Mary Webber realized early on that she had a passion — and talent — for teaching, inspiring and motivating people. “When I was teaching business at Louisiana State University-Shreveport, I invited one of the directors of the Small Business Development Center to speak to my class,” Webber says. “He arrived earlier than I anticipated and […]

Tracy Aubuchon was a single mom when she decided to open her own skin spa. “It was scary – really scary,” says Aubuchon, an esthetician who had been working at a local dermatologist at the time. She was dating the man who would later become her husband and they “couldn’t live on one salary alone. […]

Steve Wolbert’s favorite gift of all time just might be one that he received for Christmas last year: a plaid “Made in Flint” vest from Stormy Kromer – the well-known clothing manufacturer based in Ironwood, Michigan. “Receiving that vest was one of the greatest feelings I’ve ever had,” recounts Wolbert, a Flint native who graduated […]

On the night of Poco Loco’s grand opening in Burton, the pop machine broke. Then they ran out of ice. “Everything that could go wrong, did,” recalls the restaurant’s owner, Luz Martinez. “Our whole dining room was standing room only. Fortunately, it was all family, so they understood.” It would have been easy to throw […]

It started with an idea and a $10,000 credit card. When Kevin Begola quit his job in the insurance industry a few years ago, he dove head-first into the world of men’s wedding rings. It stemmed from his own experience: when Begola got married, he noticed that the focus was on the bride and her […]