Featured Resources on Entrepreneurship

U-M Dearborn’s annual eCities research study invites local communities to share their knowledge concerning entrepreneurship, economic development, and job growth. Cities, townships and villages that participate receive a “benchmark” report.

Five entrepreneurs and business leaders in metro Detroit where identified as "Champions of a New Economy" by Junior Achievement of Southeastern Michigan, in partnership with DBusiness magazine and News/Talk 760 WJR.

A report from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation says start-ups are a major driver for job growth in the U.S. The report, entitled "The Importance of Startups in Job Creation and Job Destruction (PDF)," is based upon U.S. Census Bureau's business dynamic statistics.

East Lansing Technology Innovation Center The city of East Lansing, in partnership with the Lansing Regional SmartZone, the East Lansing Downtown Development Authority and the Local Development Finance Authority, has created this center to facilitate the development of the technology-based economy of the mid-Michigan region and bolster the region's professional workforce.

TechTown, Wayne State University Research and Technology Park TechTown stimulates job growth and small-business creation by developing companies in emerging high-technology industries including advanced engineering, life sciences and alternative energy. Read about why GiftZip.com moved from East Lansing to Detroit.

YourEconomy.org is a free business census containing more than 19.4 million active establishments that is offered by the Edward Lowe Foundation. The online tool helps communities gather information and data about business activity in their area and find out how they stand up to other communities.

Michigan State University’s Land Policy Institute administers the Creating Entrepreneurial Communities Project, an “initiative to build community support for entrepreneurs.” Right now, eight Michigan communities are participating in a three-year project (2010-2013). Over the three years, communities will “focus on building a strong community foundation,” then develop and implement their programs.

The Institute for Local Self-Reliance’s (ILSR) released their 2011 Independent Business Survey, which finds that independent businesses “located in communities that have an active ‘buy local’ campaign operated by a local business organization, such as an Independent Business Alliance or a Local First group, experienced markedly strong revenue growth in 2010 compared to those in areas without such an initiative.” View their press release.