You Survived the First Wave. Here Comes the Second.

Every week I send this newsletter to Detroit business leaders, nonprofit executives, and financial professionals thinking about where their organizations go from here.

This week I want to say something I've been saying in every meeting for six months, and it's time to say it louder.

The window is closing. Not slammed shut. But closing.

You Survived the First Wave. Here Comes the Second.

In 2008, when I started MRJ, "digital marketing" was still a novelty for most Detroit businesses. Law firms had fax numbers and Yellow Pages ads. Nonprofits were mailing printed newsletters.

The organizations that moved early built brand equity that still carries them today. The ones that waited spent the next decade playing catch-up.

We're in the second wave right now. And this one moves faster. What took five years in the digital era is happening in eighteen months with AI. The gap between early movers and late adopters is already forming.

I talk to law firm partners, nonprofit CEOs, and financial institution leaders every week. The conversation has shifted. A year ago: "Should we look at AI?" Today: "How do we do this without breaking what already works?"

That's the right question. And it's exactly what MRJ was built to answer.

AI Insight: Three Tools Worth Your Time

I get asked every week: "What AI tools should we actually be using?" Here's my short list.

Claude (Anthropic) — Best for long-form writing, strategy documents, grant proposals. More thoughtful than the alternatives for complex, relationship-sensitive communications.

Canva AI — Your design team in one browser tab. Nonprofits especially: stop paying $500 for a donor mailer that Canva can produce in two hours.

Notion AI — Your operations backbone. Meeting notes, project planning, grant reporting templates, all in one place, with AI writing the first draft of anything.

Not sure where AI fits in your specific workflow? That's what my AI Readiness Audit is for. Three tiers, starting at $497. Book a free discovery call at mrjcdetroit.com.

Detroit on My Mind: Building in Public

This week I'm applying for a $25,000 loan from ProsperUs Detroit. Not because I'm struggling, but because growing the right way means using every resource your city makes available.

I put together a full financial package: business plan, 12-month projections, P&L, balance sheet, personal financial statement. All of it. Because after 17 years, you still don't take shortcuts when real money is on the table.

If you're a Detroit business owner who hasn't looked at ProsperUs or Michigan Women Forward, go look. The capital exists: prosperusdetroit.org

Community Spotlight: S.C.O.T.T.

Dr. La'Shardae Scott is the President & CEO of the Scott Center for Observation, Treatment and Transition (S.C.O.T.T.) — Ohio's first nonprofit dedicated to helping individuals with sickle cell disease transition from pediatric to adult care.

She co-developed a CDC manual, was named Top 80 Most Influential Advocate in Sickle Cell Research, is a TEDx speaker, and has secured millions in funding. S.C.O.T.T. is now expanding into Southeast Michigan.

She also grew up two houses down from me.

S.C.O.T.T. has an extraordinary mission and a story that deserves a much larger audience. If you or someone you know is navigating sickle cell disease, know this organization exists: scottcenteroh.org

Shoutout to La'Shardae. The journey continues.

Before You Go

Detroit has always been a city that builds through disruption. The organizations that will lead this city in 2030 are making decisions right now about how seriously they take AI.

I'm here to help you make that move, on your terms, at your pace.

— Redic Grant, Founder & CEO, MRJ Consulting. info@mrjcdetroit.com · 313-701-5970 · mrjcdetroit.com