- [Will] Coming up on a Future of Work Edition of "One Detroit," Detroit Regional Chamber CEO, Sandy Baruah, talks about next week's Detroit Policy Conference and its focus on attracting business to the state.

Plus, we'll visit a family-owned business in Dearborn to find out what it takes to succeed as entrepreneurs.

Also ahead, we'll hear from a woman who left her corporate job to open a bakery.

Plus, the CEO of Black Leaders Detroit discusses the role of diversity in attracting talent and business to Michigan.

And we'll have some ideas on what you can do this first weekend of 2024.

It's all coming up next on "One Detroit."

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(bright music) - [Will] Just ahead on "One Detroit," we're shining a light on entrepreneurs for our Future of Work series.

We'll talk with the owners of a small business in Dearborn about their advice for perspective entrepreneurs.

Plus, we'll hear how a small business owner made a dramatic shift in her life to pursue her passion.

Also ahead, the founder of Black Leaders Detroit explains how his organization is assisting African American entrepreneurs.

And, Peter Whorf and Dave Wagner of 90.9 WRCJ offers some suggestions on events to enjoy this weekend and beyond.

But first up, attracting talent and business development to the state is the focus of next week's Detroit Policy Conference presented by the Detroit Regional Chamber.

The annual event will bring hundreds of business and policy leaders to the Motor City Casino Hotel on January 11th to discuss ways to grow Michigan's population.

When Detroit contributor, Nolan Finley, the editorial page editor of "The Detroit News," got a preview from the chamber's president and CEO, Sandy Baruah.

- What's the purpose of a Detroit conference and how does it differ from what you'll do in the spring on Mackinac?

- So we started the conference about a decade ago, and really specifically, to provide Mackinac conference-level programming right here in the heart of Detroit.

We fully recognize that we're very space constrained at the Mackinac Policy Conference.

It's on an island, it's very expensive to get there and stay there.

So we wanted to do something that was just for Southeast Michigan, do it in the city of Detroit, and really have that high level of quality programming that people have come to expect at Mackinac right here in Detroit.

- So this year, what are you focusing on at the Detroit Policy Conference?

- So this year's conference is themed as growing our population, and frankly, it is built directly off of the governor's growing Michigan Together Council, which she announced at the 2023 Mackinac Policy Conference.

Her two chairs for that effort, Shirley Stancato, who's a Board of Governor at Wayne State University, and Ambassador John Rakolta, the Chairman of Walbridge, are also the chairs of this conference.

So we're expecting a lot of alignment between what the council's report to the governor has in it to be discussed and what we can do right here in the Detroit region to grow our population, regardless of what happens at the state policy level.

- Now, Sandy, we've both been here before in terms of efforts, initiatives to engage the business community and everyone else in solving what seemed to be intractable problems for Metro Detroit, Michigan, improving education, fixing the roads, becoming more competitive, and the list goes on, and it's not been for lack of effort on the part of people like yourself and the business community and others, but they've never taken root.

What makes this effort different in your mind?

- Yeah, Nolan, you are so right.

There's certainly been a lot of councils, commissions, et cetera over the years.

I've served on several of them.

In fact, I even chaired one for Governor Snyder, and most of them don't result in much.

And we had that all at the top of our minds as we were going through this council's effort.

In fact, we, at the chamber, had really encouraged the governor to put something like this together, so we were all in on this effort, but with a mind towards, okay, how do we make this sticky?

How do we make this something that is not just a three-ring binder that sits on shelves and collects dust?

So in addition to the recommendations that were sent to the governor that were approved by all but just one member of the council, and I'm really proud of the recommendations, I think these are smart, strong, useful, tangible recommendations that are reaching for the goals that we should have, which is really growing, accelerating our population growth.

We also included a prescription, if you will, for what needs to happen next.

So in addition to the report recommendations, there's a roadmap for these are the kinds of things that need to happen next to ensure that these recommendations see the light of day and just don't sit on a shelf.

- So there's some skepticism, Sandy, some concern about what this will mean for the overall tax burden in Michigan and whether or not if it does require a tax increase that won't work against the goal of attracting more people here or maintaining people here.

- Well, I think that we have to approach the idea of revenue exceptionally cautiously.

And certainly in my mind, and in the other business leaders that were part of this council, we were very strong in saying that this is not a prescription or a permission slip for lawmakers just to go willy-nilly increasing taxes.

We have to first start with one, determining how we're spending our current dollars.

Those of us who run businesses know that you have to do that analysis on a regular basis.

How are we spending our current dollars?

What kind of return?

How effective are those dollars being spent?

And if they're not being spent in a way that gets results, then we need to reprogram those dollars someplace else.

