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.
Jocelyne Guzman
2020 was when I realized I wanted to do it more professionally and start my Makeup Artist career. That’s when Tilaglams is born and continues to grow with every challenge and success, and I look forward to seeing where my passion takes me. Read More>>
Devin Williams
The road has not always been smooth. In the Industry it can be very easy to get lost in your insecurities. Blindly comparing yourself to other models, The fast paced of it all can be very hectic and a bit too much and even more if you’re and anxious person like myself. You’ll soon to realize that all models are meant to be different and unique in their/our on way. Read More>>
Erik & Claire Finchler
Erik is a two degree Black Belt in Tae Kwon Do so discipline runs deep. After taking several years off to birth and raise her daughter, Claire decided it was time to come back to the business world, and having bought and sold personal properties in her past, along with her expert knowledge of contracts, real estate was a natural choice. Erik, having been the President of a well known Credit Restoration business in The Woodlands, TX decided he would join Claire and make the shift towards a field he already had an intrinsic knowledge of: Real Estate. They met just over 4 years ago, have two kids, 2 dogs, and have been married for almost 3 years Read More>>
Paulla De Souza
My name is Paulla De Souza, Paulla with 2’ls. Fun fact, my name is spelled with 2 l’s because someone made a mistake on one of my birth documents. I am so grateful my parents kept it. There was this one time I won an opportunity to work on a Jamaican project in St Lucia, I was cc in the email where the Producer said, “Hire the girl with the extra L in her name, I like the sound of that”. Read More>>
Priya Hajari
I’ve always had a love for baking. My husband, Nilay, and I got pregnant at the end of last year and my baking naturally stopped due to nausea/aversions/different cravings. We unfortunately lost our baby at 5 months pregnant which has caused us the heaviest grief. I quickly started baking and found that it felt very therapeutic and brought me lots of comfort. My husband has encouraged me to start baking as a business for years. It wasn’t until recently our heartbreaking loss that I also felt the drive to do so. I desperately needed a fun way to channel some energy. It is safe to say that this is our passion project that has helped us cope with our toughest of times. Read More>>
Shelby Dewboys
I grew up in a home with a drug addict and I think taking photos became my outlet from that. My first camera was given to me my freshman year of high school for Christmas. I would walk around the neighborhood and take pictures of everything that I found beautiful. Even if I didn’t find it beautiful, I always had a way of making it look that way. I realized early on that my camera was my safety blanket. I felt safe behind the lens because I knew that I would only see what I wanted to see. As I’ve grown up, the circumstances are different, but my love for the camera and making things look exactly as beautiful as I think they are has stayed the same. Read More>>
Telly Arnold
During those two months without work, I saw it as an opportunity to teach my driver, Sharif, how to transition from just being a driver to understanding the responsibilities of a business owner. Sharif had a significant stake in this venture, and he needed to realize that building relationships was key to our success. I explained to him that work wouldn’t just come to us—we had to go out and get it. Read More>>
Martha E.
Elmore is a recipient of a Black History Achievement Award from her hometown for being a stellar entrepreneur. Her mother helped to instill entrepreneurship in her by creating a praise dancing business when she was limited on opportunities in Franklin. From that, Martha taught several women to praise and worship God through the gift of dance. The model takes pride in showing other up-and-coming business owners they can do anything they set their minds to. Read More>>
Robert Breitenstein
This is the event that would change my life and the life of my team. We would later expand our team of photographers and videographers to Colbie Balsamo and Curtis Tran. This team would bring my social media from about 20,000 impressions to 140,000 impressions per month. TheAssignment’s goal sums up what we had always wanted, play music we want, make money, and book our friends. Read More>>
Josefina H.
