The Small Business Association of Michigan's Small Business Weekly Podcast

On today’s SBAM Weekly Podcast, Michael Rogers talks with Ron Kurnik, owner of Superior Coffee Roasting in Sault Ste. Marie, recently named to the list of Michigan 50 Companies to Watch for 2023. “I wanted to bring attention to the fact that we're here in the Great Lakes region, we are in a very unique, very special part of the world,” he says. “And so we wanted to draw attention to water quality, water conservation initiatives and just partner ourselves with those organizations and people that are doing that. I mean, when you look at it you can't have good coffee without good water.”

The Small Business Association of Michigan is the only statewide and state-based association that focuses solely on serving the needs of Michigan’s small business community. We have been successfully serving small businesses like yours in all 83 counties of Michigan since 1969. We’re located in Lansing, just one block from the Capitol.

Our mission is to help Michigan small businesses succeed by promoting entrepreneurship, leveraging buying power and engaging in political advocacy. When small businesses band together through the Small Business Association of Michigan, they achieve more than they could on their own. 

Our 31,000+ members are as diverse as Michigan's economy. From accountants to appliance stores, manufacturers to medical, and restaurants to retailers, what unites the SBAM membership is the spirit of entrepreneurship…a spirit that drove you to start and continue to operate your own business because you believe you can do something better than anyone else is doing it!

(music licensed from www.jukedeck.com)

On today’s SBAM Weekly Podcast, Michael Rogers talks with BIGGBY COFFEE franchise owner Tim Hoffman. “What's awesome about coffee is this aspect of bringing people together,” he says. “Coffee is a fun and enjoyable experience.  And BIGGBY has put a lot of time and energy into really investing in the lives of owners, this concept of helping build the life that you love and really working on creating something special out of that.”

The Small Business Association of Michigan is the only statewide and state-based association that focuses solely on serving the needs of Michigan’s small business community. We have been successfully serving small businesses like yours in all 83 counties of Michigan since 1969. We’re located in Lansing, just one block from the Capitol.

Our mission is to help Michigan small businesses succeed by promoting entrepreneurship, leveraging buying power and engaging in political advocacy. When small businesses band together through the Small Business Association of Michigan, they achieve more than they could on their own. 

Our 31,000+ members are as diverse as Michigan's economy. From accountants to appliance stores, manufacturers to medical, and restaurants to retailers, what unites the SBAM membership is the spirit of entrepreneurship…a spirit that drove you to start and continue to operate your own business because you believe you can do something better than anyone else is doing it!

(music licensed from www.jukedeck.com)

On today’s SBAM Weekly Podcast, Michael Rogers talks with Mike Loomis, owner/president of MDL Construction, named to the list of Michigan 50 Companies to Watch in 2023. “Today's workforce, it's different than it was 37 years ago when we started,” Loomis says. “[For employees] we have health and fitness as one of the goals, another is fun and entertainment, third is personal development, fourth is giving back, fifth is family and friends. And then last but not least, is career and financial. So if you have an employee that has those top five focuses in balance, we think they're going to be a great employee.”

The Small Business Association of Michigan is the only statewide and state-based association that focuses solely on serving the needs of Michigan’s small business community. We have been successfully serving small businesses like yours in all 83 counties of Michigan since 1969. We’re located in Lansing, just one block from the Capitol.

Our mission is to help Michigan small businesses succeed by promoting entrepreneurship, leveraging buying power and engaging in political advocacy. When small businesses band together through the Small Business Association of Michigan, they achieve more than they could on their own. 

Our 31,000+ members are as diverse as Michigan's economy. From accountants to appliance stores, manufacturers to medical, and restaurants to retailers, what unites the SBAM membership is the spirit of entrepreneurship…a spirit that drove you to start and continue to operate your own business because you believe you can do something better than anyone else is doing it!

(music licensed from www.jukedeck.com)

On today’s SBAM Weekly Podcast, Michael Rogers talks with Matthew Gillett, co-owner of Saddleback Barbecue, named to the list of Michigan 50 Companies to Watch for 2023. “More and more now we really see that people have to make decisions in their lives of how they spend their dollar,” he says. “And when they choose to spend it with us, we have to really double down and make that an unbelievable experience. For them the customer, not only because we want them to come back, but just because we know that times are a little bit tougher.”

