Small Business Profiles
Massachusetts Rental Business Helps Locals Tackle Projects — and Throw Parties
In 1985, Brian Grant and his father launched Grant’s Tool Shack, selling used tools at local flea markets around Lakeville, Massachusetts. When a customer offered them space for a storefront, they leaped at the chance to open their own shop — and in 1988 renamed their business Grant’s Rental. Over time, the business grew into…
After Battling Lyme Disease, New York Mom Creates a Safer Way to Repel Ticks
After a harrowing experience with neurological Lyme disease, Lisa-Jae Eggert was determined to protect herself and her family from the kind of tick-borne illness that had upended her life. But the chemicals in most insect repellants made her symptoms worse, triggering neurological flare-ups, so she decided to create her own solution. In 2018, Lisa-Jae founded 3…
Entrepreneur Brings Engineering Expertise to Chemical-Free Baby Products
After working in the semiconductor industry for over a decade, Paul Wang decided to shift his engineering talents from silicon microchips to silicone baby bottles. A father of three, Paul had struggled to find baby bottles, cups, plates, and utensils free of BPA and other harmful chemicals — so he decided to make his own.…
Menswear Enthusiast Brings Quality Clothing to Customers In His Neighborhood — and Nationwide
When real estate professional Travis Samson couldn’t find a locally-owned men’s clothing shop in his Columbus, Ohio neighborhood, he decided he’d open one himself. Inspired by his two grandfathers’ distinct, timeless styles — one rugged and utilitarian, the other elegant and polished — Travis opened SAMSON: A Men’s Emporium. Intended to be a welcoming, modern-day…
Couple Welcomes Guests to North Carolina Mountain Getaway
When Michele Azan and Elisabeth Perez visited North Carolina’s Blue Ridge Mountains in 2007, they fell in love with the area’s natural beauty. In 2015, they purchased a century-old property near picturesque Hendersonville that had once been part of a mountain resort. After transforming the property’s two-story stone guesthouse and several other rundown buildings into…
Montana Ranchers Keep Western Traditions Alive
Run by the Kelsey family for 80 years, Montana’s Nine Quarter Circle Ranch offers guests a magnificent mountain-and-river landscape, traditional Western activities including horseback riding and fly fishing, and old-fashioned family-style meals that promote conversation and community. Many of the ranch’s original buildings are still in use, and the Kelseys continue to breed, raise, and…
Husband-and-Wife Team Offers Logo-Embroidered Apparel to Businesses Nationwide
Laid off from his corporate job in 2001, Minnesotan Jeff Taxdahl turned a moment of crisis into a moment of opportunity. With a single embroidery machine, some spare room in his basement, and years of marketing experience, Jeff and his wife, Wenda, started a new business: embroidering local companies’ logos onto hats and shirts. Within…
Photographer Showcases Properties Across Kentucky
When 16-year-old Kentucky native Ben Childers received a drone camera for Christmas in 2011, he didn’t realize it would help him launch a business. But when his drone footage of a popular local waterfall received nearly 200,000 views on YouTube, he knew he was onto something. He started posting more footage, and soon local property…
Virginia Wine Shop Provides a Welcoming Community Space
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, longtime friends Kristen Gardner and Lance Lemon put their plans to open a wine shop on hold and launched RichWine, an online delivery service offering natural and biodynamic wines throughout Virginia. In 2022, after the success of that venture, they cofounded Penny’s Wine Shop, a brick-and-mortar wine bar and restaurant…
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Massachusetts Rental Business Helps Locals Tackle Projects — and Throw Parties
After Battling Lyme Disease, New York Mom Creates a Safer Way to Repel Ticks
3C Responds to Executive Order on National AI Policy
