LSCP Takes a Look into the New Year

Posted by Lake Superior Community Partnership on January 14, 2019

Happy New Year! Here’s to wishing you all have a healthy and prosperous 2019 … and if you own a business, or want to buy or start one, our team at the Lake Superior Community Partnership can help put you on the road to success.

Looking to buy a business? We’re seeing that many of the small business owners from the Baby Boomer generation are ready to retire and may not have someone willing to take on the business. That puts a larger number of businesses up for sale than we have seen in some time. We expect to see this trend continue. Whether selling or buying, our business development team can help you develop a plan for success.

What else do we expect to see in 2019?

The Talent Shortage

With extremely low unemployment rates and the continued growth of U.P. companies, the frustration of finding employees will continue for the foreseeable future. While many strides have been made to develop pipelines, establish training opportunities and recruitment marketing, all these things will take time to see full results.

The LSCP has a variety of resources to assist you in recruiting talent and work closely with Michigan Works! to make sure your company can be successful on the talent front.

Housing

With the addition of new employees, new families, new students and visitors to our region we anticipate the availability of housing to rise on the list of challenges. Whether it’s permanent housing or housing to support a seasonal workforce, both will need to be addressed depending on your community.

New Administration

A new governor for the State of Michigan also means new department heads, staff and legislators. This means building new relationships with all of them and sharing the challenges and opportunities we are facing in the U.P. The Marquette County Ambassadors are up for the challenge and have several upcoming events that will showcase our region, as well as, educate and advocate for our communities.

Technology

With the continued advancements in technology and the ability for many to work from anywhere, we seem to be busier than ever and always connected. Whether it’s our board members or volunteers or the businesses that we meet with daily, the activity level has only seemed to increase!

Why not unplug and make it a priority to visit face to face with your business partners around the county. Our Business After Hours events are a great way to relax and enjoy meeting new people or catching up with those you already know. Perhaps, you will even get a little business done. You can find a list of our Business After Hours events at www.mqt.org.

Economic Development

This year will also see the completion of some exciting economic development projects like the new UP Health System- Marquette hospital and the University Center at Northern Michigan University. Construction continues with a variety of businesses on the 41 corridor, plans for the reuse of the old hospital have been announced and the closure of the Presque Isle Power Plant will become a reality.

We are expecting to continue to see an uptick in business start-ups as we have over the last year. As well as, expanding manufacturers across the U.P.

Keep in mind, our business development team is here for you no matter what sector or stage business you are. Our extensive network of partners allows us to bring the right folks to the table to make sure you are set up for success.

Regionalization

While regionalization is a hot trend in economic development, we are seeing it in various business and nonprofit activities as well. The ability to collaborate and leverage limited resources tends to lend itself to successful outcomes for all involved. We are very proud of the work we do with our partners in various other organizations, in particular, our economic development colleagues in Dickinson and Baraga counties, where resource sharing has become commonplace.

What are you doing to collaborate in your industry or market? Are there opportunities for you to share resources or equipment? At the LSCP, we are always happy to share our story of collaboration and lessons we have learned along the way.

From all of us at the Lake Superior Community Partnership, we wish you a very happy and prosperous 2019! If you receive a call from our business development team to visit with you, please take time to sit down with us and share your challenges and opportunities. Want to schedule a visit right now? Simply call our office at 906-226-6591.

Amy Clickner, CEO, writes a bi-weekly column for the Mining Journal.