Amanda Siska of Bread & Badger welcomed the Main Street Mavericks to her SE Portland home and art studio on day one of our tour to meet Oregon small business owners.

When William Lay first met with a small business coach to discuss his idea for a size-inclusive gym in Portland, Oregon, the coach laughed at him. But Lay was dead serious. He wanted to own a gym that felt comfortable for people of all body types, and All Bodies Strong — Portland’s first gym for larger-bodies — is going strong. As Lay advised, “Ignore the naysayers.”

Merchant Maverick first met Edith Johnson (Edie to her friends and bookstore patrons) in the summer of 2023. She was the recipient of Merchant Maverick’s grant for Portland-owned businesses — she had recently decided to expand her bookstore pop-up into a brick-and-mortar location in NE Portland, Oregon.

If you are looking for an Employee Of Record company to take charge or help you grow your global team, Remote is definitely worth checking out. We appreciate that the pricing model is transparent and clear — all costs should be accounted for before you sign your contract. 

Pros Free trial Easy to use Intuitive software No annual contract Responsive customer service Cons Pricing not disclosed on website Clunky integrations Payroll, benefits administration, and time-tracking are all add-ons What is BambooHR? BambooHR is an HRIS (Human Resources Information System) designed to help businesses with all aspects of HR management, from hiring and onboarding […]

Co-owners Sariel and Zion are making waves with their small business, armed with an unbridled entrepreneurial spirit, a commitment to education, and a desire to help break the cycles of poverty and create generational wealth.

JL Fun Colorz is a custom crayon shop run by two brothers, Jordan and Joshua Liburd, from Tampa, Florida. For as long as the boys could remember, they wanted to start their own company. Entrepreneurship was in their veins, especially after watching their parents successfully run a small business.

Still, to this day, my favorite thing about doing this is hearing customers’ reactions to our sauces while they sample them for the first time. That is when a return customer comes to our stand and tells us how much they love our flavors and what they have done with them. Imagining our sauces on the dinner table at night… It means the world.

We were blown away by the quality of businesses that applied. Ultimately, we settled on five amazing businesses, each earning $2,000 toward growing their small business.  The winners span from California to Florida and represent a variety of industries — from farming to financial planning! But the one thing they all had in common was a dedication to improving the world through sustainable business practices.

Brittany Washington started her business My Beautiful Fluff out of an industry need for plus-sized representation. Like many entrepreneurs, she saw an opening in the market and thought, “If I can’t find it, I’ll create it.” From t-shirts, My Beautiful Fluff expanded into both print-on-demand and manufactured products and has continued to find new ways to grow and reach its audience.