Our city is home to so many incredible businesses and so we asked the founders how they came up with the ideas for their businesses and have shared their responses below.

Delilah Reed | Artist & Owner of The Loud Cicada

I have a good handful of friends that are successful retail business owners and I had always liked and admired their success and the way that their shops seemed to be so strongly tapped into the community. As an artist doing markets, art shows, pop-ups, and online sales, the hustle culture is strong within me. But I had a great desire to do less running around and more “come see me at my brick and mortar anytime”. I had dreamt up this wonderful idea in my mind of a bright, cheery, happy place that had interactive experiences in the form of a letter writing station as well as a working art studio. Read more>>

Courtney and Patrick Walsh | True Crime & Pranormal Podcasters on Evil Pudding: A True Crime Podcast

At first Courtney wanted to take on a career in Criminology but life went a different way. But with her passion for true crime and Patrick’s experience in Law Enforcement and both of our interest in the paranormal, she came up with the idea to start a podcast for the fun of it and see what happens. It has just kind of bloomed from there. It has also become a great way for us to spend quality time together which is difficult at times raising teenagers Read more>>

Rebecca Szabo | Artist

I have always had a connection with needle and thread! I spent a lot of time with my Grandparents growing up and they were both amazingly talented and resourceful people. My Grampie would fix up discarded or broken furniture or decor to reuse it & my Gram would take my Aunt’s outgrown clothing and repurpose it for me & my dolls. I have always tried to reuse and repurpose items to create something beautiful and useful for as long as I can remember. My mother in law asked me to repurpose her wedding gown to create christening outfits and wedding bags for future grandchildren before she passed away. This request led to many others and my business has been thriving for over 30 years! Read more>>

Tina Leix | Reusable wreath/flower bouquet making extraordinaire

2019 was an emotional year, to say the least. My mom lost her battle with cancer, and two months later, I gave birth to our first son, Lucas. I was broken; my world was shattered. But, my mom’s strength was instilled in me and her inspiration guided my sadness into creativity. Suddenly, the rungs of the corporate ladder I was climbing seemed unimportant. Entrepreneurship and owning my own business was the way forward. Read more>>

Erin Crider | Hunting, fishing, hiking, foraging guides who are all women and lead events and guided trips for their communities and beyond.

I saw an underserved community grasping for opportunity, so we created opportunity. There are a lot of opportunity for kids and veterans to learn outdoor skills but not women. Most sons were invited on hunting and fishing trips by Dad and Grandpa and the girls were left behind. Women want the opportunity and there wasn’t a group that had a focus to create space for women in the outdoors. Creating space for women in the outdoors is now Uncharted Outdoorswomen’s mission. Read more>>