that Promote and Sustain Successful Collaboration
Post 1: Talking Collaboration, Singing Kum-Ba-Yah... And Now the Work Begins
Bruce Rosenblat
Post 3: Where do you think you're going?
Post 2: A sax player touts community
Post 1: How Do I Change My Banking Address?
Bryan Farmer
Post 3: Recreation - What's Your Definition?
Post 2: Life in Farmington Hills - The Impact
Post 1: Societal Change: It's Simple
Carl Goines
Post 4: Big plans, crazy ideas, someday though
Post No 3: 555 Now
Post No 2: 555 Takes Shape and Moves
Post No 1: 555
Caroline Altman Smith
Post 5: The Workhorses of Higher Education
Post 4: Kids With College Dreams Need to "Know How 2 Go"
Post 3: Going for the Education Gold
Post 2: So, You Give Money Away For a Living?
Post 1: We're Moving to Detroit!
Carrie LeZotte
Carrie LeZotte - Post 5: About This Tax Incentive...
Carrie LeZotte - Post 4: Film Tech
Carrie LeZotte - Post 3: Nonprofits on the Net
Carrie LeZotte - Post 2: OIC Movies. Oh, I get it. Oh, I see.
Carrie LeZotte - Post 1: Getting Into, and Staying in, the Movie Business
Catheryn Cheal
Post No 2: What’s new in online instruction?
Post No 1: Does online education educate?
Chanell Scott & Jordan Contreras
Post 1: Micro Equals More
Charlie Wollborg
Post 3: Shop Local for Christmas in the City
Post 1: TEDx Detroit Recap
Post 2: Don't Be a Turtle
Chris Ando, Jennifer Guracech, & Christian Bielski
Christian Bielski: The Mackinac Policy Conference - "Spring Break", Or Not?
Christian Bielski: The Mackinac Policy Conference and Tom Cruise - More Similar Than You Might Think
Chris Ando: Influence on the Island
Jennifer Guracech: Networking Live
Chris Ramos & Jennifer Harlan
Chris Ramos Post 4: One big happy
Chris Ramos Post 3: Have you had your green today?
Chris Ramos Post 2: Get there
Chris Ramos Post 1: Do something about it
Chris Rizik
Chris Rizik - Post 4: Can We Really Pull This Off? Our Challenge
Chris Rizik - Post 3: The Role of Advancing Venture Capital in Michigan
Chris Rizik - Post 2: What is Venture Capital?
Chris Rizik - Post 1: So What's the Problem?
Christianne Sims
Post 2: Fusion Fits Into the Mackinac Policy Conference
Post 1: Clichés Don't Begin to Describe Us
Christopher Schneider
Post No. 5
Post No. 4
Post No. 3
Post No. 2
Post No. 1
Clare Pfeiffer Ramsey
Post No. 5
Post No. 4
Post No. 3
Post No. 2
Post No. 1
Conan Smith
Post No. 4
Post No. 5
Post No. 3
Post No. 2
Post No. 1
Courtney Piotrowski
A Possibilities How-To
Chair Bombs and Guerilla Placemaking
Why not locate livingLab in Detroit?
Dan Gilmartin
Post No. 5
Post No. 4
Post No. 3
Post No. 2
Post No. 1
Dan Izzo
Post 3: Building a Better Larry
Post 2: Understanding the Entrepreneurial Mindset
Post 1: We Need New Metaphors
Dan Merritt
Post 5 - Penny For Your Thoughts: Free Comic Book Day
Post 4: No Comic Book Store is an Island
Post 3: Surviving the economy in East Downtown Dearborn With a Little Help From Our Friends!
Post 2: Tales From The Shelves of a Comic Retailer
Post 1: Take that, you foul and baseless cliché!
Dan Sicko
Post 3: A Love Letter to Monday
Post 2: Dig Deeper
Post 1: A Moment of Doubt
Danialle Karmanos
Dave Mancini
Post 5: Gelato!!!
Post 4: The Bolognese Rant
Post 3: I gotta say, it was a good day (sorry, Cube)
Post 2: Otto's Pizza
Post 1: I'd Rather Stretch Dough than Stretch Patients
David Knapp
Post No 4: Conclusion
Post No 3: A Random Encounter
Post No. 2: It's not free.
Post No. 1: A Time Of Crisis
Deborah Groban Olson
Deborah Groban Olson - Post 3: Catalyzing Product Diversification for Auto Suppliers
Deborah Groban Olson - Post 2: Community Based Enterprise Speaker Series
Deborah Groban Olson-Post 1: "Innovation Broker" Developing Detroit as Green Manufacturing Center
Denise Ilitch
Post 2: Capping Off Graduation
Post 1: NHL Stands For "No Humor Left"
Dennis King
Derek Mehraban
Derek Mehraban - Post 3: MSU Wins! Detroit Wins!
