In October 2020, Nicole Goetz stepped into the role of president for VP Total Solutions, a staffing company based in Genesee County. “Being with the company for 10 years, I felt like I knew the business well,” says Goetz. “When the opportunity to take over and grow VP Total Solutions came, I jumped on it.” […]

In 1990, John Foster was the vice president of a local company called Telecommunications Engineers. By 2001, the company was sold to another party and split into two different organizations. Foster was made president of one of the companies and his partner was made president of the other. “We realized quickly that the owners weren’t […]

Mom of three, Michelle Cardillo, has been running her antique and vintage store Peace Barn for the last six years. When she opened her business, Cardillo was a full-time mom trying to find her own passion in life. She remembered her grandmother, an avid antique collector, and she found she had a connection to the […]

Stacey LaFay built her business, Franklin Benefit Solutions, in 2009 right after an economic recession. Working in the industry, LaFay spent years watching other agencies work and thought she could build something better. So, she set out to do just that. “I saw other agencies didn’t focus on building relationships with providers and clients,” says […]

In 2015, Sheena Harrison was let go from her job working in social work and found herself at a crossroad: Continue down the road she was on or start something new. “I wanted to do something that couldn’t be taken away from me,” says Harrison. “I set off to learn new skills and educate myself […]

Brandee Cooke-Brown started working at 100K Ideas the year it launched. She found the opportunity after attending a networking event at the Ferris Wheel – the building which houses the nonprofit organization – where she met 100K Ideas’ co-founder David Ollila.   “We got to talking and I shared my background, and we kind of just clicked,” says Cooke-Brown. “A week later I […]