East Lansing Summer Business

To maintain and draw in new business during their slow summer months, many East Lansing businesses look to run specials or look to other outlets for assistance. That is the case for many of the college bookstores in East Lansing. Michigan State University's summer orientation program reaches out to the college bookstores and invites them to come to and get involved with their program. Mike Wylie, assistant manager at the Student Book Store, said they have many give aways for the students at orientation. Wylie said he hope this draws parents and students into their store. He also said that slower summer months allow for him to connect with customers easier. He said with it being slow he can make it a point to go out of his way to help a parent and student and make them feel comfortable. Once businesses like SBS survive the summer, they get into their highest months of production running from August through January.

East Lansing Summer Business

Running a business in a college town can be tough. But one of the biggest difficulties is when students leave town for the summer and take with them their business. Over the past 5 years at Michigan State University an average of about 46,524 students have enrolled in classes in the fall, and an average of about 44,351students have enrolled in classes in the spring. Compare that to the five year average of about 21,334 students who have enrolled in classes in the summer. When comparing both the fall and spring to the summer, that means over 20,000 students are not taking classes at MSU, and most likely a majority are not in East Lansing. It is a struggle for businesses to overcome this, but it is something they are well aware of considering the demographics of their main customers.

What's Next for College Students?

Now that college students no longer can qualify for a Bridge Card solely by having college student status, they will need to find other ways to come up with money for groceries. College students who were awarded with a Bridge Card were given up to $200 a month for groceries.  College students will need to find other resources to pay for groceries. Many students will have to look into getting a job or multiple jobs while attending school. By having a job or multiple jobs students will have less free time that they could use to concentrate on school or get involved with a group or a club. In order to eat, students may need to make cuts in other areas and may not be able to purchase necessary school supplies. Students who had a Bridge Card and no longer do, will have to change their habits and their style of living for the next few weeks of school and also for the next few years.

Bridge Cards

In the state of Michigan, The Bridge Card, or the Electronic Benefits Transfer card is a debit card that delivers government benefits by combining electric technologies. The Michigan Bridge Card is issued by the Department of Human Services to purchase food products and access cash benefits. The bridge card has taken the place of paper food stamps and paper checks. The federal government has mandated that all states use use EBT for food assistance benefits. Not everyone can get a Bridge Card, there is an application process. About 4,400 retailers and over 4,000 ATM's are available for Bridge Cards in the state of Michigan.