Detroit is a land of opportunity. From a city where hustling was born, entrepreneurs are steadily finding their way to make their own mark on the city. For those talented with words, sharing stories of success and triumph while helping others along the way is their form of entrepreneurship.
Author Kimberly Mallory was born in Detroit into a family where her mother passed away early on in her life and she, along with her sister, were sent by their father to live with relatives in Florida. Forced into a life of abuse as a young child, Mallory would soon find herself on the other end of addiction. During the height of the 1980s crack epidemic, Mallory suffered the effects of the Ronald Reagan era.
“I knew that I had a testimony. I need to share, and that inspired me to know who my book could help,” Mallory says.
Released September 11, 2020, the autobiographical work outlines the road this author traveled to sobriety. “There’s No Sound in My Scream” is an in-depth look into addiction, family, faith and survival.
“God told me to write this book two years ago and I listened to haters asking why would I write about my family and my addiction,” Mallory explains. “I took my book and I wrote a little at a time. God would wake me up at the same time every night, 3 a.m., and I would just write.”
Wanting to give readers hope and strength to overcome, the book is available on Amazon and was listed as one of the Top Selling New Books on the site. Looking to continue to build on the book’s success, an audiobook and e-book are in the works to be released. The author also looks to pen a journal to accompany the book to allow readers to also journal their thoughts and work on their own plan of overcoming.
“I want to give them a chance to hope again. Your past doesn’t have to determine your future,” Mallory says. “I know it sounds cliché, but it’s very true. It’s about changing your mindset.”
Detroit native and entrepreneur Kelly Brown released a book geared to encouraging and empowering others to graduate to the next level in life. “Everybody Can’t Go” is an 82-page inspirational quote journal with a firm message — leveling up requires separation.
The author was raised on Detroit’s west side by an aunt who Brown credits for her solid upbringing. Through family, valuable lessons were taught and would help shape the book’s narration.
“Growing up, I had a beautiful childhood. My aunt raised me. Growing up in that household I saw nothing but love. It was my safe haven,” Brown says.
Seeing a lack in her community, Brown went to work to transform it. Buying four properties, including three rental properties, and employing neighborhood students from her alma mater, Cody High School, for demolition projects, Brown knew inspiring her community would help show there are other avenues to success. However, no matter the path, perseverance and hard work will ultimately lead to achievement.
“Coming from my neighborhood, a lot of people didn’t make it out. I’m just showing them I made it out and they can, too. You just have to have a plan,” Brown says.
“Everybody Can’t Go” is a part of the author’s brand, I Make My Moves in Silence, a movement that encourages discipline, freethinking and not following the crowd. The self-published author believes in steering clear from naysayers and allowing the finished product to speak for itself. She has been featured in The Wall Street Journal.
“I wasn’t going to let nobody stop me,” Brown says. “I looked crazy to others, but I understood my journey.”
Two-time Michigan State University graduate Christen Rochon spent 10 years being a full-time influencer. With an undergrad degree in advertising and public relations and a graduate degree in strategic communication, this media maven has years of vast knowledge and knows what it takes to create a successful brand.
Her book, “The Creative Discipline Project” is for anyone looking to jumpstart their creative business. Providing readers with a guide to executing their tasks, the book shares valuable advice and a blueprint for creating a step-by-step plan for businesses and entrepreneurs.
“’The Creative Discipline Project’ is a culmination of tools, prompts [and] examples really dedicated to help creatives get out of their own way and make traction towards their goals and dreams and projects,” Rochon explains.
After spending some time in the advertising realm, the author branched out and started working with top brands creating partnerships and content. Although the author never intended on writing a book, after continually sharing her business savvy penning a helpful guide seemed to be the natural next step.
“I realized that I was giving so many different people advice, and I realized one of the biggest challenges for Influencers is not the creative part, but really the business part,” Rochon says. “That’s really why I created this book; to be an inspiration but also a self-development guide to help those creatives get from point A to point B.”
Officially published this year in January, the book took less than six months to complete. In the book Rochon outlines the steps she used to establish herself in her career.
“The tools that I wrote about in the book is what helped me write the book,” Rochon says. “I knew I wanted to write a book that was a guide, but I also had to reverse engineer it.”
“The Creative Discipline Project” is now available on Amazon, Target and Barnes and Nobel.
Author Danielle D. Hughes is looking to show readers success starts with habit. “Always Make Your Bed: 7 Principles to Dream It, Do It and Get What You Want Out of Life” is a book that offers actionable steps to succeed in business and in life.
“I take mentorship very seriously and I feel this book is rooted in mentorship,” Hughes says.
After a speaking engagement at Western Michigan University and multiple requests to act as a mentor, Hughes was looked for a way to provide mentorship to the masses. Her thoughts, starting with something as simple as making the bed each morning, can help create the discipline needed for success.
“I really drive home the point of making your bed. I never had a routine growing up. I asked ‘what do successful people do every single day? What is one thing they have in common?’ And they all had a routine,” Hughes says.
Published in June 2019, the book is designed to help readers stay encouraged on their path to success. By starting small with one habitual daily task, entrepreneurs can grow and elevate to new heights.
“It’s for anyone who’s struggling to stay motivated. Anyone who knows they were created for more out of life, but don’t really necessarily know the steps that they need to take to get there,” Hughes says.
Sharing a personal story in the book, Hughes highlights her high school career as a graduate with a 1.9 grade point average as motivation to never stop dreaming big. Through continued work, this author has been able to supersede anyone’s wildest dreams; including her own.
“I was the least likely to succeed out of everyone I graduated with, anybody I knew. I don’t think anyone expected me to achieve much out of life,” Hughes says. “To have gone on and made the Forbes list twice and done some other notable things since then, I feel like is a true coming of age story. It does not matter how you start; it matters how you finish.”
“Always Make Your Bed: 7 Principles to Dream It, Do It and Get What You Want Out of Life” is available on Amazon and Barnes and Nobel.
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