I know I say it every May and I know everyone is probably getting tired of hearing it (at least I know my staff is), but this cover is my favorite of the year because it really represents what we are trying to do here in mid-Michigan—diversify our economy and bring forth new jobs from the only sector these days which is doing so, the small business sector. When you see the cover and read the articles about these entrepreneurs—some young, some not so young, some experienced, some not so experienced, but all of them successful and all of them contributing to this wonderful community by adding jobs, consumer and customer choice, and chipping in with more spendable dollars in the economy. It just makes me warm all over. It’s a particular delight to see the process of selecting the winners, from nomination and judges’ scrutiny to determining finalists to naming winners, all culminating at the Entrepreneurial Awards of Greater Lansing.

I read a book not that long ago called First Break All the Rules. It was a combination of data from Gallup, who had interviewed high achieving, successful CEOs to find if there were commonalities, if there were certain similar things that caused them to be successful. What they found is there were no commonalities. The only thing that they all had in common was the CEO who realized his or her strengths and succeeded in utilizing those to their best potential. And so, as you read through these stories, you’ll find there is no consistency in how they arrived at success but only that they did arrive at success.  As a result, they’ve added to the area’s overall quality of life and made mid-Michigan a better place to open a business.

I salute the winners and I thank those who were part of the process, including our sponsors: Andrews Hooper & Pavlik, Capitol National Bank, GEE! Communications, Maner Costerisan & Ellis, Plante & Moran, Radisson Hotel Lansing, Symbiosis International, TDS Metrocom, WILS 1320 AM and WILX TV-10. We should also recognize those who were not part of the 2006 process but do, on a daily basis, slug through the many challenges that a small business has and continue to be successful entrepreneurs. Thank you for being part of this community. We are all appreciative. Have a prosperous month.

Chris Holman

		Chris Holman Publisher