Stories I am following this week for Small Business Week, Teacher Appreciation Week, and Mother's Day

It is ...

• Small Business Week;

• Teacher Appreciation Week; and, 

• This weekend is Mother's Day 

... and I have a few story ideas for your consideration:

[1]

This summer students start their own small business instead of looking for a summer job, with new school curriculum focused on entrepreneurship, for Small Business Week

10 schools in metro Detroit (Detroit, River Rouge, Novi, Brighton) are teaching students how to become entrepreneurs. I want to invite you into the classroom to meet these students, capture the energy inside the classroom and inside the minds of these students who will graduate high school already starting their first business. 

• Example, meet ​Dylan McConnel, a student at Cornerstone is just one example, with this t-shirt company, Heir Customs.

• ​Youth Entrepreneurs is a year-long curriculum that teaches middle and high school students core entrepreneurial and economic concepts.

• It has its curriculum in 10 schools in SE Michigan, with more planned for the next school year.

[2] 

A teacher's passion for their students inspires a new generation of entrepreneurs, for Teacher Appreciation Week

Each one of the 10 teachers has been trained by Youth Entrepreneurs to bring a very specific curriculum into the classroom to empower students to be self-sufficient and start their own business.  I want to invite you to capture their energy as they interact with their students, talk to the students about how their teacher inspires them to succeed. 

• Stacey Brown Smith, River Rouge High School

• Tom Staperfenne, Chandler Park Academy Middle School    

• Renate Matthews, a teacher at Cornerstone Health + Technology High School

[3] 

When a small business becomes a family business in creating one of Detroit's Culinary Landmarks

For small business week, I want to introduce you to Joe and his daughter Stephanie. Joe was a program manager at WGPR when he and a friend decided to buy a business based on a coin flip. Since 1982, Joe has been operating Louisiana Creole Gumbo on the edge of Eastern Market. I want to invite you to sit down and have lunch with Joe and his family to talk about his business and how he has remained one of Detroit's culinary landmarks through the city's good and bad and his optimism for the future. 

[4]

Last minute DIY gift ideas for kids to make mom for Mother's Day 

​Mother’s Day weekend creates the perfect opportunity for families to walk around one of Michigan’s most charming downtowns, Art Birmingham celebrates its 38th annual return to Shain Park in downtown Birmingham, May 11-12. Admission is free, with art activities sponsored by the Birmingham Bloomfield Art Center (BBAC). Children will be able to make gifts for their mom, grandmother, and aunt.

• Come to the BBAC or downtown Birmingham in Shain Park and we will show you how to make last-minute gifts for mom, where to spend some quality time with her this weekend and enjoy some of the finest art for sale this weekend at Art Birmingham

I am happy to facilitate any of these story ideas, should you be interested. 

NOW LET’S START THE CONVERSATION!
Daniel

Winning Again – What Business Wants in 2012

Today’s economy is constantly in flux and despite the advances in technology, we seem to be living in very unstable times. A faltering economy, uncertainty with the markets, a lack of consensus in Congress and among many state legislators, and a lack of funding from the federal and state government where local government can no longer obtain the money they need to provide standard municipal services . While the price of gas continues to fluctuate, unemployment continues to gain.  Although property values in some communities are starting to come back, economic uncertainty continues to grow.  Overal political uncertainty reins as gridlock and political in fighting continue such important issues as tax reform, health care, education, deficit reduction and more.  

There is a leadership vacuum in Washington and in a number of state legislators to provide any direction or resolution to these lingering issue.  There is also a split in the business community.

• Some want government help with rising health care costs, while others do not.
• Some want more action on global warming while others do not.

Yet we all agree that something needs to change in order for the economy to improve, sales to increase and jobs to be back in demand.  In fact, where most if not all business folks agree is that they want more jobs and greater certainty in conducting business, as well as for the government to get their act together.

The business sector also want:

• Tax credits and specfically tax credits for R&D; and,
• Increased visas for high tech workers to supply a workforce with a skills gap.

At the same time the business community seeks a government that invests in education and finding ways to educate our children in areas that will advance America’s economy.

The business community also wants a government that they can partner with to help move the economy forward. But business does not want to be in a partnership with a government that has a growing deficit with no plan to get out and a government that is not as transparent as it should be.  As we look to end another year, with a potentially devisive election, it is important for all candidates to agree on the big picture as to where they want this country to be one year from now.