LANSING - Economic activity was essentially flat in July, but Michigan saw increased automobile production that month, which has helped ease supply-chain constraints, so says Comerica Bank's Michigan Economic Activity Index. "Sales for the three Detroit automakers held up in August and September despite the severe drop in consumer confidence that we saw at the
LANSING - The 12th annual conference of Annual Collaboration for Entrepreneurship, one of Michigan's oldest and premier conferences with a longstanding history of educating and engaging Great Lakes entrepreneurs from innovative rapid-growth technology and bioscience companies, will be held on January 31, 2012 at Ann Arbor's Skyline High School. ACE brings together entrepreneurs, innovators and
TROY - Join the Automation Alley Business Growth Committee for a presentation by Janet Tyler, president of Airfoil Public Relations, who will describe 10 ways that companies incorporate social media into their business strategies to gain new corporate customers, strengthen and broaden existing customer relationships and bolster their reputations in their industry. The luncheon case
DEARBORN - At the annual Metro Detroit's 101 Best and Brightest Companies to Work For luncheon, eleven Elite winners were honored, representing eleven different award categories. The different categories include: Communication, Community Initiatives, Compensation and Benefits, Diversity and Multiculturalism, Employee Education and Development, Employee Engagement and Commitment, Recognition and Retention, Recruitment and Selection, Work-Life Balance,
ANN ARBOR - Thirty alumni of the Great Lakes Entrepreneur's Quest competition are among the 53 semi-finalists selected in the Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition. This select group will pitch their business plans to investors in November for the chance to win more than $1 million in cash and in-kind awards. Of the 53 semi-finalists, 30
BATH ? The International Avaya Users Group will host a no-nonsense discussion Oct. 19 on Unified Communications. All vendors will give you their definition of UC and focus on their ?cool? applications ? but no one vendor is best in breed at all elements of these powerful applications. UC can be an effective strategy that
WASHINGTON DC ? The U.S. Small Business Administration is providing $30 million in grants to states, territories, and the District of Columbia, to help increase exporting by small businesses during the next 12 months. The grants were authorized by the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010, under the State Trade and Export Promotion Program. The
LANSING - Michigan companies with fewer than 500 employees can qualify for financial assistance for export-related activities through a new export incentive program offered by the Michigan Economic Development Corporation. ?Export sales help diversify companies? customer bases, provide longer term stability and can support higher paying jobs,? said MEDC President and CEO Michael Finney. ?This
ANN ARBOR - A new University-sponsored grant program aims to give a $250,000 to 250 students or student teams over the next five years to help them launch an entrepreneurial venture or gain entrepreneurial skills. The Jump Start grants will provide approximately 50 young entrepreneurs per year with between $250 and $1,500 to help pay
ANN ARBOR ? The Princeton Review and Entrepreneur Magazine has named the Samuel Zell and Robert H. Lurie Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies the fifth best graduate program for entrepreneurship in its joint "Top 25 Graduate Entrepreneurship Programs" ranking. Through the Institute's cross-disciplinary outreach, a firm foothold of entrepreneurship has been planted at the Stephen M.