Doing things differently often leads to outsized results and so we connected with some of the most inspiring leaders and trailblazers we know and asked them to go into detail about what they do differently relative to others in their industry.

Haley Lenderman

Venues in the area as well as across the country have created a “norm” that we chose to steer far from. Read more>>

Anthony Dail

When a client books me, they know they’re getting a good quality video.. When I work a project, I communicate well with my clients and we discuss expectations. As a result, they understand good detailed work takes time and at the end of the day it shows. Read more>>

Quintin Williams

Yes, at Creative Astronaut Ventures, our commitment to “exclusive” goes beyond ordinary. Each pair is crafted for a truly customized fit, using biometrics and wear-testing. The design intellectual property is owned by the client, ensuring a unique identity. These designs remain private, not produced for the public. Should a client choose mass-production later, my extensive network and experience with high volumes at Q4SPORTS come into play for a seamless transition. Read more>>

Tania Cassill

I started huit design group a few years ago after promoting another assistant to be a lead designer. I realized the benefits of having independent designers sharing a workspace and having the vast knowledge of 4 designers in one space. We all work independently but often round table many of our projects. There is no competition between the designers. We support each other and collaborate on ideas often. Read more>>

Kelly Stark

When clients thinks “marketing” they assume you cover social media! I’ve been in consulting for over 22 years and there’s so much more that covers “marketing” than social presence. I have been a Director for Marketing, sales manager, content write, designer and branding specialist and that’s the services that I created. Read more>>

Victoria Osivnik

Many women entrepreneurs feel financially unstable in their business, unsure how to set up solid financial systems….which leads them to not feel confident about taking the next steps, makes hiring decisions difficult, makes deciding which new products or services to offer confusing, and can make it challenging to get paid on time. They are spending too much time sorting out their finances instead of doing what they love. They need a trusted mentor with a deep understanding of business finances and systems so they can establish solid roots and grow. Read more>>

Katherine DiClaudio

The foundational concept of Impact100 is collective giving. Instead of raising money for a specific cause or charity, we recruit members who pool our donations and provide transformative grants to a number of charities throughout Oakland County. Our value proposition is simple: if you donate 1,000 to a single charity, you can make a positive contribution. However, if we pool hundreds of people together and provide grants of up to $100,000, we truly transform the ability of nonprofits to serve our communities. Read more>>

Miyana Sarver

The birth of Poetry on Peter came from the hopes of creating an environment that was safe enough for vulnerability and community, in a world that loses sight of these essentials everyday. We strive daily to honor our core principles of courtesy, family, and compassion, which eventually attracted a crowd that was seeking the same things. I believe what makes us stand out is our determination to stay authentic and connected to our community. In every way we can, we want to uplift and provide opportunities for anyone we call our POP Family. Read more>>

Amy Quale

Wise Ink Media was cofounded in 2012 as a blog for independent authors by myself (Amy Quale) and Dara Beevas. At the time, we worked for a small independent press that was owned by a publishing entrepreneur in his eighties with a passion for people and stories. When we started Wise Ink, there was challenging binary in the publishing world, with self-publishing carrying a stigma of being low-quality and traditional publishing being the pathway to success; the problem was, of course, that traditional publishing worked best for a select few authors. Read more>>

Michaela Brewer

The Barebones Experience is undeniably unique and memorable. Our surf trips are intentionally designed to give our guests the most authentic, community focused experience (on a budget). I have followed a similar approach and business model with my Real Estate Business in Charleston, South Carolina. I aim to provide my real estate clients an authentic, approachable experience in what can otherwise be a stressful and overwhelming process. Read more>>

Kat Super

From Swiss-inspired designs to psychedelic illustration to now retro mascot illustrations, I’ve had monumental moments of realizing that there’s no “one size fits all” for graphic design. Due to frustrations with the design industry, I went running to illustration, found a large gap in the brand design world and now I’m an illustrator specifically for other brand designers. Read more>>

Brandon Muise

Our incentive program P4P (Pay-4-Performance) has allowed us to grow our business from 0 – to $700k/year in revenue in only 3 years while maintaining a 15%+ profit margin every year since we started. P4P has completely reinvented how we think about compensating our workforce and has allowed us to almost completely remove micro-management from our company’s leadership structure. Read more>>

