Success stories

Success stories

  • Landscaping business owner headshot

    A Landscape Growing Success, NYS Small Business Person of the Year

    At age 10, Josh Schmieder began mowing lawns to save money for an ATV. After a few summers and saving for a truck, at 16, he created JOSH Landscape, put advertisements in the local papers and decided...

  • Bronze statues being made in crafting garage

    Lander Business Continues Building their Legacy

    Lander, Wyo. – Eagle Bronze, a foundry in Lander known for their remarkable bronze statues, was started in 1985 by Monte and Beverly Paddleford. The business, which employs more than 35 people and has...

  • woman-owned business owner professional photoshoot

    This Entrepreneur Has a Story to Tell

    Sandy Young started Verdis in 2007 with her late husband, Gary, as a landscape design and land use planning company. Beginning with just one employee and operating out of a basement office, Verdis...

  • Wilbur and Jazel Jane Bautista, husband and wife, ACTS Pharmacy company owners

    Family Owned Clinic Grows to Serve Their Community

    ACTS Pharmacy is a family-owned, independent pharmacy and clinic based in Tacoma, Wash. Founded in 2018 by Wilbur and Jazel Jane Bautista, husband and wife, ACTS Pharmacy serves their community as a...

  • Seattle based business man in warehouse

    Seattle District Office 8(a) Graduate of the Year

    Jesse Cherian, the Seattle District Office 8(a) Graduate of the Year, is an owner of ST Fabrication, a steel fabricator providing products for projects across the Pacific Northwest Region. Cherian’s...

  • A group of CQ Strategies standing on a dock, smiling at the camera.

    From Book Club to Supergroup

    It’s like a supergroup of advocates. Brian Hsiang has an experiential education background, Ita Meno-Baker was a housing inspector, Dr. Sherwood Smith was part of the diversity, engagement, and...

  • John DeMarinis poses next to materials in a warehouse.

    Thread of excellence runs through century-old tailor shop

    In 1914, a young Italian immigrant named Arthur DeMarinis purchased a building from the local railroad company in St. Albans, Vermont, and started a custom tailoring business, The Boston Tailoring Co...

  • Man with glasses sitting down while displaying his unique product offering

    Chair man took sitting down in a healthy direction

    This year a small business in Vermont sold its 11,000th chair less than five years after starting the company in the family home. “That number sounds crazy because it is, but it doesn’t feel as crazy...