The Michigan Small Business & Technology Development CenterTM at Lansing Community College, the Lansing Regional Chamber of Commerce, and the Service Corps of Retired Executives have partnered to develop the Biz Resource Center (BRC).

The BRC is a free tool for new and expanding small businesses. The Center will provide valuable time and money saving resources including: counseling, computers, Internet, small business start-up software and extensive literature.

The BRC is a resource center, a counseling hub, and an information lab for individuals interested in starting or growing a business. In an attempt to simplify the process of starting a business, beneficial tools will be provided at no cost to entrepreneurs.

The BRC is located in the Lansing Regional Chamber of Commerce office at 500 E. Michigan Ave. Ste. 200, Lansing, MI 48912

Service Corps of Retired Executives

Service Corps of Retires Executives (SCORE) is a non-profit organization sponsored by the SBA and housed at the Lansing Area Chamber of Commerce. SCORE is dedicated to the small business community through free mentoring, business counseling and workshops.
 

Entrepreneur Institute of Mid-Michigan

The Entrepreneur Institute of Mid-Michigan (formerly the Lansing Community Micro-Enterprise Fund or LCMF) was established on November 20, 1995. The creation of LCMF was a collaborative effort by the City of Lansing, Michigan State University's Center for Urban Affairs, Lansing Neighborhood Associations, Lansing Community College's Small Business Development Center, Catholic Charities, First of America Bank (now National City), and Michigan National Bank (now Standard Federal). The organization received its 501(c)(3) status from the Internal Revenue Service on May 16, 1996, and hired a fill time Executive Director on November 4, 1996.

The first business training session was held in August of 1996. Since that time 32 other training sessions have been held with this last class being class #33. A total of more than 500 individuals have enrolled business plan development training program with 84% completing the training. Since that first training session 75+ entrepreneurs and businesses have been assisted by the Entrepreneur Institute of Mid-Michigan, either with the business training sessions or with a micro-loan.
 

Tri-County Regional Planning Commission

The purpose of the Tri-County Regional Planning Commission's "Regional Growth: Choices for our Future" project is to actively engage the citizens of the region to examine implications of regional land use and other growth trends on the region's future and to formulate consensus on a shared vision of regional growth in order to assure improved future regional quality of life and economic competitiveness for our citizens and businesses.

Principle activities of the "Regional Growth: Choices for our Future" project sponsored by the Commission will include:

1. Collect and objectively evaluate regional land use and other growth trend information;
2. Actively engage local governments, citizens and stakeholder groups in examining implications of these trends on the region's future;
3. Identify and evaluate alternatives to these trends, as appropriate;
4. Formulate consensus on a shared regional vision about a preferred alternative;
5. Develop tools, techniques and action strategies to implement the shared vision and preferred alternative; and
6. Establish a regional process for monitoring and evaluating success at implementing these strategies.