Katie Petersen
I have been coaching professionally for over 10 years. I offer a holistic approach to wellness, including strength training, nutrition counseling, belief-system work, and energy healing services. In my earlier years in the fitness industry, I personally competed in national figure competitions (2007-2012) and continue to prepare competitors for local and national level shows. Read More>>
Kelly Cavanaugh
I began my career in the events department at The American Lung Association. I had many different tasks that helped plan and organize their fundraisers, mainly the Hustle Up The Hancock. After that experience, I realized I wanted a job that would allow me to be a bit more creative and utilize my upbeat personality. In 2002, I began working for Blue Plate, a large catering and event planning company. Read More>>
Eugene Candreva
I started the martial arts in 1973 in Yankton College in Yankton South Dakota. I was looking for an activity since the college did not have a swim team. Throughout the four years in college, I studied the martial arts and began teaching. It helps to pay some of the bills during those years. Read More>>
Courtney Olson
Old Hollywood glamour and a passion for all things beauty are what inspired Boutique Noir Salon. Myself, Courtney Olson, and business partner Leana Marie took our 24 combined years of behind the chair experience, and launched our flagship location in the Woodfield area of Schaumburg in November 2013. The Magnificent Mile in Chicago is the home of our second location, added in January of 2015 with addition of business partner Lauren Perrone and stylist Stephanie Bloom. Read More>>
Kurt Rawlins
My fitness journey began when I was young. My dad had 12 lb. dumbbells in the house that I use to just pick up and deadlift when I was 5 or 6. He also worked out with weights at the local YMCA, and occasionally he’d let me come with him to watch him workout. I can’t tell you exactly why, but I was FASCINATED. Read More>>
Freda Mooncotch
I’ve always been in fitness. I came from a large family and my parents made sure we were always active. We tended to get into mischief when we weren’t busy and they hated us sitting in front of the TV so they kept us pretty active. During the summer, we went down to our boat in Lake Shelbyville and participated in all types of water sports. In winter we snowmobiled, cross country skied and my dad loved downhill skiing too. Read More>>
Jeannie Claycomb
When we would visit my late father in law he would ask me to give him a shoulder and back massage. So, I would and he told me that “I had God’s gift, I should do it for a living”. My husband and I thought about it checked out different schools and I decided to go for it. Went to school, graduated and couldn’t stop kept adding classes on that I had a passion and thought would make a difference in people’s lives. Read More>>
James Gustin
My background is largely entrepreneurial, I am a trained media artist, my degree is in philosophy and I am CEO and Head Instigator at Fig Media Inc. Fig media INC. is an innovative media creation and service delivery company that I founded to facilitate my high touch creative talents. I have found that my mad skills include facilitating my clients vision and then transforming the outcome into exciting current branding messages and substantive content. Read More>>
William Witte
Growing up, I lived a very active lifestyle. With a passion for helping others. The Summer of 2006 was the beginning of my life long journey to changing people’s lives. With thousands of hours of seminars and continuing education, I’ve been able to follow a lifelong dream of health and wellness. Read More>>
Aderrick Bobo
For years I was a mortgage underwriter. After the industry crashed, I had nothing but time on my hands and started hitting the gym more frequently. Frustrated with me not finding something within a year or so, my mom suggested that I work at the gym. She said “you go there every day, just get a job there. Read More>>
Ursula Sienko
Ursula Sienko, founder and owner of Hair Fusion Bar, began her career nearly 15 years ago. Her sole desire was to provide beautiful Hair Extensions to women who, like herself, were not fortunate enough to be blessed with long, full, natural hair. Ursula launched her Hair Extension career in Princeton, NJ and quickly grew her business to provide “Ursula’s Extensions” throughout the New York, New Jersey and Philadelphia area. Read More>>
Lauren Clare
I’ve been an athlete my whole life and have always had a passion for nutrition, fitness and helping people lead a healthier lifestyle. After I got my undergraduate degree in Dietetics, I moved from a small town in Michigan to New York City to get out of my comfort zone and experience a completely different lifestyle. In NYC, I enrolled in the American Academy of Personal Training where I received my personal training certification. Right after the program, I was hired at one of the Equinox Fitness gyms in Manhattan. Read More>>
Byron Dyce II
