Two deserving female entrepreneurs have received a financial boost thanks to a pair of Elevate Women Small Business Grants.
Gulf Coast Woman founded the Grant Program in partnership with Hancock Whitney and Mississippi Power. These awards, presented at the Elevate Women’s Small Business Summit on Jan. 16, provide marketing and financial assistance to women-owned small businesses on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Each winner received $1,000 cash and $500 in marketing services.
MEET THE 2026 WINNERS
Gardenia Tea Room
Owner: Michelle M. Nichols
As the only dedicated tearoom on the Gulf Coast. Gardenia Tea Room in Waveland offers customers a beautiful space to host private events or to just sit and relax with friends and family.
According to owner Michelle M. Nichols, there is a huge interest in afternoon tea on the Coast — as indicated by the number of articles that have featured her business. However, after three years in operation, she still has locals telling her that they didn’t know Gardenia Tea Room was there.
“Our goal is to expand that interest by putting the Gulf Coast on the map as a destination for afternoon tea,” Nichols explains in her grant application. “I would really like this business to grow to be well known in the area. Expanding our footprint is a main goal.”
To that end, she would apply the grant toward advertising to grow the business’s reach and secure its sustainability.
“We also would like to expand on our afternoon tea to-go deliveries and post more signage leading to our location,” she adds. Other plans for the funds include expanding the space to make room for a flower shop.
Rise Psychotherapy and Family Support Services
Owner/Lead Therapist: Sichana Dawn Hunter Jean
Rise Psychotherapy and Family Support Services offers individual, couples, and family therapy to adults and children in its Biloxi office and via telehealth. Its other activities include community-based program consultation, education, speaking engagements and events aimed to uplift and empower the family and community.
According to owner and lead therapist Sichana Dawn Hunter Jean, the business was inspired by the words of poet and activist Maya Angelou.
“Its mission is to support clients of diverse backgrounds, with specialized interest in the hearts and minds of Black women and communities of color,” Jean notes in her application. “We are currently committed to undergirding marginalized people as we navigate an unstable social environment.” While the practice is based in Biloxi, it also serves Louisiana, Alabama and South Carolina.
Jean’s goals over the next two years include hiring two more clinicians, working toward publishing written therapeutic aids, starting a podcast and continuing to pursue writing and speaking opportunities. With the grant funds, she plans to continue finalizing her new website, invest in more marketing materials such as business cards and flyers and put money toward her next promotional event.
If any funds remain, she adds, “I would save for a larger office space and might be able to move on an opportunity sooner rather than later.”