Deviating from industry norms is one of the most common characteristics we’ve seen among highly successful brands and professionals and so we’ve asked some brilliant folks to give us real life examples of how they do things differently from the industry standard.

Alecia Brown

I’m really proud to say that at Black Lavender Co., we hand pour each and every one of our soy candles utilizing only clean, top-shelf ingredients to ensure our products are clean. Using our own proprietary blend of fragrances, we’ve created a lineup of candles that in my view provide a little something for everyone. These aren’t your big box store, paraffin-filled coffee table tchotchke, we’re creating scents that envelop your home. Scents that welcome you, that calm you, scents that set a tone and as I like to say, “create a sense of warmth that beckons you home.” Read more>>

Delyse Gannaway

Many of us are all too aware of the heart-wrenching pet-overpopulation crisis. As we witness animal shelters overflowing, not picking up strays and even turning away owner surrenders, we’re seeing all too often that community members are being left to bear the burden – from capturing stray animals to providing shelter for them. That’s where Sacramento Shelter Pets Alive (SSPA) comes in: We are committed to providing innovative and comprehensive behavioral and rehabilitative programs, foster care and placement, adoption facilitation, and training and playgroups for dogs and their families in need in the Greater Sacramento and Stockton area to improve outcomes and keep dogs out of shelters. Read more>>

Forrest Lotterhos

Moon Path Sound has the flexibility to take a deeply personalized approach to every project, offering production companies and independent producers an experience that they won’t find in a larger, corporate studio. My superpower as a sound designer is to bring out the emotional undertones in the film that I’m working on. Achieving the level of emotional resonance I’m looking for takes intentionality, intuition, and a nuanced relationship with the creators / my clients. Read more>>

Caroline Gardner

I feel like I have set myself apart from other Senior photographers with my Senior Rep program. I have had a rep team for the past 4 years. This year I have 2 teams, one in Desoto County (10 girls) and one in Alcorn County (14 girls). It’s a fun program where there is an application process that gives me insight on the girls community/school involvement, their dream photoshoot, ways they plan to promote my small business and their future plans. Read more>>

Marci Brooks

I’ve worked in multiple salons during my career. They often lead to drama and becoming toxic environments. I finally got the courage to open my own shop, where we do things differently. No drama! No insecurities. No “mean girls” I set the tone. It’s my responsibility. Salon owners are the reason salons are successful or failures. Read more>>

Cameron Schwartz

Relationships weren’t taught in school, and they don’t come with a manual. Most marriages end in divorce, and many parents raise their child as a single parent. So who can people ask questions to, and learn from? The dating scene is broken, and I’m on a mission to fix it Read more>>

Tj Noel-sullivan

As lead actor Preet Kaur says “We really pushed the envelope with the genre of heist films. Compared to a classic Oceans 11, MIDAS is for the everyday man trying to make it out of the rat race. The average American of a BIPOC demographic works twice as hard to get half as far simply because of the social inequality disadvantages imposed within systems and institutions. In MIDAS, we see what transpires when a group of well-meaning young adults challenge the stipulations imposed on them.” Read more>>