Derek Mehraban - Post 2: Time to Connect in the Motor City
Derek Mehraban - Post 1: MSU Spartan Stimulus Package for Detroit, Michigan
Devon Akmon
Post 2: Striving to be a National Institution
Post 1: Arab American National Museum is 1 in 17,000
Diane Durance
Post 5: The Unsung Heroes of Entrepreneurial Communities
Post 4: Pitching the Business Plan
Post 3: The Road Map to Michigan Resources
Post 2: Do You Have 'The Right Stuff' for Entrepreneurship? You'd Be Surprised
Post 1: In Praise of Contests
Diane Geiger TenHoopen
Doug Rothwell
Post No. 1
Eleanore Eveleth
Making Data a Force for Equity
Eric Bruneau
Post No. 4
Post No. 3
Post No. 2
Post No. 1
Eric Cedo
Post No. 2
Post No. 1
Erik Tungate
Erika-Marie S. Geiss
Post No. 5: The Big Finish
Post No. 4: Isolation? Not so much.
Post No 3: So What Do You do
Post No. 1: One Mompreneur's Path
Post No. 2: Working from Home — Good for Business
Frank Nardelli
Post 3: Inspiring Great Thinkers, Great Citizens
Post 2: Empower the Disempowered Parents
Post 1: Shifting Gears - Focus on Sending Our Kids to College
Frosty The Snowman
Garrett Myers
Post No 1: Great Lakes, Great times, But Not Great For Entrepreneurs
George Lenko
Post 4: Regional Transit in Detroit
Post 3: Aerotropolis (and more)
Post No 2: Walkable Communities
Post No 1: Dream Cruise
George N'Namdi
Post 4: The Creative Corridor
Post 3: Footprints on Detroit
Post 2: Guest Curators Provoke the Eye
Post 1: Sugar Hill Art District gets contemporary spice
George W. Jackson
Post 4: Why Should You Live, Work, and Play in Detroit?
Post 3: Swinging for the Fences
Post 1: Baseball Writers, Welcome Back!
Post 2 - The Belleview Site: Vacant and Valuable, and Worth the Wait
Google Adwords - Ann Arbor
Post No. 5: John Kelley
Post No. 4: Michael Anuzis
Post No. 3: Matthew Neagle
Post No. 2: Karen Godwin
Post No. 1: Grady Burnett
Gregg Newsom
Post No. 5
Post No. 4
Post No. 3
Post No. 2
Post No. 1
Heather Carmona
Post 5: The Organic Revolution
Post 3: Can you still drive an SUV and be ‘green’?
Post 4: Enjoying the Ride
Post No 2: Reinventing Quality of Life
Post No 1: Time for a regional public arts policy
Iain Lanivich
Post No. 5
Post No. 4
Post No. 3
Post No. 2
Post No. 1
Jacob Corvidae
Jacquie Trost
Post No. 5
Post No. 4
Post No. 3
Post No. 2
Post No. 1
James Studinger
James Studinger - Post 5: Offense, Defence And Going Green?
James Studinger - Post 4: Outside The Business
James Studinger - Post 3: BASO
James Studinger - Post 2: Appreciation
James Studinger - Post 1: Write What You Know
Jane Sydlowski
Post No. 4
Post No. 3
Post No. 2
Post No. 1
Jason Bing
Jason Bing - Post 3: Washtenaw County's "Deep Green" Talent
Jason Bing - Post 2: Very Different Messengers: One Message
Jason Bing: Post 1 - A Municipal Energy Bond for A2?
Jeanette Pierce
Jeanette Pierce: Post 5 - Detroit: Where Dreams Come True
Jeanette Pierce - Post 4: Say Something Nice
Jeanette Pierce - Post 3: Regionally Speaking
Jeanette Pierce - Post 2: Why Detroit?
Jeanette Pierce - Post 1: (Re)Discover Detroit
Jeff Helminski
Jeff Helminski - Post 4: What if we did something radical?
Jeff Helminski - Post 3: If you attract them, prosperity will come
Jeff Helminski - Post 2: Don't Assume It'll Happen
Jeff Helminski - Post 1: Why I Live Here
Jeff Meyers
Jeff Meyers - Post 3: When Will Metro Detroit Go Metric
Jeff Meyers - Post 2: What if local ad agencies started a WPA-like movement?
Jeff Meyers - Post 1: Cut it out. You're from Detroit.