When I was twelve years old, I was sent to my first ever “fun” summer camp. Not summer school, not something academic, but true, just *fun*. There I got lesson on dark room photography, which really captured my attention. No longer was I just running around with little point-and-shoots. Now, I got to take photos, and turn them into something physical to hold. And that was just *the coolest thing* to me at the time. Read More>>
Dan Malave
It hasn’t always been a smooth road. Like any business, we faced our share of challenges, especially when we first started. One of the biggest struggles was building our client base in a new country after moving from Venezuela to the U.S. Adapting to a new market and understanding the local demands was a learning curve. Additionally, we’ve had to balance the creative side of our work with the business side, which comes with its own set of challenges like managing finances, marketing, and client communication. Read More>>
Alchimia Coffee
Building a business, whether big or small, presents unique financial challenges and a significant investment of your time. Beyond that, creating a successful venture demands meticulous attention to every aspect including operations, marketing, sales, financial management, and even a website. These tasks become even more daunting when they are all managed from home to save costs. Furthermore, opening a specialty coffee business in a market that is saturated with low- quality coffee will always be an uphill battle. However, it is a challenge we fully embrace. Read More>>
Brandon Neal
Real Estate was always a passion of mine and as I educated myself more about it. I became more passionate about the opportunity to help others and the opportunities it creates for families to not only find their dream home but to also create generational wealth. I first began my journey on learning about the fix and flip side of real estate, how ever and I progressed and learned more, I realized the role of a real estate agent to actually guide individuals through the process, That is the moral of compas of what has driven me to do what I do today. Read More>>
Anna Reger
My journey to founding FlipLok started with a very personal experience that exposed a serious gap in security. After a terrifying incident where an active threat came too close to my family, I was shocked to find that the safety of our door was uncertain. This unsettling moment led my husband John and me to take a hard look at campus security, only to uncover significant flaws and a troubling lack of effective solutions. Determined to make a difference and grounded in my strong family values, I developed FlipLok—a security device specifically designed to address these shortcomings and provide reliable protection in schools and public spaces. Read More>>
Jazmin Elizondo
Another struggle would be keeping up with all things technology, when I first started everything was word of mouth. Fast forward to 2024 you have to be active on social media to me someone in the industry. That means keeping up with trends, creating content, editing & STILL manage to run your business. Read More>>
Lauren Johnson
I decided to start my business when I had one year of supervision left. When I envisioned what I wanted my business to look like, I remembered all the times I was struggling. My answer was always to go lay on my grandmother’s couch until she could help me identify my feelings and provide her wisdom. My grandmother was my introduction to what therapy could feel like, and it was that comfort I wanted to recreate in my practice. I chose to honor her memory by naming the business after her, but unfortunately she didn’t see it come to fruition. Read More>>
Mecca Woodard
In 2012, I went to college in the Bay Area and fell in love with the city of Oakland. It was there, amidst the beats and rhythms of the city’s burgeoning music scene, that I found my first love, Photography. Armed with a camera and lots of grit, I dived headfirst into my first business Mecca Media. Together with friends, I joined an amazing collective called Nook&Kranny, a black woman ran only publication celebrating artists and businesses around the San Francisco Bay Area. This venture wasn’t just a passion—it became the catalyst for my journey towards developing my identity & creativity. Read More>>
Erica Whittington
I strive to educate agents that they can step into the world of commercial real estate especially women. CRE is only 36% female dominated with less than 1% of senior executive jobs being held by minority women. I want to change that. I started instructing classes on CRE(Commercial Real Estate) and I’m working on completing a book and a few guides on how to get started and how to make your first 6 figures as an entrepreneur. Many things are happening and I feel so blessed to be surrounded by the right individuals now. Read More>>
Oluwaseunfunmi Okpoko
