Entrepreneur How To: Get Connected With Entrepreneurial & Funding Resources in Michigan

By MVCA Executive Director Maureen Miller Brosnan

One of the greatest challenges facing entrepreneurs when launching a business is finding capital. Funding is often the most critical resource needed to fuel a company’s growth, but many don’t know where to start or how to connect with different sources of financing or entrepreneurial support organizations available in their community. One of the primary goals of Michigan Venture Capital Association (MVCA), the trade association for the venture capital and angel community in Michigan, is to foster a collaborative entrepreneurial and investment community. With this initiative in mind, we outlined investment and entrepreneurial resources for entrepreneurs who are launching their businesses in Michigan.

The Culture People Want

The culture of an organization is manifested in the way that people behave in that organization. Of course, behavior is prompted by antecedents or activators. Behavior should also result in consequences, hopefully good but sometimes bad.

When leaders think about developing a culture in their organization, they really are trying to position a set of antecedents or activators and consequences to behavior. These are the things that can be affected by the leader. Behavior is the decision of the employee.

So, what can leaders affect and what do employees want and need?

Conducting Teleconferences

We can’t always be in the same parcel of geography with everyone we need in a meeting. Technology has given us tools that allow us to connect cheaply for the spoken part of a meeting.

All too many people have difficulty with telephone conferences. Conducting and participating in one is different than a face-to-face meeting. The following tips and tricks can help:

Small Business Accounting

Why are businesses in business? They’re in business to make money. Every last one of them. Nothing happens without money. Money comes in. Money goes out. Some of it hangs around as assets and profits. Somebody’s got to keep an eye on all that money. The Finance and Accounting departments play that role. Some of their functions and tools follow:

People Like Things In Threes-Give ‘Em What They Like

Many people treat this idea of having things grouped in threes like it’s a natural law. I don’t believe that’s true. But for some reason, people like things in threes. I’ve compiled a list of 50 examples that have meant something to me: