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.
Rebecca Avant
The beginning was tough because I had no business history to speak of, and that meant no loans to get started. I raked up money the best I could, maxed out credit cards, and started getting really creative. Leased a very small, rough, but charming spot on a great street, and used every leftover can of paint to bring it to life. I even hand painted my own sign. We painted old furniture for displays and used old wood to build tables. I splurged on a counter from an old doll shop. Read More>>
Diane Lee
And on the subject of Christmas, the best time of the year. We all know many retailers sell Christmas decor from mass production lines, which use lesser quality materials due to costings. I provide fellow Christmas fans like myself with quality products that I personally handcrafted myself based on the client’s theme and specifications. Every Christmas creation I deliver is crafted by hand tied, hand wired, and stitched. I do my best to use the least amount of glue as much as possible to give the final product a very clean look. Read More>>
Hannah Hardie
I was able to be apart of so many great projects in my college and one my last year of college I had my first professional audition and booked my first professional gig my first professional gig right before I graduated college. Since then I have been traveling the USA Singing and Acting professionally and I am so excited for so many future projects to come my way. I have had great mentors, teachers, and leaders help me get to where I am today and could have not done any of what I’ve accomplished without their help, support, and guidance. Read More>>
Dr. Shalin Patel
Early on, I was drawn to problem-solving, helping others, and understanding systems, which naturally led me to a career in dentistry. I found fulfillment in being a doctor, but my passion extended beyond that—I wanted to teach and inspire others by sharing my failures, lessons, and successes to help them achieve even greater heights. This passion for educating and leading led me to expand beyond dentistry. My love for architecture and design and my desire to push boundaries inspired the creation of 100 Million Design + Build. Through this venture, I combine my passion for business, creativity, and innovation to create luxury homes that challenge the conventional definition of modern living. Read More>>
Jesse And Stacy Raymond
We make custom hats, specializing in making unique pieces of art that you can wear. You can find us every weekend at the historic Madam Pearl’s Saloon in the Fort Worth stockyards, where we try to give our customers a unique “Texas” hat bar experience, where the customer gets to design there own hats with us! I think what sets us apart is the highly detailed art that I freehand right there in front of you, like watching me tattoo your hat! And then designing your hat band and adornments with Stacy. Read More>>
Nikki Jordan
Honestly, the thought of becoming an entrepreneur never crossed my mind. I was content with discovering my passion and following it in a regular 9-5 job. Confidence at any Size originated from a bad breakup. During the relationship, I faced emotional abuse, particularly regarding my body size. A few months after the breakup, I looked at myself in the mirror and realized my beauty, contrary to what I was made to believe. This realization led me to post a selfie on Instagram with the caption “I was feeling myself before work this morning, had to get a bathroom selfie…#confidenceatanysize.” This marked the beginning, and with more posts under the same hashtag, I launched a new Instagram page and officially started the business. Read More>>
Rogers Healy
Above all, my life is rooted in faith and family. I love music, and it’s a huge part of my life, whether I’m spending time with my wife Abby and our daughters Henley and Collins (who are named after two of my musical heroes, Don Henley and Phil Collins), or relaxing at ‘Hotel California,’ my personal music oasis filled with one of the largest collections of music memorabilia in the world. Music fuels my passion, just like faith and family keep me grounded. Read More>>
Abi Butler
Creativity has always been a huge part of my family and our life. I watch my Daddy flip our childhood home. He was constantly using his hands to make beautiful woodwork. My sweet mom and nanny were always sewing my sisters and I matching or coordinating outfits, quilts, costumes and more. My great grandma would share her latest quilt projects too and I can remember running my little girl fingers over her perfectly tiny and straight stitches. So having an outlet where I could be creative and share my work with the world was always in the back of my mind. Read More>>
Brigid Fox
When the world unexpectedly shut down during my sophomore year, I found myself at home with all my old art supplies and plenty of time on my hands. I slowly began to create again. Even when classes returned to in-person lectures, I still tried to find the time to create. Now, making art has become a habitual way for me to pass the time while watching shows. Read More>>
Chan’tal Lewis
I did delivery gig services and discovered many hidden gems, which inspired me to take my media project to the next level. In 2024, I was given that opportunity and transitioned from having thought-provoking conversations with guests to visually sharing my point of view of events and experiences. From restaurant openings, charity events, fashion shows, to launch parties, the individuals and brands I showcase have no limits. Read More>>
Alex Hughes
There have definitely been challenges. A big one for me is picking one area of focus for my business and sticking with it. I love to experiment and learn new things, and I get bored easily. That can be helpful in some ways, but it also creates challenges when trying to build brand awareness and create a unified portfolio. Read More>>
Camille Thompson
My passion for dance was cultivated at the tender age of two years old. My mother must have seen an early spark in me and enrolled me in the first class she could find for my age group. As I grew up and my personality became more apparent, It became clear that my desire for dance and performing arts stretched far beyond a few dance classes a week. In addition to weekly classes, I would also watch music videos and teach myself the choreography in my spare time, often times also creating my own choreography as well. Read More>>
Justin Mink
During those tough times, I came to believe entrepreneurial leadership requires the sacrifice of your physical and mental health, relationships, and time for any other interests or passions in life. I thought that was just the way things had to be, and due to these demands and my ongoing health struggles, my dreams of entrepreneurial success were over. But everything changed when I discovered the Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS). Read More>>
Amanda Maggiore
There were other times where I could not type fast enough to get all of my thoughts onto the page. It took me a year and a half to fully write the book. I designed it myself and poured my heart into it. Going through all the steps of getting it self-published took a lot of researching grit, but I was able to hold my story in my hands. This is what made all of the hard work and questioning if I should do this worth it. I never thought that I would be able to hold my story and give it out to people. I can’t remember the last time I was so excited about something so incredible. Read More>>
Jimmy Ray Whiteside II, MSC.D.
