GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — Businesses in West Michigan are seeing growth, according to a new report from The Right Place.

The Right Place surveyed 163 companies to talk about the first few months of 2023.

“We made it to 163 companies and learned a lot about the pulse of the economy, kind of a nice snapshot.” Eric Icard, the senior director of business development for The Right Place, told News 8.

Seventy-one percent of the companies The Right Place spoke to saw increased sales, while 57% are planning on expanding this year.

“Overall things are looking good for Michigan companies,” Icard said.

He said employee issues have also eased for the companies. Sixty percent of companies said they are not having recruitment issues, compared to 52% in March 2022.

Icard said businesses in the area like to help each other.

“It’s kind of our culture here, we like to help each other. It’s just part of our community,” he said.
“It’s certainly helped us in the past and seems to be part of the trend in the future.”

Icard said The Right Place does the survey every spring and fall. The nonprofit also helped connect companies with business development resources, like the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, the Small Business Development Center, Spartan Innovations and Start Garden.

For the full conversation with Eric Icard, watch the video in the player above.