Jeff Newsom
Jeff Newsom - Post 5: Getting Funding; How Hard Work Pays Off
Jeff Newsom - Post 4: Getting your Organization Out in the Public Eye
Jeff Newsom - Post 3: Products and Services at AShirtBag
Jeff Newsom - Post 2: Getting the Ideas Together
Jeff Newsom - Post 1: Getting a Non-profit Started
Jeffrey MacKie-Mason
Jeffrey MacKie-Mason - Post 4: Feeding the Knowledge Economy
Jeffrey MacKie-Mason - Post 3: Back to the Future: Preparing for the Knowledge Economy
Jeffrey MacKie-Mason - Post 2: Facebooking is not just for kids
Jeffrey MacKie-Mason - Post 1: IT Startups in Ann Arbor
Jenna Przybycien & Stephanie Lucido
Jenna Przybycien: What Detroit Could Have in Common with Barcelona, Spain
Stephanie Lucido: Laying the Roadwork for Bike Sharing in Detroit
Jenna Przybycien: Why Bikes Need to be in the Driver's Seat
Jennifer Neumann
Potential Legal Pitfalls for Employers Using Social Media
The Inescapable Past: Job Applicants Beware of Your Social Media History!
Good Social Media Policies and Practices
Jenny Callans
Post 3: An Itty-Bitty Art Show
Post 2: It Takes a Community to Stencil a Storm Drain
Post 1: Perspectives on Arts Funding
Jeremy Schneider
Jeremy Schneider - Post 3: Marketing Free for Free
Jeremy Schneider - Post 2: Giving it Away for Free
Jeremy Schneider - Post 1: Diving into the deep end (without knowing how to dive)
Jerry Lindman
Jerry Lindman - Post 5: New Paradigm of Nonprofit Leadership
Jerry Lindman - Post 4: Careers in Fundraising
Jerry Lindman - Post 3: The Nonprofit Job Search
Jerry Lindman - Post 2: The Nonprofit Career
Jerry Lindman - Post 1: A Nonprofit Career
Jessica Pfeiffer
Post No. 5
Post No. 4
Post No. 3
Post No. 2
Post No. 1
Jim Rasor
Post 2: The Divide of Partisanship
Post 1 - Circling the City and Suburbs: A 2020 Vision
Jim Townsend
Jim Townsend
Why a Car Monoculture Needs to Clear the Road for Mass Transit
Joe Posch
Post No. 5
Post No. 4
Post No. 3
Post No. 2
Post No. 1
Joe Zainea
Post 6: The 1967 Rebellion
Post 5: 80/20 and Other Musings
Post 4: Woodward Avenue Memoirs
Post 3: Scrip Money: New Economy?
Post 2: The Making of the Majestic
Post 1: My Smokestack Mentality
John A. Simon
The Legal-Eye View of Business Formation, Property Protection, and Meetings of the Mind
John Austin
John Batdorf
Post 3: Don't Bury Our Heads in the (Oil) Sands
Post 2: Johnny Come Lately - Part 2
Post 1: Johnny Come Lately - Part 1
John Bebow
Post No. 5
Post No. 4
Post No. 3
Post No. 2
Post No. 1
John Bradburn
Post 2: Business Perspectives on Creating Green Dots
Post 1: GM Connects the Green Dots
John D. Lamb
Backyard Art
Writers in Rogue Locations
A Kick in the Pants
John Gongos
Post No. 5
Post No. 4
Post No. 3
Post No. 2
Post No. 1
John Hartig
Post 5: Detroit RiverWalk – Sharing the Dream
Post 4: Happy 10th Birthday, Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge!
Post 3: Burning Rivers
Post 2: Creating a New Waterfront Porch for Wildlife and People
Post 1: What Makes Detroit Wild?
John Heiss
Post No. 4
Post No. 3
Post No. 2
Post No. 1
Jordan Eizenga & Michael Stepniak
Jordan Eizenga - Push Start: Energy Bills and a Copier Build a Regional Cause
Michael Stepniak: Inside Southgate
Julie Gustafson
Why Business Incubation in Michigan?
Ramping Up an Incubator
Why Start-Ups; Why Business Incubation?
Kami Pothukuchi
Post 3: Why is a Professor of Urban Planning Running a Farmers Market?
Post 2: Why Should Universities Host Farmers Markets? The Wayne State Example
Post 1: The Urban Planning - Food Systems Tie-In
Karim Motawi
Post No. 5
Post No. 4
Post No. 3
Post No. 2
Post No. 1
Kat Owsley
Post No. 4
Post No. 3
Post No. 2
Post No. 1
Kate Baker
Kate Baker - Post 4: Community
Kate Baker - Post 3: Opportunity
Kate Baker - Post 2: Culture
Kate Baker - Post 1: Potential
Kate Cherry
Katherine Austin
Why Karma Yoga is Flourishing in Detroit
The Secret to Business Growth: Constant Creativity and a Commitment to Evolve
A Spiritual Approach to Business
Keith W. Cooley
Post No. 5
Post No. 4
Post No. 3
Post No. 2
Post No. 1
Kelli B. Kavanaugh
Post No. 5
Post No. 4
Post No. 3
Post No. 2
Post No. 1
Kentaro Roy
Unethical SEO: A Case Study and Cautionary Tale
The Place is Here, The Time is Now: Why This is the Perfect Time to Invest in SEO in Michigan
Perspective of a student-realtor-web design entrepreneur
Why I Funded a Scholarship at Eastern Michigan University
Kerrie Schneider
More Matches for Detroit Singles?
