We asked some of the city’s hidden gems to tell us about what they feel is the most important factor behind their success.

Danielle LeDuc | Hair Artist & Small Business Owner

Authenticity! Read more>>

Shena Crawford | Owner

The most important fact behind the success of my brand is community. I don’t look at my customers as just customers, I look at them as family. I even refer to them lovingly as my ABC Family and ABC Baes because I want to grow with them and know about the wins in their life as well. I have a tight knit consumer base that has been with me since Day 1 and that allows us to have this kind of bond that’s hard to get anywhere else so it leads to my customers always returning back to me. They know that when they open their package, they are always going to get a little something extra from me because I want them to know that I appreciate that bond. Read more>>

Porsche Fierce | Model/speaker/actress/brand ambassador

The most important factor behind my success/ the success of my brand is putting God first and Self love. Those 2 helped Porsche Fierce brand soar and knocked down plenty of barriers without a team behind me, I guess you can say self made. Read more>>

Marquis Deloach | Prophet, Life Coach, Mentor & Creator

The most important factor behind my brands Devilish Rose and Book of Quis, would have to be the drive to help heal others. Since a child I’ve aspired to be a driving force impact in not just my community, but all communities of the world with others that look like me. Growing up in a community where we aren’t granted the tools to heal from traumas nor the tools to break generational curses. I wanted to see something different. Experience something different. The social stigmas surrounding therapy used to be so taboo. It was seen as something for, forgive me, “crazy people.” But being a father drove me to wanting to truly achieve that better aspect I wanted to bring to the world. Read more>>

Mona Deloach

Wow, this is a question. I run multiple businesses, but the most important factor behind my success and the success of my brand is believing that all things are possible and that happiness and liberation exist and are attainable. My upbringing was rough; it was very similar to the upbringing of many other little Black girls growing up in poverty and surrounded by adults covered in generational trauma. By the time I was 18, I was anxious, depressed, severely traumatized, and in survival mode. I always fought to be successful, but it wasn’t until I was in my mid-20s that I realized being successful (married, working, hustling, and raising a child) simply wasn’t enough; it didn’t bring me peace, it didnt take away the trauma and I wasn’t happy. Read more>>

Justin Miller

My community. Connecting, understanding, and ultimately trusting folks is hard wired into our brains; and to me those are prerequisites to create meaningful content. I’m so grateful I get to connect and collaborate with amazing people, that appreciate me as a person, as well as my creative vision. I’m grateful for the real relationships I have with the people that I collaborate with, not only does it result in better deliverables, it’s also, what I like to call, “the juice of life”. Read more>>