Article written for www.annarborbusinessmagazine.com

“If you would know the value of money, go and try to borrow some.” – Benjamin Franklin

Whether you’re a start-up looking to get your business off the ground, or you’re a going concern looking to expand, the move can be difficult to make without an infusion of capital. This capital infusion can come in many forms (angel investors, venture capital, lines of credit, government grants, etc.). But for small businesses in the Ann Arbor area, banks loans are the most common. Read more…

For four straight years, the Michigan Manufacturers Association (MMA) and Baker Strategy Group (BSG) have partnered to conduct the annual Michigan Manufacturers Outlook Survey. This instrument has become a valuable tool for measuring year-over-year trends in the manufacturing industry and to gauge the collective outlook for manufacturers in Michigan.

This year we received feedback from 400 respondents. The majority (59%) of the respondents are executives at their companies, but we also received solid representation from plant management, sales and marketing, human resources, operations, regulatory compliance, government relations, and accounting/finance.

In conducting our analysis, we focus primarily on respondents representing companies who manufacture in Michigan. Some salient statistics on these companies include: 61% are family-owned businesses, 56% have 100 or fewer employees, 60% have only one facility in Michigan, 37% manufacture automotive products, 92% 6manufacture non-automotive products, and 80% have a non-unionized workforce.

With four years of data, we are able to look back and see progress and changes over time. What follows are 8 Key Findings we observed in the data, along with some quotes from one-on-one interviews conducted by MMA staff.

Here is a statistic that may surprise you: 1 in 10 people who are employed in the U.S. are employed by a nonprofit organization. The roughly 1.6 million registered nonprofits in the U.S. employ approximately 13.5 million people. As a comparison, this number is higher than the number of people employed in the entire U.S. finance sector, including insurance and real estate.

And while the organizations are nonprofits, they are certainly not non-revenue. With estimated total combined assets of $4.3 trillion, U.S. nonprofits have roughly $750 billion in annual revenue and account for approximately 5.5% of the total U.S. GDP. Add to this number the estimated $170 billion in annual value contributed by over 8.1 billion annual service hours provided by U.S. nonprofit volunteers and you see a nonprofit sector that contributes almost $1 trillion to the U.S. economy.
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This study draws on insights from the 2011 Thriving Schools program.  As part of the Thriving Schools program, this study looks specifically at feedback from parents of elementary school children who attended a Michigan public school in 2010-2011. The Thriving Schools program gath-ers feedback from various school stakeholders regarding their experience with the school.

Background

The Thriving Schools program began in 2006 with 1 private school in Ann Arbor. As part of a larger strategic planning effort, the school board conducted a survey to gather feedback from school stakeholders (parents, teachers, school board, etc.). This feedback was then incorporated into the school’s strategic planning process with great success. Since then, we have conducted this program for over 100 schools and gathered over 10,000 responses.
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Article written for www.annarborbusinessmagazine.com

On July 1 of this year, Alison Davis-Blake became the new Edward J. Frey Dean of U-M Ross School of Business. Prior to her appointment, Davis-Blake was the dean of the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota, where she was the Investors in Leadership Distinguished Chair in Organizational Behavior. We recently had the chance to talk to Dean Davis-Blake about Ross and its unique approach to action-based learning.
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In a time of monetary discomfort, it’s hard for Michigan citizens to sacrifice hard-earned funds to outside organizations. For non-profits, the prospects can be discouraging. Non-profits struggle to assure supporters and donors that they are not futilely casting money into a bottomless pit.

Further examination of certain non-profit organizations, however, reveals that a well-structured non-profit can thrive in the present economic climate, and, consequently benefit the surrounding community.

To gain better insight on how to strategically run a nonprofit, we looked at Youth Dance Theatre of Michigan (YDT), a successful non-profit dance company based in Chelsea, Michigan. According to the YDT mission statement, YDT not only “[nurtures] strong minds and healthy bodies in an artistic environment,” but “has a larger goal of entertaining and educating an audience comprised of the communities that support their work.” YDT trains company members who, in turn, reach out to the greater community, such as schools, hospitals, nursing homes, and audience members.
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Public schools buzz with the news of classes that were cut, teachers that were laid off, and perhaps worst of all, teachers moved to a department where they are less than proficient. The students don’t seem to fare any better. According to Snyder’s Special Message on Education Reform, 50% of Michigan students have acceptable writing skills and 2010 ACT score assessment revealed 238 schools failed to have a single student that was ready for college.

While the many atrocities appear daunting, they could actually be incentive we need to turn education around 180 degrees. This low point could be Michigan’s golden age for innovation. Snyder’s education reform focuses on rewarding academic success, constantly evaluating teachers, and encouraging parent involvement—three key principles of education.
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Article written for www.annarborbusinessmagazine.com

How do the next 6-12 months look for the automotive industry? “It’s uncertain because of the uncertainties in the economy,” says Dr. David E. Cole, Emeritus Chairman and Board of Directors member of the Ann Arbor-based Center for Automotive Research (CAR). “But the main thing in the near future, particularly for the domestic, Michigan-based manufacturers, is that they will be increasingly profitable and they will be hiring.”

Cole is a prolific, oft-quoted expert on the auto industry known by virtually everyone who is intimately involved with the industry. His thoughtful and analytical perspective of the industry has earned Cole respect in accurately understanding and communicating automotive trends. So, Cole’s positive outlook is encouraging for the Ann Arbor area.

Incidentally, regarding the federal government selling of its shares of Chrysler, Cole says “It’s no big deal. It means that the government is getting rid of its equity and Fiat will now have a controlling interest in the company. The UAW Healthcare Trust still owns a significant fraction of the company and we’ll see how that develops over time. I think it’s a good move.” Read more…

Article written for www.annarborbusinessmagazine.com

What do you get when you combine the engineering and research talent of a top-ranked university with one of the largest automotive companies in the world? You get the GM/U-M Institute of Automotive Research and Education.

This joint institute is right here in Ann Arbor and it brings together the expertise of GM engineers and U-M researchers and professors. In May, 2009, the formation of the Institute was formally announced with great excitement. Tom Stephens, General Motors Vice Chairman for Global Product Development, was clear about the Institute’s ambitious mission. “The Institute’s vision,” Stephens exclaimed, “will be to develop and deliver world class research and education with a strategic focus on energy diversity and sustainability to reinvent the automobile.”

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Ann Arbor Area Business Monthly Article
Small businesses in the Ann Arbor-area are turning hot new technologies into thriving upstart businesses. Recently we spoke with Scott Hanson (Ambiq Micro) and Adrian Fortino (Shepherd Intelligent Systems).

The world is getting smart. Electronic sensors embedded in the physical world provide enormous technological opportunities. Such devices are already abundant: smart phones, smart cards, smart buildings, smart cars, etc. As IBM describes it, we are building a smarter planet. Scott Hanson, CEO, Ambiq Micro Micro, thinks his company is positioned to ride the wave of new devices. Ambiq Micro makes microcontrollers that operate these small devices.

If you’re in Ann Arbor and you’re taking a University of Michigan bus, it may be on a Magic Bus. While you’re waiting for the bus, just send a text message to a number posted at the stop. The Magic Bus 1.0 project started in 2005 by a project team at the University of Michigan College of Engineering . Jahan Khanna joined the Magic Bus team as one of the key software architects in 2007. Khanna and Adrian Fortino co-founded Ann Arbor-based Shepherd Intelligent Systems (SIS) in 2009 and launched Magic Bus 2.0.

by David A. Baker and Margaret J. Baker
www.bakerstrategy.com