Small Business, Big Conversations: Ray & Anasja Vernon of VARR Studios
Ray and Anasja Vernon share two unyielding passions: their love for each other and an insatiable drive for crafting creative content. With a space inside the world-famous The WORD Church, this visionary duo transformed their combined zeal into a beacon of multimedia content creation: VARR Studios. Together, they’ve not just built a business but have
Small Business, Big Conversations: James Barnes of Immaculate Cleaning Co.
James Barnes is building an empire, one mop bucket at a time. A Cleveland-area native, James’s entrepreneurial spark ignited early, propelling him into a journey of creating a business centered around his customer’s every need. It wasn’t long before 2011 saw the rise of Immaculate Cleaning Co., quickly becoming the gold standard for janitorial services
Small Business, Big Conversations: Emily Harpel of Art of Sucre
In 2016, Emily Harpel was inspired to give a nostalgic childhood treat a chic upgrade. Emily secured all of the social media handles, ordered her first machine and Art of Sucre was born. Emily launched @artofsucre as an events-based business, spinning out-of-the-box flavors of cotton candy at weddings, parties and concerts. In 2020, Emily knew
Small Business, Big Conversations: Vic Searcy of Sauce the City
Cleveland has no shortage of claims to fame, but Vic Searcy’s Chicken Sandwich stands out even in a city of bests. With locations in University Heights, Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse and Cleveland Browns Stadium, you’d think Sauce the City has been around for decades. On the contrary, Chef Vic launched (almost by accident) in 2018 when
Small Business, Big Conversations: Sharia Livingston of Living Rich
How do you prioritize a life on your own terms AND build a legacy of success for your family? Do what you love. Sharia Livingston has always dreamed of owning her own clothing business, but as a young mother, she opted for the safe bet and pursued a career in nursing. Her obsession with high-quality
Small Business, Big Conversations: Dan Brown of Rust Belt Riders
The average US family will throw away as much as $1,500 worth of perfectly edible food each year. This waste costs our economy significant sums of money, but by avoiding this needless waste, we can redirect those funds to invest in infrastructure and services to divert that material from landfills. Since 2014, Rust Belt Riders
Small Business, Big Conversations: DaRon Henderson of LO-KEY Entertainment
When DaRon Henderson was a sophomore in high school, he was approached by a friend about the possibility of playing music at an upcoming junior high dance. He owned a pair of speakers and a set of turntables, so they decided to give it a shot to see what they could pull off. They brought