The state desperately needs to do the same thing, because we really don't know, in a lot of cases, how effective some of our state dollars are being programmed, so that's number one.

And number two is that if new revenue is necessary, and my guess is that it probably will be at some point to implement many of these recommendations, we have to have really strong accountability, and we made that point exceptionally clear, especially in the education section, that if we're gonna ask the hardworking taxpayers of Michigan to pony up more dollars, there needs to be really clear accountability standards that you guys are gonna be paying X, but here's what you're gonna be getting, and here's how we track those dollars.

- [Announcer] And "One Detroit" will be at the Detroit Policy Conference.

We'll bring you conversations with business and community leaders on our January 18th episode, as well as online at onedetroitpbs.org.

Let's turn now to a family-owned business in Dearborn with a unique concept that attracts coffee drinkers and art lovers.

I visited Black Box Coffee to get some insight into the innovative idea behind its creation and to find out what it takes to keep a small business running smoothly.

(bright music) This is Black Box Coffee, a coffee shop and fine art gallery in Dearborn that sits on the corner of Monroe and Village Drive.

The family-owned business is run by retired engineer and IT leader Ray Alcodray, his wife, Lisa, and daughter, Sarah.

- The Black Box Gallery is a concept that started back in about 2017.

We started in June of 2018 at our first location.

We opened this in October of '20.

When I was coming out the corporate world, the family and I were talking about some passion projects and things we might undertake.

After a list of about 100 items that all got no, voted down by the family, the Art Gallery Coffee Shop concept came up, and it was a yes all the way around.

So with three years under our belt, the market has taught us a lot.

The build out here, most of the build up is actually designed by me and built by me.

So when you visit Black Box, and you see the coffee counter, and you see the lighting and the heating and cooling, and you see the standup counters, that's all something I designed and built.

- [Will] After a successful career in the corporate world and three years building Black Box Coffee, the Alcodrays understand what it takes to be successful entrepreneurs.

Ray, if you had two or three tried and true tips for someone who might be interested in wanting to open their own coffee shop art gallery, and they had no idea where to start, what would the first, second, and third thing be that you told them they needed to do?

- The first thing is for any business that somebody is interested in going in, I'd wanna make sure they have a passion for what it is they're getting ready to undertake because it can always look fun and exciting on the outside, any business.

I'd love to run a restaurant.

I'd love to run a coffee shop, and you picture yourself in there, but you need to know that running a business is hard work.

So make sure you have a passion that will drive you and keep you interested so that you can have fun in this thing you're undertaking, and it doesn't turn into a burden.

Go visit coffee shops, not just in Detroit.

Get in a car and go to other states.

Find, seek out what other people are doing and start formulating in your mind the vision of what your coffee shop would be.

Number two would be write a business plan.

So I know that sounds like I'm teaching Business 101 in college or something here, but the reality is if you don't have a plan, it's hard to execute.

The plan is basically a framework.

It doesn't have to be 100 pages long.

It could be, in this case, in this business, I wrote a 14-page business plan.

And then the third thing is if you don't have business acumen, if you've never run your own business, you've never tried to put together a financial plan, an investment plan, a return on investment type plan, then seek people who have.

Don't mortgage the house and take all the money in the bank and think I know how to do this, because somebody said you could, 'cause there will be people who may really pat you on the back and love your idea, but it'd be good to get some qualifying voices that are trustworthy, who may be able to mentor you as you start, because you will have challenges.

- If someone is going to operate a business smoothly, what are maybe three key factors that you would say they need to take into account to be able to achieve that?

- There's an idea to alleviate the stress for yourself, like allow yourself to enjoy the ride as you are managing.

So the team is equally important as every other detail of the business.

So, taking your time to to hand-select people who participate in a way where they take care of the space just as much as you do, even though they don't have that stake.

If you create a place that you're passionate about, people see that, people wanna help, and people take that upon themselves if you find the right group, and that dynamic is really important.

Being intentional about who you're working with, suppliers and other things, we focus a lot on being local, because there are so many things that could go wrong in just transportation itself, of getting goods here, of getting art here.

Giving yourself the space to not be burnt out, a lot of self-care.

I know that that might sound silly, but that's super important.

The business is gonna reflect everything that you are going through, it's a projection of yourself.

Everything that you do is, so if that's your job, it's coming out that way as well.

If you're stressed, if you're worried, if you're tired, I think that people notice.

(people talking indistinctly) - Ray, your daughter is gonna take this place over and do wonders with it, what's next for you?

