Finding a Niche, Remaining Debt-Free: How Kari Miller Built Tiny Dog Press
We Built This Life
Episode 35 with Kari Miller of Tiny Dog Press is about growing a small business at your own pace, and more. When a friend asked Kari Miller to print his wedding invitations, she saw that his fiancé at the time had created an illustration of Baltimore’s “Greatest City in America” bench for their RSVP card. Kari thought the image would make a great card, and this was the beginning of Tiny Dog Press. In this episode, Kari talks about: · How she discovered her niche in cards even though she doesn’t consider herself a “word person”; ...
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From Family Recipe to Small Business: How Tiera Chin Built Yorktown Spice
We Built This Life
Episode 34 with Tiera Chin of Yorktown Spice is about when a family recipe inspires a small business. In 2021, Tiera Chin was working full-time in the healthcare industry while raising two little daughters, the youngest of which was 4 months old at the time. This is also when she launched her new small business, Yorktown Spice, featuring her crab sauce that was inspired by family recipes. In this episode, Tiera talks about: · The actual steps she took to get her food product-based business off the ground, from food safety and thinking about how to make...
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From Hobby Podcast to Small Business: How Erin Scott Built the Believe in Dog Podcast and Erin Scott Podcasts
We Built This Life
Episode 33 with Erin Scott from the Believe in Dog podcast and Erin Scott Podcasts is about when a hobby leads to a small business. In 2019, Erin became a cancer survivor and decided to start saying yes to the ideas that excited her. She started the Believe in Dog podcast to tell heartfelt stories about the powerful connections between people and their dogs. Believe in Dog is now a top 5 podcast globally, and Erin went on to co-host a second show, The Alternative Dog Moms podcast. Now, Erin is focused on leveraging the skills she’s learned as a podcaster into a small business, Erin Scott...
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Mental Challenges & Triumphs in Entrepreneurship: How Rebekah Murray Built Dare & Co.
We Built This Life
Episode 32 of We Built This Life with Rebekah Murray from Dare & Co. is about mental challenges in entrepreneurship—and the rewards that come with getting through them. In 2014, Rebekah Murray, an entrepreneur throughout her adult life, was looking to transition from international wedding photography to something new. Her parents suggested she start a clothing line. Three years later, Rebekah launched Virginia Dare Dress Co. with a line of timeless, high-quality women’s dresses. In 2020, she added heartfelt gift boxes to her offerings. And today (May 18th, 2023), she unveiled her...
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From Educator to CEO: How Ashley Williams Built Clymb
We Built This Life
Episode 31 of the We Built This Life podcast with Ashley Williams from Clymb (@clymb_up) is about persistence and mindfulness and how these two skills were assets as Ashley built her own company. In 2018, Ashley Williams, a former educator and school leader in Baltimore City, founded Clymb (then known as Infinite Focus Schools), her company that produces emotional health software for school-aged children. In this episode, Ashley talks about: · The steps she took and resources she used to build Clymb from an idea to a thriving small business; ...
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6 Small Businesses to Support for Earth Day 2023
We Built This Life
Welcome to Episode 30 of the We Built This Life podcast! I’m your host, Jennifer Walker, and I’m talking this week about six small businesses that make low waste or sustainable products and that you can support for Earth Day 2023. I’ll share my favorite products from these businesses or the products I am hoping to try in the categories of personal care, reusable items, cleaning, clothing, and planners. You can also check out the We Built This Life podcast archive for more ideas. Thank you so much for listening! 6 Small Businesses to Support this Earth Day: ...
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How Mandy Memmel Built The Well and Hon's Honey
We Built This Life
Episode 29 of We Built This Life with Mandy Memmel of Hon’s Honey is about building relationships and community and helping women rise through social enterprise. After spending a decade serving the community of Curtis Bay in Baltimore, Mandy Memmel founded Drink at the Well (The Well) to provide an opportunity to build relationships, as well as a range of support services, for women experiencing trauma, including addiction, abuse, and/or generational poverty. Five years later, Mandy took the next step for her nonprofit and opened Hon’s Honey, a social enterprise business. Hon’s...
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How Emma Reisinger Built Yellow House Farm
We Built This Life
Episode 28 with Emma Reisinger of Yellow House Farm is about finding your place in the industry that interests you, even if the road is slightly winding to get there. Since 2017, Emma has owned Yellow House Farm, her small business that started as a tiny farm and CSA outside of her yellow house in Baltimore’s Waverly neighborhood. Today, the business has evolved to focus on ecological gardening and landscaping. In this episode, Emma talks about: How she found her place within agriculture and built Yellow House Farm while working as a line cook (which she describes as essentially working one...
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How Kate Christian Built Bliss Woodworks
We Built This Life
Episode 27 is a small business story about saying yes to opportunities and having the courage to follow new paths. After moving to Baltimore in 2014, Kate Christian—who had worked as a business analyst, a boat captain, and as chief operating officer for a company that made at-home STD tests—got a gift certificate to the Station North Tool Library from her wife. She took a cutting board class, fell in love with working with wood, and ultimately found a new career path. Today, Kate owns Bliss Woodworks, which specializes in custom woodworking projects and furniture like vanities,...
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2022 Small Business Holiday Gift Guide
We Built This Life
Welcome to Episode 26! For this episode, I'll talk you through a fun holiday gift guide highlighting 10 small businesses in a few categories: jewelry, planners and stickers, skincare/body care, photos and related products, wood creations, clothes for kids and adults, gift boxes, and, briefly, home goods. For the most part, I’ve either already purchased amazing products from these businesses or I plan to this month. You can also check out the We Built This Life podcast archive for more ideas. Thank you so much listening! Mentioned in this Episode: (the...
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Michele Dickinson had been building her successful corporate career at a large investment firm for more than a decade. But after having her third baby in 2018, she started to think about her life’s purpose and began to feel she was meant to be doing something else. Michele ultimately became a life and business coach who focuses on helping women build legacies and make a difference in the world through entrepreneurship and online businesses.
In this episode, Michele talks about:
- When she reached her own turning point professionally and began to feel a nudge to shift away from her corporate career;
- How she found her first client and refined her offerings, including private and group coaching, and a few examples of clients who have made major shifts while working with her;
- Building community on social media and how she strives to share vulnerably and authentically while also providing value;
- Money, pricing, and knowing your own worth;
- Finding balance as a business owner; a consultant at her corporate job, a position she held until recently; and a wife and mom of three.
Follow Michele Dickinson on Instagram
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Mentioned in this Episode:
- Working Moms Wanting More Soul Circle, Michele’s Facebook group
- Intuitive: Speaking Your Truth, a multi-author book. Michele wrote Chapter 11, “A Sixth Sense: The Call of the Soul.”
Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or listen on my website, follow and get in touch on Instagram (where I am most active), like on Facebook, or email [email protected] (but getting in touch through IG DM is better!)!