Everyday we meet business owners, professionals, artists and creatives. Photographers, florists, realtors and more. They might come from different backgrounds, work in different industries, have varying personalities, and have vastly different income and educational profiles, but the one thing we’ve seen over and over again is that most people have a unique and special reason for why they do what they do. From a realtor helping families afford the first home he always wished for as a kid to a photographer using her skills to give a voice and face to victims who feel voiceless, we have been blown away by what happens when you just ask people a simple question – why do you do what you do?

Ariana Sweeney

The AB Salon’s mission is to create an educational hub for all of Columbus. Our space is very versatile so we like to use it to our advantage by hosting educational events. We don’t only invite our stylist but we open our doors to all stylist around Columbus. Our industry is ever evolving with social media driving it. It cost money and time away from our chairs to try to stay current. So we really try to bring in new inspiration to make it easy for stylist to continue to love what they do. Read more>>

Regan Nix

We believe environmentally conscious design makes the world better. Life is best lived when you feel in harmony with your environment. At BPC™, our environmentally conscious designs are made to last and created with the life of our clients – and the planet – in mind. Read more>>

Just Pauleen

My mission statement reads as follows: “Psychic Consultant and Mentor… Because I want to inspire you! That’s it! It’s the whole reason I’m here. To offer you a unique and personal experience where your soul can look right into a mirror and gain clarity like you’ve never known before. My mission is to never stop finding innovative ways to enable you to create, inspirit, and realize a sense of clarity in your life.” Read more>>

Salma Kashani

It was a gloomy morning during the Coronavirus pandemic. The world as we knew it had ended and everything was shut down. Alone in my apartment, I was feeling depressed, worried about the future, and not looking forward to anything. My hours were cut down at work and there was nothing to look forward to. With nowhere to go, I had time to reflect deeply and search for my life’s meaning. To be honest, I failed to find any. So I decided to distract myself. I thought about painting again. Read more>>

Vangie Rodenbeck

Several years ago I was asked to be a counselor at a summer day camp. This wasn’t really new or unusual because I’d worked with children for years and been to camp more summers than I could count. What what was different iss that this was on a farm in the inner city. And I was really excited to share all of MY experience and every I KNEW with the kids who came. What I didn’t know was how very different this experience would be. Read more>>

Malcolm Chavis

I mean when I think of the word mission I think of work to be completed. I think of what I can do in this lifetime to better others not just myself right. I think of the higher power and what my due diligence would be to spread his knowledge and power. The story behind my mission is God. Let as many people know who does it for me each and every day. Read more>>

Alexzandria Regan

It was 2017 when I purchased a flower shop in my hometown, Fryeburg, Maine. Not in a million years, I would not have guessed that I would go back to my hometown and with flowering being my choice of career. In 2015 I had a life changing event that literally, switched my mind. I had an accident where I cracked my skull and got life flighted to Portland, Maine to undergo brain surgery aka TBI (traumatic brain injury). Read more>>

Mathilda Nassar

From 2016-2018, I served in the U.S. Peace Corps in Ukraine. There were many things that I loved about the country but the long, brutal winter was not one of them. After barely surviving my first winter there, I decided I needed an activity that would keep me from feeling isolated and lonely. In October of 2017, I took my first pole class on a whim and fell in love immediately. Read more>>

Andrei Petrik

The idea behind my company is quite simple. A CRM that bends to fit your business, rather than your business bending to fit the CRM, a simple-to-install browser extension, and a realistic price tag that small businesses can actually afford to grow. Why not? Read more>>

Paul Benninghove

The story behind our mission has always been two-fold, first and foremost to engage and work with the best creatives around the world who may not always get the opportunities to work with brands because of their locale or situation. We engage designers we find via word of mouth, research into specific regions and various websites where creatives build their portfolios. From our interactions on social we also get requests from illustrators and designers to work with us that we vet and engage when we have a concept we want to pursue. Read more>>

Teresa Pitt Sholar

My mission has always been to reach the Uber busy and help them find a way to incorporate health and wellness in their lives. As a busy mom who was looking for the business that was created, I get what it feels like to run at 100 mph and feel like there are just not enough hours in the day. Unfortunately, mothers, wives, working women tend to put themselves at the back of the priority line. Read more>>

Andrew Thomas

My story into Liberty Arms training just evolved overtime. I didn’t start really learning about firearms or protection until I joined the Marine Corps. While I was on deployment over 7,500 miles away and my wife was stateside alone giving birth to our first child, it dawned on me, who is protecting my family while I am gone? When I returned back to the US I started realizing there was something missing from people’s lives. Read more>>