The Business of Love
Truth in Matchmaking
Kerry & Bryce Moore
Kerry Doman
Post 3: The Honey Do-List for Downtown
Post 2: Detroit Tonight
Kerry Doman - Post 1: Changing Perceptions
Kurt Metzger
Post 4: The Census is Coming! The Census is Coming!
Post 3: Social Equity Must Be Our Goal! How Do We Develop Neighborhoods of Opportunity?
Post 2: Collaboration and Rapid Response Are Possible in Detroit
Post 1 - Immigrants: Their Importance to the Region's Past, Present, and Future
Kyle Caldwell
Kyle Caldwell - Post 5: Economic Impact of the Nonprofit Sector
Kyle Caldwell - Post 4: Investing in the Nonprofit Sector
Kyle Caldwell - Post 3: Serving Others, Inspiring Change
Kyle Caldwell - Post 2: Collaboration
Kyle Caldwell - Post 1: Economic Downturn
Lisa Kurek
Lisa Kurek - Post No 4: Don’t Be Afraid to Talk to Strangers
Lisa Kurek - Post No 3: Always Read the Instructions
Lisa Kurek - Post No 2: Life is Sales
Lisa Kurek - Post No 1: Entrepreneurs and Human Nature
Lisa Maas
Lisa Maas - Post 3: Now is the Time to Add Social Networks to Your Business Plan
Lisa Maas - Post 2: Build Relationships to Build Your Business
Lisa Maas - Post 1: The Secret to Success: Diversify Your Client Base
Lisa Wozniak & Ryan Mark-Griffin
Lisa Wozniak: Voiding of Saugatuck Dunes settlement supports local government
Lisa Wozniak: How does the Great Lakes State Become a Great Conservation State?
Ryan Mark-Griffin: Thank You, Michigan, for High-Speed Rail
Lish Dorset
Post No. 5
Post No. 4
Post No. 3
Post No. 2
Post No. 1
Lizabeth Ardisana
Lou Glazer
Post No. 4
Post No. 3
Post No. 2
Post No. 1
Lynne Golodner
Stumbling Into a Startup
Entrepreneurship Without a Map
Grooming Talent
Mahendra Ramsinghani
Mariah Cherem
Post 3: A Sticker on a Light Pole
Post 2 - Why I Believe in the Power of Online Communities
Post 1 - Community: I'm Talking About More Than Just the Warm Fuzzies
Marilyn Nix, Rachele Downs, & Jumana Judeh
Jumana Judeh: A Woman’s Place…Is in Detroit’s Transformation
Rachele Downs: What’s so Striking about the Detroit Revitalization Fellowship Program?
Marilyn Nix: A CREW of women in commercial real estate
Mark Adler
Post No. 3
Post No. 2
Post No. 1
Mark Maynard
Post No. 3
Post No. 2
Post No. 1
Mark Nickita
Post 5: Living in the Lake Belt
Post 4: Way Too Many Parking Spots, And Other Inefficiencies
Post 3: Exchange of space for place
Post 2: It's Detroit, Not Southeast Michigan
Post 1 - Let's Remake Urban White Elephants
Post No. 5
Post No. 4
Post No. 3
Post No. 2
Post No. 1
Mark Nickita
Post 5: Living in the Lake Belt
Post 4: Way Too Many Parking Spots, And Other Inefficiencies
Post 3: Exchange of space for place
Post 2: It's Detroit, Not Southeast Michigan
Post 1 - Let's Remake Urban White Elephants
Post No. 5
Post No. 4
Post No. 3
Post No. 2
Post No. 1
Mark Stutrud
A Messy, Loving Business
Training Our Entrepreneurial Gaze Higher
Mary Templeton
Post 5: Diversity and Sustainability on the Community Level
Post 4: Environment and Energy Epprentice: Creating Sustainability and Diversity in Leadership
Post 3: Sustainability and Diversity, Paying it Forward
Post 2: Sustainability and Diversity in Michigan's Energy Portfolio
Post 1: Sustainability, Diversity, and Portfolios
Matt Clayson
Post No. 5
Opportunity
Attitude
Place
Differences
Matt Clayson and Rose Giffen
Post No. 5
Post No. 4
Post No. 3
Post No. 2
Post No. 1
Maud Lyon
One D – the Art of Regional Transformation
Cultural Education
Sharing Resources
Collective Voice
Tyree, Marshall, Aretha and Albert
Maureen Krauss
Post 2: Talking Points
Post 1: Pure Oakland County
Megan Miller
Post 3: Service Works
Post 2: Young Detroiters Say...
