Sincerely, Your Small Business

Betsy Kraft grew up in Texas and moved to Virginia ten years ago by way of Colorado. After years in the hospitality industry, she pursued her passion for interior design and launched her own firm four years ago. Known for her personalized, client-focused approach, Betsy creates spaces that seamlessly blend style, function, and comfort. This episode isn’t just about running a design business. It’s...

We’re told that running a small business is “hard,” but no one really explains how messy, humbling, and human those first few years can be. In this conversation, I talk with Dannah Boston about the real behind-the-scenes of business ownership: the ugly first five years, the pressure of providing for a team, and the identity shift that comes with juggling life as a provider, parent, and entrepreneu...

On this episode, discover how Ryan opened a  vegan eatery, Botanical, amidst the challenges of the pandemic. You'll hear about the importance of community, the power of confidence, and the joy of creating a supportive environment for both staff and customers.  Ryan Becklund is the owner of Botanical in Charlottesville and Bar Botanical in Crozet, Va.  Both restaurants are 100% vegan and serve...

This episode originally aired on Feb. 5, 2024. The show notes have been updated to reflect Yolonda's current offerings. Enjoy! Yolonda Coles Jones is a visionary coach, healing-centered facilitator, homeschooling mama, and community-rooted leader based in Charlottesville, VA. She leads two distinct yet deeply aligned entities—each with its own purpose, structure, and offerings. Through her LL...

Snail Mail is a brand specializing in hand painted stationery and products featuring Carrie's original artwork. The products she creates are rooted in the joys of our every day and bring a smile to many of the little moments throughout our lives. Snail Mail's stationery line is painted by hand on 100% recycled paper, making each one unique to the customer while also being good for the ea...

Lauren is a UVA graduate and former elementary educator who spent 13 years teaching (in room 13) in Charlottesville before transitioning into roles as a private educator and a family assistant. She now runs Curated Concierge, a thriving personal concierge business that supports busy professionals and families by managing the details of life. Her goal? To help her clients feel supported, reduce the...

Lune Wynyard had already been cutting what they call "unwashed hair" for over a decade before founding 'Intuitive Dry Cutting' in 2016. Their teaching career began when they opened a dedicated salon in New York in 2017, and in 2018 Lune traveled to LA to teach their first workshop. With the onset of the pandemic in 2020, Lune's focus shifted to becoming a certified life co...

Kelly Cox is a 500 RYT, registered prenatal yoga instructor, birth doula, and licensed clinical social worker.  For the last 15 years, she has supported expectant and new mothers and it is through this work she became aware of the stress and depression that surround feeding infants.  As a breast cancer survivor, she is committed to making sure all survivors have access to human milk for their babi...

Molly Braswell runs Sidecar: a team of folks interested in some work, but not full time work, who support small businesses and non-profits who need some help, but not full time help. It's a win-win! Molly lives in Lexington, Virginia with her husband and three small children where she is learning that a "normal week" is a hoax and she's committed to finding folks interesting an...

Katie Sale was born and raised in Virginia.  Like many who attended the University of Virginia, she didn't leave after graduation, and instead, has made Charlottesville her home.  With a robust career working in high-end service retail and hospitality, she's honed a keen eye for design while also understanding her clientele's needs and expectations. During the COVID-19 Pandemic, she...

Margaret Bolton Baudinet is the owner and Chief Executive Officer of College Solutions.  Originally from Alabama, Margaret graduated from the University of Virginia with highest distinction with a degree in political and literary thought, finishing her academic tenure with research at Oxford University. Margaret holds five years of admission experience from the University of Virginia, specializing...

This episode originally aired in May of 2023. What does "resiliency" mean to you? Listen in as Daniel shares about what that word means to him, and what it can look like to forge your unique path of small business ownership. Daniel Perry was introduced to jam-making 20 years ago and never looked back. 15 years ago, a year out of college, he started a jam business. He bought a tent at K-M...

Rachel Pennington is a great baker, a shitty capitalist, and a memoir/food writer. She owned The Pie Chest in Charlottesville, VA, a sanctuary of comfort, delicious food, and rest for the weary soul. Her culinary work has been featured in or mentioned on The Travel Channel, USA Today, the Boston Globe, Edible Blue Ridge, Southern Living, Our Local Commons, the Southern Foodways Alliance, the Edaci...

