GRAND HAVEN, Mich. — Small businesses are gearing up for the holiday weekend in Grand Haven and across the state.
Wednesday, the social district opened in downtown, which shuts down the street from First and Washington to the channel. The "small business hub," born as a pandemic necessity to keep the restaurant industry alive, is here to stay. The data shows that Michigan small businesses are in better shape than they were before the pandemic hit, perhaps because of newfound creativity like the Grand Haven Social District.
"I think that’s why it’s so important now. Just to remind us, that it’s there. That it does exist. You can enjoy other people. Because let’s face it, we were all lonely. Everyone was by themselves. Now you can be sitting at a table, or be waiting for food, and you can meet all your neighbors, and you can talk. And just really enjoy being here,” Grand Haven, Ferrysburg and Spring Lake Chamber of Commerce President Joy Gaasch said.
Also out Wednesday, more on the status of small businesses, like the ones that are peppered throughout Grand Haven.
2023 Score Card by WXMI on Scribd
Important findings from the Michigan Association of Small Businesses report include what's being called a "new baseline" by experts. Before the pandemic, around 1,000 small businesses opened weekly in Michigan. That number now sits steadily at 1,250.
But worker shortages remain a troublesome sore spot for the small business community. There's a 23 percent decline in teenagers getting jobs, and about a four percent increase in retirees entering the workforce.
The ray of hope is people moving in from out of the country to help fill in gaps.
The numbers could be improved by more meaningful policy change.
“Things like criminal justice reform, and access to childcare, and social service benefit cliffs— those sorts of issues will become more important as we move forward try to capture more of the available labor pool to be present and accounted for in the workforce,” Brian Calley, the President and CEO of the Michigan Small Business Association said.
