Over the years as we connected with incredible from folks from almost every imaginable industry we realized that every nook and cranny of our economy is full of small business owners, artists and creatives who live and breathe what they do – and their stories are nothing short of heroic. It’s the immigrant parents who overcame the odds and kept their small business alive for decades allowing their next generation to thrive and the artisans who pour their passion into every piece and refuse to let even the most common items remain mundane that make our communities come alive. The stories below will inspire you and we hope you’ll take the time to read and connect with these incredible folks.

Madelaine Mayer

The best boss I ever had was ironically at the firm who’s scope of services aligned the least with my interests. Immediately after graduating from my M. Arch program, I was fortunate to receive multiple job offers. I accepted the one that seemed the most exciting, however the firm suffered several losses shortly after I started, and as the saying goes, “last in-first out”. With no unemployment benefits, I needed a new job and I needed it fast. I went back to one of the firms that had previously offered me a position, and the owner, Jim, very graciously agreed to give me a second chance. Read more>>

Christina Dee

The best boss I ever had was me fr. I remember being in Target with my family when I was really young, maybe 7 or 8. Someone asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I thought back to all the stories I’d heard my parents say about their bosses and the challenges that come with needing to answer to someone, and I said “I’m going to be the boss’ boss’ boss! Whoever the top boss is, that’s what I’m going to be.” While I don’t have employees (aside from my perfect pug, Winston Theodore), I am definitely not made to answer to somebody. The oldest daughter syndrome runs deep, and having my own private practice I am able to make a lot of my own policies and accommodations for myself. Working for me is the best. Read more>>

Emma Moreau

My creative personality has many sides, but two very prominent ones, songwriting and performing. I was inspired to want to perform through watching my aunt perform and songwriting has been something I’ve been doing ever since I was a child. I was always a creative when it came to stories. In second grade, my teacher would rave to my parents about my stories. Growing up in a pretty rural area, my sister and I would play outside almost every day when I was younger. My family owned a large farmhouse on 50 acres of land, so the boundaries for our imaginations were incredibly vast. I took this tool, and I put it to good work. I was writing short stories, songs, poems, anything I could write I would. Read more>>

Jeffrey Jones

The best investment I ever made was betting on myself as an independent artist and entrepreneur you’ll hear a lot of no’s but for me it’s just not right now. But I continue to invest in myself as an artist when it comes to my own marketing and promo. And investing in myself as far as perfecting my craft. My worst investment would be … lol my cologne I took a big loss with that and those are the stresses of entrepreneurship people don’t see. You may see I have my own cologne but the manufacturing and shipping worldwide was a bit much lol Read more>>

L Y O N S

I have invested in my ideas, my passions, and philanthropy, all have been extremely rewarding.

I did not have the opportunities afforded to some based on my family dynamic growing up. Once I became successful writing, I started investing my time outside of music in business ventures.

In 2015 I opened a luxury dog care facility (daycare, boarding, spa) in the River North neighborhood of Chicago. I own three at this time (ten years later) Read more>>

Caroline Weiss

“You don’t need to fix yourself—you just need to remember who you were before the world told you otherwise.”

That’s the best advice I’ve ever given a client, and I return to it often.

We live in a world that conditions us to believe we’re broken—that our fears, our triggers, our health issues, or even our cravings are flaws to be fixed or hidden. But in my work with energy medicine and the subconscious mind, I’ve learned that every single reaction or struggle has an origin story. There’s a reason you reach for food when you’re stressed. A reason you feel stuck, shut down, or overly reactive. A reason you keep looping in patterns that don’t serve you, even when you “know better.” Read more>>

Nina Waldman

It all starts with YOU!

If you’re not making time for your own health and wellness first, nothing else in your life can operate at 100%. Prioritizing self-care isn’t selfish, it’s essential.