Jenna Cadena

The goal has always been to promote self-love and self-care. My goal has never been focused on anti-aging and I believe this is what differentiates us from the industry standard. Necessity being the mother of invention, and being a mama myself, my company was born out of necessity to alleviate the irritation my oldest daughter experienced with sensitive skin, more specifically, eczema. Read more>>

Jennifer Yates

Yes! When most people hear “operations”, they immediately jump to process, systems, automations, or fancy tech tools. Not me. I always start with PEOPLE and helping them with the WAY they work. When I engage with a client, the first thing I do is understand the people working there, their personalities, their workstyles, their motivations and desires, their strengths, what they think about the work they’re doing. Read more>>

Andie Marsh

One of the reasons I felt I had to create my own business for soil health instead of finding a job in the existing industry is because of the stark contrast in philosophy and methodologies I value compared to conventional methods of agriculture and land management. Read more>>

Cecilia Nieves

AnimalLuvr’s Dream Rescue is one of many animal rescues in the Tampa Bay Area and we are proud to have such an animal loving community right here. What we do differently is that we focus on the medically needy, not easy to adopt, homeless pets from our very own local community. We understand that it is easier and more profitable to adopt out puppies, kittens and the popular breeds – but that leaves thousands of others that continuously get looked over. Read more>>

Olubukola Betiku

At OjuBeauty, we pride ourselves on investing time in the meticulous sourcing and crafting of our products, ensuring a hands-on approach from inception to completion. Our commitment goes beyond creating exceptional products; we strive to add that special touch that engenders a sense of involvement and inclusion for our customers. From the initial design phase to the final touches, our dedicated team is personally involved in every step of the process. Read more>>

Ormilla Vengersammy

At Entertainment Technology Partners, we’ve formed an educational brand, The Coil Learning Center or CoIL, which is an acronym for Continuous Improvement and Learning. Read more>>

Cambria Shelley

I think that many wedding photographers brand themselves as “documentary”, “unposed”, “authentic”, etc. And I do think that the intention is there to do so! But, time and time again, they show up to a session or wedding with the same list of poses in the back of their mind. And even though its not quite so stuffy and traditional, there is still a fair amount of “posing” going on. My approach goes a step further than keeping it laid back–I truly get to know my couples before and during their time with me. Read more>>

Jessica Weesner-Butcher

In the digital marketing industry, I find what separates Power Branding from other agencies is our unwavering dedication to RETURN ON INVESTMENTS. The entire purpose of a business investing in their marketing is to generate growth, leads, and ultimately revenue. Unfortunately, the majority of agencies become consumed with providing content deliverables rather than focusing on getting the client ROI. Read more>>

Justin Stern

I offer a personal experience with all my clients, taking a great interest in what they envision for their event. I take the time to not only understand their wants, needs, and desires, but I also connect with each couple on a much deeper level, allowing me to customize their event to exactly match the energy, music, and tone they wish to create. I feel it’s important that I establish a relationship to learn their likes, dislikes, personality traits, etc., as I believe it has a major impact on the choices I make when I perform and the overall success of the event. It’s easy to create a cookie-cutter wedding day, but my goal is to truly make each couple’s day unique and true to them. Read more>>

TUCKY DIAS BANDARANAIKE

Here at The Arbor, we seek to honor every ingredient and how it was sourced. Everything that goes in to a dish is perfectly and specifically chosen to enhance and marry all other ingredients. Each thoughtfully chosen both in quantity and quality. Meals are curated with balance and detail. We source protein from sustainable farmers, vegetables and fruit are organic or local. We strive to showcase local farmers and growers, sharing their stories and labors in each Chef’s Table Dinner. Read more>>

Hilary Swan

Sales makes so many people cringe, and it holds a stigma. This is especially true for sales leaders. A sales leader or head of sales, regardless of talent, tends to be one of the highest-paid people in the organization and startups and small businesses are often guided to make this hire early on. The head of sales is sales rep #1 and where this can become a high issue is when the role shifts into a true leadership role. Incredible reps don’t necessarily make incredible sales leaders. Read more>>

Brenna McGowan

In online business, one of the industry standards is “launching.” This is a special promotion time for a course, online program, membership, etc. In the past, traditional launches have been set up where you choose 5-10 days to do your promotion. Read more>>