Business Discussions

Precious Williams likes to dream BIG. Three years ago, she took a risk and entered a series of pitch competitions to see if she could fund her idea for a lingerie business aimed specifically at curvy women. It worked. Today she's juggling multiple roles — CEO of Curvy Girlz, self-employed attorney and occasional actress — and scheming up her next big goal: to turn Curvy Girlz into a million dollar business.  Name: Precious L. Williams, Esq. Job: Owner of Curvy Girlz Started: 2012 Tell us the story behind starting Curvy Girlz. I grew up watching Perry Mason and dreamed of becoming an attorney, so I went to law school and eventually set up my own firm. With that goal achieved, I set my sights even higher and resolved to become the best entrepreneur of all time. There aren’t many celebrated African American entrepreneurs out there. People talk about Oprah and Bob Johnson, but they’re 20 years older than me and I want to show the world how it’s done. The

  The perennial Kudzu plant isn’t widely loved, but for Tiffany — who named her company after the root — it’s come to stand for a self-sufficient lifestyle.  Tiffany Everett has been making art for others ever since her classmates asked her for portraits of their pets at school, but it wasn’t until she discovered Etsy that she realized she could turn her hobby into a career.  Now that she's getting ready to launch her new website, we asked Tiffany to dish on making the transition from full-time employee to up-and-coming business owner and the biggest branding mistake she made early on.   Name: Tiffany Everett Business: Kudzu Monster on Etsy Started: November 2014   Who or what inspired you to create Kudzu Monster? I started using Etsy in 2009, selling hand-bound journals while I was still in college. I also designed and sold baby mobiles with a friend through Etsy, but Kudzu Monster is my first really successful shop. I went to art school in Geo

You might recognize Desiree as one of our top 10 finalists in Small Business Big Game or from her recent appearance on Shark Tank.  Desiree co-founded Unshrinkit back in 2013 as part of a class project — two years later her solution for shrunken sweaters is flying off the shelves. Along the way she's learned a ton about how to handle customer service and why solving an existing problem is key to finding a market for your product. Let's hear from Desiree! Name: Desiree Stolar Business: Unshrinkit Started: December 2013   Tell us a little more about how Unshrinkit was born. Who or what inspired you to create your product? My co-founder Nate and I started Unshrinkit while we were still students at Harvard Business School.  In the winter of 2013, we were given $5,000 to work on a micro-business as part of a class. Our team of six decided that collectively we wanted to build something with our hands — it was important to us that at the end of the project we could s

Kimberly was recently one of our top 10 finalists in Small Business Big Game, so we sat down with her to learn more about her own journey as a small business owner. As the founder of WiggleKids in Swansea, Massachusetts — an inclusive fitness studio for all ages and abilities — Kimberly gets to have fun every day on the job while also providing a unique service in her community.  Take it away, Kimberly!   Name: Kimberly Ferrara Business: WiggleKids Fitness Studios   How did you come up with the idea for WiggleKids? When my own kids started taking classes in our local community for different activities and sports, I realized there were always children who didn't fit into the typical "sports" model, but they still needed movement classes just as much as anyone else. A friend asked me to come up with a program for the town recreational department that was specifically for toddlers. At the time, another friend whose son has autism asked if I could take that sa

When Spencer Pickslay first opened up his Etsy shop to sell the handmade wooden items he was making on the side as a hobby, he had no idea that someday his biggest seller would also be his smallest. Four-and-a-half years later, Spencer is making a living selling his custom wooden guitar picks online and exploring what it might mean to begin wholesaling his star product. Read on to learn more about how he got here and what he's hoping to tackle next in his business!   Name: Spencer Pickslay Business: Woodworker and Owner of Pickslays Woodworking Started: April 2011   How did you create your awesome job? I wasn’t always into woodwork. I didn’t enjoy it in high school and I didn’t have handy parents, or anything like that.  It wasn’t until I started working in a hardware store and got to playing around with some old materials and watching YouTube tutorials that it really clicked. In 2010, when I was getting really into woodworking as a hobby, my grandmother taught me how t

      Turning her baking hobby into a profitable business has been as much a labor of love for Felicity as a money-making venture, but only after countless hours of playing with the ingredients to find the perfect mix.   According to Felicity, the old saying "speculate to accumulate" is still an effective way to generate business. But she also told us that spending too much time indulging in a passion can hurt a company’s bottom line.   To get the inside scoop on baking as a profession, on why freebies are an effective marketing tool and how time management is crucial, we talked with the mom of Buttercream Babies.    Name: Felicity Price Business: Buttercream Babies Started: November 2012   What inspired you to set up Buttercream Babies as a business?   Apart from my love of cake, I really wanted to do something creative. Like most people I wanted to work for myself, but the real reason I started baking full time was because

