The 134-year-old Bissell Homecare, Inc. has launched a new think tank in Grand Rapids' Old North Boundary building -- a venture focused on leveraging Bissell's core competencies for innovative new business opportunities that will grow the company's global market.

Malikah Pimpleton had an idea, a business plan and cash flow projections for a take-and-bake pizzeria -- take-and-bake meaning that low-income individuals could purchase a pizza using EBT because it would not be considered prepared food, as in a traditional parlor. Pimpleton was in her early thirties and on her way to a master's degree in business administration at Cornerstone University. She even had an "employee" who would volunteer several hours a week -- her mom, Betty Pimpleton.

When you offer a reward, it serves as a catalyst. The process through which competitors go to become the winner of that reward, and the community engagement and conversation that occurs because of that process, is the hidden value.

A Grand Rapids Press article announces that SiTE:LAB will transform a dilapidated downtown Grand Rapids building with its April site-specific, one-night art installation by Kendall College of Art and Design students.

Nanny on Demand is barely out of diapers, yet this growing enterprise providing flexible daycare without requiring a long-term contract announced this week that it's ready to take its franchise opportunity beyond Michigan's borders.

The newest of West Michigan's first three Nanny on Demand locations will open in early- to mid-February along Grand Rapids' Medical Mile at 545 Michigan St. NE, behind El Barrio Mexican Grill.

Big, blue and round, the new Helen DeVos Children's Hospital is full of circles -- colorful artwork circles, swirling mosaics, round wayfinding signs, chairs and ottomans.

George Bayard came up in a recent discussion surrounding the Christmas vandalism of various Uptown businesses. Curious as to why Bayard no longer called Uptown his entrepreneurial home, I found articles indicating he had relocated his business, Bayard Gallery of Fine African American Art and Books, from the 1100 block of Wealthy St. SE to a new space on Kalamazoo Ave. in Boston Square. So, I decided to ask him. I found a fascinating individual, with a passion for art and education -- a passion that has endured for two decades, made a home in multiple neighborhoods and isn't ready to stop growing.

It's reported to be the most technologically advanced building on Grand Valley State University's Allendale campus and features an automated storage retrieval system (ASRS) that enables the school to house tens of thousands of books in a fraction of the space required by traditional library shelving.

Construction on the $70 million Mary Idema Pew Library Learning and Information Commons begins May 5, 2011, and project leaders at Pioneer Construction are in the throes of wrapping up subcontractor vetting for the proposed LEED-NC Platinum facility.

What people will see when traveling down the new Commerce Avenue SW are neat brick-lined sidewalks, 50 freshly planted trees, new bike racks and attractive decorative lighting. Commerce Avenue reopened last week after six months of intensive reconstruction and it's more than just a pretty face.