BAY CITY, MICH.- The Michigan Small Business Development Center (MI-SBDC) and Bay Future, Inc. are excited to welcome Michelle Judd to the team as a contractor working as a Business Consultant for Bay County residents and small businesses. The position was made possible through a collaboration with Bay Future, Inc. and Bay County, funded by the American Rescue Plan Act.
Michelle is a proud Bay County resident and joins the team with 30 years of experience in marketing and management in the publishing, hospitality, and retail industries. After working as a publisher for some time, she returned to her roots and her family’s businesses, Bay City Boat Lines and Bay City Antiques Center, in Bay City where she holds the roles of co-owner, manager, and marketer. Bay City Boat Lines, a large charter boat operation, just completed its 25th season, and the Bay City Antiques Center, Michigan’s largest antique mall, has been going strong since 1989. Over the last few years, Michelle has begun sharing her experiences with younger generations as a faculty member at Saginaw Valley State University, where she earned her Masters in Business Administration, and at Northwood University, where she teaches courses in marketing, advertising strategy, management, and family business.
“It is my great honor to join Bay Future and the Lake Huron Region Michigan Small Business Development Center at Saginaw Valley State University as a consultant focused on serving small businesses in Bay County. I look forward to harnessing the resources of both organizations to make a difference for business owners who want to create a startup, stay in business or grow their company in this community.
Having worked alongside my family in the operation of several local companies for many years now, I understand both the great joy and the many challenges that small businesses experience and I look forward to helping others reach their goals,” said Judd.
As a part of the Small Business and Entrepreneurial Support program Judd’s priorities will be to provide consulting, education, and outreach to help small businesses in Bay County launch, grow, transition and innovate. Assistance includes critical tools, resources and guides, consulting support, and small business training.
The focuses of the program are to:
• Provide confidential one-on-one consulting services to small businesses
• Help businesses initiate, grow and improve operations
• Facilitate business workshops on topics relevant to Bay County businesses
• Help businesses best utilize federal, state, and regional economic development initiatives and support programs as well as strategic private sector partners
“Small business is the lifeblood of our community’s economy. Bringing Michelle to the team as a Small Business Consultant will provide a huge benefit for businesses in our community that continue to navigate through issues brought on directly and indirectly by the COVID-19 pandemic. As a second-generation entrepreneur and small business owner, Michelle knows Bay County and she knows the climate that our entrepreneurs and small businesses operate in every day. Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, we’ve witnessed the ever-increasing need for additional assistance for small businesses. With Michelle providing consulting and support, we’re excited and looking forward to her getting out in the community and offering resources to those businesses,” said Trevor M. Keyes, President & CEO of Bay Future, Inc.
This program is the third of three programs being executed by Bay Future, Inc. and partners as part of a $2 Million proposal made possible through the Bay County Board of Commissioners’ allocation of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding to support small business and our economy. In January of 2022, The Bay County Board of Commissioners unanimously passed a resolution at a special meeting to allocate $2 million of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding to Bay Future, Inc. to assist small businesses that were affected and impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Bay Future’s role has been to act as the contractual fiduciary of the funds in partnership with the Bay Area Chamber of Commerce and the Lake Huron Region Michigan Small Business Development Center in program implementation.
The proposal included three initiatives including:
• Small Business Grant Funding
• Small Business and Entrepreneurial Support (in partnership with the SBDC)
• Workforce Talent Attraction & Retention (in partnership with the Bay Area Chamber of Commerce)
“Since Executive Order 20-2020 in March of 2020, the SBDC along with other local partners like Bay Future, Inc. have been providing support to small businesses. We have been their go-to resources to help navigate the uncharted waters of the pandemic. We’re thankful we have the opportunity to offer critical tools and resources to guide entrepreneurs in launching their new business, and early-stage startups, as well as providing consulting services to help business owners put a growth plan into action, and expert consulting to help mobilize technology to commercialization. After the once-in-a-century pandemic, with this funding, our local economy will now be poised for a once-in-a-generation comeback,” said Beth L. Roszatycki, Chief Client Services Officer, Michigan Small Business Development Center.
