Small Business Profiles

Wednesday, June 22, 2022

Although Shirley Modlin plans on giving her manufacturing business, located in Powhatan, Virginia, over to her son in the next two years, she is nowhere near retirement. In fact, she is handing over her current business so she can start a new one and open a vocational center in the rural area of her town. 

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Small Business Profile
Wednesday, June 15, 2022

When Tricia M. Arce’s grandmother passed away, she began making recipes with marshmallows to ease her grief. Once she realized how popular her inventions were among her coworkers and close friends, Tricia and her wife Hazel decided to launch the Toasted Mallow, a line of handcrafted marshmallow desserts for every taste, locally available in Gilbert, A.Z.

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Small Business Profile
Thursday, June 9, 2022
Joanis Duran

During this Pride Month, Joanis Duran and other LGBTQ small business owners in Florida are fighting to be heard as their state policymakers enact anti-LGBTQ legislation.

“We feel that we have a government that is trying to remove us.”

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Small Business Profile
Monday, May 23, 2022

Navigating the COVID-19 pandemic has been a tall order for small businesses, creating financial chaos and instability for all entrepreneurs regardless of how many years they’ve been in business. For Manish Mallick, owner of Bar Goa, an Indian gastropub, and ROOH Chicago, a progressive Indian restaurant and cocktail bar, seeing his once-bustling restaurant turn into an empty eatery has been devastating.  

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Small Business Profile
Friday, May 13, 2022
Howard Konishi

Former finance professional Howard Konishi always dreamed of owning his own gym and making a difference in his community. After turning 30, Howard finally decided to trade his suit and tie for climbing shoes and a harness full time. 

The rock climber put his degree in economics to good use and started doing market research on where to open Top Out Climbing Gym. Finally, he decided on Santa Clarita, a smaller city north of Los Angeles, without a rock climbing facility. 

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Small Business Profile
Wednesday, April 6, 2022

Sayuri Tsuchitani began her career as a hairdresser in New York, and her work launched her into opportunities to travel the world. As a Japanese immigrant, she says her career goal is to bring Eastern techniques of relaxation to help alleviate stress in Western cultures. Although her entrepreneurial journey hasn’t always been an easy one, especially in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, Headspa EN in Beverly Hills, Calif. continues to prevail.

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Small Business Profile
Thursday, March 24, 2022
Markela Taylor

As a business owner, not asking the right questions in the beginning stages of your business can lead to years of financial repercussions. Georgia entrepreneur Markela Taylor knows this well. 

Markela was happy at her nine-to-five job until a family emergency pulled her away from the office. After believing her job would be safe while she traveled to be with her family, she was surprised when she got an email saying her job was in jeopardy.  

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Small Business Profile
Thursday, March 17, 2022

Children admire their parents’ careers, and often emulate the kinds of jobs they perform: they want to be firefighters, police officers, teachers, doctors, lawyers and so forth. This was also the case for Celia Rudder, who wanted to be like her father from an early age and become an entrepreneur in Greensboro, N.C. Although she wasn’t encouraged to follow in his footsteps, she eventually took over her father’s business after he passed away.

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Small Business Profile
Wednesday, February 16, 2022

Once an entrepreneur, always an entrepreneur, right? 

John Martin, the CEO and founder of the North Carolina-based consultancy group Martin-Sloane International and Martin & Company, is on his second-time around as an entrepreneur. 

He originally started a small IT consulting firm in 1994, which he eventually sold in 1997. 

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Small Business Profile
Wednesday, February 9, 2022

Lauren Fontaine’s small business, Blackscriptions, is a quarterly subscription box full of goodies from a selection of Black-owned businesses. What’s different about this subscription? There are a couple of things, the most significant being its objective. Lauren calls her boxes a conduit, connecting others to Black-owned businesses needing further support and sales. 

“I launched Blackscriptions out of my desire to economically uplift and empower Black-owned businesses,” Lauren said. 

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Small Business Profile