Economic development organization Lakeshore Advantage bases its annual Business Insights Report on interviews with 140 executives representing a sample of the region’s 700 primary employers.
“What they’re experiencing in the marketplace, what are the opportunities they’re looking towards, what challenges are they facing, and we also ask about growth, expansion plans, that sort of thing.”
Mandy Cooper is interim president of Lakeshore Advantage and senior VP of strategic growth. She says this year’s report shows that over 56% of companies reported increasing sales, up from 48% last year, and more businesses are expanding.
“Already this year, here in 2026, we’ve exceeded the number of business expansions that have happened this year than all of last year combined.”
Challenges lie in skilled workforce availability and finding affordable housing and transportation for those workers, a recurring theme over the past decade.
“So, we have an incredibly strong business environment on the lakeshore. We also know it’s a place where people want to live. However, we don’t have enough housing that meets the economic needs of our workers right now.”
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