FERNDALE – State Representative Andy Meisner (D-Oakland County), Chair of the House Commerce
Committee, today announced a detailed new plan to stimulate Michigan's economy by creating a culture of
entrepreneurship, and offering powerful new tools and incentives to people willing to start their own businesses and
become the job providers of tomorrow.
"By embracing a culture of entrepreneurship and doing everything we can to support small business growth,
we can rebuild and diversify Michigan's economy – one new business at a time," Meisner said. "What some people see
as a crisis, I see as an opportunity to unleash the experience, hard work and creativity of Michigan citizens. We need
all hands on deck to move Michigan forward."
Meisner's multi-point plan, the Michigan Spirit of Entrepreneurship Initiative, is designed to make
Michigan first in the nation for supporting small business growth. For the short-term strategy, there will be an
unparalleled set of resources and tools made available to remove barriers to new business' success, especially in the
first few years. The long-term strategy is to change Michigan's "big company" culture by teaching students at all
learning levels about entrepreneurship, and providing access to small-business curriculum and training.
Meisner's tools for entrepreneurs include:
- Healthcare tax credits for new business owners and tax deductions for personal income invested in small businesses.
- Transferable R&D tax credits to help more innovations get to the market.
- Access to the state's bulk-purchasing program to reduce small business costs.
Meisner's plan to create a culture of entrepreneurship includes:
- Free tuition for students of any age in entrepreneurship courses.
- A grant program to encourage student participation in programs like Junior Achievement that teach business skills and financial literacy.
- Creating a statewide center for entrepreneurialism.
"The loss of our manufacturing jobs and impending buyouts of thousands of employees creates a huge pool of people
who could be future job providers," Meisner said. "Entrepreneurship is the closest thing we've got to a silver bullet to
turn this around and repopulate our economy with small businesses."
Scott Thornton, president of Ferndale's American Electric Vehicle Company who produces
the neighborhood electric car called the Kurrent, said his company -- made up of auto executives who are experienced in
marketing, brand development, purchasing, design and manufacturing -- was aware of some of Michigan's small business
incentives when they launched last year, but Meisner's entrepreneurial package would be extremely beneficial for
start-up businesses.
"Most people who start their own businesses are visionaries and full of enthusiasm, but usually do not
know about all of the resources that are available and find the process hard to navigate," Thornton said. "One-stop
locations and the resources detailed in Meisner's plan have many advantages for new businesses and will be a tremendous
value."
According to Michigan.gov/beyourownboss, companies with 500 or fewer employees represent 99.7 percent of
all employees in the U.S. In Michigan, more than 1.4 million citizens work at one of the 230,000 firms that employ less
than 50 people. Nearly 90 percent of Michigan's employees work for companies with 20 or fewer employees.
Meisner's proposal was inspired by the Small Business Association of Michigan's (SBAM) Entrepreneurship
Scorecard, which recently upgraded Michigan from an "F" last year to a "D" this year, noting: "Nothing short of a
far-reaching strategy and policy shift is warranted if Michigan is to reassert itself as a growth state."
And, The Cherry Commission Report on Higher Education and Growth reported that: "Michigan must rekindle a
culture of entrepreneurship, starting with the education of all the state's young people and extending to how Michigan
thinks about economic development and job-training activities."