Salvo Monaco, left, store manager at Vince and Joe’s Gourmet Market in Shelby Township and its owner Vince Vitale talk about the reason they’ve been in business for 40 years. GINA JOSEPH – THE MACOMB DAILY
Dreams do come true in Michigan.
So often, it’s considered the third most entrepreneurial state and fifth in the nation for business growth.
That comes as no surprise to Anna Ngock.
“I literally started out with a little dream,” said Ngock, whose talent and ambition attracted artists who soon shared in her vision for Gloss Nail Atelier and what has become a very successful business. “It was just me working out of a small space that grew into this team.”
Her outfit was the recipient of the Connect Macomb and Sterling Heights’ 2023 Dream Big Award. Now she and her group work out of a luxurious salon with a growing list of clientele.
“We have 3,000-square-feet of space, 18 nail stations and five treatment rooms,” said Tina Van, who joined Ngock (pronounced N-OCK) after watching her career take off on social media. “I had been following her on Instagram.”
What Van observed about her mentor was that she wasn’t just posting photos online to promote her work but engaging her followers with content that was interesting, inspiring and often funny.
“She just gave off this fun vibe,” Van said.
Eventually, Van reached out to Ngock and after visiting the salon became part of the team of award-winning professionals who not only work to make everyone feel phenomenal but encourage each other to dream.
“Everybody is so happy about what they do here,” said Van, who credits a lot of that to Ngock. “I feel like she really cares, not only about the client’s experience but my experience. She has the ability to push you to grow without bossing you.”
Opportunities abound
Gloss Nail Atelier in Sterling Heights is one of hundreds of new businesses that opened in Michigan over the past year.
A report by the business consulting firm Venture Smarter, analyzing data from the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics showed that Michigan had a business growth rate between December of 2021 and December 2022 of 9.8%.
During that time the state saw establishments increase from 275,636 in 2021 to 302,624 in 2022.
“Michigan experienced a small business revenue increase of 24% between January 2020 and January 2022, significantly higher than the 6.9% average rate across the nation,” according to the report.
Michigan’s healthy business environment stems from a variety of programs and resources, including personalized assistance for businesses starting, relocating or expanding operations in the state. Michigan also offers a fair and efficient 6% corporate income tax and $500 million in annual business savings through the elimination of industrial personal property tax, according to Michigan Economic and Development Corporation.
Topping the list was Georgia, with a business growth rate of 13.5%, followed by Virginia with 10.5%, Arizona, 10.4%, and just ahead of Michigan were Montana and Vermont, which tied with a business growth rate of 10.2%.
New businesses
In terms of new businesses one would think Florida would be last on the list — since that’s where many go when they retire from working — but it actually tops the list of states with the most entrepreneurial population.
Researchers at The Digital Project Manager analyzed eight indicators for how entrepreneurial a state is including percentage of the population that start a new business, percentage of start-ups still active after one year, number of small businesses per 100,000 of the population and growth rate of business applications as well as others.
Their data showed Florida had the highest percentage of population starting a business at 0.61% or 13,238 per 100,000, and 86% of those were started out of choice rather than necessity. This could mean residents living in Florida who are unemployed or retired found the need to create another stream of income.
Georgia took second place, with 10,871 small businesses per 100,000 of the population and what is an obvious entrepreneurial drive.
Michigan ranked third.
In 2022 there was a significant growth in business applications from 2019 and 78% of start-ups are still active after one year totaling 9,091 small businesses per 100,000 of the population.
The national average of businesses failing after 5 years is 49%, Michigan is slightly below that, with only 47% of businesses failing.
Also in the top five states following Michigan for entrepreneurship were Oklahoma, where 0.44% of the population started a new business and Wyoming has 12,357 small businesses per 100,000.
Local growth
All of these numbers follow what was a severe drop in businesses caused by COVID-19.
“I think what we saw during the pandemic was a definite slow down,” said Vicki Rowinski, director of Macomb County Planning and Economic Development (MCPED).
However, what she and her team at MCPED are seeing now is a significant growth in Macomb County ventures and in all industries.
In 2021 there were 19,200 new businesses. In 2022 that number grew to 19,900.
“A lot of the growth has been happening in the construction industry,” Rowinski said. This could be attributed to a resurgence of the supply chain and the need for new home construction, which is still ongoing.
“Surprisingly, retail growth is up,” Rowinski said.
At least 20 new stores have opened in the last year as well as 20 new manufacturing businesses, all of which are supported by a variety of programs encouraging business growth.
