Michigan Business Network

Jeffrey Mosher catches up with Bob Trezise, CEO of LEAP, the Lansing Economic Area Partnership, who were selected as CAMW!, the Capital Area Michigan Works! MVP, Most Valuable Partner for April 2020.

In this discussion they cover:

Michigan Small Business Relief Program Grants and Loans

Why was it so important for LEAP to distribute these funds as quickly as possible?

What impact do you see the MSBRP program making in the region?

Local Small Business Funding

What new programs are you seeing become available?

How has LEAP be involved in helping local funds surface?

What are you seeing on the horizon in terms of local funding for small businesses?

MedTech Advisory Committee

What role is LEAP’s MedTech advisory committee taking in mobilizing the region’s

Medical and manufacturing industries to combat the novel coronavirus crisis?

What are some of the things this group is actively working on?

How do you see this advisory committee evolving through the crisis and into the future?

Kendra Kuo, Director of the US Export Assistance Center Grand Rapids. Kendra and her organization assist US companies sell their goods and services into foreign markets. Their assistance falls into four areas: international market research, international matchmaking (finding local partners and customers), trade events and training, and advocacy and investment. The U.S. Commercial Service, part of the International Trade Administration, has 100 U.S. locations and a presence in 70 countries worldwide.

Kendra’s office has received lots of inquiries from companies as they deal with new issues arising from the Covid-19 pandemic and surrounding disruptions to the supply chain. She suggests working closely with your freight forwarder, and reaching out to her (or one of her colleagues; Michigan offices are in Grand Rapids, Pontiac, and Detroit). Regulations are changing quickly, and the government’s trade specialists are best equipped to know current policy—in the U.S. as well as overseas. Other agencies that can be of assistance are the Small Business Administration, FEMA, and the Department of Homeland Security’s Procurement Site. Companies interested in supporting the response to COVID-19 with goods and/or services can reach out to the DHS Procurement Action Innovative Response Team at [email protected]. Although some events have been postponed, companies can still take advantage of great virtual services that are offered on the website; locally, there is a webinar on the new U.S.-Mexico-Canada agreement (USMCA/the new NAFTA) taking place on May 7th. Looking forward to fall, Discover Global Markets, a U.S. Commercial Service signature event, will take place October 7-9 in Indianapolis. Local trade specialists can be found here on the staff directory by locating the state and city of your local office.

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Ron Stevens is Associate Regional Director of the Michigan Small Business Development Center (SBDC) of the Greater Washtenaw Region, where he’s been since 2007. His office is located at Washtenaw Community College in Ann Arbor, although the SBDCs are located at 10 locations around Michigan and they work with businesses of all sizes to launch or expand. He specializes on businesses in the areas of retail, restaurant, and breweries. Ron also holds a professional certification as a NASBITE Certified Global Business Professional and is part of the SBDC’s State Export Assistance Team. Ron and his colleagues assist with all major areas of business assistance, including business plan development, market research, raising capital, website assistance, financial management, and export strategy. Paid for through tax dollars, these services are available free of charge.

Ron’s work has changed significantly since the COVID-19 pandemic, as he now spends most of his time helping companies navigate federal and state business assistance programs. With new programs still emerging and dates and qualifications for eligibility constantly changing, educating companies about the opportunities is keeping him and his colleagues very busy. Michigan businesses interested in utilizing the business development services or connecting to COVID-19-related programs and resources can find local contact information at SBDCMichigan.org.

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Angela Hofmann is President of World Strategies, a globally-focused government affairs and policy consulting firm.  She’s also the co-founder and Executive Co-Director of Farmers for Free Trade, a 501c4 bi-partisan group working to educate farmers and the public on free trade and mobilize support, which she started in 2017. Angela has traveled all over the country, speaking with farmers, manufacturers, and businesspersons to gather their stories and spread awareness of the impact that tariffs are having on the country. Along with the Global Business Club and the coalition group Americans for Free Trade, she will be co-hosting a Michigan-focused virtual event on May 13th at 12noon.

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Gabe is an Honors College senior majoring in marketing and minoring in Spanish. He also lots of other areas of interest, including being a serial entrepreneur. Even at a very young age, he was selling candy on the school bus and finding other ways to teach himself how to do business. In our interview, we discuss what he’s learned from his hands-on interactions with businesses during his three years working at the MSU International Business Center helping businesses grow by providing international market research. He says he’s discovered that even successful businesspersons don’t have all of the answers—the marketplace is fluid and it’s important to move forward with all of the resources available at any given time. Upon graduation this spring, he’s saddened to leave campus (especially without the normal end-of-year activities and graduation ceremony, due to the Covid-19 pandemic) but is excited to begin a position as a Management Trainee with Sherwin-Williams, which he expects will take him to Latin America to further his international business and Spanish skills. Eventually, he plans to work for himself—full-time!