You’ve heard the saying: “Happy wife, happy life,” right? But here’s the truth…whether you’re showing up for a partner, your family, or your work, you can’t give your best to anyone else if you haven’t taken care of number one first. That’s YOU. Read more>>

Brynn Haley

When I first started B Haley, I was a stay-at-home mom with no formal experience—just a passion for DIY and a knack for transforming my own home. I was looking for work that would allow me the flexibility to still be present for my kids, especially for school drop-offs and pick-ups. Back in 2021, social media was where everyone shared everything, and a friend who had been following my home projects reached out. She asked if I’d be interested in painting her house to get it ready to sell—and that one message is what launched it all. That and my amazing husband who is my number one fan and biggest encourager. Read more>>

Benjamin Strong

When I set out to build my associate team of photographers and videographers, I quickly realized that finding a “vendor” — in my case, consistent, teachable, positive shooters — wasn’t just about skill or price. It was about finding people who aligned with my values and could represent my business with the same care I do. Read more>>

Robert Hemingway

Being a motorcycle parts manufacturer meant that I needed to make parts right? Most would send their designs overseas and try to get things done cheap, I wanted something different. It was a must that I made things here in the U.S.A., and working with machine shops can be a challenge. I was working a motorsport engineering job at the time this all started and had some of the purchasing group help me get connected with some local machine shops. I would give the local shops a window, say 3 months, and in that time I would want my parts done. Read more>>

Beverly L. Anderson

T. S. Elliot is someone that I’ve always been fascinated with. The Waste Land and other poems heavily influenced my early poetry and essays he wrote. I connected with his modernist style; his phrasing was unique among his peers. He was born in St. Louis, which I thought was incredibly interesting as I’ve lived there during my lifetime. His work was avant garde for the time, and the entire modernism movement shaped much of what we do today. I think his influence and his perseverence—with the help of Ezra Pound—made a real difference in the world of his time, and I think it echoes through to today’s world.  Read more>>

Kat Smith

The Marquis de Lafayette is one of my favorite historical figures. He was a key figure in the American Revolution when he paid for his own ship and defied the King of France to join the war in 1777. He believed in the ideals of a free America and became like an adopted son to George Washington. He was an ardent abolitionist, believed in women’s rights, was a friend to the Native Americans, and believed in Universal Human Rights. During his lifetime, his opinions were considered to be radical and he was definitely ahead of his time. History is full of perfect and imperfect moments. When reflecting on the past, we often forget how far we’ve come from the ideas and ways of life the people lived during that time period. Read more>>

Barbra

Our Miracle Chapel was built during the COVID-19 pandemic. My husband, who is also a Minister, experienced a spiritual calling to build a small chapel in the back of our home. When he shared this feeling with me, he immediately set to work, designing and measuring the structure. Despite having no prior knowledge of design or construction, he was determined to see this project through. Read more>>

Jillian Stein

My first job was with Bright Star Physical Therapy, recommended via my grandmother! I had just finished my certification, and she was eager to get me working haha. I was dancing and choreographing, but needed a regular paycheck. I chose Pilates because I believed in it, it aligned with my university training and would give me access to practice on machines whenever I wanted.Bright Star was actually one of my favorite places to work because of the people. It was a huge group of women who were all very serious about their work, everyone was well educated in their feild, and thankfully they were also very funny and familial. Read more>>

Philip Blair

2014 I entered cannabis business through a physical therapist colleague whom I consulted on whole body vibration. As a result of my questions, understanding of physiology and out of box reasoning, he offered me a position in his newly formed cannabidiol company as a clinical director. In this capacity I learned the ropes about cannabis of which I was totally ignorant. I developed lectures, articles, advised clients, witness extraordinary healing and traveled the world for 6 years in the business. Read more>>

Brooke Jackson

I started my business as a senior in high school. After 14 years, it has definitely scaled from what used to be a hobby into a full-time job, one that has even allowed me to move my business across state lines twice.

