Archive for the ‘Entrepreneurs’ Category

Making time for mom

RAK staff members Jenny Gillespie (graphic artist), Tina Gerami (advertising trafficking) and Brandy Collet (circulation). Photo by Daniel Friedman. As a mom and an entrepreneur, I’ve always been really good at taking care of both my family and my business—often at the same time. When my sons were young, they accompanied me in the back [...]

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Fitness works out as a business

As one of three owners of AZ Pro Physiquesin Gilbert, Whitney Jones of Chandler is proof that working out and proper nutrition yield results. She is slim and muscular and, as a lifelong jock, has lived a fitness-centered lifestyle. People coming to her business for personal training can see her results and rely on her [...]

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A gym built for competition and fun

Every four years we get our gymnastics fix by watching the summer Olympics on television. But Valley gyms are full of kids in competitive- and recreational-level gymnastics every year. Laura Pendleton and Janice Magsam opened North Valley Gymnastics in Phoenix three and a half years ago. They immediately benefited from interest generated by the 2008 [...]

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Creating a healthy environment for growth and learning

Natural Choice academy preschool mompreneurs

Sisters Genna Batycki and Allyson Tewers opened Natural Choice Academy for infants through pre-K after each had completed years of experience in education. Genna taught junior high and Allyson had taught at and directed a preschool. In addition to offering daycare and a preschool curriculum, Natural Choice focuses on being environmentally conscious. The choices Genna [...]

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Making sure new moms look their best

It’s not often that a business owner can test run a business and then come back to it eight years later. Daryl Collier of Chandler did just that with her business, Beautiful Mommy. In 2003 Collier started taking pictures of new mothers with their babies a day or two after the birth. The idea for [...]

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All that glitters is goals

Jaime Ingram Glitter Headbands Diamond Duds

Jaime Ingram of Queen Creek sells tens of thousands of Glitter Headbands each month through a business, Diamond Duds, that she runs out of her home. She doesn’t make them all herself, but she and her daughter used to. Ingram was the team mom for her daughter Ashleigh’s softball team. She was in charge of, [...]

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CARRIE CURRAN: A place of her own, finally

Carrie Curran of Scottsdale opened Carrie Curran Art Studios in December after working with children and art for 17 years. She started with a Fine Art for Children program in her backyard, took it to various churches when she could use their space and eventually took it to Scottsdale Artists’ School. She started the Scottsdale [...]

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Look good to feel good

Kristin Provvidenti of Phoenix ((at right, with employee Lynne Saccento) named her business Stella Bella after her mother, who passed away from liver cancer in 2005. Stella Bella is custom-formulated, mineral makeup that is made especially for people with sensitive skin. Provvidenti has been a paramedical makeup artist for 24 years; she worked with burn [...]

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Coupon smarts

Though her company is called CouponSense, “really, we are a technology company,” says Laurie Meyers, owner and founder. She can track the history of her business as it parallels the rise of Internet technology. Coupon Sense is a paid subscription coupon website. For $15 per month, customers can enter their shopping lists and see what [...]

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A less scary way to deal with the bumps and bruises of childhood

Richelle Nassos of Cave Creek works with her husband in running me4kidz, a company that sells first-aid kits made specifically for children. Tell us more about the products you sell and why each is essential. We base all of our products on our children. The Medibag was our first product. It’s a larger, more comprehensive [...]