ProsperUs Detroit celebrates local entrepreneurs with block party
(CBS DETROIT) — In Detroit, small businesses are something to celebrate. That's the feeling behind ProsperUs Detroit's annual community block party, a show of support for the city's entrepreneurs.
"We appreciate you, we love you, and we need you to grow our city," said Paul Jones, CEO of ProsperUs Detroit. "As entrepreneur, it's often a lonely planet, and you're often so under-celebrated. So having a space for us to just recognize how important you are, for us to recognize firsthand the contributions you make and for the entrepreneurs to know that we are here for you."
ProsperUs Detroit offers small business support and resources to entrepreneurs in underserved communities, assisting people like Nicole Grant, owner of MG Studio Hair Care and Salon.
"I knew since I was 9 years old that I wanted to own a salon to help my own community, and I didn't have the support and knowledge," Grant said.
Jacqueline Cuevas, owner of Junction Party Store, said, "We initially started quitting the job, cashing in everything we had to purchase this business. We didn't know what we were doing."
Both women say the organization helped them get their business off the ground, but what matters more is the sense of community they feel in coming together.
"It's an extended family," Cuevas said.
"They're there to, like, motivate me, but they're also there to like, kind of like, checking like, so why didn't you do this? So they hold me accountable for a lot of stuff if I don't do it, or if I do do it," said Grant.