      Since their commercial appeared in the Super Bowl on February 7, 2016, Death Wish Coffee Company has seen the kind of growth most small businesses only dream of!   Above, we're sharing the BIG highlights — including a 550% increase in sales (um, wow!), how they crushed it at social media and what you can expect from them next (hint: it may involve a celebrity sponsored brew!). Congrats again to Mike and his amazing team. :-)        

  Cozy Friedman launched the first ever salon for kids in New York City after a friend told her about her nephew’s bad experience at an adult salon. She calls that conversation in 1992 her “lightning bolt” moment. Since then, Cozy has opened the doors to multiple children’s salons. Her latest endeavor is the launch of her professional-grade hair care line that was created just for kids.   We chatted with her about how she discovered there was a huge gap in the market and what she's learned about juggling work, motherhood and everything in between. Name: Cozy Friedman Business: SoCozy Professional Hair Care for Children Started: 2002     What inspired you to open up your first salon?   I heard a story from a friend about her nephew’s horrible experience at an adult salon. It was my lightning bolt moment! I started wondering why there were no salons for kids, so I did some research and was shocked that there really was no such place. T

     After Brian and Shannon Barker created beautiful custom décor for their daughter’s outdoor wedding, their guests were so impressed that they persuaded the couple to sell some of the items on Etsy.    Then, after Brian’s 12-hour work days became too much at his full-time job, they decided to turn that hobby into a business. We chatted with both Brian and Shannon recently to learn how they price their popular items — and what they *most* want to learn from you.    Names: Brian and Shannon Barker Business: Country Corner Goods Started: October 2015   What inspired you to start your own business? Brian: It all started when our oldest daughter got married in 2013. She wanted an outdoor, country-themed wedding. Since I’m a carpenter by trade, I made most of the décor myself — including the dance floor, centerpieces and cake stand. Later on, when the economy slumped, I got HVAC-certified (Heating, Venti

  Krista Young was destined for a creative profession, but it wasn’t until she quit her full-time job to spend more time with her newborn twins that she found her true calling.  Using basic skills in welding that she learned from her Dad, Krista started to make jewelry whenever her girls were napping. Now that her Etsy shop has taken off and she's hired her first employee, she's looking for ideas on how to grow her business even further by outsourcing more of her production. Let's hear her story!     Name: Krista Young Business: Gem & Blue Jewelry on Etsy Started: Spring 2012   How did you get started as a jewelry designer? I was working as an interior designer before I had my twin girls. Becoming a mom changed everything.  I quit my job to spend more time at home and started making jewelry in my very limited spare time. I had no real experience, but I'd learned a little bit of welding from my Dad. He showed me how to work with big, in

Angeline Crowder is at a crossroads in her business. After receiving tons of international acclaim for her beautiful, handmade gemstone rings, she's now getting requests to wholesale her products. But is it the right move for her business?? Read on for the full story, and tell us your thoughts in the comments below!     Name: Angeline Crowder Business: By Angeline Founded: 2013   How did you create your awesome job? I’ve been selling rocks ever since I was five, when I collected agates from my family’s farm in Oregon and took them door to door.  When I was 24 and a single mom in need of a little extra money, I started making belly-button charms and sold them to local beach stores. I was also worked as a raft instructor at the same time, near where I lived in Colorado. While out on the river one day, I was crushed by a raft and I broke my back. During my recovery, I took a jewelry course in Portland, Oregon. The instructors noticed my entrepreneurial spiri

Dan Cordero is an Emmy award-winning video producer and a new dad based in North Carolina. In his limited downtime, Dan repurposes vintage lights and sells them on Etsy.  The journey from hobbyist to business owner has been gradual, but he’s finally on the brink of taking his business full-time. We spoke to Dan about inspiration, lightbulb moments and the challenges of running a successful business while also caring for a newborn. Name: Dan Cordero Business: Reclaiming Creativity Started: May 2012 What inspired you to start creating repurposed vintage lights and selling them online? My day job is as a filmmaker for product development firm Edison Nation, which provides engineers, designers and resources to turn ideas into tangible products. I work alongside highly creative people and many of them are good at working with their hands. Until recently, I only made things on computers.  I started tinkering around in the workshop after I learned how many lightbulbs are throw

Elena Toccafondi is an independent filmmaker who's honed her craft all over the world. She grew up in Italy, studied in London and recently moved to New York, where she writes, edits and designs sound for short films and documentaries. We caught up with her to learn about what it's been like to build a network and find work in a new city.  Take it away, Elena! Name: Elena Toccafondi Job: Independent Filmmaker Started: 2013   How did you create your awesome job? I have always loved movies, but I never thought I’d end up working in the film industry!  I studied Political Philosophy at the University of Florence and planned to be a journalist. After graduating, I saw an advertisement for an internship with Italian Public Broadcast Television in New York and sent off a hopeful application. I was so pleased when they offered me the job. For three months I worked as a production assistant, helping out behind the scenes. Then, I landed the same role for a television

