Blogs

We post weekly small business stories to highlight members of Small Business Majority’s network to share advice and the ups and downs of the entrepreneurial journey. Here you will find stories of resiliency during the pandemic, cautionary tales about avoiding predatory lending and inspirational ways that our small businesses are giving back to their communities.
Wednesday, September 21, 2022

When Ramon Alvarez was 9 years old, his family moved to a small ranch just outside of Fresno, California. He worked to help his family make a living until he left for school. While working to pay his way through college, he fell in love with retail. 

After years of gaining experience at corporations like Home Depot, where he oversaw the opening of stores across the U.S. and in South America, he fulfilled his dream of opening a business of his own with his wife. 

State:
Small Business Profile
Wednesday, September 14, 2022

Vanessa Avalos noticed a need for bilingual education for young children in her community, and she immediately decided to execute on it. She launched Luna y Cielo, a play café and Spanish learning center to aid Latino and Hispanic mothers in raising bilingual, bicultural and biliterate children. 

State:
Small Business Profile
Wednesday, August 31, 2022

Edwin Sandoval, the proud owner of Xatrucho Concepts, moved from Honduras to the Colorado Springs area when he was only 10 years old. At age 14, he began working at restaurants, where he quickly realized his potential and passion for the food industry. He pursued a degree in culinary arts and continued to work at various high-scale restaurants until he had the gumption to start a business of his own.

State:
Small Business Profile
Wednesday, August 17, 2022
Knetta Adkins

Full-time health policy advocate and part-time doula Knetta Adkins is striving to make the Georgia healthcare system more accessible for everyone–especially families of color.
 
Knetta started practicing as a doula three years ago in Alabama, but soon after she relocated to Georgia and started her own practice, Douwella, where she supports parents through their pre and postpartum journey.
 
She says, “It’s important to me that I ensure that the families I work with have agency over their birthing story.”

State:
Small Business Profile
Monday, June 27, 2022
Retirement Savings

The CalSavers Retirement Savings Program is a portable workplace retirement savings program for private sector workers whose employers do not have a retirement savings program. CalSavers is run by the state and funded by modest employee contributions, so it involves minimal requirements for employers. 

State:
Wednesday, June 22, 2022

Although Shirley Modlin plans on giving her manufacturing business, located in Powhatan, Virginia, over to her son in the next two years, she is nowhere near retirement. In fact, she is handing over her current business so she can start a new one and open a vocational center in the rural area of her town. 

State:
Small Business Profile
Wednesday, June 15, 2022

When Tricia M. Arce’s grandmother passed away, she began making recipes with marshmallows to ease her grief. Once she realized how popular her inventions were among her coworkers and close friends, Tricia and her wife Hazel decided to launch the Toasted Mallow, a line of handcrafted marshmallow desserts for every taste, locally available in Gilbert, A.Z.

State:
Small Business Profile
Thursday, June 9, 2022
Joanis Duran

During this Pride Month, Joanis Duran and other LGBTQ small business owners in Florida are fighting to be heard as their state policymakers enact anti-LGBTQ legislation.

“We feel that we have a government that is trying to remove us.”

State:
Small Business Profile
Monday, May 23, 2022

Navigating the COVID-19 pandemic has been a tall order for small businesses, creating financial chaos and instability for all entrepreneurs regardless of how many years they’ve been in business. For Manish Mallick, owner of Bar Goa, an Indian gastropub, and ROOH Chicago, a progressive Indian restaurant and cocktail bar, seeing his once-bustling restaurant turn into an empty eatery has been devastating.  

Issues:
State:
Small Business Profile
Friday, May 13, 2022
Howard Konishi

Former finance professional Howard Konishi always dreamed of owning his own gym and making a difference in his community. After turning 30, Howard finally decided to trade his suit and tie for climbing shoes and a harness full time. 

The rock climber put his degree in economics to good use and started doing market research on where to open Top Out Climbing Gym. Finally, he decided on Santa Clarita, a smaller city north of Los Angeles, without a rock climbing facility. 

State:
Small Business Profile