Virginia Shaffer

Lady Oyster is a website that documents the stories of oyster farms, raw bars, oyster tourism, and industry enthusiasts. I partner with small businesses in the oyster industry to share their stories, expand their reach with consumers, and provide creative services that are uniquely tailored to the oyster industry. When I tell people I write about oysters, I almost always get a laugh. “Oh, wow, that’s niche!” they say. They’re right. There are only a handful of us around the world who have such a narrow focus. Read more>>

Sonja Jones

The mission of GIP Financials is to empower CEOs to prioritize their numbers and position their businesses for profit through bookkeeping and fundamental business finance education. Read more>>

Tonya Thomspon

We’re not just a haircare company, my sister Sharie and I are actually two hairstylists that are deeply involved with Black hair care and creating products to help Black women—achieve the results. DreamGirls Hair began because I was sick of the stereotypes of people saying that if you wore braids or weaves, that you were what they considered a chicken head or bald headed or that you didn’t have any hair. Read more>>

Chantelle Phillips

my health journey started in the hospital believe it or not. I was suffering from stress from a toxic 7 year relationship, and it was at this moment I either had to change and live a life full of love happiness food nutrition and life or I could sit in the misery and depression and let it take over. Read more>>

Ben Buehler-Garcia

I never intended to be a radio host. I knew nothing about the radio business. But when the founder of American Warrior Radio died suddenly and far too young, my passion for the messages he was sharing led me to jump in with both feet. It has been a real on the job learning experience. Read more>>

Rachel Alt

I became a single mother while pregnant with my forth and final baby and was researching ways to make money while remaining a stay at home mom. One my baby was born; she, my two year old daughter and I moved back to West Virginia. Both of my daughters have eczema from head to toe and between city water, gas heat and cold dry air it worsened tremendously. I saw on Facebook a friend of mine had started making and selling skin care products so I reached out to her and she gave me her blessing. Read more>>

Amber Stephan

In March of 2020, our family time was split up like so many other families across the country and world. The pandemic shut down the local schools quickly which left so many scrambling to figure life out. I began working the early shift at the local cancer clinic I was employed at and my husband, Brian, started working the late shift at the restaurant he managed. He would work with our two kids on schoolwork and learning activities during the day, drop them off to me around 1:30-2pm, and I would take over so he could go to work. Read more>>

Dominique Okonkwo

When my son was a toddler, I became frustrated with the options of faith-based children’s books. Every time I went to the bookstore, I could only find stories that were impractical and did not feature Black main characters. I desired more diversity in children’s books because, with every book I read that featured characters who didn’t look like him, I felt I was feeding into the narrative that his stories didn’t matter enough to be written about. But I believed in children’s literacy too much to stop buying children’s books altogether. Read more>>

Claire Phillips

Nursing the System’s journey started when I was a Sociology major in college. I took a class about the sociology of health and illness and was fascinated by 3 things: 1) how human health is influenced by just about every social system in our world, 2) the sheer dysfunction of the United States healthcare system, and 3) how much value nurses have to offer the world. Read more>>

Meghan Diehl

Millions of Peaches Box is named after a group of girlfriends, “The Peaches,” who met when we were randomly placed in an Atlanta hotel conference room for corporate job training in 2015. The position was high stress and a hybrid work model, so when we finished up training and returned back to our respective cities, we started a group chat to support one another during the workdays. Little did we know that it would lead to lifelong friendships where nothing is “TMI” and we go out of our way to support each other through all of life’s ups and downs. Read more>>

Lakesha Henderson

Lace Kouture Boutique LLC. was built off a young lady battling low self-esteem. Being a plus-size young lady along with body shaming was very HARD!! growing up. It wasn’t until I became a plus-size model and start feeling confident in my skin and loving who I was. Then it hit me like Kesha! You need to help others battling with this same issue. Read more>>

Le Ching V

Roncy Packs is a women-owned, family-run business, handcrafting fanny packs using upcycled materials in Toronto. Read more>>

Eric Torigian

I believe that small and mid-sized businesses are the backbone of the economy. As I have had a chance to interact with the entrepreneurs and investors who run companies with under $100 million in revenue and less than 1,000 employees I have come to realize that HR is often overlooked. Read more>>

Cleo Hall-Moore

The story behind my mission is to simply use the gift God have me to inspire the women in my chair. I know this is my purpose and it’s deeper than hair! I take what i do seriously because I transform lives! A beautiful hairstyle can change your whole mood and give you confidence like never before! That’s magical!! Read more>>

Alma Flores

When I was a student, English was my favorite subject, I remember, I used to help my friends with their homework, some of them told me that I was really good at explaining the topics, at the time, becoming a teacher never crossed my mind, but when I grew up, I realized how much I wanted to help others in their process of becoming bilingual, sharing my knowledge and experience with my students and watching them accomplish their goals it’s my favorite part of my job. Read more>>