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Nolan Schroeder is a senior in the Broad College of Business majoring in supply chain management and minoring in Spanish. He has participated in a lot of programs, activities, and even an education abroad program in Europe while at MSU. After spending a summer as a U.S. export compliance intern, he became more interested in the field of international business and contacted the MSU International Business Center to see if he could get more involved with the Center’s outreach activities. Nolan has recently accepted a full-time position here in Michigan for after graduation which will allow him to use his education and experiences to move the company forward.

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Melissa is a sophomore in the Broad College of Business with plans to study accounting and international business. Currently, she’e working as a student intern in the International Business Center in the Eli Broad College of Business at Michigan State University (MSU-IBC). Her job involves working with Michigan businesses to help them by providing international market research that helps drive their export plans and create or increase international sales. She credits her experience in the IBC with helping provide first-hand perspective on the concepts she learns in the classroom. Melissa currently plans on attending law school after graduation, and eventually working with U.S.-based multinational businesses to help them navigate the global legal environment.

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Laura Deierlein is the Founder and President of SPROUTwide, which provides global business expansion services to small- and medium-sized enterprises. She has an expansive background working in imports, and exports, logistics services, and in economic development for the state of Michigan. Laura’s background provides her with a wealth of knowledge on the importance of international markets for growing and diversifying small business sales.

In this interview, Laura talks about the resource gaps that businesses frequently encounter when they begin to expand into international sales. While sometimes it’s a financial commitment, more frequently businesses lack the confidence as well as the manpower to pursue international leads that they receive via their websites or at trade shows. Laura spends time meeting with leadership teams to familiarize them with the global sales process and can step in to fill the role of an international marketing manager where companies are not immediately ready or able to create such a position internally. We discuss in more detail how to best prepare for international trade shows and trade missions, and the importance of follow-up after such events.

Laura can be reached via her website at https://www.sproutwide.com/; her office is located in Brighton, Michigan.

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Fred is an Attorney and Shareholder with Foster Swift, Grand Rapids as Foster Swift Collins & Smith PC Attorneys which spans Michigan in

DETROIT | SOUTHFIELD | LANSING | GRAND RAPIDS | HOLLAND | ST. JOSEPH.

This interview covers remote mediation, During the conversation with Fred we find out:

1. what is facilitative mediation and what is the role of the mediator how have the social distancing requirements impacted the way business people, professionals and lawyers conduct mediation?

2. what is your experience with the satisfaction of the participants in participating in mediations remotely?

3. Are there any benefits to video enabled conferencing for mediations As contrasted with the old fashioned way of getting together?

4. What do you see happening with mediations and interactive video conferencing after this crisis is over and we return to some form of normalcy?

Fred Dilley is an attorney with Foster Swift Collins & Smith. A large portion of his practice deals he serves as a facilitative mediator, completing about 100 mediations each year with a very significant success rate and a large number of return users; working on a variety of complex and difficult matters ranging from business disputes to divorce cases to personal injury matters. He brings more than 35 years of experience to his facilitative mediation and arbitration and is highly regarded by his peers as evidenced by his election to the American College of Trial Lawyers and American Board of Trial Advocates.

Mike Zahrt a business and trust and estate lawyer with Foster Swift Collins & Smith, PC.

Mike Zahrt shares in this interview with Jeffrey Mosher about MI Executive Order 2020-41 which encourages the use of electronic signatures and remote notarization.

Two of the most applicable situations is that it allows people to amend estate plans remotely and it allows title companies to close real estate deals.

1. Executive Order 2020-41 relaxes notary requirements. Why was this necessary?

2. Who benefits most from the order?

3. What should people using a remote notary expect?

Mike works with clients to prioritize their goals and works to provide a solution custom-tailored to achieve those goals. He understands his clients are best served by counsel who addresses legal issues and also helps further business objectives. He practices in the firm's Grand Rapids and Lansing offices working on the following areas:

· Business Formations and Transactions. Mike assists individuals and business throughout numerous industries in a variety of matters, including entity selection and formation; drafting shareholder and operating agreements; taxable and tax-free purchases and sales of businesses; and detailed analysis of corporate, individual and partnership tax issues.

· Business and Farm Succession Planning. He identifies tax efficient exit strategies for the owners of a wide variety of businesses to achieve their goals, including the sale of a successful business to fund the owner's retirement or charitable goals and passing a family-owned business on to the next generation. Mike is also familiar with the particular needs and goals of family-owned farming operations.

· Estate Planning. Mike assists on a wide variety of estate planning matters – from drafting wills and revocable trusts to complex planning strategies to reduce or eliminate federal gift and estate taxes. He also uses business succession strategies to accomplish the estate planning goals of the client.