Michigan Tribe

Michigan Tribe Michigan Tribe is a nonprofit supporting women entrepreneurs through connection and resources. Our podcast highlights Jackson-based women in business.

05/29/2026

You do not need to be everywhere online.

You need to know who your customer is, where they already spend their time, and what actually makes them pay attention.

That one shift can save business owners lightyears of wasted time, energy, and money.

Shawn Preissle talks about this in our newest Michigan Tribe Podcast episode.

Listen now whereever you get your podcasts 🎧

Alex has been buying me Suze Orman and other money books since college… if she had her way, I swear Michigan Tribe would...
05/28/2026

Alex has been buying me Suze Orman and other money books since college… if she had her way, I swear Michigan Tribe would become a financial education institution. 😂

(Thankfully, thanks to our partnership with TRUE Community Credit Union, we can just point people toward free financial tools on our website instead.)

Our newest podcast episode features Shawn Preissle, formerly of the Michigan SBDC, who has worked with more than 2,500 small business owners across Michigan, helping them start businesses, increase profits, and eventually sell.

And according to Shawn, the biggest predictor of whether a business succeeds?
💵💵💵 Money 💵💵💵

Successful business owners know their numbers. They manage their finances. And when they don’t know something, they ask experts for help.

Which, honestly, is terrible news for the Amandas of the world who would rather do literally anything else 😅

This episode gets into the real side of entrepreneurship that people don’t talk about enough:
➡️Why so many businesses fail
➡️The mistakes business owners make when they avoid their numbers
➡️What Shawn consistently saw in successful entrepreneurs
➡️How to make smarter decisions before things become a crisis

If money stresses you out, confuses you, overwhelms you, or makes you want to immediately change the subject… this episode is probably for you.

Listen now on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, or YouTube 🎧🍿

Throwback to Tulip Festival in Holland… back in 2019… when we had time 😂🌷While we may not have time for tulips right now...
05/23/2026

Throwback to Tulip Festival in Holland… back in 2019… when we had time 😂🌷

While we may not have time for tulips right now… we DID just drop a new podcast episode and this one is important.

Our newest episode features Shawn Preissle, aka:
Michigan Tribe’s unofficial business therapist.

Shawn spent years as a business consultant with the Michigan SBDC helping thousands of entrepreneurs navigate some of the hardest and most pivotal moments in business ownership.

She’s also owned franchises.
Transitioned businesses out of franchise models.
Sold businesses.
Helped entrepreneurs through absolute chaos.
And somehow still manages to make people feel calm, capable, and less alone… even when talking about the scariest part of business ownership for most people: money.

Now that she’s retired, we literally call and beg her to take on people we care about because she is THAT good.

This episode is packed with the kind of advice entrepreneurs usually learn the hard way, especially around finances, sustainability, and making decisions before things become emergencies.

If you own a business, want to own a business, or just want to better understand what entrepreneurship actually feels like behind the scenes…

Go listen.
New episode out now wherever you get your podcasts 🎙️

05/21/2026

This episode is all about money 💀

To the Alex's of the world:
You’re welcome.
Enjoy your spreadsheets and financial forecasting and weird entrepreneur math hobbies.

To the Amandas of the world:
I am so sorry.
Please know I suffered through parts of this conversation for you.

In this episode, Shawn Preissle breaks down one of the biggest common threads she saw while helping thousands of entrepreneurs through the Michigan SBDC:

The successful ones knew their numbers.
Or at the very least… they were willing to face them.

Because so many business owners avoid it.
They don’t know their margins.
They don’t know what they actually need to survive.
They don’t know how to climb out of financial messes.
They don’t know the difference between being busy and being sustainable.

And Shawn says it with love, but also with honesty:
You cannot run a healthy business long term without understanding your finances.

For some people, this conversation is energizing.
For others (hi Amanda 🙋🏻‍♀️), it feels mildly nauseating.

But that’s also why Shawn is one of our favorite people.

She helps entrepreneurs who AREN’T naturally numbers people learn how to navigate business ownership anyway. Without shame. Without judgment. Without making you feel stupid for not knowing what you don’t know.

