It’s somewhat mindboggling to consider how the minor details in life can unexpectedly transpire into the bigger picture; shaping and transforming our malleable existence to define our future.
When father and son, Anthony and Chris Markgraf, set out to develop a new formula for their company’s fog machine – with help from co-worker Adam Pogue – they could have never anticipated the life-changing events that would soon follow the creation of the new brew. (more…)
With two decades of experience in the antiques trade, Susan Ingram was somewhat surprised when her sales figures finally began to decline. It quickly became apparent that she would need to adapt a new strategy; otherwise the business would become a relic in its own right.
Signing on as a jack of all trades in 2007, Susan’s son Garrett Ingram helped to facilitate the shift away from antiques and toward the lucrative garden décor market. Garrett saw an opportunity to turn the family business, A Rustic Garden, into a burgeoning online enterprise. (more…)
Transitioning from the retail market to the online market can be a difficult endeavor, and no one is more aware of those difficulties than Lane James. The proprietor and owner of OnTheField.com, James has been in the sports jersey business since 1993. In that year, he opened a physical location across from the then-standing Kingdome.
“We had our difficulties with teams going up and down, winning and losing, but once we moved to the Kingdome location, we started seeing growth,” said James. “Then we could turn to making our name a national or worldwide brand. We had wonderful IT people that helped us establish an online presence, and we started selling licensed sportswear through our website.”
Recognizing the inherent importance of a niche market, James made the decision to specialize in sports jerseys related to Major League Baseball, the National Football League, Major League Soccer, and many other sports-related organizations.
“The key factor in our business is customization,” said James. “Just select the specific jersey and tell us the name and number of your favorite player — or yourself — and we’ll ship that jersey to you with this custom information.” (more…)
For many people, finding success in business means finding a product or a service that they are passionate about providing. And for entrepreneur Dawn Ross, that adage has truly proven correct. An avid pet lover and volunteer, Ross decided to launch her online business PetAutoSafety.com, a website dedicated to ensuring safe vehicle travel for both dogs and cats.
“I have always thought pet auto safety was important,” said Ross. “My dogs have always worn seatbelts, and I am happy to bring these safety products to other animal lovers.”
Converting a lifelong love of animals into a business venture, Ross attributes some of her success to her ability to empathize with her customers. Understanding that these customers demand high quality and effective products, Ross is sure to only carry products that she would trust with the safety of her own animals. This includes pet travel seats, car safety belts, travel barriers, safety carriers, a variety of dog seat covers, and more.
“I’ve always been a pet owner and an animal lover. In fact, the only time I’ve been without a pet is when my dog got out of the fence and was lost for two weeks,” laughed Ross. “I know how much these animals mean to my clients, because I know how much my pets mean to me. I’m proud to provide safety belts and many other products that help ensure pet safety during travel.” (more…)
When Warren Worthley moved back to his home state of Florida after retiring several years ago he bought a boat and dubbed it “Paradise,” and paradise is exactly what Worthley had planned for his retirement.
“I grew up in Daytona Beach, Florida,” he said. “I swam before I could walk, played on the beach and fished everyday. I was destined to be a world-class beach bum.”
This self proclaimed “Florida boy” had spent years working as Dean of Engineering and Technology at Purdue University in Indiana before making his way back to the Sunshine State. His new boat, a 23-foot Donzi fishing cruiser, was perfectly designed for navigating the shallows of Charlotte Harbor, where Worthley planned to hook trout, redfish and snook. (more…)
Family mementos are an important part of passing memories and traditions from one generation to the next. For most, these cherished items include jewelry or photos – but for Long Island, New York resident D. Boyd, they’re pots and pans.
In fact, Boyd still uses some her grandmother’s cookware passed down to her by her mother. But these aren’t just any pots and pans, they are cast iron.
“My mother used cast iron constantly, and I learned to cook using those pans,” said Boyd.
There’s no childhood memory better than that of delicious cooking smells wafting from the kitchen. Boyd said her mother would often make her scrambled eggs for breakfast. And if she was lucky, she would make her favorite dish, “German meat patties,” for dinner. The meat patties weren’t anything complicated – just a combination of hamburger meat, onion, egg, bread crumbs, and spices. But they were scrumptious nonetheless.
Decades later, when Boyd’s parents were elderly, she and her husband moved in with them to help out. Boyd began doing most of the cooking using her grandmother’s cast iron. (more…)