Muskegon incubator kitchen software#

But, just one year ago, life was a significantly different picture. A kitchen filled with employees, the hum of the juicers, and the preparations being made for the busy days ahead at farmers markets in Muskegon, Sweetwater, Grand Haven, Fulton Street in Grand Rapids, and Holland have become commonplace.

These days, Friday’s buzz of activity is routine for Randell. When we help businesses thrive, we help create jobs – and a stronger economy for our entire state.Hair tucked into the net ubiquitous among food workers, she quickly makes her way through a sea of stainless steel kitchen equipment and surveys Friday’s scene at Kitchen 242, the incubator and educational kitchen located at the Muskegon Farmers Market: a flurry of similarly hair-netted workers are gliding around bins overflowing with everything from pineapples and oranges to beets and apples, creating gallons of Bodhi Tree Juice Co’s brightly colored drinks that will soon be en route to farmers markets throughout West Michigan. Whether factories or film studios, breweries or bakeries, I’ll keep fighting to ensure that Michigan entrepreneurs can turn their great ideas into successful businesses. I’ve always said that Michigan is first and foremost a state where we make things and grow things. For this reason, the credit also could be used against payroll taxes up to $250,000, just like the research and development tax credit is today. Not all businesses are profitable – or owe taxes – right away.

Muskegon incubator kitchen software#

It would help businesses like bakeries, breweries, software companies, film and sound production studios, and manufacturers that are launching in their own space or have started out in an incubator or home and want to grow into their first facility. My bill provides a 25 percent tax credit for the cost of buildings and equipment for a business’s first commercial production facility.

That’s why this month, I introduced the Growing Small Business Act, which would provide a tax cut to a small business owner just getting started or planning to expand. That means there is a lot of potential to create jobs by making it easier for these businesses to grow and thrive. In fact, only one percent of businesses that start small employ 50 or more people after 10 years. And making the leap from a home business or rented space into a production facility like a bakery is one of the most expensive – and riskiest – times in a business’s life cycle. Since the 1970s, small businesses like Donna Jeanne’s Sweet Dreams have created 55 percent of all new jobs. What they’d really like to do is open their own brick-and-mortar bakery in downtown Muskegon – and hire a few people to help meet demand for their treats. They are currently doing their baking at Kitchen 242, an incubator in Muskegon, and selling their delicious goodies out of a tiny, 150-square-foot chalet they are renting at Western Market.Īmy and Brad are making due with their space right now, but they’re already outgrowing it. I’ve heard that their apple and cherry fritters are amazing. They are the proud owners of Donna Jeanne’s Sweet Dreams, a bakery and sweets shop in Muskegon named after Amy’s mom. Starting and growing a business also takes money – sometimes, a lot of it.

And the third is the willingness to work hard to turn their dreams into reality.īut not even a great idea, courage, and hard work are enough. The second is the courage to take a big risk. In Bay City, I stopped by Ferne Boutique, a women’s clothing store on a mission to offer unique fashions for work and play – and keep the local economy growing.Īnd in Jackson, I toured Grand River Brewery, which is using Michigan hops and Midwestern malted barley in its beers – one won the Gold Medal at the New York International Beer Competition.Īll of these Michigan entrepreneurs have a few things in common. In Battle Creek, I visited Stewart Industries, a manufacturer and supply chain management company that’s been helping other companies meet their goals since 2000. Meeting Michigan entrepreneurs who put everything on the line to start a business has been nothing short of inspiring. Over the past year, I have visited more than 100 small businesses on my tour around the state.