Sherika Wynter and her business partner Shallon Thomas have worked together since 2014. One day, Shallon realized he had no stylish way to carry his lunch into the office and wanted something better. In 2018, he and Sherika created a new company called T|W Tote, which makes fashionable lunch bags. Sherika and Shallon use the…
Susan Robinson began teaching her daughter, Sara, how to sew when Sara was seven. Sara first loved sewing dresses for her American Girl Dolls, and then she started designing and sewing aprons. After posting some of her designs on Facebook and getting positive feedback from family and friends, Susan and Sara decided to create an…
COVID-19 ushered in a series of endings and beginnings for Mari-Lyn Harris. When the pandemic forced her to shut her small catering company, she found an unexpected next chapter as an administrator to an old friend suffering from pancreatic cancer. With her community in Fremont, CA, largely in lockdown, Mari-Lyn filled an indispensable role in…
Diane Cortes describes herself as “part of the resignation generation.” After over 25 years doing marketing and HR for corporate America, she saw the opportunity to create her own niche combining the two when COVID-19 sent office workers home. In October 2020, Diane started Acumen Strategist, which manages e-marketing and offers a one-stop human resources…
Central Illinois is known for commodities and livestock, but from a laptop in Bloomington, I’ve built a successful luggage brand — thanks to my partners at Amazon.
For years, small businesses nationwide have raised alarms about misguided legislation targeting America’s biggest online companies – Google, Facebook, Apple, and Amazon. But, despite the highly valuable and beneficial tools
Bryan Toston always wanted to own a business. After graduating from college, he worked back-of-house in several kitchens over the course of a few years, then realized there were incredible opportunities for restaurants to improve their digital marketing. Bryan tapped into his graphic design background and soon started a company with his previous business partner…
Washington, DC (June 23, 2022): As U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) urges her colleagues to support legislation attacking large online platforms such as Amazon, Facebook and Google, a new study shows that small businesses oppose efforts to restrict platforms from offering integrated tools and services that save small businesses time and money. In a survey…