Northern Lights - Issue 31 - July 2024
MANTON: A GEM IN THE MAKING: Venture North Seeking Opportunities to Serve Businesses
by AMY LANE
When Jessica Schisser looks at Manton, she sees promise.
In the small rural Wexford County community, there’s land, infrastructure, and business owners who want to expand. And in Venture North Funding & Development, there’s an available partner to help small businesses grow.
“There’s always people who want to grow their business, but not sure where to start or who to talk to,” said Schisser, Manton’s city clerk. Venture North, a federally certified Community Development Financial Institution that offers loans, mini grants and consulting services, can help.
The landmark Manton Station – named after George Manton, one of the town’s founders – is now home to outdoor concerts and gatherings.
Out of the Box
“It’s a different type of business model,” Schisser said. “It’s unique, it’s out-of-the-box, and a lot of people don’t know there’s that type of resource available to them.”
In Wexford and the nine other northwest Michigan counties that Venture North serves, Venture North’s team works with small businesses to ascertain needs, and assist. Venture North can offer affordable loans with terms to fit business plans and projections, mini grants to help businesses address issues or bridge gaps that are holding them back from growing, and no-cost consulting to help solve problems or take advantage of business opportunities.
“While we understand that a group of small businesses may all be facing similar challenges, we know that no two businesses are experiencing those challenges in the same way as others,” said Annie Olds, Venture North business development manager and business coach. “We take a holistic approach to understanding the needs of each business we work with and determine together with those businesses if it’s financing or guidance that they need to move the needle. And quite often, we’re connecting them to additional resources that they may not be aware of.”
Great Promise
Manton’s business mix includes industrial/manufacturing, retail and restaurants, and in the surrounding area, a golf course and Christmas tree farming. “There’s much room and opportunity for growth,” Schisser said. “And there’s lots of vacant parcels inside city limits…and our infrastructure can handle doubling the capacity. So, our town’s ready, with infrastructure to grow.”
With a small-town atmosphere but proximity to larger cities like Traverse City, Manton is attracting new residents. Schisser said that of the last 32 residential properties that have sold in city limits, 27 of the homebuyers hailed from the Traverse City area. The majority of those buyers work in Traverse City though some are retired, she said, adding: “Realtors have a waiting list.”
Manton “is becoming a bedroom community of Traverse City,” Schisser said. And the city’s population has been trending young: According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2022 American Community Survey, the median age in Manton was 33, well below the median age of 42.2 in Wexford County and 40.3 in Michigan.
Serving People and Communities that Are Underserved
Venture North President Laura Galbraith said homebuyer interest from the Traverse City area is resurgence that “should be an economic spark for the community.” And it’s an important sign to Venture North in its mission to serve people and geographic areas most in need.
“Not only do we need to spend 60 percent of our capital and resources annually in low-income communities, such as Manton, we are trying to identify low-income communities that are growing, where there may be new entrepreneurs or business expansion opportunities,” Galbraith said. “Are there Manton-based entrepreneurs that need help with their business planning? Are there entrepreneurs that need capital to open their business in the city?”
Flexible Financial Solutions for Businesses
Steve Brower, Venture North business development manager and business coach, said he sees a niche for Venture North in providing small, affordable and flexible loans, as well as business consulting that can include bookkeeping, business planning, financial projections, marketing and legal services, through Venture North’s own team of business coaches and consultants and outside experts.
If “people don’t have anybody to talk to for consulting, for information,” Venture North can help, he said. Additionally, “it is a small community, and having access to capital will help them grow.”
Good Things Abound
So too, can other positive steps underway. Schisser, who sees Manton as “a little gem,” points to two recent grants helpful to the city: A more than $1 million Community Development Block Grant for a downtown splash pad and playgrounds, and a $50,000 Michigan State Housing Development Authority grant.
The housing grant, part of a state program that provides funding to cities, villages and townships who take actions to encourage increased housing supply and affordability, will go toward Manton’s master plan zoning update and also to evaluate some vacant city properties to see if they can be developed for housing, Schisser said.
And last September, the Michigan Strategic Fund awarded the CDBG public gathering spaces initiative grant, one of 16 given to local units of government seeking to create and enhance recreational places – placemaking efforts toward community vibrancy and growth.
“It’s huge,” Schisser said of the grant and its potential impact. She said the splash pad “will absolutely be a destination,” bringing people who “eat and shop in your community, so that has economic benefit.” Venture North will administer the grant, and Schisser said a reason the city chose Venture North over other grant administrators was Venture North’s geographic reach, non-specific to the Grand Traverse region. “We definitely wanted someone local,” she said.
Schisser first became familiar with Venture North when she had a previous job in Traverse City and said she’s “always been a fan.” Over a 15-year span in its 10-county region, Venture North has carved out a track record: 170 loans totaling $10.3 million, helping businesses to create 525 jobs and retain 560 employees; 450 small grants totaling $1.2 million; and 622 businesses supported with 8,000 hours of consulting.
Venture North: “We Want to Help”
As it looks to build connections in Manton and other underserved communities, Venture North seeks to collaborate with a local partner who can introduce the organization to the community, helping to build relationships, Olds said. And Schisser is ready to assist.
“I think the entrepreneurs that we have, and the business owners that we have…don’t even know that something like Venture North exists,” she said. “I would love to hold…a networking event, a business mixer. That would be great, and have Venture North as the guest.”
Galbraith said Venture North will gladly take the offer and hopes to move forward this summer and learn more about the community, its priorities and how it can help by putting its resources to work in Manton.
And the conversations that unfold, can lead to mutual benefits.
“You build those relationships,” Schisser said, “and it cultivates economic growth for everyone.”
A beautiful spot at the Lake Billings RV Park.
Amy Lane is a veteran Michigan business reporter whose background includes work with Crain Communications Inc., Crain’s Detroit Business and serving as Capitol correspondent for nearly 25 years. Now a freelance reporter and journalist, Lane’s work has appeared in many publications including Traverse City Business News.
