When businesses are covered in the media, often there is a lot of focus on the initial idea, the genesis moment. Then they almost brush over the middle part – the scaling up part – and arrive at how big and awesome the business is today. It makes for a fun read or in the case of a movie or show an entertaining watch, but it’s also a missed opportunity. The middle part – the scaling up part is where so many small business owners get stuck. It’s the part so many of us need more guidance with and so we wanted to get conversations going on the topic of scaling up.

Rachel Johnson

What started as a small family portrait business has grown into something I could have only dreamed of. In the early days, my work took me wherever military life planted us. I photographed families while traveling across Texas, Mississippi, Tennessee, Florida, and even Japan—serving mostly locals and fellow military families on or near the bases we called home. Read More>>

Kelsey Joson

I started building InControl in 2019 after taking an accelerator program designed to help entrepreneurs move from idea to execution. At the time, I had done everything “right.” I researched the market, built out a full business model, and felt ready to take a leap of faith on what I believed InControl was supposed to be. And then the pandemic hit. Read More>>

Kiersten Stamn

From the outside, Elvira Mary Productions may look like an “overnight success,” but the truth is that our growth happened quietly, slowly, and very intentionally, largely out of the spotlight. We started small, saying yes to almost everything. In the early years, I wore every hat: creative director, shooter, editor, sales, accounting, logistics, client communication, often all in the same day. Read More>>