The Small Business Association of Michigan is the only statewide and state-based association that focuses solely on serving the needs of Michigan’s small business community. We have been successfully serving small businesses like yours in all 83 counties of Michigan since 1969. We’re located in Lansing, just one block from the Capitol.

Our mission is to help Michigan small businesses succeed by promoting entrepreneurship, leveraging buying power and engaging in political advocacy. When small businesses band together through the Small Business Association of Michigan, they achieve more than they could on their own. 

Our 31,000+ members are as diverse as Michigan's economy. From accountants to appliance stores, manufacturers to medical, and restaurants to retailers, what unites the SBAM membership is the spirit of entrepreneurship…a spirit that drove you to start and continue to operate your own business because you believe you can do something better than anyone else is doing it!

(music licensed from www.jukedeck.com)

On today’s SBAM Weekly Podcast, Michael Rogers talks with Raffaele Mautone, chief executive officer and founder of Judy Security, named this year to the list of Michigan 50 Companies to Watch. “It doesn't matter if you're one employee, five employees, 10 employees, 1000s of employees, you hold the keys to either someone or someone's data that is very valuable,” he says. “So the government is now pushing out a lot of regulatory items that impact where the breach started, not necessarily where it ended.”

The Small Business Association of Michigan is the only statewide and state-based association that focuses solely on serving the needs of Michigan’s small business community. We have been successfully serving small businesses like yours in all 83 counties of Michigan since 1969. We’re located in Lansing, just one block from the Capitol.

Our mission is to help Michigan small businesses succeed by promoting entrepreneurship, leveraging buying power and engaging in political advocacy. When small businesses band together through the Small Business Association of Michigan, they achieve more than they could on their own. 

Our 31,000+ members are as diverse as Michigan's economy. From accountants to appliance stores, manufacturers to medical, and restaurants to retailers, what unites the SBAM membership is the spirit of entrepreneurship…a spirit that drove you to start and continue to operate your own business because you believe you can do something better than anyone else is doing it!

(music licensed from www.jukedeck.com)

On today’s SBAM Weekly Podcast, Michael Rogers talks with Art Betancourt, the founder of professional placement and executive recruiting firm AE Betancourt -- named to the list of Michigan 50 Companies to Watch for 2023. “It's always hard to find great talent, right? Just because there's a lot of available talent doesn't mean it's great talent. And so, finding great talent is always the premium and it's always difficult to do regardless of where the labor market is. Despite what the Fed is doing to intentionally impact the labor market, the challenge is a demographic issue,” he says.

The Small Business Association of Michigan is the only statewide and state-based association that focuses solely on serving the needs of Michigan’s small business community. We have been successfully serving small businesses like yours in all 83 counties of Michigan since 1969. We’re located in Lansing, just one block from the Capitol.

Our mission is to help Michigan small businesses succeed by promoting entrepreneurship, leveraging buying power and engaging in political advocacy. When small businesses band together through the Small Business Association of Michigan, they achieve more than they could on their own. 

Our 31,000+ members are as diverse as Michigan's economy. From accountants to appliance stores, manufacturers to medical, and restaurants to retailers, what unites the SBAM membership is the spirit of entrepreneurship…a spirit that drove you to start and continue to operate your own business because you believe you can do something better than anyone else is doing it!

(music licensed from www.jukedeck.com)

On today’s SBAM Weekly Podcast, Michael Rogers talks with Jason Dodge, founder of Black Truck Media + Marketing. His firm was recently named a member of the Michigan 50 Companies to Watch for 2023. He shared his thoughts on artificial intelligence (AI). “You leverage AI where it makes sense,” he says. “Automate certain things in your business, those tasks that are just a time suck. But really, when it comes down to it, does AI understand the intent of your customer? And the answer right now is no, they don't.”

The Small Business Association of Michigan is the only statewide and state-based association that focuses solely on serving the needs of Michigan’s small business community. We have been successfully serving small businesses like yours in all 83 counties of Michigan since 1969. We’re located in Lansing, just one block from the Capitol.

