Open Signs

This week I speak with Renee Collins Cobb, the owner of Listen Locally, LLC, which is a broadcasting, media and consulting business featuring diverse products, speaking engagements, platforms, radio shows, podcasts, event production and career planning services that encourage folks to listen to locally to each other via engagement in music, theater, poetry, dialogue, shared learning and conversati...

This week I speak with Toni and Rafael Salem, the owners of the Pour House in Hamilton, Ohio. We talk about why they started this restaurant and bar when they didn't need to do so, and why they believe it's successful. Pour House is one of nearly 1 million small businesses in Ohio and part of the more than 32 million small businesses across the United States. Establishments like Pour House...

I sat down with Biz Jarvis, the owner of Hue Mane, a salon in the Hamilton, Ohio, neighborhood of Lindenwald, We talk about how she transitioned from social work to being the owner of a successful hair salon, and why her business is a Safe Space. Hue Mane is one of nearly 1 million small businesses in Ohio and part of the more than 32 million small businesses across the United States. Shops like H...

I sat down with Brandie Potzick, the owner of Fable Cafe in the Westwood neighborhood of Cincinnati. We talked why she got into the coffee shop business, and what's non-negotiable. Fable Cafe is one of nearly 1 million small businesses in Ohio and part of the more than 32 million small businesses across the United States. Shops like Fable Cafe—local, independent, community‑rooted—are what keep...

I sit down with Bill MacFarland, who—along with his wife, Andrea—owns Snapdragon Books & Gifts on Cincinnati’s west side. Their independent bookstore lives inside a century‑old home that, according to neighborhood lore, once doubled as a bootlegging hideout—and may even have been built for it. Snapdragon is one of nearly 1 million small businesses in Ohio and part of the more than 32 million s...