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Carol Lopucki, State Director of the Michigan Small Business & Technology Development Center, participated in a Q&A with MiBiz Managing Editor Joe Boomgaard about the organization’s outlook for 2011.

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Michigan small business owners closed 2010 on a positive note, but look forward to 2011 with somewhat less optimism. That’s an unusual attitude for usually optimistic entrepreneurs. It underscores the challenges weighing on their minds as we enter the new year.

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If there is one word that best sums up the outlook for small business in 2011, it is a word that has not been used for a long time: optimistic.

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The last couple years have been difficult ones for the people of Michigan. We’ve seen the strongest sectors of our economy falter, lost thousands of jobs, and dealt with all the economic ramifications of these changes—declining public funds, school closures, etc. Individuals and families have had to reinvent themselves, start new careers, and adjust to different standards of living.