This episode originally aired on October 16, 2023. What do you do when you meet a friend who shares your same dreams, energy level, and passions? Why you start a business of course! Chelsea and Flannery met through the small business network of Crozet and immediately started hosting pop-up markets together to encourage and support a variety of female entrepreneurs in and around Crozet. What starte...

Rachael Kesler Palm is a queer woman, author, activist, creator, communications professional, and mother. Her passion lies in creating: creating change through her activism as a volunteer with Moms Demand Action ; creating beautiful content through marketing communications work; and co-creating a fulfilling life with her 8-year-old daughter and fiancé Carolyn by her side. Rachael is a trainer with...

This episode originally aired in January of 2023. Born in Manila, the tiniest bit strange and a lot dramatic, PK Ross was probably meant for a life of crime boss’ mistress. Just kidding. Not about the Manila part; she was definitely born there. Hers is a typical tale of an Asian immigrant child whose only proper destiny was doctor or lawyer. But as luck would have it, after completing a degree in...

Tina Page is the founder of Palm + Petal Creative, based out of Maui, Hawaii.   Her line is inspired by the islands. Palm + Petal Creative creates sustainable apparel and coastal-themed home decor.  You can find her products in boutiques and resorts throughout Hawaii or through her online shop.  Tina and her husband are originally Virginia natives, but now Maui is a place they feel grateful to cal...

Do you know anyone who gives off ALL the high energy and joy? How do you connect more with those joyful parts of yourself, and set boundaries around the things that don’t fill your cup? On this episode, I got to chat with Sarah about lessons that Covid has taught us, what it means to tap into what truly makes you happy as a parent and business owner, and how family values play a role in the amount...

Tiffany Nguyen loves throwing parties and, more importantly, bringing people together. And now? She’s taken the plunge and launched her own business, doing what I absolutely love – creating memorable gatherings. As a mother of four wonderful kids and the wife of an entrepreneur, Tiffany is well acquainted with the demands of juggling multiple moving parts, multitasking, and (by the grace of God) m...

This encore episode was originally launched in October of 2022. Enjoy! Chris is a baker based in the Charlottesville area, doing pop-ups all over central Virginia. She’s inspired by Americana and diversity, using local ingredients and her knowledge from fine dining to execute menus that change weekly. She’s originally from The San Francisco Bay Area, and attended Johnson & Wales University for...

Yolonda Coles Jones, also known as The Calm and Thrive Coach, is an international conscious relationship expert and empowered living coach. She helps reactive, drained, distracted and anxious people learn to be more at home, at peace and in unconditional Love with themselves and others so they can be more present in more of the moments that make up this one precious and beautiful life. Learn more...

Emily Wool is a printmaker and surface designer, working out of her home studio in Crozet, VA. Her business Emily Ruth Prints strives to create beautiful and functional items inspired by nature and to honor Emily's core values of sustainability, transparency, and curiosity. Hear Emily share lessons she's learned as a small business owner, including embracing her identity as an artist, ba...

Critter Butts is the dream of queer, neurodivergent sweethearts Dylan & Joan. Since 2021, their work has been an ever-evolving representation of their spicy brains, their identity as transgender queers, the creatures they turn to for joy, and the humor that keeps them afloat in the midst of a crumbling culture. Listen to this episode as Joan and Dylan share their thoughts and experiences aroun...

Listen to this episode as Elisabeth shares her thoughts on: deciding NOT to grow a business as fast as possible, and instead be stable (while still pushing the envelope); and our capacity to take larger risks when we take into account our "track records". Elisabeth’s boutique PR firm Golden Word specializes in its own special brand of PR, which they trademarked as: “talk like a human.” P...

Allison Egidi is a certified pediatric sleep coach and founder of Sleep and Wellness Coach. Her primary area of focus is sleep for newborns through early elementary-age children. She offers 1:1 virtual consultations and online courses and workshops. She also provides parents with weekly educational content on her podcast, How Long 'Til Bedtime. Listen in as Allison talks about the humbling ex...