Post 1: Why Young Detroiters Should Get Out of the City
Megan Owens
Post 4: The Next Big Transit Win
Post 3: Taxing Steps Will Make Quality Regional Transit
Post 2: What a Difference a Decade Makes
Post 1: A State of Transition
Megan Owens
Post 3: A Rail Platform for Leaders
Post 2: Skeptics, Look Here
Post 1: Give Woodward Light Rail a Whirl
Melinda Clynes
Melinda Clynes - Post 3: Detroit Wig Out Leaves Good Will in its Wake
Melinda Clynes - Post 2: Build Your Portrait Collection
Melinda Clynes - Post 1: Wiggin' Out in Detroit
Melissa Trustman
Post No. 5
Post No. 4
Post No. 3
Post No. 2
Melissa Trustman
Michael Doyle
Post No. 5
Post No. 4
Post No. 3
Post No. 2
Post No. 1
Michael McCorquodale
Michael McCorquodale - Post 4: A Portrait of the “Entrepreneur” as a Young Man
Michael McCorquodale - Post 3: “Michigan’s“ Catch-22
Michael McCorquodale - Post 2: I’m “Irrational,” You’re OK
Michael McCorquodale - Post 1: A Tale Of Two States
Michael Poris
Michael Poris - Post 4: Back to Detroit
Michael Poris - Post 3: Back to the Future of Detroit
Michael Poris - Post 2: Regional Super Agency
Michael Poris: Post 1 - Detroit 3.0: Reboot
Michael Tyson
Post 3: The Nonprofit Utopia
Post 2: Defining the Successful Nonprofit
Post 1: Snapshot of Today's Nonprofit
Michele Hodges
We Solemnly Swear To...
The AAA Mindset
Yes to Healthy Controversy
Matching the Competition Via Transit
Michelle Spranger
Post No 4: Hollywood, Michigan
Post No 3: Dog Parks
Post No 2: A House In Ferndale
Post No 1: The Place For Me
Mike Finney
Post No. 5
Post No. 4
Post No. 3
Post No. 2
Post No. 1
Mike Score
Post No. 5
Post No. 4
Post No. 3
Post No. 2
Post No. 1
Mike Teshuba
Post 2: Five Things to Consider When Scratching Your Entrepreneurial Itch
Post 1: Why Aren't There More Companies Like Mango Languages in Detroit?
Monica Bowman
Post 4 - REGIONALISM: The New Cultural Capital
Post 3 - INFRASTRUCTURE: You, Me, and Them
Post 2 - COMMUNITY: Who is Contemporary Art About?
Post 1: An Obligatory Choice
Neeta Delaney
Post No. 5
Post No. 4
Post No. 3
Post No. 2
Post No. 1
Newcombe Clark
Post No. 5
Post No. 4
Post No. 3
Post No. 2
Post No. 1
Nick Britsky
Post 3: The DIY Toolbox
Post 2: The Maker Movement
Post 1 - The birth of hackerspaces: Community works
Norm Silk
Post 3: A Vision for a Sustainable, Livable Corridor
Post 2: A Walk Through the Turkel House
Post 1: 45 Years in the Floral Business. WOW!
Patricia E. Mooradian
Post 3: Motor City to Maker City
Post 2: The Myth of the Lone Genius
Post 1: On Innovation
Patricia Mooradian
Post No. 1
Patrick Crouch
Post 4: A Resilient Economy for Detroit in the Post Industrial Age
Post 3: Toward a regenerative culture, toward a regenerative community
Post 2: What is Food Justice?
Post 1: Growing the City
Paul Jenkins, Jr.
Post 3: If Your Dream Doesn't Scare You, It's Not Big Enough
Post 2: Starving Doubt
Post 1: The Only Way to Change Your Position is to Move
Paul Nielsen
Post 5: Transitions
Post 4: The Clown Index
Post 3: Wunderground Magic's Answer to the Economic Situation
Post 2: Houdini, Halloween, and the Importance of Wonder
Post 1: Out of Desperation Comes Magic
Pavan Muzumdar
Post 4: Putting It All Together
Post 3: Human Triumph and the Cross-Pollination of Ideas
Post 2: Does the Internet Make You Smarter or Dumber?
Post 1: Don't Lose Money
Pavan Muzumdar
Post 4: Putting It All Together
Post 3: Human Triumph and the Cross-Pollination of Ideas
Post 2: Does the Internet Make You Smarter or Dumber?
