Every day we have a choice. We can support an up and coming podcaster, try a new family-run restaurant, join a boutique gym started by a local fitness champ or we could keep giving away our money to the handful of giants who already control so much of our commerce. Our daily decisions impact the kind world we live in; if we want a world where small businesses are growing and artists and creatives are thriving then we should support them with our time, money and attention. We’re proud to highlight inspiring creatives and entrepreneurs each week in Hidden Gems series. Check out some of our latest local gem features below.
Dixon Luna and Tyler Mcconnell
We’ve been best friends since we were kids — sports brought us together back then and it’s kept us close ever since. We grew up playing on the same teams, watching Super Bowls together, and going to NBA games and other events whenever we could. As life got busier, we made it a point to always connect at least once a week to talk sports — no matter what. Those conversations were always so passionate, unfiltered, and full of real insight that we realized: why not share this with the world? That’s how the podcast was born — it’s just us doing what we’ve always done, letting everyone else pull up a chair. Read more>>
Nikki Follen
While teaching, I began building my photography business on the side. In the beginning, I photographed everything, which included families, events, and motherhood portraits- but over time, I found myself most drawn to working with women entrepreneurs. There was something incredibly powerful about helping them step into their confidence, show up authentically, and elevate their brands with intentional, beautifully crafted imagery. Read more>>
Ronnie Hudson
In this business, there are always struggles. There are a lot of DJs out there. Finding your place among them and getting the respect from other DJ’s was a huge goal for us. Then COVID came along and basically shut everything down. Getting through Covid and then getting back in the swing of things was a huge challenge. We overcame that and I believe we are a better company today because of it. Every event is a challenge, because we always demand perfection from ourselves Read more>>
Maria Cianci
That need to make with my hands became especially urgent after my husband and I faced a series of fertility struggles. When your body doesn’t do what it’s biologically meant to do, create life, I had to find another way to add purpose and make something. Concrete became my outlet, my way of reclaiming a sense of creation. Each piece I craft is a quiet, tactile affirmation: I can create. Maybe not in the way I expected, but in a way that brings something meaningful into the world. Read more>>
Nate Dornbirer
Nine months later, I found myself in Carbondale, IL, meeting my very own service dog, Fern. The training was intense, but when I came home, I started helping friends and family with their dogs’ behavioral issues—and I was having huge successes not only with the dogs but also the people. I discovered I loved training, but more so, I loved showing dogs and their people a better way to communicate, understand, and live. Two years after that first placement, I returned to Illinois and became a certified trainer and started FernWood Dog Training! Read more>>
Hillary Richmond
I grew up in New York and lived in a lot of places in my twenties, which served as useful life experience and motivation to start my consulting agency, City Hearts Marketing. With a background in music, I didn’t become fascinated with marketing until 2015, when i began doing social media for small businesses. Going to New School in New York City to obtain my master’s degree in Media Management also helped me gain the tools to understand things like forecasting and the importance of data analytics. I’m basically a sponge when it comes to knowledge or teaching myself skills. Read more>>
Natalie Govern
Navigating life is never a smooth road. During the last 10 years transitioning from a full time student to the workforce, you have to navigate all the ups & downs of big world questions. The largest challenges I faced were not knowing exactly what career path I wanted to go down. COVID during the third year of growing a small business while receiving my MBA and planning my wedding was an adventure on its own. Spinning multiple plates while becoming your own best friend are just a few that come to mind. Read more>>
Edie Lynn
Life felt overwhelming, and the only place I felt like I could truly be myself was in my design class. Hours spent in the design studio allowed me to take all of the chaos in my head and turn it into something organized and intentional on paper. My teacher at the time saw potential in me, and it changed my life. With design, therapy, & support of my family, I began to heal. I started sharing my struggles on social media, and the response from girls around the world was overwhelming. I started to realize I wasn’t alone, and I wanted to help others as well as myself. Read more>>
Madeline Heile
I had always admired the world of hair from the sidelines but hadn’t made the leap. It wasn’t until my mid-20s that I finally gave myself permission to pursue what I truly wanted. And honestly, it wouldn’t have happened without a few key people in the industry. Leaders who, in my humble opinion, cracked the door open for me. Turns out, most people are right: sometimes it really is about who you know. That’s part of why I stay involved in my community now. Someone once made space for me, and I want to do the same for others. Read more>>