Established in 2014. Bluprint Fitness was an idea derived from a strong passion a to help people. Bluprint Fitness brings years of health & fitness studies and experience to the table. Blending methods of Strength & Conditioning, CrossFit, Yoga, Gymnastics, and multiple disciplines; this gym creates a Bluprint for health and fitness success. Read More>>
John Crager
Actually, I went to beauty school, just west of where my salon is today. Vogue Academy of Beauty Culture. Just west of Cicero, on Irving. 1978-79 is when I attended worked as a banquet waiter & receptionist at “Taylor Made Hair,” (Taylor St. at Racine) … Thank you Renee Greco. Read More>>
Nicole Quaisser
I’m from Hamburg Germany where my parents managed several restaurants – I grew up in the kitchen and front of house. I knew that I wanted to make a career in hospitality so I apprenticed at the Grand Elysée Hotel in Hamburg while completing coursework in hotel and restaurant management. Read More>>
Kara Superfine
Armed with a degree in horticulture, I joined the event industry, working for a boutique event planning & design firm where I was brought on to design client’s weddings and special events. I adored working with clients and couples to shape their wedding or event style. After just a short while, however, I was introduced to the planning & logistical end of weddings and events – gaining an immense amount of experience at a very young and raw (fresh-out-of-college) age. Read More>>>
Joe & Tommy Sheren & Asuma
Its uncanny the similarities in our stories, yet the different paths we took, ultimately arriving at this final destination. Tommy & Joe, who grew up in Kingsford and Ludington, both small towns in Michigan, played every other sport, with the exception of golf. Don’t get us wrong, we were both familiar with the game, and had clubs in our hands at different times while growing up, but ultimately didn’t start to develop our games until Freshman year of High School and beyond. Joe, a fiery competitor, who was too small for the sports he really loved to play, was ultimately chosen by golf and not the other way around. Read More>>
Marianne Strokirk
I began in Stockholm, Sweden at the age of 17. My father was a hairstylist, and I was an apprentice in his salon for 4 years. Afterwards, I worked a year in London and Paris. Later, I moved to the US for 1 year to work, and here I am many years later. Read More>>
Sarah Finlayson-Banasiak
Started in 2007 by Britt Whitfield, it all began with Revel Global Events. The following year, Revel Decor founded by Clint Paton joined the party thus creating The Revel Group. The two saw a need for a comprehensive event offer to service clients and all of their event needs. In the following years, The Revel Group continued to grow. Read More>>
Zubin Sherring
Being a spiritual teacher is a response to the passion of being an intuitive who has learned to work with sensitivity. I started when I reached that moment that connecting with others is invaluable but so is the connection within myself. I grew up in an environment where education was encouraged and my learning of different cultures made it possible to appreciate people globally. I studied, played, and learned with people from 30 different countries and my experiences helped in wanting make the world a better place within my own range of capability. Read More>>
Nicole Karkalis
My sisters and I started Blowout Junkie almost 3 years ago. We are not stylists but love the beauty industry. With are different career backgrounds we and our love for blowouts we decided to start Blowout Junkie. We are three sisters that get along very well with a single mom that always pushed us to do something great together. Read More>>
Liz Olson
Almost exactly one year ago, I got an email from a friend of a friend. It said, “I have an idea, can we meet?” Laura (Sage) and I met a couple days later. Instant love. She told me her idea — a modern meditation and wellness studio. Claire (Mark) was already on board. The three of us met for dinner a week later. The way we connected was incredible, and, like magic, our visions aligned. Read More>>
RICK RICCI
The story of the Oldest Barbershop in the world, as recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records in 2014, began in fashionable Mayfair in 1805, the year of Nelson’s victorious Battle at Cape Trafalgar, while King George III sat on England’s throne and William Pitt the Younger served as its Prime Minister. This was the era of fine craftsmanship, innovation and styling which set the scene for a history that is colourful, inventive and pioneering. Read More>>
Christa Ponzio
I went to college for fashion and did a lot of makeup for fashion shows etc. and loved it, so on my summers, I would do makeup for weddings for friends and family. I decided to open up a spa and there I was doing a lot of makeup as well. Then, I decided in 1998 to open up a hair and makeup business for weddings. Read More>>
Nancy Plummer
