Small Business Success Stories

Rush Hour Chicken & Waffles of Pinellas County

Chef Towan Rush wants people to know that his past does not dictate his future. Shot in a drive by shooting in the early 2000s, Rush has been confined to a wheelchair ever since. Then, and now, he relies on his love of food to reach new heights.

Santa Monica Florida of Pasco County

Monica Obando didn’t plan on working in the honey industry, but after an early onset case of arthritis, the honey industry found her. Shortly after losing hope in traditional pharmaceutical medicine, Obando’s husband saw a Discovery Channel special about the healing power of bee sting therapy. They attended the next available seminar in November 2011 and not even a week later, they had bees.

Tampa Bay Accounting and Associates of Pinellas County

Michelle Velez took her love for small business, and turned it into her own small business seven years ago. “I wanted to do something that would be beneficial for small businesses and help them grow,” she said. And so, Tampa Bay Accounting and Associates was born.

Brimstone Originals Specialty Foods LLC of Pinellas County

Eileen O’Hara knows what it’s like to run a growing business. O’Hara and her daughter, Julie Stevens, co-own Brimstone Originals Specialty Foods LLC, a company that manufactures a line of all-natural pepper jellies.

Doctors Express Urgent Care of Pinellas County

If you have visited an emergency room recently, you likely waited a long time to be seen for a non-life-threatening medical issue. According to the National Center for Biotechnology Information, between 13 and 27 percent of visits to the emergency room could be treated at alternative medical facilities, such as urgent care.

Creative Crystal Company of Sarasota County

Thirty years ago, Lucia Reid was working with Michael Jackson look-a-likes in the entertainment business, in need of the famous rhinestone glove. After finding that rhinestones weren’t that easy to adhere to fabric, she came across crystals in Europe with a heat-sensitive glue backing. “They’re incredible,” she said. “So I got rid of the dance group and kept the crystals.”