W. Michigan past 'corporate Darwinism'

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) - In an effort to serve as a resource to the West Michigan community during these tough economic times, the Grand Valley State University Seidman College of Business held a free breakfast seminar for more than 200 area business leaders Wednesday, entitled, "The U.S. Economy: Where do we go from here."

"We have to do these types of things as part of our social responsibility as being a state university, to help keep people informed and help provide information," said Paul Isely, Associate Professor with the Seidman Economics Department.

Wednesday's seminar came of the heels of several successful public events the Seidman College of Business put on when the economic downturn began to plummet at an even greater speed in the fall of 2008.

"Part of the problem is we need to be, as a state, ready for this recovery, and right now, to do business in the state of Michigan is very difficult," said Jeanne Englehart, President and CEO of the Grand Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce.

"It's bad for small business, but the good news is, we are seeing a lot people who are starting small businesses in the West Michigan area, primarily because they've been laid off, or they're outsourced, or downsized. And what there saying is, we love it here, our family loves it here, so I'm going to take a chance and start a business. We're seeing a tremendous increase in home based businesses.

"So it isn't all doom and gloom, we are seeing a lot of new businesses starting," she continued. "But we as a chamber have to be very supportive of those small businesses and nurture them, so they grow into those big businesses, that create more jobs."

While the state of Michigan has been hit harder than most areas across the country due to the struggles of the auto industry, many economists believe West Michigan is positioned better than most to make a quicker recovery.

"We've been in (it) a longer period of time, which is actually good news here in West Michigan," Isely told 24 Hour News 8. "The national unemployment rate is growing much faster than it is here in West Michigan. We've already had the corporate Darwinism happen, we've already had those weak firms go out of business, so as we come out of this recession, West Michigan is really set up for a much faster recovery than the rest of the United States."

In fact, Isely believes the West Michigan economy could start turning around by the end of the year.

"If a stimulus package is put into place, the third quarter of this year, we'll start to see the turning point," Isley says. "Unemployment will stay high for another year, but we'll start to see the turning point at the middle of this year."

The panel of nine GVSU professors and area business leaders each made short presentations in their areas of expertise, before the group held a extended question and answer session with the crowd of more than 200, that packed the Loosemore Auditorium of the Grand Valley DeVos Center in downtown Grand Rapids.

The panel included:

Dan Giedeman, Associate Professor - Seidman Economics Department
Paul Isely, Associate Professor - Seidman Economics Department
Jeanne Englehart, President/CEO - Grand Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce
John Balbach, Consultant - SBTDC Technology Business
Mitch Stapley, CFA Chief Fixed Income Officer - Fifth Third Asset Management, Inc. (FTAM)
Tom Ranville, Senior Vice President Midwest Middle Market Banking - Bank of America
Jim Gillette, Director & Supllier Analysis - CSM Worldwide
Gregg K. Dimkoff, Professor of Finance - Director of the Seidman Financial Planning Certificate Program