The Future of Detroit Begins With Us

Excitement hung in the air Wednesday as people gathered for Crain’s Detroit Business and Advertising Age’s second Idea: Detroit Conference, at the Fox Theatre. And while it felt like a small, intimate day of panel discussions and presentations – the names, the actions and, more importantly, the ideas were anything but small.

Idea: Detroit takes a fresh approach to instigating dialogue about the future of Detroit, and as a young professional, I was eager to learn what is in store for the city, its streets and its people. The conference touched on every industry’s (retail, entertainment, social media, fashion, movies, real estate, business, etc.) perspective and impact on the city, but the overarching theme was not how these industries will return Detroit to its original splendor, but rather, how they will help Detroit go beyond the past – and transform it to reach its full potential.

What also made the conference so exciting (in addition to the free food and amazing location) was that it pooled together a collection of thought leaders and visionaries who are already actively participating and changing Detroit.

For example, Quicken Loans’ founder and chairman, Dan Gilbert, spoke about how the company is bringing talent to the D by hiring more than 500 interns from around the nation, to work, live and play. (There are already more than 3,000 applicants and the company hasn’t even advertised it yet!) And by doing so, more young professionals will be exposed and ideally interested to what Detroit has to offer this generation, and hopefully more likely to stay. As Gilbert and his partners attract more and more companies to the area, the revitalization of Detroit grows exponentially, and what makes Detroit so attractive to young professionals, like myself, in comparison to other urban cities, is the opportunity to make your own mark on the city and impact the community for the better.

Another way people are impacting Detroit’s economic recovery is by building up the current creative community. Between music, movies and fashion – Detroit’s entertainment industries have always had a place, but it’s now time to fuel the flame and make Detroit known for more than cars.

For me, Ajmal Zaheer Ahmad, co-founder and executive producer of Detroit-based Exxodus Pictures LLC, hit the nail on the head when he explained his business theory to bring in new revenue – building a movie production company in Michigan, instead of simply filming through incentives. While a small community benefits from the $3 million spent while a movie is in town filming, the real benefits return to the production company itself, and the place it calls home. So in theory, by building parent companies here, not just producing here, Michigan will reap the profit, no matter where filming occurs (but ideally, some of that stays here too, because I love running into Daniel Craig at American Apparel!)

As a member of Eisbrenner PR’s social media team, seeing and hearing how we can greatly impact the future of Detroit was enlightening. Gathering all the different communities, races, religions into the proverbial public square can elevate the importance of what’s happening here. All of us tech nerds know that social media channels amplify the positive things the Dan Gilbert’s, Ajmal Zaheer Ahmad’s and Jordan Wolfe’s are doing and spreads it farther and faster than traditional media.

The moral of the story (or conference) is that Detroit might be in a bad place right now, but people already are changing those circumstances by working together to bridge these gaps, bringing in businesses and people and thinking outside the box. Detroit doesn’t have to stay in last place, but people need to start moving to get us where we need to go. And as a young professional in Michigan, I have the opportunity to be one of those people, and I’m pumped!

To read more about the panel discussions, presentations and BIG ideas go to crainsdetroit.com, and search “Idea Detroit.”