Michelle Richards has been seeing encouraging signs for small businesses in Michigan.

Richards is executive director of the Center for Economic Empowerment and Development based in Ann Arbor, a nonprofit that provides microloans, training and other services to small businesses— primarily women- and minority-owned ones.

Richards said for the last few years, CEED has been helping businesses with leadership skills and tools for survival during the economic downturn, but more recently, that’s changed.

“We’re seeing some signs of economic recovery—our clients are getting busy again,” Richards said.

So, instead of helping small businesses merely hang on, the current challenge is to help them with strategies for growth. Specifically, Richards said she’s seeing opportunities for Michigan’s small businesses to grow in the areas of clean energy and health care.

CEED, she said, started from “a tiny vision” of providing microloans to the Ann Arbor area in 1986. At the time it was formed, she was finishing up a master’s degree in social work, because she’d always been interested in social justice.

Richards said she never envisioned she’d dress in blue suits like a banker and give out loans. However, in graduate school, she decided that to accomplish the things she believed in, she had to learn more about how the world works. And one of those lessons learned, she said, was “the most expeditious way to create social change is through economics.”

In its first year, CEED gave out two microloans, and for many years, most of the staff were volunteers. The organization was running on such a shoestring budget that they had to return bottles to raise money to provide breakfast to White House staff when President Bill Clinton came to speak at one of CEED’s events in the early years.

“I’m glad those days are over,” Richards said, with a smile.

Richards said she and many of the other board members were also somewhat naïve in the early years.

One major lesson learned, she said, was that a group of well-meaning people giving out loans is dangerous. “If you help give people too much debt, it can lead to bankruptcy,” she said. “So we had to learn more about the principles of lending.”

Since those early years, CEED has expanded to service 10 counties, created about 1,700 jobs, partnered with 65 other organizations and now has $1.5 million in microloans in its portfolio, Richards said. They also put on the largest annual women’s business conference in the state.

Additionally, today CEED has representatives from many large corporations— from Kellogg to Chrysler to Comerica— on its board of directors. These board members, she said, can help open doors and make connections for small business owners.

When asked why these corporations should care about empowering women and minorities to start their own small businesses, Richards said women’s power as consumers is extremely important.

“Women make 80 percent of consumer decisions and influence the other 20 percent, “ Richards said. She added if these companies want women to buy from them, they have to, in turn, buy from women.

Richards said she’s glad she started CEED when she was young and enthusiastic enough not to be “derailed” by some of the negative reactions she got when she first started telling others about her ideas.

“It’s been a fabulous journey,” she said. “I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”

Background

Age: 50.

Education: MSW from the University of Michigan.

Family: Husband Samuel Nyarko, son Kelly and daughter Katie.

Residence: Lakehaven Drive in Ann Arbor.

Business Insights

Best business decision: Helping CEED to start.

Worst business decision: Taking so long to let others help shape CEED.

Best way to keep a competitive edge: Recognize that you can always improve on your company’s processes and deliverables.

How do you motivate people? Give people (especially staff) room to make decisions and mistakes, and learn from them.

What advice would you give to yourself in college? Don’t take yourself so seriously.

Word that best describes you: Focused.

First website you checkin the morning: I don’t - I do not want someone else to decide my focus or mood for the day.

Confessions

What keeps you up at night? Wondering if I am looking in the right direction for CEED long term.

Pet peeve: People who won’t admit that they made a mistake.

Guilty pleasure: Sudoku puzzles - I could do them all day and night.

First job: Waitress - helped me to decide to go to college.

First choice for a new career: Social work, but then I decided that people weren’t broke - only the system was.

Treasures

Favorite cause: Any animal causes - pets and wildlife.

Favorite book: “Wouldn’t Take Nothing for My Journey Now” by Maya Angelou.

Favorite movie: I love all comedies.

Favorite restaurant: Eve.

LinkedIn, Facebook or Twitter? None - after answering 200 e-mails a day, there is nothing left for me to say.

Typical Saturday: Gardening, movies and spending time with my husband.

Wheels: Honda Accord - for the past 20 years - now moved up to V-6.

Who would play you in a movie? Kathy Bates.

Sarah Rigg is a freelance writer and a frequent contributor to AnnArbor.com. You can reach her at sarahrigg@yahoo.com.