The best decision I ever made for growing my business was to focus on the clients I already had, rather than constantly chasing new ones. Many of the clients I started with in 2011 have come back to me multiple times for weddings, baby announcements, maternity, and family photos. It’s not always about the quantity of clients you have, but the quality, and how they grow with you. Those core clients became the foundation of my word-of-mouth marketing and the continued growth of my business. Read more>>

Lukas Martin

When people see our team and client list today, it might look like success happened overnight, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. Scaling Martin Photography Real-Estate Media has been a multi-year process full of long days, tough decisions, and lots of learning. Read more>>

Gabriella Hoffman

Remote work has worked tremendously for me as a freelancer and policy analyst. I’ve been working from home since 2016, when I started my full-time freelance business. In fall 2023, I shifted back to W2 employment and now manage my freelance business on a part-time basis. Read more>>

Jeff Ertz

Post production is tricky. It’s a canvas of constantly moving parts, with logistical, technical and creative needs all intertwined. And over the past decade, a lot of tools have popped up that have helped shift collaboration on these fronts into a more hybrid model, where the work is carried out on-site by some and remotely by others. This hybrid shift started to happen naturally at Red Thread, and the department I head up – post production – has remained almost entirely remote since the pandemic. Read more>>

Morgan Venetos

I took the leap and went all in on starting my own. I was at a crossroads, either move forward and finish nursing school or take a chance on myself and get into real estate. I actually dropped out of school on the first day and bought my first house to renovate and resell two weeks later. During that project, I studied for and passed my real estate exam—and from that point on, there was no looking back. Over the next few years, I worked on getting my general contractor’s license and officially launched my own design-build and real estate firm. ( Real estate is brokered through My Home Group.) Read more>>

Debbie DesJardins

The internet age that we live in is fraught with people and businesses out to steal money and manipulate small businesses into spending money on products and services that often won’t actually help their business grow. The mindless and addictive scrolling and clicking in our personal lives can make it habitual to do the same as a business owner. With just a click a day, you can easily run your business into the ground. It’s extemely important to thoroughly vet any potential business aid that is meant to help expand on your services. Read more>>

Olivia Cappelletti

While my business is still quite young, how to set myself up for sustainable growth is something I’m thinking about all the time. Frankly, I’ve just moved past the phase of saying yes to any and everything that comes my way, and I’m more strategic about the types of jobs I’ll take on. I’ve kept a P&L from my very first event—before I was even a real business—and having all that data to build upon, review, tweak & update, has really helped me hone in on cost forecasting. Read more>>

HOLLIS JO MCCOLLUM

Ai is a topic on everyone’s mind today, but it is especially discussed in the writing community. Why? Because it is the voices of writers that are being blatantly stolen and used without permission to teach Ai. It is a gigantic quality control issue. Not only for those of us who are simply trying to keep our work from being used to teach Ai, then inadvertently plagiarized millions of times over by anyone using chatGPT to draft a letter or come up with copy for their website, but also from inexperienced writers who are using Ai to write stories. These people don’t think of it as the absolute theft that it is, but make no mistake, it is out right plagiarism, and those of us on the front lines are working hard to not only protect our rights, but the rights of anyone who writes down an original thought at all. Read more>>

Madden Ross

Yes, I signed on with the agency, Tiddle. I think they showed interest in me after I reached out to them. The timing was good as their company was starting to expand and they were looking for new creatives to work with. They were just starting to bring on male creatives at that time. Read more>>

Marian Bruno

I sent out hundreds of queries trying to secure representation for my first book, Twin Flames. Many agents were intrigued by the concept and requested pages, but none of it translated into lasting interest. It wasn’t until I self-published my second book, The Exception, that things began to shift. Read more>>

Anaiya Hall

I currently manage all of my social media accounts myself. I made that choice because my businesses are not yet at a level that it would be sustainable to increase the size of my team. My advice for new businesses is don’t make the social media until you have the basics of your business solidified. Read more>>

Lisa Snedeker

Having the ability to reinvent myself over the years is one of the most innovative things I believe I have done over the course of my career. I went from being a small town newspaper reporter and editor to a newswoman for The Associated Press, which at the time was the world’s largest news organization. I then transitioned to doing media relations for Wake Forest University’s business school to becoming Wake Forest Law School’s first director of communications and marketing. Read more>>