Relocating to Houston, Texas, we recognized the thriving market for authentic cultural flavors. Driven by a personal craving for traditional Nigerian yogurt, I embarked on a journey to recreate this beloved treat that quickly became a hit with my family and friends as it captured the authentic taste of my homeland. Recognizing the demand for this unique product, my husband and I decided to include the yogurt in the business line, offering a taste of home to those who shared our craving and the wider community. Read More>>
Jamal Collier
From that point, I took on jobs by word of mouth or from people close to me who knew I was starting to do this as a business. My friends were really excited to support me and have been extremely encouraging. I was working a full-time job as a Mortgage Banker at Chase, which took up a significant amount of my time so that always posed a challenge to how much time I poured into it. Read More>>
Stephania Saintpierre
At the age of 23 I had a supernatural encounter with Jesus that shifted my perspective and the world around me. I was transformed, set free &RENEWED. from that moment I decided I wanted to be that for someone else. I became the first entrepreneur and author in my family. feeling inspired from the transformation that took place in my life I began writing books such as “Hidden in plain sight“ and “Arise kingdom lioness “ encouraging many to seek an authentic relationship with God as a first step for permanent transformation . Read More>>
Adriana Alvarez
Shelley Roberts and I have known and worked with each other for over 10 years! Mint Beauty Studio came to fruition when we both dipped our toes into the permanent makeup world around 2022 after having gotten our brows done. We quickly fell in love with it and decided this was something we wanted to pursue together. Both of us having cosmetology and management backgrounds, it felt natural for us to start a business centered around beauty and helping others find it within themselves. Read More>>
Kathryn Mitchell
Starting over in a new state is by far the hardest challenge I have overcome in my business and personal life. The first few months were rough with little to no bookings since I didn’t know a single soul here, but I give credit to God for giving me new friends who shared their network, and showed me around the city! I am now booked into next year, and so thankful for new and returning clients! Read More>>
Ms. Mia
I was born and raised in Houston,Tx. R&B/ Hip-Hop, Singer-Songwriter. My name is Tamia Boykin, professionally known as “Ms.Mia” gradually got into music on my own, at the age of 11. At an early age, I was writing and singing my own songs over YouTube type beats, and recording demos on a C.D with my oldest brother. After sometime from reserving with openly showcasing my talents with my close family members, I started singing solo’s in church, which allowed me to embrace my independence and confidence. I knew deep inside I wanted to sing but took time to define myself into my own artistry and development . Read More>>
Izzy Bakr
Longhorn Digital started as an idea born from my deep passion for graphic design and social media marketing. I’ve always been drawn to creative work, whether it’s designing logos, branding, or helping businesses tell their stories visually. Over the years, as I honed my skills, I realized that businesses often struggle with their digital presence, particularly on social media. I saw this as an opportunity to fill a gap. Read More>>
Tenneisha Brown
Through my immigrant journey, it forced me to work harder and it forced me to become resilient. Best of all, it instilled an unbelievable amount of hope and faith within me because despite my circumstances I had to believe I was destined for greatness and things would work out in my favor so I could achieve the “American dream”. Knowing where I came from and having a vision for where and who I want to be has become my fuel for where I am today. Read More>>
Raymond Guzman
Along the way I wrote a book called Starseed Footsteps which is available on Amazon, created two oracle decks, appeared on various magazine and newspapers, and also have some celeb clients. My hope is to be on tv soon and have my own paranormal show. I always say I didn’t choose this gift, it chose me. You can also find my monthly horoscope column on Natural Awakenings which is a magazine that circulates the Houston area. Read More>>
Mirna Alfaro
I attended a 3 day spiritual retreat at a local Houston church and I received not only help for my mind, spirit and soul but they also nourished the body with the exceptional cuisine that was served and top notch white glove service! This inspired me to give back to my community and I have volunteered at that retreat for the past 3 years since. Read More>>
Paige Mcinturff
I learned photography in High School at Kinkaid from the best teacher. He truly gave us not only a strong skillset but he also helped us fall in love with the art of photography. Once I started there in the dark room with film and a manual camera, I haven’t stopped since! It eventually shifted to digital photography and I learned all of the editing side of photography. After I couldn’t take classes in school anymore I decided to make it a business. It was all word of mouth and mostly for friends at that point, but I could never fully give it up. Read More>>
