Small Business Profiles
What began as a warm day at a Texas outlet mall for Mia and Ondrey Lawson quickly turned into a life-changing moment. After some convincing, Ondrey reluctantly tried an Italian ice that Mia had picked up while shopping. To her surprise, he finished the entire cup, sparking a simple question: why wasn’t this refreshing treat more accessible in a place as hot as Texas?
Ruben Mauricio built RPM Diesel Services in Texas without advertising, a website or business cards—just character, grit, and word of mouth. After serving time in prison, he turned lessons from the Prison Entrepreneurship Program into a successful oilfield service business, overcoming barriers to financing, hiring and growth along the way.
After being laid off from her job as a graphic designer, Jackie Huebbe found herself unemployed and with a house in foreclosure, uncertain of what would come next. It was then that her passion for helping those in need and offering second chances was born. Years later, after rebuilding her life and facing another corporate layoff, Jackie decided to bet on herself and take control of her future, launching her small business, SugarBot Sweet Shop & Creamery.
Inspired by his dream to change the world for the better, Daniel Ryave joined the Peace Corps at 22 years old as a volunteer teacher. While in Togo, West Africa, teaching high school English as a second language, he fell in love with empowering the next generation and building connections through education.
“[It] really gave me the desire to keep working one-on-one and making those meaningful connections with people,” Daniel said.
Takeerah Jones did not set out to be an educator or a business owner. But after pivoting away from a career in writing, she found herself in a substitute teacher position. That’s how she fell in love with educating children.
“The first day, I just fell in love with the kids. They were my happy place, and I just never left,” Takeerah said.
Having spent most of her adulthood working in retail, New York City-based entrepreneur Caroline Weaver noticed that while many people understood the importance of shopping locally, few incorporated the habit into their daily lives. Wanting to change this, Caroline trekked over 2,000 miles through the five boroughs, visiting every small business she could find.
Sharon Kalenzi always envisioned herself as an entrepreneur. Growing up, Sharon was inspired by her mother, a small business owner who was very involved in their community. And while she and her husband were already co-owners of Rock Creek Veterinary Hospital in Broomfield, Colo., Sharon always wanted a small business of her own.
Although Jessi Burg loved her career in seasonal industries like environmental education, outdoor guiding and agriculture, she faced a big problem.
“I wanted to make a living wage,” she said.
With that goal in mind, the future Colorado entrepreneur thought about the small business owners she knew. They seemed to have more control over their wages, work schedule and life. This realization led her to found a landscaping business, Pears to Perennials, in 2016.
This blog is adapted from Small Business Majority Founder & CEO John Arensmeyer’s conversation with small business owner Mo Johnson in the video series Inside Small Business Policy.
Gustavo Garcia Jr. contracted life-threatening viral meningitis as a child and ended up in the hospital as a result. But for Gustavo, something good came out of this experience: It inspired him to pursue a career in medicine and research. After studying immunology at the University of California, Berkeley, he went to work at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), during the Zika virus epidemic of 2015-2016, and played a vital role during the COVID-19 pandemic. His work at that time was instrumental to his career because it allowed him “to see the gap in preventative measures to combat these viral diseases,” Gustavo said.
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