- So for me, it's seeing that opportunity to really let go of the reins and know that what we created, because she's part of this creation too, I might have come in it with more business experience, more corporate experience, having tried things that she hasn't tried yet, that's a contribution I've made, but the contribution Sarah is making is helping her dad understand how to find that space to enjoy life a little bit more, the thing we all are working for.

We talk about it all the time, but can you get there?

- [Will] Now, let's head over to Ann Arbor for another story of entrepreneurship.

Rachel Liu Martindale left a corporate job to follow her passion for baking.

Her bakery called Q Bakehouse & Market is expected to open early this year.

Contributor Chein-An Yuan met up with Martindale to learn more about the challenges she faced getting started and how her small business embraces her Taiwanese and Chinese heritage.

(bright music) - I'm gonna add just a touch of this, because it's not much cookie dough.

I got into baking when I was a little kid.

I really enjoyed watching Food Network with my grandma on the couch, and that was how I got introduced to baking and cooking in general.

But it really wasn't until college where I was finding ways to de-stress from engineering school and baking became my hobby in the evenings and on the weekends.

I was an engineer, but I decided to leave that career behind and open a bakery and I haven't looked back.

Back in 2017, I decided to start a side business called Milk and Honey, and it started as a way to fund a homeless ministry that my husband and I were doing on the weekends.

And really, it was my friends knowing that I really enjoyed baking and asked me to make some cakes for their events, and that's how it grew from there was this kind of organic friend and referral business that I started making cakes for people on the side while I was still working.

And over time, I was able to feel more comfortable making the switch to doing the bakery full-time about in 2019.

As I got bigger, I decided to start doing popups, and I did a popup in downtown Ann Arbor for about six months where it was every single weekend on Saturdays, and that garnered a lot of interest.

At that point, that was when I decided, okay, I think I feel like I have enough of this confidence that I decided to make the switch to working at the bakery full-time.

I ended up finding this location in Milan, Michigan, and that was really the biggest factor of being able to work out of my own space.

The switch from Milk and Honey to Q Bakehouse was a organic one that spanned over a year.

I found this really great place on the west side of Ann Arbor and that was where I was like, okay, well this space has a whole retail storefront area and room for a kitchen in the basement.

At the same time, I was also discovering a lot about myself personally, making food for my family that was from my Taiwanese and Chinese heritage.

All of that coming together was me thinking it was time to change the business to something new and kinda giving it a refresh.

And so, Q Bakehouse & Market is born out of Milk and Honey, but it is also different.

It is including a lot more Asian-inspired pastries, and in terms of flavors and techniques, and it also includes savory options on top of that.

So this is where we'll likely have some bar seating, so we'll have a wooden table that goes across the windows with bar stools.

So Q Bakehouse & Market, it comes from the letter Q, which is actually a word and a Taiwanese culinary term that means springy or bouncy, that chewy texture that you get from boba or mochi.

I wanted the name Q to be identifiable with both Asian-speaking and English-speaking people.

There are a lot of challenges with opening a retail storefront for a small business, one of them being the waiting.

(laughs) It feels like the wait lasts forever, and the permitting process is a long one, and we ran into a lot of issues with the city, and so it took about two and a half months to even get the permits to be able to start construction, which really put us behind.

And I actually have to pay rent right now on the space even though it's non-operational, and that financially, obviously is really challenging after also putting in a lot of capital into the build out, and so I think waiting is a big one.

Finances is a big one too, just because we are operating right now, we're paying all of our expenses while not being able to bring in any sales.

So unfortunately, the cost of the actual buildout itself is just climbing higher and higher as more and more things are getting added and different issues that came up with the city required us to add more things to the list as well.

I am actually sitting in my friend's bakery and kitchen right now, because I don't have a space to work out of.

And so in order to keep my business relevant and being able to sell still, I have to rent a different kitchen and operate out of here in the meantime.

So in the interim, before we open, we've been doing little popups and pre-order pickups here and there, and that's usually every couple to few weeks that we'll host one, and it's been a way for us to continue to get some sales in the interim while also generating interest, trying to get our name out there.

(paper crinkling) (knife chopping) Here you go.

I can't really necessarily pinpoint exactly what about baking I love so much.

I do think it's a mix of a lot of things.

It's partially the joy that it brings people.

I feel like you can't ever go wrong bringing somebody a baked good, even if it's not really the best baked good.

If you come to a party or an office with a box of something even from the store, people will instantly be happier.

(laughs) It makes their day.

- [Will] Funding is one of the biggest challenges for small business owners of color.

The organization, Black Leaders Detroit, is working to level the playing field for African-American entrepreneurs by providing financial assistance.

I spoke with the group's CEO, Dwan Dandridge, about his goals and the importance of having diverse leadership in Michigan's workforce.

(bright music) - First things first, what is Black Leaders Detroit?

