It’s more important to understand someone than to judge them. We think the first step to understanding someone is asking them the fundamental questions about who they are and how they became the person they are today. Understanding and empathy are essential building blocks for a better, more compassionate world. We’re incredibly fortunate to be able to ask these questions each week through our interview series. Below you’ll find inspiring interviews from in and around South Carolina.
Jody Mack
After my contract ended, I decided to retire from academia and pursue photography full time. My then 4- and 2-year-old daughters were tugging at my heartstrings with so little time at home while I was away at the lab or in the office and my side photography business was booming, I knew that it was the right move and would provide more flexibility for my family. I am so grateful for all the experiences I had that led me to start Jody Mack Photography and am honored to have grown this business and served so many amazing clients for 12 years now. Read more>>
Jessica Loveland
In late 2019, we found the perfect location to expand their vision—building a space that would house our roasting facility and the largest café in the Columbia area. After months of dedication and hard work, Loveland Coffee Café & Roastery officially opened in Irmo in the winter of 2020. Read more>>
Kelly Damiano
Craft-DIY is the culmination of my lifelong journey—a sophisticated DIY studio where craft & design meets modern elegance. I designed the space to be a chic, upscale atmosphere tailored to adults. The projects go far and beyond the typical “arts & crafts” stigma. From custom jewelry and home decor to fashion accessories and more, each project is designed to be both beautiful and functional. You’ll leave not just with something you made, but with something you’re proud to use, wear, or display in your home—no forgotten projects gathering dust here! Read more>>
Trinite Nettles
In 2015 I worked third shift at a local hospital, and I hated my job. Every free chance I got I was job searching and researching different career fields. One night while I was scrolling through social media, I kept seeing ads for esthetics school. I did not know what an esthetician was, but I searched the job description and the future job outlook; the starting salary was the same amount as I was making at that time so I said to myself, ” If I’m going to be broke, I might as well be happy.” I asked everyone I knew what they about the idea, I prayed about it too! After really thinking it over I took a tour and enrolled in esthetic school the following week. Read more>>
Melt Charleston Mural Festival
Much of the experience of a place lies in it’s history. The individual and shared stories of it’s inhabitants matter – that means the good, bad, ugly, and beautiful. However, Tradition isn’t only history, it is a living thing – it’s how we connect to our Past, while acting in the Present, and thinking towards the Future to build and grow a better world for all of us. With MELT, we aim to to highlight the Traditions of where we create, as well as how we create. Read more>>
Alexis Palmer
Eating healthy did not always come easy to me. Growing up I could eat whatever, whenever I wanted. I had gained weight in college and was feeling miserable everyday. It wasn’t until I was living on my own and working full time, I realized that I wanted to make a change. I tried every diet under the sun, until I finally discovered a plant-based diet. I completely fell in love with this style of eating, but more importantly, I fell in love with how I felt. I started creating fun and unique recipes. I started photographing my meals and sending them to my mom. I realized I wanted a place to share this new passion of mine. Read more>>
Barbara Ambrose
Pete Ambrose began shrimping in 1967, he expanded into farming on Wadmalaw Island in ’76. Farmer Pete and wife Babs, have always lived with the land, worked the soil and waterways, bringing the Lowcountry’s bounty to residents and visitors alike. Originally, they offered their fresh seafood and produce at their U-Pick farm stand on Wadmalaw. The couple dreamed of bridging the “farm to table” gap by opening a store in a more densely populated area. Read more>>
Heather Stickler
My journey with Southern Grazer hasn’t had many obstacles. I would say social media and rising food prices have been my biggest challenge. Being the only staff member means I also do all social media, creating charcuterie, shopping and managing the ins and outs of a small business. Social media is not one of my strong assets and because I am a small business, I haven’t hired someone to create content. It is time consuming so that really is challenging for me. Rising food prices is also a bit of a challenge. I try to stay consistent with my price points and have been able to have very few price increases in order to keep my clients coming back. Read more>>
Brittany Campbell
I offer Brow Tint, Eyelashes, Make up, Jewerly, & Apparel. I’m most known for eyelashes because that’s what i started. I’m very proud of myself for being able to add on & grow my business to what it is today. I feel that offering multiple services sets me apart from must people because they can get more than one service in one location. Read more>>
George Miller
I heard somewhere a while back, “if it was easy, it wasn’t worth it”. I have had my fair share of struggles and bumps in the road with tattooing in general. As far as the transition from shop to mobile studio goes it’s been smooth besides some typical machines issues with my generator here and there. I believe this all has been a calling from the big man upstairs and he’s been making the way for me with it all. Read more>>
