A Cambridge Power Couple

Bernard and Danielle Johnson in their High Street headquarters. The couple is making a mark on Cambridge as business and civic leaders, setting an example of how to achieve success the right way. 

In Cambridge, a place where people notice who shows up, who follows through, and who treats others well, Bernard and Danielle Johnson are familiar names.

Their four businesses are a steady presence in the city’s commercial life, and their willingness to help where they are needed has made them leaders across the community. Customers, colleagues, and local officials describe them much the same way: reliable, generous with their time, and committed to helping Cambridge thrive.

Dorchester Chamber of Commerce president Bill Christopher often brings Bernard and Danielle with him when he speaks at local schools.

“They both go on school visits with me regularly,” Christopher said. Bernard is great at working with the kids. He has a compelling story about how he got to where he is in his life, and it resonates very well with students.”

Christopher has watched the couple grow from single-shop operators into employers with contracts in several states, all while taking on greater civic responsibility.

“They are a Cambridge power couple,” he said. “A great example of what a good citizen looks like. They run multiple businesses, but also make time to work with the community and give back whenever they can.”

Next January, Danielle will become chair of the Chamber’s Board of Directors. While there have been Black chairs and women chairs, Christopher says he would need to check whether the position has ever been held by a Black woman since the Chamber’s incorporation in 1941. In any case, he said, her leadership speaks for itself.

Building a foundation

The Johnsons’ business portfolio includes Johnson’s Cleaning Services, The Car Cleaning King, Mirror Mirror Salon, and The Platinum Gallery. Johnson’s Cleaning Services is the anchor, with a growing staff and contracts that now reach into multiple states.

Bernard founded the cleaning company in 2019, drawing on what he saw growing up in Cambridge and what local families and businesses needed most.

“I opened the cleaning service in June of that year, and the car wash just a month later,” he said. “We have been busy for a couple of years now. We’ve had consistent momentum, growing pretty much every week. We have never been in the red.”

Today, the company handles commercial and residential cleaning, vacation rentals, floor stripping and waxing, power washing, and large-scale industrial work. His detailing business focuses on careful, methodical restoration rather than quick washes.

“We are not just a car wash,” Bernard said. “We detail cars. Every time we touch your car, we are going through it with a different level of attention.”

Danielle’s turn

After an early stint in the military, Danielle settled in Virginia Beach, then moved to the Shore. She worked as a hairdresser before meeting Bernard, and eventually joined forces with him both personally and professionally.

In 2006, she purchased and remodeled an existing salon, rebranding it Mirror Mirror. She financed the project with a loan from the former Bank of the Eastern Shore, and paid it off two years early.

Six years later she founded The Platinum Gallery, a consulting business that helps very small and startup companies structure their operations and present themselves professionally.

“I help market new business startups. If someone needs correspondence or promotional materials, I create them,” Danielle said. “I work with clients from the planning stage to opening, and a little bit beyond.”


Danielle takes a break from a shift at her salon Mirror Mirror to pose for The Spy amid women’s empowerment messages painted on the mirrors.

Setting their own standards

To maintain high levels of quality across their portfolio, the Johnsons created their own in house training system.

“Our staff have different levels of skill at our detail shop,” Danielle said. “They can start as a beginner detailer, then increase to intermediate, but it all comes with hours and training. They have to master the basics first before they can move on. Once they master intermediate levels, then they can move up to a pro.”

They also developed written protocols, quality checks, and their own techniques that they keep close.

“We cater our procedures to our business and how we want our business to be streamlined,” Bernard said. “We have confidentiality agreements,” Danielle added. “We have some trade secrets.”

Marketing face-to-face

The Johnsons use social media and other modern marketing strategies, but they still rely heavily on personal contact.

“We still do guerrilla marketing,” Danielle said. “We give people business cards at networking events. We print newsletters we write and keep them in our waiting areas. Our materials show up on people’s front steps.”