Caitlin Ciulla

I’ve always been fascinated with the arts. When I was younger, I’d put on dramatic plays & musicals for my family, make up scenarios and lifestyles for my dolls for hours on end, and in middle school I obsessively took photos of nature and inanimate objects in my home/backyard. My obsession with interior design began back in 2006 because of the show “Extreme Makeover Home Edition”. Read more>>

Brianna Edwards

My mission/purpose it to awaken, enlighten, and orchestrate through design. Read more>>

Jessie Nagel

My career has largely been focused on advocacy and making connections, applying a passion for art and storytelling craft with the desire to contribute to positive change in the entertainment industry (and beyond). In nearly everything I have pursued there’s a consistent through line: to apply whatever I have learned and the network I’ve developed in ways that are fulfilling and meaningful. Read more>>

Missy Ramsay

When I was 25 I was diagnosed with a life threatening illness . I knew what it was like to be sick from a young age. At the age of 3 I was diagnosed with Hyperthyroidism and Graves Disease. But I didn’t know how to quite handle a disease that could also threaten my life. Read more>>

Sarah Avery

My mission is to educate and inspire women to live a life full of vitality, naturally! There are so many things going against us in our environment, From the food we eat to the curated “stressed out” lifestyle we live in American culture…. it is so important to care for ourselves through nutrition, movement, and community support. These are factors that we do have a choice in! Read more>>

Bella Minder

Hi Everyone! My name is Bella Minder. I am a licensed AP Esthetician and small business owner here in Minnesota! Growing up, I have always had a love for all things skincare and beauty! I was introduced to the esthetics industry at a young age by my cousin Dana Orr. She owns The Clinic for Medical Asthetics in Golden Valley, Minnesota. When my twin sister and I were young, she would always pamper us with facials or new products. Read more>>

Celeste Chin

I’ve been writing since my childhood. But when it came time to choose a career path, I took, what I perceived as, the safe route and decided to study accounting. Fast forward many years, and I had two children, both boys, who were reluctant readers. Add to that the books that were well-written for their interests were few and far between. We had our favorite authors, but the overall youth market didn’t bring much to the table for them. So I created stories that appealed to their interests, reigniting my passion for writing. Read more>>

Nonna Hall

Ever since I was introduced to pottery, I knew it was something deep and important for me. It wasn’t at the college, it was way after that. I needed an outlet from the corporate world I was in at that point. I fell in love right away with clay and the process of making something out of it. Read more>>

Melody Novack

My mission as a body piercer is to create a safe, inclusive space for clients to celebrate their bodies and identity. There’s plenty of reasons as to why someone would want to get a piercing, like getting it to reclaim their body, celebrate culture, express themselves, or just because it looks cool. Being true to yourself and your identity takes courage, and I’m honored I get to walk people through the process. Read more>>

Molly McNamee

I have been involved in fitness all my life. I grew up competing in gymnastics and dance. But, even though I’ve always been active, I’ve not always been kind to my body. I used to under-eat and over-exercise in order to look a certain way. Read more>>

Leanna Carter

I am the wife to a truck driver who has worked nonstop for the last 13 years of our lives together. I have noticed that he is missing all the things when it comes to our children’s lives. I decided that as a Realtor, I could help shorten his time on the road so I overcame all my anxiety about how this would look in my head and went to real estate school. I did not expect to pass the state licensing exam on the first try but my motivation is pure and my desire to succeed is HUGE! Read more>>

Tashana Frink

In July 2020, I did a lot of self-reflection. The pandemic forced me to sit and remain still and reevaluate some important things in my life. I realized that I wanted to create a resource for children that would help them be successful with their education. Tashana’s Tutoring Program is a program that tackles deficits within reading and math for children in grades Pre-K through 8. Read more>>

Glenn Marsden

The story behind my organisation, the ‘Imperfectly Perfect Campaign’ came from sadly losing a friend to suicide. Something set a light in me like no other to make a change across the Mental Health field from what I was seeing. Read more>>

Rachel Evans

I remember when I first heard the word esthetician. I’ll be honest, this was back in 2013 and I didn’t know too many people who were in this career field at all especially in the black community. At the time I was a makeup artist making little to nothing but also working at Old Navy and in college where I majored on Social Work. Makeup was a hobby and an outlet for me and I linked mainly with local photographers doing creative makeup looks for photoshoots. Read more>>

Sara Delaney

Sarilla was founded by a woman named Sara Stender Delaney, who moved to Rwanda in 2009 to follow a calling. There she found her teachers of resilience in the people of Rwanda who survived the Genocide of 1994. A rape survivor and recovering alcoholic, Sara’s experience living in Rwanda is where the seeds for Sarilla were planted. From there we have been building this non-alcoholic sparkling beverage made with organic, Read more>>