This episode is practical.
It’s uncomfortable at times.
It’s necessary.
And every entrepreneur needs to hear it.

New episode out now wherever you get your podcasts 🍿🎧

05/20/2026

Next episode drops Thursday 👀

And if you’ve ever been to a Michigan Tribe meeting, there’s a VERY good chance you’ve heard us say:

“Call Shawn.”

Seriously.

The business genius that is Shawn Preissle is officially joining the podcast 🎙️

Before retiring from the Michigan SBDC, Shawn helped thousands of businesses decide things like:

Should I even open this business?
Am I ready to grow?
Do I pivot?
Do I sell?
Do I close?
What the hell do I do next?

And somehow… she always made entrepreneurs feel a little less alone in the process.

She’s also been a business owner herself, which is probably why she understands the emotional side of entrepreneurship in a way most people don’t talk about enough.

To us, Shawn became what we jokingly call our “business therapist.”

The person you call when:
• you’re spiraling over a hard decision
• your business feels heavy
• you feel stuck
• you need someone to tell you the truth without crushing your soul

Owning a business can feel incredibly lonely sometimes.

Shawn has been that steady voice for so many people in this community, including us.

New episode drops Thursday, and you can listen wherever you get your podcasts 🎧🍿

05/17/2026

The Michigan Tribe Podcast.
Bold truth-telling and practical insight from female business owners in Michigan. Like sitting down with your most candid, supportive business friends.

Unapologetically feminist.
Fiercely community-centered.
Refreshingly human.​

Let's talk business.

Listen now wherever you get your podcasts 🎧🍿

05/14/2026

Which one has been your fave so far?

🎙️ Episode 1: Yvette Wilkie & Tonja Worthey
🎙️ Episode 2: The Cult Story
🎙️ Episode 3: Kelsey Guernsey

Subscribe to the Michigan Tribe Podcast on Spotify, Amazon Music, Apple Podcasts, or YouTube 🎧🍿

Anyone recognize these kids? ➡️Fun fact: We have always been best friends… minus one weird year in high school when I (A...
05/13/2026

Anyone recognize these kids? ➡️

Fun fact: We have always been best friends… minus one weird year in high school when I (Amanda) had a goth phase and everything was deeply dramatic.

As the little sister, I mostly just followed Alex around wanting to be included in whatever she was doing. To which she complained to my mom and begged me to find my own friends.

Now as adults… Alex still decides what we’re doing. And I'm usually grumpy about it but eventually play along.

Life wasn’t enough chaos for Alex apparently, because during our “year off” she found a new podcast studio (enter Uncharted Film Co.) and informed me we were starting a podcast.

Thank you to the big sis who always makes me do things.
Thank you to the businesses in Jackson like Uncharted who make new adventures possible.
And thank you to the two young farm girls who didn't know one day they'd start a nonprofit, give back more than $200K to Jackson based businesses, and eventually hang with friends while recording a podcast 🎙️

05/13/2026

In this episode, Prosecuting Attorney Kelsey Guernsey talks about why some of the most important work happening in her office involves people who are often the least protected and least visible.

And how consistently showing up for vulnerable children and adults has impacted not just her role as Prosecuting Attorney, but the way people responded to her campaign and leadership overall.

Episode out now wherever you get your podcasts 🎧🍿

Happy Mother’s Day 👑 to the moms with kids, the dog moms, the cat moms, the plant moms, the aunties, the bonus moms, the...
05/10/2026

Happy Mother’s Day 👑 to the moms with kids, the dog moms, the cat moms, the plant moms, the aunties, the bonus moms, the trans moms, and the women who show up to support and love others in a million different ways.

And also to the women who do not want children and have had to say that out loud in a world that still struggles to hear it.

Being a woman is complicated. Motherhood is complicated. Identity is complicated. Community is important.

Whether you’re raising children, raising businesses, raising yourself, healing, nurturing, surviving, mentoring, caregiving, or simply figuring life out as you go, we're so grateful to be in this with you.

Happy Mother’s Day from Michigan Tribe 👑🫶

Address

133 W. Michigan Avenue
Jackson, MI
49201

Website

https://linktr.ee/michigantribe

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