Joseph Horton
I got to where I am from appointments after appointments. Test results after another. I was diagnosed with stage 3 in 2024 and had a craniomty to remove a 7mm tumor on my brainstem and that left me not able to walk great for a few weeks. I had to use a cane for support. Had to get radiation and chemo at the end of year. Read more>>
Eyan Bryant
Over the four plus years I have been working with profound pondering it has served as a mental health journey and spiritual guide for me and surprisingly many others who deal with over-thought and negative aspects of their identity. As of today I stand at 696,000 subscribers on Youtube and hundreds of thousands more on other social media platforms. I Am in the process of publishing my first novel on the subject of perspective and mental wellbeing all aiding in our purists of self help and self love. Included in the book will be a compilation of all the writings I made both in the past for my videos and up to the current day for my exploration and leisure. Read more>>
Kara Pellegrene
My story really started about 12 years ago. I was 22 years old running marathons, bar tending and attending college for nutrition. I felt I had a great life at that point, lots of friends and freedom, truly finding myself after a going through my parents rough divorce/ upbring through childhood and high school. But just three weekends after running 26.2 miles in Pocatello Idaho everything would change. I went out with friends after working a shift and while simply walking through the parking lot at closing time, I was struck and run over by a car, front a back tire. Read more>>
August (they/them) Adams
At age 15, I began volunteering at local shelters just for fun. I never imagined those experiences would blossom into a lifelong passion, let alone lead to founding a rescue. But the dedication of those around me—their relentless efforts to help homeless animals—left a lasting impression. Throughout high school, I volunteered as much as I could, slowly falling in love with the world of animal rescue, still unaware that it would one day become my career. Read more>>
Antonia Tribuzzo
I finished my undergraduate degree and went on to attend veterinary school at Ohio State as well. One of my classmates, Tricia Elwood, also had a passion for rescue and we worked together to actually form an administrative board, attain 501(c)3 non-profit status, and grow the rescue into what it is today. Throughout veterinary school we were the ultimate dream team for neonatal rescue. We developed a team of foster homes trained in bottle feeding and neonatal care, we sought out community involvement through Trap-Neuter-Release efforts for feral cat colonies, and we supported each other and our fellow colleagues involved in the rescue through the grueling years of school. Read more>>
Jada Harris
There have been days where I’m full of creative ideas and others where I’m completely burnt out, trying to figure out what to post next or how to keep up with the algorithm. Balancing content creation with building my personal platforms and Nine21Esthetics— staying consistent, booking clients,branding, marketing—it’s a lot. And most of the time, I’m doing it on my own. Read more>>
Amanda
Another struggle has been riding out the natural ups and downs of running a small business, like slow seasons or times when inquiries don’t come in as quickly as you hope. It’s easy to question yourself during those periods, but I’ve learned to trust the process and keep putting in the work. Read more>>
Nakia Hudson
I went through countless hospital stays and health scares with my mother, but I kept going. In all my trials and tribulations, people knew they could call on me and I would be there in any capacity God saw fit.
In my 3-bedroom townhouse, there lived me and my two children, my mother, and my younger brother. My 2 nieces and 3 of my 5 nephews were always at my place. Not to mention 2-3 of my daughter’s friends, who came over every day after school. This was so their moms could go to school to achieve their dreams of becoming a nurse, social worker, and teacher. We fed, babysat, bathed, clothed, and kept all the children who needed it. I say we, because my mother was right by my side all the way, my biggest cheerleader. Read more>>
Aseel Brodd
Photography, I’m proud of the connection I have with my clients and how comfortable I make them feel in front of the camera what sets me apart of others is how organized I am with my work responsive to my emails and messages and the fast delivery of my galleries not letting my clients wait for weeks Read more>>
Meghan DeLange
My husband, Adam, and I have spent years in the hospitality industry working in everything from dishwashing and serving up to directing huge events for large corporations and countless weddings. After Covid eliminated both of our jobs, we had to regroup and we dreamed of having our own space for people to celebrate. Fast forward to 2021 and we connected with Steve Passov who had purchased the building. Together the three of us worked to create a venue built it on the idea that The Everly is much more than a venue, but rather a place that each guest is cared for and celebrated in a unique way. Read more>>
Aaron Pertner