At an early age I found myself always striving to help others to become successful, in their life, spirituality and business ventures. Mainly because I grew up very poor in my hometown Spartanburg, SC, and I didn’t want others to experience what I’ve had to endure. I tend to focus more on helping others which helps me to set milestone goals for myself. Helping others helps me. I live by the example from JESUS’ own words in John 15:13 which JESUS tells us, “Greater LOVE has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s FRIENDS.” I pray that we all strive to be selfless in our relationships and friendships, always putting the needs of others before our own and showing Your LOVE in all that You do. This is my life’s creed. Read More>>
Marcine M. Moore
What sets me apart is my age and the perspective it gives me. With a wealth of experience, I craft relatable poetry that resonates with many. Often, readers tell me they’ve never thought of a situation the way I have or could never have expressed it in words the way I did. Read More>>
Vempre Terrell, Jr.
Despite this, I still kept going. I remember the days when my first book, “The Eyes of Faith,” was nothing more than a manuscript that I was striving to make available to any reader who wanted to have it. As I continued to put forth the effort, “The Eyes of Faith” became a published work, and I have now released my most recent book, “My Walk Through the Valley.” Added to this, I remember points in my life when I only delivered motivational speeches to small groups of 5 people or less. Now, I have had times to speak to groups of up to 5,000 people. Knowing that I kept going at times when I could have just given up encourages me to continue to be an encouragement to others. Read More>>
Loren And Tahnia Mcdaniel
I’m Loren McDaniel, founder of DYWork, a movement centered on “personal work.” My journey began during a period of deep personal crisis: I was in a toxic relationship, lost my friends, my job, my apartment, and my sense of self-worth. At my lowest point, I reached out to my aunt, who simply told me to “do your work.” This advice motivated me to heal from past trauma, rediscover myself, seek feedback from others, and take steps to grow intentionally toward a more fulfilling life. Read More>>
Tarita Jaganathan
As a visual artist, I specialize in drawings and paintings. For the most part, my main mediums are graphite and acrylic, since I’ve had the most experience working with those. I am very proud of my graphite work, especially my portraiture in pencil. Being able to draw people and figures isn’t the easiest thing in the world, but it has been really validating to see an upward trend in the quality of my work. Read More>>
Daniel Stanley & Rome Lima-Stanley
Our design journey began shortly after we married when we both decided to pivot our careers towards our shared passion for art and design. This led us to the New York Institute of Art and Design, where Rome focused on interior design, and I, Daniel, specialized in landscape design. Rome’s vision was to create a comprehensive design service that would address our clients’ entire built environment. Read More>>
Mary Tave-Ihenacho
Typically, I help others start their businesses. I never thought about starting my own ministry. While I had an outline of what I wanted the ministry of Audacity Presents to be, I was waiting for God to send someone who wanted to start a podcast or blog. I would then hand them the drafted outline and support them in their endeavor, but that day never came. I continued to outline topics on what area of life we fail to be audacious or to take a bold risk. I wanted the ministry to encourage people to take those risks for Christ. People often pray for more patience, courage, or boldness in their faith, but how about being audacious to pursue those things? I wanted having the ‘AUDACITY’ to do something to have a positive impact on the world. Read More>>
Filip Keuppens
Developing a new product type, category, science and go to market strategy with virtually no marketing budget is not without it’s challenges but it has allowed us to develop real grassroots relationships with some amazing brand ambassadors, vocal endorsers, retailers and passionate affiliates who share our vision, approach to business and values. As Director of Sales, Blake Boulton, often says: “We are a large company with a small workforce”. Our collaborative and rising tides culture has helped us overcome challenges that many organizations would not have been able to navigate. Read More>>
Hannah Parks
There were concerns and self-doubts since I was just a self-taught baker who baked for the love of it. However, soon I decided to make the step of faith and work on the basics of starting a business and by May of 2023, With peace from God and some support from close friends Hannah’s Bread & Butter LLC was established, and its vision and foundation would remain the same. That baked goods would be sold to help missionaries take the Gospel to the nations. Read More>>
Kristina Middleton
Success = HAPPY CLIENTS and BEAUTIFUL SPACES, but it doesn’t end there. Success is also measured on what we were able to get out of every project. From new learnings or partnerships to perfecting the details… that is positive evolution and that is what success looks like to us. Read More>>
Morgan And Joseph Tuilovoni
Petite Lumière Prep School was started with a dream in our hearts to raise up Christ-like leaders who are a light in the world. “Petite Lumière” means “little light.” We encourage our students to be a light wherever they go – in their school, their families, their friendships, and their sports teams. Children may be little, but their life has immeasurable worth and value with the ability to positively change the world. Read More>>
Jaime Dee
My name is Jaime Dee, and I am Celebrity Radio Personality, Recording Artist, TV Talk Show Host and Live Event Host. Before I achieved my current success, I got my start in the entertainment industry as a Background Actor in Miami, Florida. From there, I moved to Atlanta, GA and networked with other Background Actors and Celebrities, while working on many different sets, to learn more about the field. Read More>>
