News & Resources

Tips on building a tip-top company culture

What does Sachse Construction, a 125+ person commercial construction management firm, do to earn its nationwide recognition for having outstanding company culture?

September 12, 2016

Take the first step toward energy savings with an energy audit

Where should you start when it comes to saving money through energy efficiency? What changes or upgrades are the most cost-effective to make? Do you know how much money your business is currently wasting because …

September 7, 2016

Amazon’s latest experiment with a 30 hour work week

In a recent announcement by Amazon, they are implementing a pilot program, whereby teams of specialized employees including their managers, will work a 30-hour work week. The stated goal of the program is “to create …

September 7, 2016

Go home. Better yet, stay home!

Flu season is coming up and one of the biggest hazards might be your own employees, or you. Why? People coming to work sick. It’s rude, it’s selfish, and it doesn’t make anyone a hero.

September 2, 2016

Learn how to be a successful startup

Today on SBAM Shorts Michael Rogers, vice president communications for the Small Business Association of Michigan, talks about the keys to a successful startup operation with business author Herby Fabius.

September 2, 2016

Consumers Energy works to power-up the small business community

Consumers Energy works to help ensure small business success and profitability through a variety of initiatives.

September 1, 2016

A tale of two titles

The owner of an insurance agency I know did an experiment. Sheila VanZile of Watermark Insurance printed business cards with two different titles: President and Queen. Over the course of time, she used both…

August 31, 2016

Five customer service tips that will make clients love you

Customer service is always a hot topic in both the consumer and business space. Everyone knows it’s important, but how can you implement the practices to make your company stand out from the rest?

August 26, 2016

Lessons of success from a Michigan small business named to Inc. 5000 list of fast growing companies

Akervall Technologies had 342 percent growth over the past three years. Their flagship product is the SISU mouth guard for sports use.

August 22, 2016

How to deal with the mistakes you make when running a small business

Hear from a top business coach about how you can learn from common mistakes other small business owners make.

August 12, 2016

New SBAM survey shows small business caution

“We’re not hearing any serious worries expressed yet, but after a couple years of strong economic performance, entrepreneurs seem to be tapping the brakes a bit.”

August 8, 2016

To be or not to be exempt? A review of the Administrative Exemption

Seriously, what factors qualify “Administrative” employees for the FLSA overtime exemption?

July 25, 2016

Pokemon Go: One Pikachu away from new business

The Pokemon Go craze has created joy and consternation in equal measure across the globe. There is a common occurrence, though, which should fall into the joy category for small business: increased traffic around your …

July 22, 2016

How to prevent small business bottlenecks, and other management tips and advice

Business coach and consultant Tom Borg shares lots of tips and advice.

July 20, 2016

EMV cards and other developments in credit card processing

Why is it important to small business success to be able to accept credit cards from your customers?

June 24, 2016

Why your small business needs an advisory board. Today on SBAM Shorts.

Michael Rogers talks with Jose Infante, is a senior development officer for Independent Bank, about the importance of having a small business advisory board.

June 14, 2016

Are you making work meaningless?

Employee engagement is at the top of many organizations’ priority lists. Meaningful work contributes greatly to engagement, yet there has been little research on how to make work more (or less) meaningful for employees.

June 10, 2016

Ban the email: The ultimate cure for employee burnout?

Today we do ever more with ever less, and we expect every one of our employees to embrace that philosophy. But what is the effect of it on their personal lives?