Jess Kennedy
It has been anything but a smooth road—like any young brand, the journey has been full of challenges. As a solo entrepreneur, I wear every hat in the business. Beyond hand-pouring each candle—a craft far more complex than many realize—I pick every scent, design and print my own labels, manage the website and social media, handle shipping, marketing, and event coordination, all while navigating an industry that is both highly competitive and deeply creative. Read more>>
Sophia Phillips
My name is Sophia Phillips, co-founder of Willamere. Growing up, I was very imaginative and entrepreneurial. I was either thinking of cupcake flavors for my pretend bakery, or sketching the perfect outfit for a made up occasion. I get my creative side from my mom, an interior designer and artist, and my analytical side from my dad, an engineer. During my junior year of high school, I travelled to London with my family and visited the design studio of an up-and-coming British shoe designer. The design studio was fabulous, but I realized that running a business in the fashion industry was attainable—real people had these jobs. Read more>>
Estro Studio
We both settled in Charleston, SC, a city known for its character and its ability to foster small businesses and creative endeavors. We met working at the same local design firm and quickly became fast friends. We realized we clicked both professionally and personally. Our design aesthetics aligned in a way that made collaboration feel effortless and right. It was like we were always meant to work together. Read more>>
Tay Muñoz
Fast forward to today, and we’ve been blessed with the incredible opportunity to purchase our first home together. I am now a proud homeowner in the beautiful city of Greenville, South Carolina. Every morning, I wake up, take a deep breath, and look around in gratitude. Some days, I still pinch myself and whisper, ‘This is real. This is my home. Read more>>
Megan Livingston
Oh gosh, no. This has been a very long, hard journey with so many ups and downs, but it has all been worth it! I had to learn how to price myself profitably, how to market myself, how to manage money properly, etc. What I love about photography and business is that you can never know absolutely everything. There is ALWAYS something new to learn. Just when you think you have a good system down, something out of your control changes and you have to be able to pivot. It keeps me on my toes for sure! Read more>>
Corey Richardson
In the beginning, it was just me, dedicating early mornings, late nights, and weekends to caring for pets while also making sure I had the proper training to provide the best care possible. I became CPR and First Aid Certified for cats and dogs through the American Red Cross, took additional pet care courses, and ensured Daniel Island Paws and Claws was fully licensed, insured, and bonded. Read more>>
Wendy Hill
We took a leap of faith, joining business partners to purchase a working horse farm in Lugoff, SC. While waiting to sell our home and buy the farmhouse, we moved into a single-wide trailer on the property. At the time, the farm had eight boarded horses, two barns, and several wooded acres with just a few large pastures. But we had a vision—to grow, expand, and create something special. We set five-year goals, and to our surprise, we crushed them in just two years. Read more>>
Regis Mcelveen
Regis’ formal journey into cosmetology began in high school when she enrolled in a cosmetology program, obtaining her cosmetology license in May 2009, even before she graduated. Eager to expand her expertise, Regis moved to Charleston, South Carolina, to attend The Art Institute of Charleston, where she earned her bachelor’s degree in Fashion and Retail Management. Throughout her college years, Regis worked at JCPenney Salon in The Citadel Mall, gaining valuable experience in team building and product knowledge. During this time, she participated in certified training sessions with leading professional brands such as Redken, Matrix, Mizani, Design Essentials, and Affirm. Read more>>
Ashleigh Haliabalias
I have no experience in renovation, so this was all new territory. It was so fun getting to pick out our design schemes. It was a little less fun when we hated the design and had to redo it – but still a good time nonetheless. The backside of the truck where all the functional components are located was designed and built just for us. A big thanks to my dad for his handy work! Aside from the construction parts, learning how to operate a draft system was new to us too. Getting hands-on experience was crucial; and this came with a lot of mess-ups and clean-ups. I wouldn’t change any of it though, and we are so happy that we are where we are now. Read more>>
Shelby Busey Jennings
But it was the day I spent on the set of Dear John, with Channing Tatum and Amanda Seyfried, that pushed me to transition into film and television acting. That entire day felt like I was living someone else’s life—sharing a trailer with the leads as we all got our hair and makeup done, working on a handful of scenes all day with these household names. What?! Little me got to spend the day acting with Channing Tatum and Amanda Seyfried?! It was unreal. I had no agent, no manager, had no idea what I was doing, and found myself on set after finding out where the casting office was. I nervously walked in unannounced with my modest headshot and slim resume. I figured I had absolutely nothing to lose. It turns out, I was right. Read more>>