Post 1: Don't Lose Money
Peggy Brennan
Post 4: Locating a Project in Detroit
Post 3: The Green Garage's Deep Dig into Sustainability
Post 2: The Role of Community at the Green Garage
Post 1: Inspiration Behind the Green Garage
Peggy Brennan
Post 4: Locating a Project in Detroit
Post 3: The Green Garage's Deep Dig into Sustainability
Post 2: The Role of Community at the Green Garage
Post 1: Inspiration Behind the Green Garage
Peter Kageyama
Peter Kageyama - Post 4: Thinking Creatively about Uncreative Things – Parking
Peter Kageyama - Post 3: Cities We Love & Cities We Hate
Post #2: It’s All About Talent
Post 1: Post #1: Who the hell picked Detroit for this conference?
Phuong & Viet Le
Viet Le - Post 4: You're Only as Good as Your Website
Phuong Le - Post 3: The Importance of Networking
Phuong Le - Post 2: Finding Your Passion in These Tough Times
Viet Le - Post 1: Penetrating a Saturated Market - What's Your Perspective?
Pj Jacokes
Post 4: Learning to Fail (Because Fail Blog Was Taken)
Post 3: Ice Cream and Me
Post 2: Demand Imagination
Post 1: What is Improv?
Rebecca Aughton
Embracing Change Pushes Up Market Share
Forecasting Less Customer Frivolity (But More Pets in Pajamas)
Running With Your Niche
Rebecca Binno Savage
Post 5: The Penobscot Buildings
Post 4: The Vanity Ballroom
Post 3: The Brodhead Armory
Post 2: How About That Train Station?
Post 1: In the Heat of Historic Preservation
Rebecca Salminen Witt
Post 3: Raising a Ruckus Around Local Food
Post 2: New Growth Foresting of Detroit
Post 1: People and Possibilities
Rebekah Johnson
Post 4 - Detroit, the Opera: Act IV
Post 3 - Detroit, the Opera: Act III
Post 2 - Detroit, the Opera: Act II
Post 1 - Detroit, the Opera: Act I
Ric Geyer
Post 6: Love and Heroism
Post 4: Blue Collar Innovation
Post 5: Swimming St. Clair
Post 3: Open Source Governance
Post 1: We Are Not Alone
Post 2: Citizens for Cities
Richard Bak
Post 3: Keeping Faith
Post 2: Silent City
Post 1: Day of the Dead
Richard Murphy
Post No. 5
Post No. 4
Post No. 3
Post No. 2
Post No. 1
Rick DeVos
Post 2: Why Michigan Needs the Arts
Post 1: Votes for Art
Rishi & Anuja Jaitly
A Crash Course in Social Entrepreneurship: Lessons from Detroit
Roger Gullickson
Roger Myers
Post No. 4
Post No. 3
Post No. 2
Post No. 1
Ron Suarez
Creating your own podcast
So You're Thinking About Doing a Podcast
A podcast is not just putting audio or video on a web page
The Politics of Change and Upheaval in the Music Industry
A Purely Digital Play Business in the Land of Manufacturing
Ryan Anderson
Ryan Anderson - Post 2: Small Business Web Presence Management
Ryan Anderson - Post 1: Why Buy Michigan Products?
Sarah Lurtz and Sarah Lapinski
Sarah Szurpicki
Post No. 5
Post No. 4
Post No. 3
Post No. 2
Post No. 1
Scott Clein
Post No. 5
Post No. 4
Post No. 3
Post No. 2
Post No. 1
Scott Dunham
Post No 4: Practice Makes Perfect
Post No 3: Encouragement
Post No. 2: DWIFF
Post No. 1: Film As A Metaphor
One More Thing...
Scott Hamilton
Scott Hamilton - Post 2: The Mating Call of the Indie Rock Poser
Scott Hamilton - Post 1: Detroit's Musical Legacy (or Why I Don't Sign Local Bands)
Scott Paul Dunham
Scott Paul Dunham - Post 5: A Film Culture
Scott Paul Dunham - Post 4: You've Got 2 Days
Scott Paul Dunham - Post 3: Thanks to Our Sponsors
Scott Paul Dunham - Post 2: Minting Motion Pictures
Scott Paul Dunham - Post 1: A Film Fete
Scott Trudeau
Scott Trudeau - Post 4: Growing Our Company in Present Day Michigan
Scott Trudeau - Post 3: Little Guys, Big Idea
Scott Trudeau - Post 2: Creativity is a Buoy in Our Tough Economy
Scott Trudeau - Post 1: It's Good To Be a Challenger
Sharon Carney
Sharon Carney - Post 4
Sharon Carney - Post 3: Detroit, the Land of Opportunity
Sharon Carney - Post 2: A proving ground for innovative problem-solving/collaboration
Sharon Carney - Post 1: The Backstory
Sharon Kegerreis & Lorri Hathaway
Post 3 - Destination Michigan: World Class Wine and Agricultural Experiences
Post 2: Michigan Vinters Face Production Challenges
Post 1: Michigan's Wine Industry Rocked Detroit After Prohibition
Sifu Stephen Britt
Post 3: Why Are We Handicapped?
