Category: Business Owner Stories

How a Strict Budget Was Key to Getting This Telecom Company Off The Ground

How a Strict Budget Was Key to Getting This Telecom Company Off The Ground

José Cruz is the founder of rēd wireless, a cellular telecom company based in Detroit, Michigan. Cruz calls the company “a collaborative family business” that helps building owners and end-users access reliable cellular connectivity indoors. Cruz leverages 20+ years in the telecom industry to demystify cellular for his clients. Why did you start this business? I never had the entrepreneurship bug. In the ‘90s, I graduated with a bachelor’s degree in electronics from the University of Puerto Rico. From there,… Read More
Square Capital Review: Two Square Merchants Share Their Personal Experience

Square Capital Review: Two Square Merchants Share Their Personal Experience

Sellers currently using or considering using Square Capital may not know that Square offers more than just credit card processing. They’ve entered the business lending game, offering loans through an invite-only program for sellers with a healthy business history with Square. “It’s a painless way of getting funds,” says Bernadette L. Harris, owner of By The Book Accounting, who got her first Square Capital loan in March of this year. But is a loan from Square a good option for… Read More
4 Reasons Fear Is Good for Your Business

4 Reasons Fear Is Good for Your Business

"Great fear is concealed under daring." This idea — courtesy of a Roman poet named Marcus Annaeus Lucanus — is one I rejected for years. Where I grew up, if you were a guy, you didn't cry. You bit the bullet. You toughed it out. You stood up and took it like a man. I remember a football practice so brutal, one of my teammates broke down sobbing. I looked at him and thought: I'm never going to be that guy. I'm going to be… Read More
How This Family Business Is Saving Polar Bears

How This Family Business Is Saving Polar Bears

Polar Ambassadors is a true family business. Kate Kennedy runs the company with her husband and three children, ages 17, 15 and 11. The idea for the company came from her 17-year-old who is on his way to college to study entrepreneurship. “This is a nice way for all of us to work together in a way that is doing something for a better cause,” said Kennedy. Polar Ambassadors sells apparel items intended to start conversations about the conservation of… Read More
One Entrepreneur’s Journey from Bucket Band to Booming SEO Business

One Entrepreneur’s Journey from Bucket Band to Booming SEO Business

Dan Shure, owner of Evolving SEO, has had a unique entrepreneurial experience. He grew up in an entrepreneurial family. His father, a professional sculptor, owns two businesses. Shure started his first business as a teenager and has created several other successful businesses along the way. Now, he runs a small SEO company that provides search engine marketing services to clients, from site audits to content strategy to best practices training. Additionally, Shure is a MOZ associate and hosts the “Experts… Read More
How This Entrepreneur Turned a Modern Calligraphy Skill Into a Booming Side Business

How This Entrepreneur Turned a Modern Calligraphy Skill Into a Booming Side Business

Lori Shen is the founder of Letter On!, a modern calligraphy and design business specializing in Hawaiian designs. Letter On! sells a variety of products from greeting cards to prints to rubber stamps. The company also offers custom design services for items such as welcome signs, place cards, envelopes, and chalkboard signs. Shen attributes her entrepreneurial spirit to her family. “I’m a product of two small business owners. My parents started an orchid nursery in Waimanalo, Hawaii, the year before… Read More