It has not been a smooth road to where I am today. The struggles include balancing my part time career in the schools and in a nursing home with my part time stay at home dad role for my young children as well as finding time to get New Day off the ground. The biggest challenge is finding the time and the patients to work with. Word of mouth referrals only gets you so far and trying to get into a gym that wasn’t already working with another case-based PT company was difficult. Read more>>
Hannah Green
When it came time for me to move back to Ohio (for an increase of $20,000 to my salary, that’s how badly Florida pays teachers) ODNG was expanding to other cities and I wanted to bring it to Columbus. Thus, Columbus Date Night Guide was founded! In the beginning I had a blog and an Instagram, but the blog has long gone by the wayside for many different reasons. I quickly grew from 0-36K across Facebook and Instagram in 5 years. By starting CDNG when I moved back to Ohio, it allowed me to explore and become familiar with my city again. Plus, make friends! It is still one of the only date night Instagrams in Columbus! Read more>>
Eboni Goods
What inspired me to start my very first business MY BABY, Bling by Beb ,was that I’ve always had an entrepreneurial spirit. I remember graduating college and telling myself, “I want to own my own business,” even though I had no clue where to start. I prayed about it, asked God for direction, and eventually followed a small sign: people would always compliment and ask to buy my shades my dreams. So, I decided to take a leap. I bought a sample, launched a website, and within six months to a year, I made $30K at just 19 years old. Read more>>
Guillermo Vidal
I would say our story is one of perseverance. My business partner and myself got into the restaurant business 7 years ago to bring some awareness of the diversity of Latin American culture to the Midwest. We started with a concept we called MashRoots where we were serving food from Cuba, Puerto Rico and Brazil our cultural backgrounds as well as doing cultural events. That led us to go from a pop up to a store to a food hall stall in those 7 years. Through that journey we learned a lot about running a restaurant and Cincinnati. That meant that along the way we had to adapt our concept to make our food more approachable to our market while always adding our Latin twist to things. Read more>>
Raven Carter Megan Johnson
Like most new businesses, it hasn’t been a completely smooth road—but every challenge has helped us grow. Since launching The Heart State Nanny Agency, we’ve had to navigate everything from building brand awareness to balancing our full-time nanny roles with running a business. We’ve learned how to manage startup costs, build systems from scratch, and grow an audience from the ground up. Read more>>
Babsy Artner
My name is Babsy Artner, I’m an actress, singer, model and former Marilyn Monroe look-alike. 2019 I produced “Marilyn Fan”, a short film, in which I starred as well. It won an award at a film festival in New York City for “Best Trailer”. Then came COVID, everything stopped, there was no work and I was eager to start a new project. Even as an experienced actress you need constantly training. That’s why I’ve started looking for Acting on Camera classes, but could only find really expensive ones. So I came up with the idea to offer free Acting on Camera training for experienced and also aspiring actors. I wouldn’t teach anyone, but I would participate in the training myself. (Though now I give practical tips and advice to actors who are just starting out.) Read more>>
Jessica Jonczyk
Personally, I found my biggest struggles to come from self doubt and questioning. “Will these songs truly appeal to anyone?” “Does cello have a place in rock and indie music?” “Am I skilled enough as a cellist and vocalist?” It’s an imposter syndrome that many musicians are no stranger to. The best thing I could do for myself is keep pushing through and experimenting. There would be trial and error, and taking feedback is crucial, but it requires taking that first step of trying, even if my words of doubt say otherwise. Read more>>
Brandi Wiles
I’ll sit at your funeral when no one else will. I think what sets me apart from other death doulas is are the people I help the most. The metalheads, punks, goths, drag queens, lgbtq2s community. The misfits, Artists ,actors and wallflowers. Sufferers of stigmas and terminally ill. . Giving them their space to thrive and speak. To be heard and remembered however they wish. Just as in life then shall be in death. Read more>>
Thomas Bailey
In 2023, I made the decision to return to private practice, but I knew that it had to be different than before. I came across the concept of direct primary care, a model of care started in the late 1990’s by a doctor on the west coast. Rather than contract with insurance companies, he decided to contract directly with patients. The concept is simple: for a fixed monthly fee, much like a gym membership, patients receive all of the care given in the office without the doctor having to deal with limitations brought on by billing and negotiating with insurance companies. Read more>>
CuttBoi Wormm
Fast forward to 2023, me and my little brother and also fellow artist Mook_Tenrackz (CBG) put our minds together and made the plans to find management to help build our catalog nd put efforts to what we were missing. In March of 2024, we found No Illusions Business and made Chevonne Chenault our music manager. Read more>>
