When David Gaines was young, he didn’t envision taking over the family business, Gaines Jewelry. “I wanted nothing to do with the jewelry business,” says Gaines. “Because to me, working at my father’s business as a teenager, it was just cleaning counters and getting everyone lunch.” But after he graduated from high school, Gaines gained […]

Alicia Gibbons, the third-generation owner of Donna’s Donuts, has always been a part of the local business. “Donna’s was the first place I went before they took me home from the hospital,” says Gibbons. “My parents and grandparents had to show me off.” The shop was originally under ownership outside Gibbon’s family, but a few […]

In 2013, Grace Peabody graduated from Michigan State University Eli Broad College of Business with a degree in Marketing and Entrepreneurship. It was then that she and her father Jim decided to go into business together. “I never thought I’d be in insurance,” says Peabody. “It’s something you kind of fall into and then you […]

For Nick Wambach, it all started at Warwick Hills Golf & Country Club. At 16 years old, he got a job working in the bag room at the local country club where he was able to meet a variety of people in the area. “In a job like that, you learn how to communicate with […]

Almost four years ago, Daniel Buccilli sold his share of a boutique hair salon in East Lansing so he could move to Genesee County to be closer to his fiancé, David. He did some consulting for other salons in the area, but that wasn’t fostering his passion. “My main focus is hair, I love the […]

Common Citizen, a cannabis dispensary located in Flint on Averill Avenue, was built four years ago when the owners saw the direction Michigan was headed as it relates to cannabis. They realized they could be at the forefront of the new industry emerging in the state and went to work making their business a reality. […]