 A bad experience at an agency inspired Laura to bite the bullet and set up her own studio – but first she had to learn a few tough business lessons along the way.  We asked her to spill the beans on how she learned to avoid getting burned by customers who won't pay and why she's looking for help from you on how to keep her studio space and client list more organized.   Name: Laura Harvey Job: Bespoke Tailor and Pattern Cutter, Owner of Yabby Studio Started In: 2012 How did you create your awesome job? Sewing and making clothes was a hobby, but I never considered it as a career until I was choosing colleges. It was the first time I’d ever thought about the kind of job I wanted, and I realized this was something I could do. I prefer constructing clothes to designing them, so I decided to study bespoke tailoring at the London College of Fashion. As part of the course, we studied pattern cutting – it was a perfect match for me. I enjoyed it and I was good at it, so I studi

Cherie has been making jewelry for as long as she can remember, but it wasn't until both she and her husband were laid off from their full-time jobs that they decided to take the plunge and turn her life-long hobby into a business. Now they're living the dream in a remote home they built themselves – completely off the grid and supported 100% by their small business. We asked Cherie to share more with us about the road to building their business and what she's hoping to learn next!   Name: Cherie Somerville Business: Elksong Jewelry Started: 2007   How did you create your awesome job? I've been making jewelry my entire life. When I was 10, my mother started buying me beads and supplies – to stop me from stealing jewelry from the rest of the family! I started selling my creations soon after and can barely remember a time that I wasn’t making some money from my creations. I run my jewelry business now with my husband, from a home that we built on the border of Arizona and

At first glance, Victoria Cameron's résumé reads like the story of a small business superhero. An experienced accountant and small business consultant, she worked for KPMG and several startups before opening her own consulting business in 2000, VRC Consulting.  Victoria is bringing her business saavy and accounting expertise to QuickBooks Connect in San Jose this year with a special session on how to take control of your cash flow, so we asked her to share with us ahead of time a sneak peek at what attendees can look forward to. Name: Victoria Cameron Business: VRC Consulting Founded: 2000 Tell us a bit more about your background and why you decided to start your own consulting business.  You could say that a lot of the pursuits of my career have been driven by the fact I've been living in the Bay Area for a long time. I studied economics at Stanford University, where I took my first accounting course.  After school, I worked in audits at KPMG and a lot o

When Alyssa Kahle was searching for "the dress" ahead of her wedding day, she found herself repeatedly let down by the available options. She decided to take matters into her own hands and ended up creating her own stunning gown.  Not long after, she quit her job as a CPA and decided to turn that first project into a thriving business. We caught up with Alyssa to find out how she's finding new customers now and what she's hoping to learn from you as she begins to think about expanding her retail business.   Name: Alyssa Kahle Job: Owner and Designer, Alyssa Kristin Bridal Gowns Started: April 2014   How did you create your awesome job? With lots of determination and positive thinking! This sounds cliché, but starting a new venture has a lot of ups and downs, so for me it was critical to always keep moving forward and maintain a belief in myself. I started Alyssa Kristin Bridal Gowns because I think a bride should have it all on her wedding day – a beautifully constructe

In 2005, Leslie teamed up with her best friend Meredith to start NutraBella, a business focused on prenatal health with a line of tasty bars and chewable vitamins created specifically for women. 10 years later, she's learned a ton about what it takes to build a business from the ground up — including how to find funding and how to emphasize the value of your product with your pricing. Ahead of her talk at QuickBooks Connect 2015 with Julie Gordon White on "Lessons Learned from Growing a $1M Business," we sat down with Leslie to get the full scoop on how she built NutraBella into a thriving, sustainable business. Take it away, Leslie! Name: Leslie Barber Business: NutraBella Bellybar Products Started In: January of 2005   Tell us a bit more about why you and Meredith decided to start NutraBella and the Bellybar. Was there a gap in the market you were trying to fill? Meredith and I met originally when we went to business school together. We'd both been working in technology fo

  When Dan started growing out his beard two years ago, he had no clue that the search for a perfect beard balm would eventually lead to starting his own business. In the middle of the pre-Christmas rush, Dan took a few minutes to chat with us about what he's learned so far about pricing his products and where he's hoping to take his business next.     Name: Dan Foley Business: BaldyBeardy Started: October 2014   Where did you get the idea for starting BaldyBeardy? I started growing out my beard two years ago and wanted to find products I could use to keep it strong and healthy. Most of them were overpriced and none of them made my beard feel good. I have sensitive skin and most of the products had added artificial fragrances, which made everything worse. The market needed something better, so I started experimenting with balms and oils. At the time, I was working as a web developer and had no experience with doing anything like this before, but I knew what wo

