GRAND RAPIDS (WZZM) - The Grand Rapids Business Journal will honor two dozen women entrepreneurs in West Michigan Tuesday. Their businesses range in size and profits, but all have met great success with women at the helm.
Bonnie Knopf is the president of Intrepid Plastics, a full service plastics injection molding company that makes plastic parts for auto suppliers. She is head of a company in an industry dominated by men and she is doing more than just surviving the economy, her company is doing quite well.
Knopf majored in engineering at Ferris State University and worked for other companies for nearly 15 years before launching one of her own. She had heard for years there were many advantages to being a female business owner.
So with a vision and lots of courage she started Intrepid Plastics. Right now the company is small, so overhead is low-- something that is key in this economy and the auto supplier industry. Her wise choices have led to success.
Knopf says her style of leadership is not the same as her male counterparts.
"I think that female leadership is very different. Just the compassion part is very different. I think you are going to see a lot more successful women leaders in the years to come. I think a lot of trust has fallen in the male leadership in a lot of different ways and females are going to emerge and be stronger," says Knopf.
The Grand Rapids Business Journal will honor 24 women entrepreneurs with a luncheon at Noto's Old World Dining Tuesday at 11:30 a.m.
Other honorees:
Lynette Dykhouse- Home Care Service Staffing
Mary Jane Pories- Fishladder Inc.
Karen Scarpino- Promotional Impact and Greengiftz.com
Elaine Meyers- Meyers Cleaning Services Inc.
Bonnie Knopf- Intrepid Plastics Mfg.
Gwen OBrien- Plenty Creative
Diana DeGraaf- DeGraaf'x Inc.
Beverly Wall- Languages International
Floriza Genautis- Management Business Solutions
Denise Kolesar- Kohler Expos Inc.
Julie Lough- Micro Visions Inc.
Chris Willis- Media 1
Peaches McCahill- The McCahill Group
Meg Goebel- Paul Goebel Group
Jodey Barnes- Cascade Paper Converters LLC
Pamella DeVos- Pamella Roland
Ginny Seyferth- Seyferth & Associates
Joyce Lovse- AngelCare Home Health Care Inc.
Rose Harr- Blue Ware Inc.
Jami Miller-J EM Computers Inc.
Linda Blanchard- Thermal-Tec Michigan Inc.
Mary Nienhuis- North Coast Components Inc.
Joyce Elliott- Materials Testing Consultants
Brooke DeGraaf- Compass II
In your voice
