Q1: How did you get started on creating your brand? What is the inspiration behind it?

"I have been in the fashion business for the last 30 years, and part of my process has been researching vintage and antique clothing, and adjusting / augmenting/design on such garments. This led to keeping and wearing some of the results and was the seed for the falls in its current iteration."

Q2: What is one of your biggest challenges when starting or growing your own business?

"Finding customers that understand and appreciate what goes into making our product. Seeking manufacturers that are aligned with our aesthetics and values."

Q3: What are some of the best resources you utilized or discovered when starting your own business?

"My vintage archive has been accumulated over the past 30 years. Finding bulk vintage resources, such as - Bulk Vintage in Philadelphia.
Vintage and makers markets to shop and sell at, research for vintage to add to my archive, and show and sell my product to the correct clients - such as- Field +Supply, Manhattan Vintage, and Threadbare Show."

Q4: What advice would you give to future members of the LGBTQ community looking to start their own business?

“If you have the passion for your product, take the leap and follow your heart. Be organized, and have good bookkeeping skills or support.”

Q5: What is your greatest accomplishment as a small business owner?

"Staying independent and figuring out a system “seasonal” delivery system that fits with our methods of slow fashion production. (There are no seasons)"

Q1: How did you get started on creating your brand? What is the inspiration behind it?

“I began making small carved wooden utensils from scrap, as a way to reduce waste in the shop and consider an alternative approach to what is considered 'valuable' when it comes to material usage. That ethos has since expanded beyond just the materials I use, into thinking more about who is valued and for what contributions within the design space.”

Q2: What is one of your biggest challenges when starting or growing your own business?

"As an entirely self-funded, solo owner/operator small business, capital (for space, machinery, labor) is a constant challenge!"

Q3: What are some of the best resources you utilized or discovered when starting your own business?

“Honestly, I wouldn't have been able to grow my business initially if not for the rise of Instagram during those years. While I'm not as active anymore, getting on the platform has allowed me to connect with SO many people who have been instrumental to my professional growth– from clients to wholesale partners, value-aligned creators, and small biz owners. I've benefitted enormously through the knowledge-sharing available through this platform.”

Q4: What advice would you give to future members of the LGBTQ community looking to start their own business?

“Your perspective is needed! We need more of us out here, translating our queer politics into business ownership. To me, this is an ongoing practice of actively creating, and flattening, space for more historically marginalized creators to not only exist but thrive within our industries.”

Q5: What is your greatest accomplishment as a small business owner?

“Taking the leap to begin formalizing this queer ethos into an organized form, The Level Up Project, which is in its third year of existence <3”

Q1: How did you get started on creating your brand? What is the inspiration behind it?

"We (Nina and David) wanted to create a gender-inclusive line of clean and vegan skincare that worked for all skin types, ages, and ethnicities. It was very challenging to find products that hit all those marks at the time, so we said, we need to do it!"

Q2: What is one of the biggest challenges you faced when starting or growing your own business?

"Convincing people that there was nothing radical about gender-inclusive skincare was surprisingly challenging when we first launched. We're so thrilled that the collective mindset has evolved and now people are much more familiar and comfortable with skincare designed for all genders."

Q3: What are some of the best resources you utilized or discovered when starting your own business?

"Speaking with fellow small business owners and makers has been an amazing resource for insights, models, and examples on how to forge your own path and run a sustainable small business. Events like Field + Supply are a great way to meet fellow makers and create long-lasting relationships with others in our industry."

Q4: What advice would you give to future members of the LGBTQ community looking to start their own business?

"It's a lot of work to launch and run your own business so make sure you're passionate about whatever you're doing and surround yourself with people who understand and support you. You're going to need it, when things inevitably get hard."

Q5: What is your greatest accomplishment as a small business owner?

"We're so proud, especially looking back at these challenging past few years, that we've been around for over a decade, changing peoples' lives one bottle at a time! The number of people we've impacted in a positive way has been so rewarding. Getting to meet our customers in real life at events like Field + Supply and hear how we've helped them and their skin glow makes doing this all worth it!"

Q1: How did you get started on creating your brand? What is the inspiration behind it?

"I started making donuts during the pandemic as a way to diversify my business and generate more income to meet the payroll needs of my then restaurant (The Anchor).

I fell in love with the creativity the donuts afford me as well as the pure joy the donuts bring to our customers of all ages."

Q2: What is one of the biggest challenges you faced when starting or growing your own business?

"The biggest challenge has been acceptance of my community. Don't get me wrong, I am very much supported and for that, I am forever grateful.  But there seemed to be an overwhelming level of resentment for letting go of my old business from many people, there was a resentment for me daring to try something new. Change is scary, but we all deserve to follow our dreams...even if those dreams change."

Q3: What are some of the best resources you utilized or discovered when starting your own business?

"I have held a full-time job consistently since I was 14 years old. I have a lot of experience and willpower. I also have an amazing team of employees and a community that supports me."

Q4: What advice would you give to future members of the LGBTQ community looking to start their own business?

"Don't let anyone define who you are nor what you can do. Also, be flexible and give yourself grace along the way."

Q5: What is your greatest accomplishment as a small business owner?

“That I am still here and still making it happen. It is never easy, but every lesson makes it easier.”

Q1: How did you get started on creating your brand? What is the inspiration behind it?

“As is the case with many luxury materials, leather has an almost viscerally magnetic attraction, along with over a millennium of functional fine-tuning as a craft. Our brand is founded on exploring this medium through the context of identity. Third Cult, short for third culture, or a blending of cultures, sits with the idea that every culture that has existed on this planet has had a relationship with hide tanning, leather craft, and its use as garment, expression, or receptacle. In the context of modern queer culture, leather has long been leveraged as an expression of self. Leather as a signifier, identifier, and cultural marker, whatever that intersection may hold.”

Q2: What is one of your biggest challenges when starting or growing your own business?

“I started this business completely self-funded and just a pure steamroller-level urge to keep making and creating, so exercising patience with growth cycles and fundraising has been the biggest challenge. I feel extremely lucky and grateful to find ways to land on my feet so far!”

Q3: What are some of the best resources you utilized or discovered when starting your own business?

“Honestly, I know many craftspeople have a tense relationship with Etsy, however, I still think it’s one of the best ways to get a lot of eyes on your emerging brand. I think they have done a great job in driving organic and advertising traffic and putting your product in front of the right demographics of people.”

Q4: What advice would you give to future members of the LGBTQ community looking to start their own business?

“I would say just find a way to get started! You can start in your living room, or a shared space, start with the cheapest tools, and youtube is your friend. Practice a lot, but don’t be afraid to present what you are doing to the world even before you think it’s perfect, it’s about the process and evolution. Also, don’t hide who you are, be really authentic, own your truth, and your people will find you.”

Q5: What is your greatest accomplishment as a small business owner?

“My greatest accomplishment to date is that my business is now my main job. I hope to be able to maintain that long term.”

Q1: How did you get started on creating your brand? What is the inspiration behind it?

"Local Hudson River and Environs..."

Q2: What is one of your biggest challenges when starting or growing your own business?

“Choosing appropriate markets”

Q3: What are some of the best resources you utilized or discovered when starting your own business?

“Square, networking”

Q4: What advice would you give to future members of the LGBTQ community looking to start their own business?

“Reach out to others for suggestions”

Q5: What is your greatest accomplishment as a small business owner?

“Finding year-round affordable artisan market space and selling work there so it is in the public eye.”