MARQUETTE, Mich. (WLUC) – Small businesses in the Upper Peninsula shared how much they grew in Marquette on Monday.
The Central U.P. Small Business Support Hub celebrated its first anniversary at the Ore Dock Brewing Co.
Young’s Menswear Owner Tyler Myrick says the Hub helped him connect his two locations seamlessly.
“Grow my inventory and better track that for myself, my customers and my team, and kind of make a little easier process for myself and the team so that I can really do some more research, manage the customers up front and really grow,” Myrick said.
In the Hub’s first year, it distributed more than $214,000 for improvements, such as updating stores. It also helped more than 500 businesses across seven counties with setting up LLCs, grant writing and marketing.
Lake Superior Community Partnership CEO Christopher Germain says the community grows through small businesses.
“Small businesses really define our communities, right, and the places that we love,” Germain said. “If you ask somebody what they love about their community, they’re probably gonna mention the coffee shop, or the bookstore that they’re down the street from or their little electronic store they might have.”
Germain says the Hub makes growing a business less intimidating by sending small business navigators to the owners instead of them traveling long distances for help.
“When we set up the Hub, we actually determined we had a lot of resources, but people were really struggling to access them,” Germain said. “So, I think that’s what the legacy of the Hub will be is really proving that concept works.”
The proof lies in the celebration’s room full of success stories.
“There’s a lot of great resources out there for people that most people don’t know about, especially the Hub to help U.P. businesses,” Myrick said. “They’re here for us. We just got to utilize them.”
You also have a chance to fuel your ambitions with the Hub’s last grant cycle in October. Learn more about the Hub and the grant application process here.
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