Local entrepreneur Tiffany Klingensmith is the winner of this year’s U.S. Small Business Administration Michigan District Office’s Small Business Person of the Year award. The 2024 National Small Business Week award recipients are chose from over 900,000 Small Michigan businesses and the winner exemplifies excellence, innovation, and commitment in the community and in the economy.
Ms. Klingensmith is the President of Unconventional Solutions, Inc. (USI Group) opened her business in September 2002 – a women-owned, Michigan-based business that repairs, protects, and upgrades infrastructure with composite repair and high-performance protective coatings. She has been offering customers corrosion, erosion, and chemical assault solutions for over 15 years as a certified repair and protective paint specialist.
USI Group helps power, natural gas, manufacturing, mining, and oil companies offer a more sustainable future, by repairing leaks and upgrade their systems with composite repair and protective coating solutions. USI Group has a team of AMPP/NACE Certified Coating Inspectors who work toward providing the right solution for their clients’ needs and critical infrastructure.
In 2012 as the company continued to grow, Tiffany was able to purchase a building for her headquarters with an SBA 504 loan in Wixom, MI. She also expanded and opened two additional locations, in Ohio and Indiana. Unfortunately, due to the pandemic she closed the Indiana location. Currently she has 17 employees that staff the Michigan and Ohio operations. Through all the ups and downs she still contributes her me to the Great Lakes Women’s Business Council (WBC) by mentoring to other women business owners.
“To start a business born out of tragedy and nurture and grow it, is an accomplishment; and continues to volunteer an enormous amount of me mentoring women business owners to ensure their success so they can avoid the pitfalls and obstacles you came across during your journey is commitment and is outstanding, and why Tiffany is our Small Business Person of the Year!” SBA Michigan District Director Laketa Henderson said.
Ms. Klingensmith will be representing the state of Michigan at this year’s National Small Business Week (NSBW) on April 28-May 4, 2024, held in Washington, DC.
To learn more about Tiffany Klingensmith and Unconventional Solutions please visit https://www.usigroups.com/ or follow us on our social media platforms Personal Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ ffany-klingensmith-8a9729109/
To learn more about SBA Michigan resources, services, and events please visit www.sba.gov/mi. You can also follow then on Twitter @SBA_Michigan.