Our city is home to so many incredible businesses and so we asked the founders how they came up with the ideas for their businesses and have shared their responses below.

Michelle Morris | Purpose Champion

The idea of Chats With Michelle came to mind organically and actually has a lot to do with me. Basically I was very confused about the direction I was headed in life. I knew that there was a greater purpose for my life and I simply wanted more for myself, but I could not figure out what the next step should be. This made me extremely anxious about my future and I just could not understand why it seemed like everyone else was perfecting this thing called life and I wasn’t. That is when I took time to be still to gain clarity of what my God given purpose was. Like what the heck was I placed on this earth to do?! During that quiet time I began to gain the clarity I was seeking and realized that everyone actually does not have it all figured out and that there is beauty in everyones different life journey. I then decided to seriously commit to the Chats With Michelle brand where my mission is to guide young adults who have the desire to pursue purpose but feel all over the place. Read more>>

Jethro Decimus | Community Developer & Humanitarian & Recording Artist

Having traveled and served different nations – my heart and passion has always been to serve. I have come to realize that the least, the less fortunate, the orphans and children living in difficult areas are really close to my heart. Over the years I have observed parents not having the means to send their kids to school, as a result the children, especially in the slums, are prone to join gangs and other unhealthy environment. Last year 2020, I founded La Famille Foundation, which is non-profit organization with a 501 (c)(3) status and the vision of the foundation is to empower and resource children and families in underdeveloped nations so that they may experience a life of abundance. Our vision is to see schools in rough area sustainable. Read more>>

Carlos Leo & Geoffrey Swetz | Spoonabilities.com – Online Shop of Gourmet Products and Easy Recipes

Soon after we got together, we realized that we both love to travel, and go to different restaurants and discover new flavor combinations. After a few years together, we were able to travel to Europe, and we spent hours at the farmer’s markets, cafés, and restaurants in Paris, Rome, and Barcelona. We started to talk about how wonderful it would be to travel to different places around the world, buy the products that we fell in love with, and share our discoveries and experiences with other people. That spark of an idea is how Spoonabilities was born. A very special moment really gave us the final push was in Belgium in 2012. Walking through some of the narrow streets of Bruges, we found this little cheese shop with an amazing selection of local cheeses, charcuteries, mustards, jams & wines. This lovely lady at the store gave us a little tour of her wonderful products and we decided to buy some of her goodies. Read more>>

Marielena Gomes | Owner of The Faria Brand

The reason I started my business was because I have profound passion of art and handmade products. I’m proud to be Venezuelan and I felt the need to help my people in a way where they feel valued for what they do, knowing that there are a lot of great talented people in my country. After adding a few Venezuelan artists, I also added artisans from other part of the world. Currently, I have Venezuelan, Mexican, Colombia and Italian artisans. My mission was always to create a brand that gives back to the makers. I work directly with artisan communities to create everyday classics with an artisan twist and to show how artistic and beautiful our culture is . I have been in the retail industry for over 13 years and I understand the value of handmade products and my dream is to be able to have a showroom where people can come and see all the unique handmade products I carry. Read more>>