What is the goal?

- So, the way I typically describe it, Will, is we are a funding vehicle for Black entrepreneurs operating in the city of Detroit.

And we pretty much provide funding in two different ways.

We have grants, and we also do a no-interest loan.

- Who are you providing these resources to and what is the overall goal, because it's not something that is common, a no interest loan?

- Right.

Yeah, and it's funny, because I was at the Eastern Market the other day, and I was talking to an entrepreneur who said that he recently applied for a no-interest loan, and he said that he saw it last year but didn't believe it was real, (both laugh) because they almost never exist or at least, not for us.

It's targeted for, again, Black entrepreneurs on the for-profit sector that are running their business in Detroit.

Our largest loan amount right now is 25K, and we have distributed $1.5 million through our grants.

- If we could craft a message that could really explain to people the benefits of being here, and also explain to leadership what wraparound services are necessary, what people are looking for, for the place they wanna build their career and life, what do you think Southeast Michigan, Detroit, would be, if we were able to harness those things?

- Oh, I think that we would be that space that you and I have in our mind, a place where the young Dwan wouldn't have to wait and find a back door or a cracked window to success to fit in through, the front door would be accessible to me.

I think the decision makers that are at the table shaping the ideas need to reflect the neighborhoods.

I think that they will be able to speak directly into and say, "Hey, here's how you would've been able to attract me."

So I think it's some of the onus and responsibility are on some of the young Detroiters that love Detroit to make sure that they are at the table forging the relationships and applying the pressure, because they know what it would take to recruit their peers.

We just need to make sure that they have a seat at the table and they need to be really honest when they're at the table.

And there's always that rub and that pressure to say, "Hey, if I'm too honest, "will I get uninvited from the table?"

You know what I mean?

I think that they need to let go of that pressure and realize that the table needs them.

My personal opinion on that is if the real authentic Dwan is not welcome, I wanna find out as quick as possible and get uninvited, because it's time out from wearing a mask.

We shouldn't be code-switching in Detroit.

Folks should be code-switching for us.

That's just my opinion.

- [Will] It's the first weekend of 2024 coming up, and there are a lot of entertaining events taking place in Metro Detroit to kick off the new year.

Peter Whorf and Dave Wagner of 90.9 WRCJ have a list of activities in today's "One Detroit Weekend."

- Happy New Year everybody and happy New Year to you, Peter.

Hey, fill us in on what's happening around town this weekend.

- Let's kick things off with the Recognizing Women Project Workshop at the Detroit Institute of Arts Lecture Hall on Friday.

It's a monthly event using dance, theater, and music to share stories and experiences of women.

Anyone can participate in the program as long as you have something to share about a woman who has touched your life.

- Now that sounds like a very profound experience.

On Saturday, you can get your dance on at Detroit Public Library's Chaney branch with Hustle in the New Year: Hustle Class and Disco Party.

Peter, can you give us a little hustle?

- I don't know if the audience is ready for that right now.

Also, on Saturday, the extremely talented Detroit Youth Choir is holding their mid-season auditions.

If you know of any kids ages nine to 18 who love to sing, they can head over to Marygrove Conservancy to see if they can join the exciting singing group.

- [Dave] Then on January 9th, dance lovers can head to the Detroit Opera House's Ford Center for Arts and Learning to see the next installment of their Dance Film series.

- And this is something not just happening this weekend, it's open every weekend and first Fridays, but it's a place I love, the Creature Conservancy in Ann Arbor.

It's a nonprofit zoological organization that promotes conservation through education.

The place has a lot of neat animals to see, and during the week, they hold some pretty cool events.

Go ahead and check it out if you get a chance this weekend.

- Well, that sounds like a great idea.

And of course, there are other events happening in and around Metro Detroit.

Here are a few more.

Have a great weekend, everyone.

(bright music) - [Will] That'll do it for this week's "One Detroit."

Thanks for watching.

Head to the "One Detroit" website for all the stories we're working on.

Follow us on social media and sign up for our weekly newsletter.

- [Announcer] From Delta Faucets to Behr Paint, Masco Corporation is proud to deliver products that enhance the way consumers all over the world experience and enjoy their living spaces.

Masco, serving Michigan communities since 1929.

Support for this program is provided by the Cynthia & Edsel Ford Fund for journalism at Detroit Public TV.

(gentle music) - [Announcer] The DTE Foundation is a proud sponsor of Detroit Public TV.

Among the state's largest foundations committed to Michigan focused giving, we support organizations that are doing exceptional work in our state.

Visit DTEFoundation.com to learn more.

- [Announcer] Nissan Foundation and viewers like you.

(bright music) (bright music)