  Three years ago, Kavita started taking her handmade batches of FreshPaper — special sheets that are infused with organic spices and keep fruits and veggies fresh for 2-4x longer —to her local farmer's market. She had no funding and no experience, but she believed this simple idea could help her community eat healthier and save produce that so often goes to waste. Now she's leading a grassroots movement to reduce global food waste and inspiring entrepreneurs around the globe with her story. As a recent top 10 finalist in Small Business Big Game, we had to learn more about Kavita's journey to becoming a small business owner and her advice for anyone here who is just starting out.   Name: Kavita Shukla   Business: FreshPaper   What was the moment that has most surprised you so far about running your own business? Honestly, every day is a surprise!  The moment that was most surprising for me so far happened a few weeks after I started t

  Purl and Loop could have been over before it even started — lenders practically laughed in Angela’s face when she asked about taking out a business loan for a local yarn shop. Why? Because they thought the idea was outdated and unnecessary.  Luckily, Angela persevered and now she's building a successful wholesale business through her online shop. Read on for the big "a ha" lesson she learned while selling at a wholesale show and her trick for creating great photos on your website, even if you only have an iPhone. Take it away, Angela! Name: Angela Smith Business: Purl and Loop Started: 2011   How did you create your awesome job? It was my dream to create a local Houston yarn shop, but I couldn’t get any funding from banks to open a brick and mortar store. They didn’t think there was a big enough market and they wouldn’t give me the time of day. Determined to prove them wrong, I took money from my savings and started an online store. I planne

  Chubbies Shorts launched in San Francisco in 2011 on a mission to make "the most radical shorts known to mankind."  Four years later, they're inspiring thousands of customers across the U.S. to join Chubster Nation and celebrate the weekend in a pair of their unique, colorful shorts. As one our Final 3 in Small Business Big Game, we had to know more about their story and what keeps them inspired as small business owners day in and day out. Take it away, fellas!   Names: Tom Montgomery & Preston Rutherford Business: Chubbies Shorts Started: 2011   How did you come up with the idea for starting Chubbies Shorts? It was the most natural thing in the world for us to start a men's shorts company. We were four guys who always wore a particular style of shorts that were either handed down from our dads and uncles or found at thrift shops. When we wanted to find more, we couldn't find them anywhere to purchase.  We had an i

  Andreas had no experience in jewelry making when he teamed up with his wife Elisha to take her fledgling Etsy shop to the next level. Friends called them crazy, but he knew they were on to something big.  Six years after he took the plunge, we chatted with Andreas to find out more about how he transitioned to running a successful jewelry business and what he's learned along the way about setting attainable goals.   Name: Andreas Argentinis Business: Metal Pressions Started: 2009 How did you create your awesome job? My wife Elisha and I moved to Savannah, Georgia from Connecticut 10 years ago, right before the economic downturn. My family had a business here, so I moved back to help them out, thinking I’d stay for three of four years before moving on to something else.  After the economic crash, it became almost impossible to find good work in the small town of Savannah, so when the time came for me to make a career change, I had to go it alone. My wife was m

Ariane stumbled on an idea for a business while she was making wedding favors for her best friends on the side. In less than a year, making candles went from a fun hobby to a serious source of income for her and her husband, as stores all over the United States are lining up to stock their literary-themed products.  We couldn’t wait to find out more about how she keeps her days organized with so much going on and what's next for Ariane in 2016!Name: Ariane Scholl Business: Hearth and Hammer Candles Started: February of 2015 How did you get the idea for starting Hearth and Hammer? My husband and I rent a room at 715 Vintage, a co-op store in Batavia, Illinois, where we sell antique outdoor goods.  It’s a side project for both of us — he’s a graphic designer and I’m a part-time nanny. When we got married last year, I decided to make candles as gifts for our bridesmaids and groomsmen by melting down wax, mixing it with essential oils and pouring it into vintage teacups. I

  For 85 years, Vidler's 5 & 10 has been an institution and a tourist destination in East Aurora, New York. The family-run "five and dime" harkens back to a simpler time, when the local general store sold (just about) everything under the sun and the customers doubled as both neighbors and friends. We met Don Vidler and his amazing team as part of Small Business Big Game and we were immediately struck by their passion for building a sustainable local business and their dedication to customer service — not to mention their hilarious series of videos on YouTube. Take it away, Don!   Name: Don Vidler Business: Vidler's 5 & 10   What is your favorite thing about being a small business owner? My favorite thing about running Vidler's 5 & 10 is that we're a family business.  We've been here for 85 years, the same store in the same location on Main Street. We've been in business for three generations and we've had more than th