Small Business
entrepreneurship, funding, workforce development, and site selection
Lenawee County has roughly 1,800 total businesses. Of those, 925 businesses had fewer than five employees. This illustrates that a large share of the county’s business base is very small enterprises. The county has received recognition for its small-business friendliness: in 2021, an external analysis ranked Lenawee County as the top county in Michigan for small business. Lenawee County is a modestly sized community with a significant workforce. That kind of business base tends to benefit from targeted local economic development and support organizations like Lenawee Now.
Lower barrier to entry and growth
Entrepreneurs have access to incubators, mentoring, business planning and flexible financing which helps reduce risk and encourages new startups, even for people who don’t qualify for traditional bank financing.
More financing pathways
With loan funds, grant support and investor networks, small businesses have alternatives to traditional financing. That helps especially for businesses needing equipment, facility upgrades or working capital.
Better workforce prospects
Through training, talent pipelines and workforce-education alignment, small businesses are more likely to find and retain qualified workers, often a key hurdle in rural or semi-rural areas.
Growth & expansion potential:
With site selection help, incentives and business retention efforts, businesses can expand operations, hire more employees and remain competitive which contributes to overall economic growth in the county.
Lenawee Now
Our Role
Mission: to help businesses start up or expand; to develop a talented workforce; to connect businesses to funding; and to support site selection and relocation/expansion for companies considering Lenawee County.
Lenawee Now collaborates with state and local economic developers, regional partners, educators, employers, and community organizations across the county.
Supporting Small Business, Entrepreneurship, and Economic development
Entrepreneurship and Business Startups
Entrepreneur Services
Lean Rocket Local is a program in partnership with Lean Rocket Lab powered by American1 Credit Union, helps entrepreneurs learn business processes, marketing, funding and more. Launch Lenawee is a mentoring and education program, Lenawee Now helps individuals with business ideas get off the ground. Launch Lenawee offers a multi-month program, combining in-person and online learning, guest presenters, mentors and business-planning support.
Incubator Space
The Adrian Innovation Center (AIC) at Adrian College provides entrepreneurs with access to office space (physical or virtual), and basic business infrastructure (computers, internet, printing) to help them launch.
Advisory ans mentoring Services
Through a local branch of Michigan Small Business Development Center (MI-SBDC), Lenawee Now facilitates access to business counseling, planning, marketing advice, market research and commercialization services.
RedTire
RedTire is a free business succession program connecting retiring businesses owners with entrepreneurs to prevent business closures, preserve local jobs and maintain the local economy by finding new owners for existing businesses, acting as a matchmaking service for seamless transitions.
Together, these resources help reduce the barriers for people who want to launch small businesses and increase the odds that those businesses will be sustainable.
Funding Loans and Grants
Lenawee County Business Revolving Loan Fund
This fund provides loans for things like equipment upgrades, facility expansion, commercial real estate, business acquisitions, working capital, etc. This helps businesses that may have trouble qualifying for traditional bank financing.
USDA Loan Programs
For small businesses needing micro-financing (especially those that might struggle to get traditional loans), the Lenawee Now USDA program provides smaller loans to help with startup costs, expansion, working capital, etc.
Grant Support and Small-Business Support Hub
In 2024, Lenawee Now was awarded a $1.4 million grant via the statewide support-hub program (in partnership with the private–public “Lean Rocket Lab” and the statewide SBDC network). This grant funds both business coaching (via a Fellows Program) and direct grants — about $400,000 of the total — to eligible small businesses to help cover technical assistance or professional services, and to help them become “lending-ready”.
Access to State Programs/Incentives
Through their toolbox, Lenawee Now helps businesses understand and apply for other state-level financing, including incentives, loan participation, collateral support and other financing tools.
Small businesses and startups in Lenawee County have more financing options beyond traditional bank loans — often tailored to smaller scale operations or earlier-stage ventures. This reduces financial barriers and encourages business creation and expansion.
Workforce Development and Talent Pipeline
A major challenge for small businesses is finding and retaining qualified workers. Lenawee Now addresses that through several programs:
Align Center for Workforce Development
The Align Center opened its doors in June 2025. The Align Center is a 503C that serves as a hub for workforce development in Lenawee. Align works with a collaborative of employers, educators and community stakeholders who work together to align local education and training with employer needs. The goal is to build a sustainable talent pool for manufacturing, trades and other in-demand sectors. This consortium organizes career-exploration events, certification programs and facilitates connections between students (or job seekers) and local employers.
Michigan Works Southeast
Lenawee Now strategically partners to help match job seekers with employers needing talent — especially for manufacturing and industrial jobs — and helps companies find trained workers.
In specific sectors such as Manufacturing and Industry, Lenawee Now has worked with local employers to launch collaborative training and talent pipelines to fill production, operator and maintenance technician roles, helping address previous workforce shortages.
Because workforce availability is often a limiting factor for business growth or relocation, this talent-pipelining function of Lenawee Now helps make small and medium sized businesses more viable and competitive. This increases the county’s appeal to firms considering moving or expanding there.
Site Selection, Business Retention and Expansion
An important part of economic development is not only attracting new businesses but helping existing ones expand and stay in the area.
Lenawee Now helps businesses new or relocating find suitable real estate, industrial parks or commercial sites in Lenawee County. They market the county’s advantages including affordable cost of living, business operations, access to amenities and proximity to larger metro areas to potential businesses looking to relocate or expand.
Lenawee Now’s focus on business retention and attraction activities helps existing local businesses remain competitive and expand rather than leave. This helps the overall economic base by preserving and growing employment.
Lenawee Now coordinates with local municipalities, municipal partners, regional economic developers and state-level programs to smooth expansion or relocation projects.
This role helps ensure that the small business ecosystem has a path for growth in jobs, investments creating long-term stability for the county economy.
CONTACT Lenawee Now!
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