"My father was the first Black entrepreneur to establish multiple businesses in the same area, back in 1945," says Harrison Liquor owner Ruth Williams. "So we also thought it was really a great opportunity to open another family business in the community."
"Right now, the business is good for the community. Everybody's supportive," says Doudou Kane of the Inkster family-owned and operated KG’s African-American Grill. "The business is booming."
"I'm learning, as a business owner and entrepreneur, you have to do that in order to get where you need to go, take out your loans, look for extra capital," says Shadia Amen. Her Dearborn photography business is steadily growing, and she has advice for others.
"My father was an entrepreneur," says Que Shebley, founder of the brand by the same name, based in Dearborn, Michigan. "He owned small footwear specialty shops in the Middle East, and I always wanted to continue that journey, but bring a more modern approach to the new, modern shopper."
"My number one thing is always support the small businesses because we're just like everybody else," says Georgina Garcia, president of Taco Especial Mexican Restaurant, based in Ecorse. "We're not trying to get rich and become millionaires. We're just trying to survive and, instead of always going to the big chain, support the small mom-and-pop shops, too."
When three Detroit women joined forces to open a dance studio at the tail end of the pandemic, they were immediately swamped with enrollments. Since then, they've navigated challenges with community support and small business grants, making a name for themselves.
Detroit is considered to be one of the top-ranking emerging ecosystems in the world, so we take a closer look at how our entrepreneurs support each other and what's working to grow small businesses.
MI Mental Health spoke with Northern Lakes Community Mental Health Chief Operations Officer Joanie Blamer and Sanilac County Community Mental Health CEO Wil Morris on addressing the mental health and wellness needs of rural communities.
“Organizations like Build help level the playing field,” says CEO of Economic Impact Catalyst David Ponraj. Although its headquarters are in the Corktown neighborhood of Detroit, Build Institute’s reach is much wider, providing models of how to uplift microentrepreneurs across Northern Michigan, and even out-of-state in places like Indiana.
“We unapologetically serve the underserved because entrepreneurship is one way to wealth generation, wealth building, and support of the local community," says Regina Ann Campbell, President and CEO of Build Institute. "And anyone committed to their business plan should have the chance to reap those benefits.”
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