Every day we have a choice. We can support an up and coming podcaster, try a new family-run restaurant, join a boutique gym started by a local fitness champ or we could keep giving away our money to the handful of giants who already control so much of our commerce. Our daily decisions impact the kind world we live in; if we want a world where small businesses are growing and artists and creatives are thriving then we should support them with our time, money and attention. We’re proud to highlight inspiring creatives and entrepreneurs each week in Hidden Gems series. Check out some of our latest local gem features below.
Anton Holloway – Koffee Noir Productions LLC.
Koffee Noir Productions LLC was born out of a shared vision among a small but determined group of diverse filmmakers across Metro Detroit who felt that the stories we grew up with—the voices, struggles, humor, and beauty of our communities—were rarely represented on screen in an honest or compelling way. Read more>>
Jennifer Wilkins
Black Lotus Oracle was born from a season of choosing clarity over chaos. My path into this work began during my sobriety journey—a time when I learned how to sit with myself without numbing, bypassing, or running. In that stillness, everything I had been avoiding began to speak: intuition sharpened, patterns revealed themselves, and ancestral wisdom surfaced with undeniable clarity. Read more>>
Dayne Haynes
I started North Shade Lawn in 2022. I started by myself and hired my first employee spring of 2023. Now going into the spring of 2026 there will be 8 of us total. 2 full time mowing crews 1 mowing/ landscape enhancement crew and 1 full time landscape install crew. Our business services mostly commercial customers in Belding, Greenville, Stanton, Sheridan, Edmore, and Vestaburg. Read more>>
Ryan Hertz
I am the President and CEO of Lighthouse, a nonprofit organization based in Pontiac, Michigan, working to build equitable communities that alleviate poverty. Our programs and services help people across Southeast Michigan move from homelessness to housing, and from crisis to stability. I have served in this role since 2019, when Lighthouse of Oakland County merged with South Oakland Shelter (SOS) to form Lighthouse MI. Read more>>
carrie boyer
I was a stay at home mom. Grew up in the community. Youngest went to school and i was looking for something to do. An older building downtown went up for sale so I grabbed my step daughter, we are a blended family, and took her to look at the building. It was currently being used as a flower shop. Read more>>
Vladimer Botsvadze
I grew up in Georgia, and at 18 I made the decision that changed everything: I moved to the United States and got my first job. That move accelerated my life. Suddenly the world felt faster, clearer, and full of possibility. I fell in love with the frenetic energy of New York City—the ultimate melting pot—where ambition is contagious and ideas are constantly in motion. Read more>>
Brinn Walerych
I came up through multiple layers of the mental health system, gaining perspective on how care is navigated within complex structures. Read more>>
Brittney Dowdy
My journey did not begin with a nonprofit. It began with becoming a single mother. When my son’s father walked away shortly after I became pregnant, I knew the responsibility to build stability and opportunity would fall on me. I grew up watching my own mother work multiple jobs to provide for our family. I saw her sacrifice, her exhaustion, and her strength. Read more>>
Mary Workman
I interviewed for what I thought was going to be a part time cashier job and walked into a management job. That was 9 years ago. Since then I have learned a lot about running a small business. The question is always what do you want to be when you grow up? I finally found the answer. I love my job! DIBS! Read more>>
Jamie Paxton
I served in the United States Air Force for 25 years. I was a First Sergeant. I deployed. I led Airmen. I earned awards. I accomplished things I once only dreamed of. And then one day — it ended. Retirement wasn’t the celebration I thought it would be. It felt like silence. Like loss. Like someone had stripped away my identity overnight. Read more>>
Mary Gunther
Hi! I’m Mary Gunther, the G, behind the Social G and Founder/CEO. Since I can remember, I have always had a passion for people, entrepreneurship, and small business development. Read more>>
Kay Pochert
After nearly 30 years in corporate America working in finance and real estate, I found myself reflecting on what was next. I had built a career grounded in project management, real estate development, budget oversight, and relationship building – skills I had refined and mastered over decades. But I was ready for something more personal, something meaningful. Read more>>
Brandi C Shelton
I started where many builders do — with responsibility early and vision before resources. My career began in operations and administration, but I never saw those roles as “support” positions. I saw them as infrastructure. I learned how organizations really work — budgets, compliance, people dynamics, process gaps, inefficiencies hiding in plain sight. Over 25 years, I sharpened that lens into strategy. Read more>>
RAMSEY SWEIS
I started Aqaba Digital in 2004 with a pretty simple goal: help businesses grow by building marketing and technology that actually performs, not just looks good. Read more>>
Ryan Morrison
I didn’t set out to start a company, I was just building trucks. I began hauling rust-free parts up from the South for my own projects. To offset fuel costs, I’d grab extra parts for friends. That turned into selling parts to cover my time, and before long, the demand kept growing. Read more>>
Ted Mayfield
My wife Lena and I started Glamorous Grooming in 2020 after my wife left the shop she was working at. We felt that we could build a better business and Lena didn’t want to leave the grooming industry. We originally opened as a home business, we had renovated our garage to be a salon over the summer. Read more>>
Anna Calderon
I have wanted to be a vet since as long as I can remember: according to my parents, when I was around 6 years old I announced I would be a vet when I grew up. Read more>>
Hannah Snyder
I struggled with ADHD, OCD, anxiety, and depression for the first 26 years of my life. I hated myself and my mind, and my body. I always felt like a victim to my thoughts and emotions. I felt like life had no meaning, and I had nothing valuable to offer the world. This led me to substance abuse in my late teens and early 20s. Read more>>
Antonia Dillon
I usually start by telling people I’m a corporate escapee-turned-entrepreneur, so I’ve seen the world through both lenses. After graduating from the University of Michigan with a bachelor’s degree in psychology, I spent the first 15 years of my career in corporate advertising, with a variety of Fortune 100 companies as clients. Read more>>
