In honor of #NativeAmericanHeritageMonth, we wanted to highlight an incredible small business owner Cece Meadows, founder and CEO of @PradosBeauty. As a Chicana/Indigenous woman whose ancestors are of the Yoeme and Nʉmʉnʉ people and as a natural philanthropist, Cece is bringing Indigenous representation into the beauty world. Back in 2018, Cece worked backstage for New…
1. Tap into Online Markets and WebstoresSetting up an online store and selling on marketplaces like Amazon, Etsy, and Walmart and webstores like Shopify are fast and easy ways to find new customers before the holiday rush. Rural small businesses are already leveraging e-commerce to sell their products far beyond their local areas. Check out…
One could say salt-making runs in Nancy Bruns’ blood. The seventh generation in a family of salt-makers, siblings Nancy Bruns and Lewis Payne share a common love of history, food, and family. Staying true to her salt roots, in 2013 she and her brother revived her family’s salt business in the Kanawha Valley of West…
In 1988, Pam Montgomery and her young family escaped the bustle of Seattle to north Prosser when they purchased the largest family-owned cherry orchard (100 acres) in Washington State. With 8,000 trees to harvest in a short two weeks, a bounty of leftover cherries was only expected. Day after day, Pam (with her three young…
Mountaineer Popcorn may be a small company, but they have always had big ambitions. In April 2015, husband and wife team Mike and Erin Valasek decided that they wanted to create a locally-grown popcorn business from the ground up in the beautiful Shenandoah Valley. Popcorn makes for a great snack; it’s easy to share and…
Oliver Pecan was started by Gordon Lee and Clydene Oliver in 1970 after they purchased a pecan orchard. They had two cane poles and two buckets, along with heart, determination and a vision to provide for their family. “Oliver Pecan started with 400-something-odd pecan trees,” says Shawn Oliver, Owner of Oliver Pecan, “But we have…
Terra Gardner founded Switch Salon, Spa, and Boutique in the small town of Goldthwaite, Texas, home to roughly two thousand residents. Terra was born and raised in Goldthwaite, and following college and beauty school, moved back there to start her business and raise her five children with her husband. In January of 2019, Terra got…
Founded in 1955 by Jay Lehman to serve the local Amish population with non-electric household goods, Lehman’s has grown into an international brand, shipping products all over the world. Family owned and operated for over half a century, Glenda Lehman Ervin, Jay’s daughter, stepped into the business after college and today acts as the Director…