Post 2: Tai Chi Chuan: A Cure?
Post 1: "Sifu" means "Teacher"
Stephen Rapundalo
Post No 3: Regulation And Resources
Post No. 2: Investment
Post No. 1: Leadership
Steve Pierce
Steve Pierce - Post 3: Ypsi Wireless spreads the gospel
Steve Pierce - Post 2: Building Ypsi Wireless
Steve Pierce - Post 1: Why Do Most Free Wireless Efforts Fail?
Terry Oprea
Post No. 5
Post No. 4
Post No. 3
Post No. 2
Post No. 1
The Return Of 5 Posts You Should Read
Stephen Rapundalo
Neeta Delaney
David Knapp
Toby Barlow
Jessica Pfeiffer
Thomas Meloche
Post No. 5
Post No. 4
Post No. 3
Post No. 2
Post No. 1
Thomas Zurbuchen
Thomas Zurbuchen - Post 3: "The Future of the University of Michigan Depends on Entrepreneurs!"
Thomas Zurbuchen - Post 2: "The University of Michigan, Entrepreneurship, and its Students"
Thomas Zurbuchen - Post 1: "The University of Michigan and its State"
Tim Martz
Post 1: Why did we dial into Detroit?
Post 2: The Guerrilla Show
Post 3: David vs. Goliath – Saving The Oasis
Toby Barlow
Post No. 4
Post No. 3
Post No. 2
Post No. 1
Todd Palmer
Post No. 5
Post No. 4
Post No. 3
Life after the Big 3
Post No. 1
Todd Scott
Post 4: A Diet Guide for Automotive Road Hogs
Post 3: 4 Camps of Thought
Post 2: A Bikeable Path for Metro Detroit
Post 1: Turn Off That Engine
Tom Woiwode
Post No 6: The Ditch
Post 5: Community Involvement
Post 4: Regionalism
Post No 3: The Olympics
Post No 2: The Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan
Post No 1: Going For A Walk
Torya Blanchard & Greg Lenhoff
Torya Blanchard - Post 2: The Food Personalities of Eastern Market
Greg Lenhoff - Post 2: Survival of the Smallest
Torya Blanchard - Post 1: 'Fight Club' Inspires a French Creperie
Greg Lenhoff - Post 1: "You're Gonna Sell What? Where?!"
Tracy Koe Wick
Post No. 5
Post No. 4
Post No. 3
Post No. 2
Post No. 1
Travis Millward
Travis Millward - Post 5: The Detroit Lions, GM, Ford & Chrysler – What do they all have in common?
Travis Millward - Post 4: If we fix it, they will come…
Travis Millward - Post 3: Entrepreneurs, burn your ships!
Travis Millward - Post 2: Observations of Detroit from a relocated out-of-stater
Travis Millward - Post 1: Is Detroit facing a vacant house epidemic?
Trenda Rusher
Post No 2: Washtenaw County’s Katrina
Post No 1: Access Points
Veronika Scott
How Coat-Shelters Cut Homelessness
Walter Wasacz
Post 3: Techno Toots
Post 2: Party! Party!
Post 1: Get Ready to Techno!
Zach Lipson
Zach Lipson - Post 2: Tech Can't Thrive in Silos
Zach Lipson - Post 1: The Genesis of TechNow09
Jordan Contreras and Chanell Scott are two new-school entrepreneurs that have combined their love for Detroit, entrepreneurship, and sustainability into the business they co-founded –
Guffly.com
. Guffly is the stylish consumer's source for unique and creative gifts that ease the conscience by being eco-friendly or fair trade.
The pair met while attending
Bizdom U
, an entrepreneurship training program in Detroit, and quickly realized their diverse set of skills and overlapping interests made for a dynamic team. Together they came up with Guffly's unique business model – a style-hunting internet retail store that features a new product every weekday in addition to customer favorites and top sellers that are always available in the store’s "Top Guffs" catalog.
With Contreras' experience in management and leadership at a successful local sports club he is rightly suited to take on leading Guffly's operations as the company’s "Chief Strategic Friendship Ninja" or COO.
He has lead their team in creating and maintaining relationships with their network of over 100 suppliers which include independent artists, small businesses, and even local Michigan producers. Prior to creating this role for himself, Contreras excelled as a student in Bizdom U as one of the few who successfully completed the tough 2-year program.
