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2020 was the best year of Deardra Westfall’s life. That’s not something you hear often, but the pandemic ushered in changes that led to her passion for sea moss and the formation of her company, Nature’s 92.

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Meet Danielle Mayes, from Amayesing Graze Charcuterie. Her company is a mid-Michigan licensed and fully insured catering company specializing in charcuterie and cheese grazing boards, using fresh, elegant, and locally sourced ingredients arranged into a stylish, abundant showcase.

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Jordyn Gudeman was just four years old when she had her first anaphylactic reaction to tree nuts. When Jordyn’s allergy was discovered, food labels rarely stated that the item was processed in a facility that contained nuts, so her family had to play it safe. Jordyn baked her cookies for herself and her siblings, mostly, but she did bring them to parties or birthday celebrations—and her friends loved them. So when it came time to pick a career, she and parents decided to start Eddie G’s Cookies.

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In 2017, Bola Ndifontah and Anwelli Okpue were planning their wedding on a budget, when Anwelli had the idea of baking their own wedding cake. Shortly thereafter, Wani Cakes was born to help cake-lovers celebrate life in all its flavors. Their plan was to develop a more cost-effective product and drive the message of celebration while building stronger communities.

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When most people retire, they plan on a work-free life of leisure. Not Alicia Gonzales. After 30 years working in community service, she retired at 60, then in 2008, she started her restaurant, Alicia’s Authentic Mexican Deli and Catering, serving authentic Mexican food. Fifteen years, it’s still going strong.

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If we’ve learned anything enduring the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s that sanitation and personal hygiene are vital to the health and prosperity of our communities. Many services and products were born of this necessity over the past couple of years, including ROVE Soapsheets. Meet Tafari Roberts, CEO and creator of Rove Soapsheets, and learn how the company got it’s start in the midst of the pandemic.

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About a decade ago, Terrie Searer was browsing the aisles of a health food store and came across a bottle of vegan Parmesan cheese. “This tiny bottle was about ten dollars,” she recalls. After reading the list of ingredients, she thought, “Oh, I can make this myself.” She came home and went to work in her kitchen, experimenting with the different ingredients until she came up with a winner to create her signature product that started it all.

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Entrepreneurs can start young. And there’s no better example than brothers Hunter and Gavin Green. Just 22 and 19, respectively, they are the two behind the push to get Bagel Bombs into Meijer Market Stores. Learn how Bagel Bombs got started in our latest blog post.