Manny Vazquez
I was looking at opening my own jiu jitsu academy and after taking a trip to Greenville to visit my good friend Sergio Lopez and I fell in love with the Upstate. Shortly after Sergio and I started game planning the gym and I made the move out to start 10th Planet Greenville. Fast forward 3 years and 10P Greenville is thriving and we have our second location, Easley Grappling Club, blowing up as well under Sergio’s leadership. We’re insanely proud go how far things have come, the lifelong relationships we’ve made, and the amazing Jiu Jitsu community we’ve grown into. Read more>>
Amanda Coleman
I have always had a love of food and hosting. Growing up in Chicago and then moving to New York for a few years, I lived in two of the best cities for food. There were always new restaurants with different types of cuisines popping up. My parents were also big on cooking at home and always said food brought people together. I have moved around quite a bit, and as I had to create new circles in these cities, hosting was a good way to make friends and my parents sentiment rang true – food really did help me find my closest friends as I got older. Read more>>
Jansen Arnold
Not at all. Running has always been a passion, but like anything worthwhile, it hasn’t always been smooth. There have been injuries, setbacks, and times when motivation was low. Coaching and starting COAH Run Co. came with its own challenges too—figuring out how to grow a brand, balancing time between work, family, training, and trusting that this vision was something God placed on my heart for a reason. But just like in running, the hard moments are where growth happens. My faith has played a huge role in keeping me focused and reminding me why I started in the first place. The journey hasn’t been easy, but that’s what makes it meaningful. Read more>>
Lindsey Chapman
Enter yoga. I was introduced to the incredible Belinthia Elder, who led me to the softer, restorative side of the practice—specifically, Yin yoga—and it changed everything. But here’s the catch: I couldn’t afford a membership. That’s when Belinthia and Grace Timms, the co-founders of SOULIFT, gave me an opportunity. They invited me to join as an ambassador, trading my time for classes. I made sure the studio felt warm and welcoming, from folding lavender towels to keeping the space inviting. Read more>>
Marci Stewart
I started blogging and sharing my travel photos almost 6 years ago, when I saw an opportunity to share my itineraries and favorite photo spots for others to use on their trips. I love researching and planning a trip, and hope fellow travelers can benefit and save time on their trips by using my tips or travel plans. Read more>>
Julia Marchiano
Another big challenge was struggling to find work for nearly a year. If there was a job opening, I was applying. It was scary and discouraging, and at times, I felt like I might never land a job again. But in hindsight, that period was a blessing in disguise. It pushed me toward freelancing, which has given me so much flexibility and creative freedom. Looking back, I wouldn’t change a thing. Read more>>
Beth Santiago
My grandfather was a very uncontrolled type 2 diabetic and passed away after a battle with pancreatic cancer. Fast forward to adulthood, my college sweetheart was a very brittle type 1 diabetic. This is where I learned the most about diabetes and what life was like for not only those living with diabetes, but for their loved ones as well. This is also where my deep desire to understand diabetes and help manage this cumbersome disease came to life for me. Read more>>
Shannon Christi Wadford
People often ask me how I come up with such unique flavors. I always refer back to dyeing bridal shoes when I worked in a bridal shop while in college. I had to figure out what colors would go together to create a perfect match to fabric…I often say the shoe experience showed me how to creativity mix and match to find out what works together! Read more>>
Ija Charles
My school Westwood high school commissioned me to design the first ever mural I created in the gym area my graduating year of 2015 and once I graduated, I moved to Louisiana where I was a cake decorator, Mardi Gras float painter, and sold my art at festival, such as essence fest. Once I got my footing, I ended up moving back to Columbia, where I started to get a lot of Mural work around the city, which got me national attention to the point that I was able to travel to do Mural’s in other states. Read more>>
Meghan Teed
Through specialized training and a deep understanding of my own scoliosis, I built a business dedicated to helping people take control of their movement, improve their posture, and get back to doing what they love—whether that’s lifting, running, or simply living pain-free. Today, I work with clients locally and remotely all over the world, proving that scoliosis doesn’t have to hold you back—it can be something you understand, manage, and thrive with. Read more>>
Kirk Nilsen
Starting out in a walk-in, biker-style street shop was a crash course in tattooing, where I built a large client base and learned to tattoo every single style, deal with piles of different personalities, and learned to tattoo efficiently and quickly – and back then if you did a bad tattoo, the client would physically fight you, and many were fresh out of prison. When all of the other artists moved on from the shop, I stayed, and being the only artist working, that’s when my following really began to grow. Read more>>
Elena Frost