Our mission is to help Michigan small businesses succeed by promoting entrepreneurship, leveraging buying power and engaging in political advocacy. When small businesses band together through the Small Business Association of Michigan, they achieve more than they could on their own. 

Our 31,000+ members are as diverse as Michigan's economy. From accountants to appliance stores, manufacturers to medical, and restaurants to retailers, what unites the SBAM membership is the spirit of entrepreneurship…a spirit that drove you to start and continue to operate your own business because you believe you can do something better than anyone else is doing it!

(music licensed from www.jukedeck.com)

On today’s SBAM Weekly Podcast, Michael Rogers talks with Jon Tellier, president of JetCoSolutions, the Michigan Celebrates Small Business Veteran-Owned Small Business of the Year for 2023. “I think [being a paratrooper] teaches you to be flexible, and flexible in a couple of ways, because you exit that perfectly good airplane with a good tight body position and the wind takes you and pushes you to a location that you didn't necessarily plan on,” he says. “I think sometimes business does that, too. You get pushed into a predicament or a place where you have to figure a way to overcome it and to get around that obstacle.” 

The Small Business Association of Michigan is the only statewide and state-based association that focuses solely on serving the needs of Michigan’s small business community. We have been successfully serving small businesses like yours in all 83 counties of Michigan since 1969. We’re located in Lansing, just one block from the Capitol.

Our mission is to help Michigan small businesses succeed by promoting entrepreneurship, leveraging buying power and engaging in political advocacy. When small businesses band together through the Small Business Association of Michigan, they achieve more than they could on their own. 

Our 31,000+ members are as diverse as Michigan's economy. From accountants to appliance stores, manufacturers to medical, and restaurants to retailers, what unites the SBAM membership is the spirit of entrepreneurship…a spirit that drove you to start and continue to operate your own business because you believe you can do something better than anyone else is doing it!

(music licensed from www.jukedeck.com)

On today’s SBAM Weekly Podcast, Michael Rogers talks with Karla Wagner and her daughter Jill Small. They are Elite Members of the Small Business Association of Michigan and own Aunt Belle's Kitchen in Rockford. Their biggest challenges are “the supply chain, getting your products in a timely fashion and getting them consistent and fresh,” says Small.  “And labor, trying to hire people that are experienced enough or somebody that is willing to learn.”

The Small Business Association of Michigan is the only statewide and state-based association that focuses solely on serving the needs of Michigan’s small business community. We have been successfully serving small businesses like yours in all 83 counties of Michigan since 1969. We’re located in Lansing, just one block from the Capitol.

Our mission is to help Michigan small businesses succeed by promoting entrepreneurship, leveraging buying power and engaging in political advocacy. When small businesses band together through the Small Business Association of Michigan, they achieve more than they could on their own. 

Our 31,000+ members are as diverse as Michigan's economy. From accountants to appliance stores, manufacturers to medical, and restaurants to retailers, what unites the SBAM membership is the spirit of entrepreneurship…a spirit that drove you to start and continue to operate your own business because you believe you can do something better than anyone else is doing it!

(music licensed from www.jukedeck.com)

On today’s SBAM Weekly Podcast, Michael Rogers talks with Andi Persteiner, co-founder of Ore Dock Brewing Company in Marquette, recently named to the 2023 list of the Michigan 50 Companies to Watch. “I do like to think that we are more a collaborative industry than competitive,” she says. “We do like to spend time at other people's establishments and learn what's working for them and understand how that might translate to something in our market, whether it's an event or whether it's a style of product.”

The Small Business Association of Michigan is the only statewide and state-based association that focuses solely on serving the needs of Michigan’s small business community. We have been successfully serving small businesses like yours in all 83 counties of Michigan since 1969. We’re located in Lansing, just one block from the Capitol.

Our mission is to help Michigan small businesses succeed by promoting entrepreneurship, leveraging buying power and engaging in political advocacy. When small businesses band together through the Small Business Association of Michigan, they achieve more than they could on their own. 

Our 30,000+ members are as diverse as Michigan's economy. From accountants to appliance stores, manufacturers to medical, and restaurants to retailers, what unites the SBAM membership is the spirit of entrepreneurship…a spirit that drove you to start and continue to operate your own business because you believe you can do something better than anyone else is doing it!

(music licensed from www.jukedeck.com)