Likewise, Scott completed the program as a top student and together they pitched for and successfully attained a substantial capital investment to launch Guffly. This, however, happened only after connecting to the green community for over a year through their blog that later became Guffly.com. Prior to joining Bizdom U, Scott began her career at Detroit's
Mosaic Youth Theater
working to organize hundreds of performances and events around the city and state, as well as nationally. Her BA in Sociology & Communications from the University of Michigan was the springboard to her role as Guffly's "Chief Guffly Love Distributor" or CEO where she steers the path for the young company.
Together Contreras and Scott will share their opinions on Detroit's entrepreneurial climate, the role of small businesses, and why staying eco-friendly in the process is important.
Chanell Scott & Jordan Contreras - Most Recent Posts:
Post 1: Micro Equals More
Posted By: Chanell Scott & Jordan Contreras
Posted: 11/19/2009
At the crux of what seems to be a potential turning point in Detroit's story, many are seeking to find the next industry that will carry this city and state into the future. Will it be the film industry, clean-energy, tech-based firms? We encourage the effort made by organizations and governments to answer this question by offering heavy financial incentives and support to existing businesses. However, it's our opinion that an increased focus on a diverse set of new and small business endeavors is an important part of the equation that needs more attention.
In our business,
Guffly
, we focus on helping artisans, small businesses ("tiny" may even be more accurate), and crafters get their products to the marketplace in a creative, meaningful, and financially beneficial way. We do this in the eco-friendly retail market, and every day we become more convinced that a resurgence of trade and craft is happening all around us. People seem to be more eager than ever to take their destinies into their own hands by starting their own small ventures. This is what we're doing ourselves, and this is what our network of suppliers have also done. We believe that if nurtured correctly, there is limitless potential for Metro Detroit to benefit from this trend. Organizations and individuals looking to bolster Detroit's long-term economic climate need to focus on micro-entrepreneurship and here are our suggestions on how this can be done:
•
Wage smaller bets.
In addition to allocating large sums of money to medium and large firms and investing in bringing out-of-state businesses to the state, we need to spread this money more widely through micro loans and investments. All businesses start with one sale. In order to get that first sale, individuals need money. This amount of money, however, is much smaller for certain businesses than what you may think. If you spread $1,000,000 amongst 500 individuals, thus giving each an investment of just $2,000, you are increasing the number of successes to be found instead of investing that same amount of money all in one place. Likewise, the rate of return to be had on the successful small investments is often greater than the rate of return found on larger investments.
•
Create a nucleus of resources.
Small businesses and individual ventures are not only strapped for cash, but often even more so for time. In order to generate revenue they need people on the ground level doing the dirty work, pushing the business forward. The issue for small operations is that there aren't enough financial resources to hire the people needed to make the ground level work happen the right way. Organizations seeking to encourage entrepreneurship need to provide resources to small ventures that have overlapping needs.
For example, as an e-commerce company Guffly needs web developers to enhance our value and marketing professionals to grow our customer base. There are thousands of small businesses out there who need these exact same things, and we venture to say that a hundred or so are right here in Metro Detroit. We need to pool our resources and share them cooperatively.
We envision a hub for e-commerce businesses that staffs professionals in the areas where we need help, and do this by using government funds or philanthropic dollars. We imagine this could work in various industries – retailers sharing warehouses and the fulfillment staff, tech start-ups sharing developers, etc.
•
Prime the young.
Once these small ventures have the capital needed to begin, and the nucleus of resources available to grow, the next step is have an army of new workers who are primed to take on the task of working for start-ups. From grade school on, we need to teach our children a new, more entrepreneurial way of thinking. One of the problems Guffly has encountered is finding the right team members and interns who understand what working for a start-up entails. In our world, there is no such thing as a guaranteed 40-hour work week. Instead, we need people eager to put in the time and effort needed, people who don't see themselves as "on the clock" and instead are focused on growing a new business from the ground up and making the necessary sacrifices to do so.
We're not proposing that workers make sacrifices that won't yield a personal benefit, of course. Instead, we mean to say that we need to change our frame of thinking in a way that normalizes hard work and long hours for all team members involved in the early stages of a business, and likewise normalizes the expectation of ownership interests, stock options, and other serious financial benefits for team members who grow the business from the beginning. There are simply not enough people who think this way and are willing to do this, and we think that solving this problem starts with educating youth to value entrepreneurship and small business once again.
We're not proposing that we stop supporting large businesses – we need them to hire people and pay salaries, after all. However, our region is past the stage of putting all of our eggs into one basket. We should spread the wealth and resources horizontally in order to create more of it. The more people we have at bat, the more home runs we'll see in the future.
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