Unique to Macomb County is the Velocity Center in Sterling Heights. Created in 2011, through a partnership between the MCEDC, the city of Sterling Heights, and Oakland University it serves as a SmartZone collaboration center designed to spur new businesses and economic growth in defense, homeland security and advanced manufacturing.
One of its programs provides a six-month program where international companies are invited to learn about what it would take to expand their corporate footprint into Michigan.
“Our greatest success story there is SAPA,” Rowinski said, of the company that provides state-of-the-art transmission technology solutions for military tracked and wheeled vehicle applications located in Shelby Township.
Michigan made
Ngock said people from other states often ask her why Michigan?
She just smiles then tells them if you know Michigan, you know why.
“It’s our diversity. We have people that have moved here from all over the world,” she said, not to mention communities that range from Metropolitan Detroit and suburban cities like Sterling Heights, Bloomfield Hills and Royal Oak to farming communities like Romeo and Armada.
“We have everything here,” Ngock said, proudly of her home state and city.
Ngock said everyone she dealt with during the construction of her salon was helpful including the building inspectors, who provided her and Van with a number of tips during the process.
Having the City of Sterling Heights acknowledge their hard work with an award has also been good for business.
“We cried,” Van said, when the city presented them with their Dream Award.
Ngock concurred.
“That was such a remarkable experience,” Ngock said, who noticed everyone from the mayor to council and chamber members seemed to work together to make the city work.
Ngock said she really admires groups like Sterling’s Connect, a new name for the chamber designed to reflect its mission to connect businesses to their community and patrons.
“I like that they’re forward thinkers. They understand that the world is changing and that they need to bring in new members that can adapt. I’m blown away by it.”
Growing a business
This year marks the 40th anniversary of Vince and Joe’s Gourmet Market and if any Michiganders know what it takes to start a business and make it grow it’s the Vitale family.
According to the family’s history it was Mimma Vitale who came up with the idea for a local market back in the 1980s. Her grandfather and uncle owned Manzella’s Fruit Market on Harper in St. Clair Shores so she grew up knowing the value that a local market with fresh produce had in the community.
She also knew that such a venture would require long hours and hard work but she was determined and soon had the support of her husband, Vince Vitale, who was in the construction business at the time.
Despite having no startup money Mimma and Vince, along with his brother Joe Vitale, took a chance and built their first Vince & Joe’s Gourmet Market on land they owned in Clinton Township. The shop at the corner of Garfield and Canal Roads was stocked with local produce and meats provided by farmers who gathered at Detroit’s Eastern Market. To this day, Joe’s son, Gaspare, travels to the Eastern Market to pick out fresh produce and other items for the market during the wee hours of the morning.
Over time they expanded their products to include other items that local residents required and often asked for including olive oil, fresh bread, deli meats and cheeses. Having items such as fresh grated Parmesan and Mozzarella cheese, along with fresh deli meats made the market a popular stop for lunch and groceries.
Vince & Joe’s Gourmet Market on Garfield or their second location on Van Dyke Avenue in Shelby Township and you’re sure to see patrons enjoying a hot slice of gourmet pizza while chatting with friends or one of the owners.
“We’re constantly listening to our customers,” said Salvo Monaco, manager for the Shelby Township location, noting this is one of the reasons they carry such a wide variety of food, be it crumpets loved by the English and Scots or spinach pie and hummus for their Mediterranean patrons.
They also watch the trends.
Long before American patrons were asking for gluten free products, Mimma saw the popularity growing in Europe prompting Vince and Joe’s to not only import the products but produce them.
The family also works with aspiring entrepreneurs looking to get their product to market.
Monaco said the MSU Extension plays a big role in helping Michigan’s cottage foods industry break into local markets by providing them with information on proper processing and labeling requirements. Garden Fresh (salsa) and Dave’s Sweet Tooth (toffee) are both popular brands that grew out of the small industry that provides a start for many successful businesses.
As for the business’ longevity?
“We don’t look for what is the cheapest. We look for quality,” said Vince Vitale, pointing out one of the hallmarks for a successful market during one of his daily visits, which included reminding his staff to cure the olives and sharing his knowledge about the health benefits of a California pomegranate.
“This is very good for you,” Vitale said, in a strong accent revealing an Italian lineage that goes back to immigrants leaving Italy to make their fortune in America.
Wanting the best for his customers has always been at the forefront of the family’s business whether it’s local products purchased from farmers they’ve worked with for years, new businesses or those they import from other states and countries including Italy, where a great many of the pasta products are derived.
Vitale’s customers trust that he’ll have the best of what they need.
“You gotta do the best for your customers. Then you gotta do better. You do that. You got no problems,” he added with a smile before heading off toward the wine section, which is stocked with vintages from around the world.