Ashley O’Loughlin
What started as a personal growth journey quickly turned into a full-blown passion project for me, the heart and hands behind Fancy Pops Bakery. In the summer of 2024, i explored everything from puzzles to painting, but one spontaneous batch of cake pops sparked something bigger. After finding myself with six dozen cake pops and nowhere to send them, my boyfriend Larry jokingly suggested, “You should start a business.” Read more>>
Jeremy Brotherton
In 2005 I moved to Dayton Ohio to go to school at Ohio Institute of Photography and Technology to learn as much as I could, but was disappointed because I went when they were phasing film out, but I did learn a lot from professors that were willing to share what they could. Then in 2010 I think it was I went to Sinclair Community College to learn about the darkroom and film. Since 2004 I have been documenting Dayton and near by areas with my digital and film cameras. Sometimes I work with clients to pay the bills and do landscapes to switch things up, but mostly I walk around and take photos of Dayton because there’s always something going on. Read more>>
Charonda Romstadt
No, it hasn’t always been a smooth road. There have been plenty of late nights, moments of self-doubt, and times where balancing business, motherhood, and life felt overwhelming. Learning the ins and outs of running a business on a tight budget, especially while being a full-time mom, came with a lot of trial and error. But those struggles are what make the journey meaningful. Every challenge has pushed me to grow, and I’ve learned to trust myself, take risks, and keep showing up for my daughters and for this dream. Read more>>
Melissa Thornton
Hive Craft Cocktails was born in my kitchen—though you could say it really started long before that, with my love of bringing people together over great drinks and laughter. Like many good stories, mine began in a moment of chaos and reinvention. Life threw me some curveballs, and I found comfort in creativity: mixing new cocktails each week, journaling, and crafting gifts that brought joy to my friends and family. Read more>>
Heather Hunt
I got started in the medical aesthetic and training industry after I graduated college with a science degree and got a position as a sales rep for a major medical aesthetic and laser company. In 2000, I decided to go back to school and received my advanced aesthetician license and started my own med spa in 2001. Read more>>
Martina Lanier
As a kid, I always felt very misunderstood. It seemed like I viewed the world differently from everyone else around me. The problem was, I had no one to talk to about this, or no one I felt would care about how it made me feel. I was angry a lot. I was sad a lot. I needed a release, and books became that outlet for me. In all my free time, it was books, books, books. They provided the escape I needed to cope with everything around me. Read more>>
Michelle Kitchen
I did not get hired at my gym of choice, I started on Saturdays in my friend’s Kung Fu studio, then found a small place. I was not sure what my niche would be. My friend and I pushed out limits lifting heavy just for fun, we called it heavy shit day. Who knew adding menopause would bring me to my niche. Most of my clients were lat 30 and up, a few younins. Perfect for teaching peri to post menopause women to LIFT HEAVY SHIT. I plan on teaching every women to to push themselves to live a long life with thebability to do everything. Read more>>
Nevaeh Lowen
now it’s 2025 and my business has really taken off my social media has been doing great too every year has been good since iv opened my photography business doing photoshoots at home and the camera is always in my hand i wake up every work day at 5:00AM do go work for the people that pay me to take photos of them fishing B.A.S.S master and the national professional fishing league I also started filming YouTube videos in 2024 for a B.A.S.S master angler and(2025) now filming for a national professional fishing league Read more>>
Katie McConnell
One of the biggest challenges in becoming a professional photographer wasn’t actually taking the photos—that part came naturally. It was figuring out the business side of photography that pushed me the most. Learning how to price my work, understanding my own worth, setting boundaries, delivering galleries, managing workflows, contracts, taxes—all the behind-the-scenes stuff no one tells you about—was completely new territory for me. Read more>>
Haylie Handorf
Eventually, we got into those markets—and even landed spots in antique booths that had year-long waitlists. Those booths helped us grow, and eventually paid for the van we used to dream about. My husband and I were able to quit our jobs and go all in on our business. Now we’re setting up at the very markets that once said no—living the dream we worked so hard for. Read more>>
Jean Tully
Through every challenge, I stayed committed to evolving—because I couldn’t imagine doing anything else. Over time, my work grew into four distinct brands. Pearlescent Portraits for families, seniors, headshots, and branding. Adored Boudoir Photography to empower women through bold, transformative portraits. Capow! Columbus, a one-of-a-kind superhero portrait experience. And now, Photography for Profits, where I help other photographers turn their passion into a profitable business—just like I had to learn to do. Read more>>
