Small Business Profiles
Switch Salon, Spa, & Boutique
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…
Lehman’s
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…
Arotags
Michael Milam noticed a problem. He would constantly spend money on tree-shaped air fresheners made out of paper, only to throw them away a few days later when the once overpowering scent faded away. “Not only did I feel this was a waste of money, but also paper and packaging,” Michael says. That’s when he…
BikeWorld
BikeWorld was founded by two avid bicycling enthusiasts, Huth Smith and Martha Emmons in 1987. Since its establishment, BikeWorld has founded, sponsored or strongly supported every major bicycle event, operation and facility in Western Kentucky. “The fabric of a place is best discovered by bicycle,” Martha says. In an average year, BikeWorld will help local…
Catskill Collectibles
Founded by Tom Illari in 2016, Catskill Collectibles sells antiques, knick knacks, postcards, outsourced reproductions and prints, and other historical souvenirs from the region. Tom’s interest in the Catskills dates from his early childhood, and since then he has been an avid student of their history. In turn, he assembled a substantial collection of regional…
L&K Homestead
When Lora Knaack, her husband Kyle, and their three kids moved to their farm in 2013, she envisioned one big pen and all the animals living in harmony. They started out with cattle, but it wasn’t until 2020 that they added a few Nigerian Dwarf goats to the family farm – that’s when Lora says…
Jeff’s Famous Jerky
When Jeff Richards was just a hungry teen in the early 1970s, he realized his favorite snack – beef jerky – had the potential to be so much better. It was then that Jeff jump started his entrepreneurial career by buying his first ever dehydrator and began what would become thousands of hours of experimentation.…
Mariposa Coffee Company
When Gerry Caputo and his wife started Mariposa Coffee Company in the fall of 1991, they had just moved their family from the Bay Area to the rural mountain community of Mariposa near Yosemite National Park. “I wanted to do something in this small community that nobody else was doing,” recounts Gerry, “I decided to…
Florida Georgia Citrus
Kim Jones was in the tractor business for 48 years – until his grandchildren, who have a particular fondness for satsuma oranges, inspired him to start a citrus farm. Florida Georgia Citrus began as an “all hands on deck” family operation in 2014. Before long, Kim’s small orchard of about 800 trees soon flourished into…
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