When Eric van der Meulen got laid off from his mechanical engineering job a few years ago when the recession was at its peak, he knew he had to do something else.
The Wixom resident knew his prospects of finding another job were about as good as anyone else's - Ie. not all that promising. So he started his own consulting company,
Q'vive. The 3-year-old firm specializes in consulting and training companies, supporting businesses with innovation strategy, new product development, and project management. It started out slow but after van der Meulen landed his first client things started to move quickly through word-of-mouth referrals.
"As soon as that happened I never looked back," van der Meulen says. "I have been very successful. I make more than I ever did as an employee."
Q'vive has moved beyond its consulting roots, taking on more project management, training programs and even some speaking gigs. There is still a growing demand for van der Meulen's services, but the newly minted entrepreneur doesn't see adding any new employees in the near future.
"I am very comfortable as a one-person operation," van der Meulen says.
Source: Eric van der Meulen, president & owner of Q'vive
Writer: Jon Zemke
Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.
Enjoy this story?
Sign up for free solutions-based reporting in your inbox each week.