Fast forward 24 years: I had relocated across the country, navigated life changes, and was still working in the corporate world when a friend showed me a picture of a bear, she was considering purchasing. On impulse, I told her, I can paint one for you. That single moment in February 2024 reignited something in me. What began as one painting for a mountain home quickly evolved into something much bigger—a growing body of work, the dream of a gallery, and participation in exhibitions. Read more>>
Tam Dillon
My journey with spirituality began in my mid-teens with a deep curiosity about ancient teachings and divination. I was drawn to Tarot as a tool for self-reflection and clarity. What began as personal exploration grew into a professional practice, where I spent over two decades as a full-time Tarot reader, guiding clients through life’s complexities. I also integrated energy healing into my work, deepening my understanding of the human experience. Read more>>
Tamara York
I quickly took action, studied for my licensing exam, and passed. That same family friend became my mentor, guiding me through the industry and providing hands-on training. Once I grasped the dynamics of the business, I hit the ground running—and I haven’t looked back since. Now, I’m proud owner of my own mortgage brokerage, York Superior Mortgage Group, helping others to achieve their homeownership/commercial dreams, just like I once set out to do for myself. Read more>>
Kathrine Dooley
I’ve always had a love for fashion, art, and pretty, historic buildings- and Miller & Muse combines each of these things! However, getting here wasn’t the most linear path. During high school I had plans to attend college in South Carolina (I’m originally from a small town south of Kansas City, MO) and had received scholarships to do, however due to personal reasons made the choice to stay home after graduating high school early (in Dec of 2019) and attended cosmetology school (starting in Jan of 2020) instead. Read more>>
Tom Zarillo
I started my journey loving wine many years ago. It wasn’t until a friend of mine opened an Italian restaurant in NYC that I truly got to experience really great wines that woke up my palate. In time I knew I had to try more and learn more. I proceeded to enroll at the International Wine School in NYC while I was living there and completed the WSET (Wine and Spirits Education Trust) and passed Levels 1,2, and 3. I then went on to study Italian Wine/Regions with the Wine Scholar Guild and passed two levels including Northern and Southern Italy. I’m currently deciding which region I want to explore next. Read more>>
Sabrina Fields
During that year I had helped a friend photograph a couple of weddings and began falling in love with them. In 2010, I began booking and shooting weddings myself. Currently, I still adore serving couples on their wedding days (whether it’s a grand celebration or an intimate elopement) and meeting up with them again as they begin to have children! Fresh48 and at-home newborn sessions are also favorites of mine to capture. Read more>>
Jeremiah Jimerson
We have gained notoriety for doing things differently and helping patients become pain free when nothing else has helped as well as launched online educational and coaching programs for Weight Loss and Inflammation and have garnered over 700K followers with videos reaching over 6million views on Social Media platforms Read more>>
Angel & Jeff Taylor
In the beginning, we focused on smaller private events, building our reputation through word-of-mouth and sheer dedication. We invested in top-tier equipment, refined our services, and honed in our skills making sure every event was seamless as well as memorable. As we gained traction, we expanded our offerings beyond DJ services to include MC hosting, photo booths, specialty lighting, and interactive entertainment like music bingo and trivia. Read more>>
Desiree’ Williams
After learning from Youtube, I started applying lash extensions on my family and friends. I studied for hours and hours. I had notebooks full of tips, tricks, best products for beginner lash artist, just all the things. I am a self starter so I ended up buying my first lash kit which was $150 and though I initially wanted to learn this skill to make money– it quickly turned into a passion. I lashed everyone I knew and worked with my head down to build my beauty brand. From certification courses to completing Esthetics school for my license, I never fell out of love with the art of lash extensions and probably never will. Read more>>
Steph Gallo & Julia Asselin
We first met in college, six years ago at West Chester University of Pennsylvania through our sorority, Delta Phi Epsilon. After being named Big & Little (we still laugh about that now), we became close sharing similar interests; fashion, marketing and travel. While planning a girls trip for us and our three best friends to Napa, an idea struck us. We both LOVE planning and researching trips, and have been doing it for friends and family for years – we NEED to make this a job! And the rest is history 
Read more>>
Tyler Fisher
Since I was a kid, I’ve always had an entrepreneurial mindset. Most of my family, from my grandparents down to me, have all been business owners. Naturally, this cultivated my passion for business at a very early age. Although having grown up in the real estate industry, it was not always my “game plan” to continue on in the family brokerage. However, chapters of my story helped me realize that my journey was actually leading me right back to my true passion. Real estate. Read more>>