Bernard sees this as essential. “I call it the hustle work,” he said. “Handing out business cards, handing out fliers, knocking on doors. I like that because it gives me a chance to connect with people. There is no substitute for that.”

Most of their business still comes from the old-fashioned way. “Word of mouth, providing great service, and treating customers right. That gets people talking.”

Danielle studied business and marketing before the rise of social media and agrees the fundamentals remain the same. “We stick to some things that are core,” she said. “We make use of online technology, but the basics still work.”

Cambridge’s past and a different present

Bernard grew up in Cambridge. As a boy, he remembers being warned away from certain parts of town because of racial tensions that lingered long after segregation officially ended. “Mom used to always tell me, do not go on Race Street. Do not go through this or that alleyway,” he said. “I never understood why. As I got older, I put two and two together.”

As an adult, he sees a different community, one where his business has room to grow and a loyal customer base. “I honestly have not experienced difficulty in building a successful business here,” he said. “People say the community does not support them. I did not experience that.”

Bernard’s childhood memories reflect a city much more divided than it is today. “We have a heavily slave-oriented history,” he said. “Those houses on Race Street were slaveowner homes. It has been a struggle, and it is real.”

Still, he rejects the idea that Black owned businesses cannot thrive in the city as it is now. “Because we are a part of this community, we believe all the people naturally support us,” he said.


Bernard and Danielle with Bernard’s alter ego, The Car Cleaning King.

Officials take notice

Cambridge Mayor Lajan Cephas-Bey has watched the Johnsons grow into significant local employers.

“The Johnsons are a perfect example of how you can start with a dream, with something small, and develop it into something big,” she said. “They set an example not just for the Black community but for anyone in Cambridge and all of Dorchester County.”

The Mayor sees a model of inclusiveness in the couple, especially in how they support their growing workforce. “They have employees of all different races, sizes, sex, male or female, or anyone who may identify as something else. They truly are an example of making it to the top the right way.”

Cephas-Bey believes they are nowhere near their peak.

“I think this is really just the beginning for the Johnsons,” she said. “In them, people see that not only can you love one another, you can work together, you can grow together, and you can bring your community with you.”

Stepping into leadership

As Danielle prepares to lead the Chamber board, she is focused on outreach. “I still believe a lot of people in the community do not know about the Chamber and how it can assist businesses,” she said. “I want to hit the pavement. I want to show up at people’s businesses and say, we are the Chamber, we are here to help you.” She points to the Small Business Administration, Department of Economic Development, the Innovation Center as available resources to keep business owners informed.

“If you are not involved in them, you probably do feel isolated,” she said. “But none of them ever turned us away, and they will be there for others as well.” Bernard adds: “You have to seek that for yourself.”

Danielle is also preparing a six-week “boot camp” to help startup owners stay focused on what’s important. “Anyone can be a business owner on paper, but who will be successful will be those who are disciplined, who know their ‘why,’ who have vision.”

Bernard has recently received another distinction: an invitation to deliver the keynote address at his alma mater, Cambridge-South Dorchester High School, this June.

“It is one of the biggest honors,” he said. “I’ve been here all my life. I love my C-SD Vikings. And I want to see the young kids of today stay here and win. I want them to know they can make it right here.”

Despite the importance of his message, he is determined to write the speech without any help. “Helpful as I am sure it would be, I refuse to use AI,” he said, “it’s going to be my own words.”

Bernard’s long-term goal is ambitious. He envisions a Fortune 500 company with regional divisions up and down the East Coast, expanded contract work, and possibly a franchised detailing operation.

And for all her success, Danielle is perhaps most proud of one lasting and unique mark she has left on Cambridge. When the Beacon of Hope sculpture downtown honoring Harriet Tubman was created, she styled the hair of the young girl who posed for the artist.

Her braids and twists are now permanently cast in bronze as part of one of Cambridge’s signature artworks.