By: Deborah Johnson Wood
A group of 20 Grand Rapids
professionals have formed a coalition to help new and emerging
companies do business with the region's growing medical sector. The
group consists of a variety of services new businesses need to find and
lease commercial space, to handle human resources issues, to market the
company – even to interpret foreign languages and cultural norms.
The coalition, Medical Mile Resource Group
(MMRG), allows representation from only one professional from a given
industry, but focuses on attracting professionals from a wide base of
service sectors.
"I knew how the West Michigan Science & Technology Initiative
incubator was working to help life sciences companies grow, and it was
obvious those companies are going to be looking for space and hiring
people," says Paul Spoelstra, owner of Paul C. Spoelstra &
Associates and founder of MMRG with Tony Pearson, True North Real Estate & Property Management and Scott Goss, Action COACH Business Coaching.
"I started thinking, who's going to help with the spinoff and help those people assimilate into Grand Rapids," Spoelstra says.
And while the group has "medical mile"
in its name, its geographic focus is broader than just Grand Rapids'
Michigan Street where medical development is booming. The group
recognizes that the growth of the medical community will generate jobs
in non-medical business sectors such as transportation, financial and
lending services, restaurants and housing. MMRG sees this growth
impacting all of West Michigan.
"If Tony (Pearson) finds out a new firm
needs office or lab space, he'll help them find the spot," Spoelstra
says. "And if a company is expanding, the human resources experts will
help them with hiring, or the cultural and language interpreter can
help them get acclimated to the area."
Source: Paul C. Spoelstra, Medical Mile Resource Group; Craig Clark, Clark Communications
Deborah Johnson Wood is development news editor for Rapid Growth Media. She can be contacted at [email protected].
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