I’d like to say I’ve had a passion for fashion my entire life. Growing up among a group of six fashionable siblings and parents, I always knew I was destined to be doing something in the fashion industry. I majored in Home Economics, (as it was called back in the late 70‘s), at Miami University, in Oxford, Ohio. My Home Ec degree, now more aptly termed Retailing, provided me with many career choices. Read More>>
John Fakhoury
Ultimately, I am a Chicagoan who lives, breathes, and loves most everything about Chicago except maybe the politics. After graduating from Lane Tech HS and then University of Illinois with an Accounting and Finance degree, I went to work for the consulting firms like E&Y and then Alvarez and Marsal. I was a young consultant enjoying the perks of first class travel and lavish dinners, when one day while at the airport everything changed. Read More>>
Becky Johns
I decided to make a tandem skydive for my birthday in 2010. I expected to just “bucket list” the experience and be done with it. But instead, I fell in love. I moved to Chicago the winter after that for a job at an advertising agency. When the spring rolled around, I decided to start solo skydiving training and earned my license the summer of 2011. Read More>>
Doc Miller
The business was started by my friend Michael Bafundo in 1982. Two years later as the business grew, I became his partner. This was in Northlake. We eventually moved the store to Roosevelt Rd. in Lombard at which time we developed an e-commerce website www.1starmy.com. Well the website business really took off. Read More>>
Debbie Markiewicz
Ever since I can remember, I wanted a family. To be a Mom. Never would I have imagined that I would someday be a business owner. My husband and I didn’t wait very long after we were married in 1997 before we started our family. We were blessed with our son, Nathan in 1998 and then again with our daughter, Natalie in 2001. Read More>>
Dan Tamarkin
Tamarkin Camera is an authorized Leica Camera dealer with their showroom in the River North Gallery district in downtown Chicago. Within our showroom is The Rangefinder Gallery, which showcases images made with the legendary Leica M camera. Tamarkin buys, sells, trades and auctions new, used, vintage and rare Leica and other photographica around the world. Read More>>
Pierpaolo Manes
CULTI MILANO was founded in 1990 by Alessandro Agrati, eclectic interior designer, who realized what a fragrance can do to characterize an environment and drew his inspiration from rattan handiwork to create the first sticks diffuser: a product of new design which uses this material to release fragrance into private and public spaces. Read More>>
Marji Soofi
I have been doing skin care on three continents over 35 years. In the past fifteen years, I was seeing an immense increase in eczema and psoriasis in my clients extended family. Because Halotherapy aka Salt therapy helps to boost the immune system and all the skin conditions that I was seeing were auto-immune deficiencies I decided to build a halotherapy room. Moving my existing business to a new location and incorporating the salt therapy with our existing treatments has greatly improved our client’s physical conditions. Read More>>
Tammy Kohl
When I was 19 years old, I started my jewelry design business as an avenue to help pay for college. Soon, I began selling my collections to Saks Fifth Avenue and Nordstrom department stores. After I graduated college in the late 80’s, I moved my company to the West Loop of Chicago in Fulton Market. Back then, the area was a lot rougher and less populated than it is today to say the least. Read More>>
Garry Zimmerman
My family has been in the diamond and jewelry industry as long as I can remember. My Grandfather started our business. After WWII, my father joined him and together they built a business together. Based on trust and integrity, our business grew, and our stellar reputation was soon known throughout the diamond and jewelry industry. Read More>>
Virgil Greer
At a very young age I was super fascinated with watching Bruce Lee movies. I was also amazed by how strong, flexible, quick and confident he was. This is how I wanted to be, but I was only a 10-year-old skinny, super shy kid from Akron, Ohio, who was occasionally bullied. Read More>>
Diana Rodriguez-Zaba
Like everyone else here in Chicago, I was hit hard by the 2007 recession. I was working for the city when the real estate market crashed. People lost their jobs, businesses closed down, and my secure position wasn’t secure anymore. When I was forced to take furlough days, I knew I had to do something. Read More>>
Elena Bazini
I studied photography at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. It was an amazing experience walking through the museum every day on the way to class. I truly enjoyed being a part of such a unique student body, and seeing all the art created there. After completing my degree, I interned for CS Magazine before starting my own wedding and portrait photography business in the city. Read More>>
Chris Socha & Justin Pruim
Chris: My mom started me as a musician playing the piano and I played the trumpet starting in 4th grade. I would find myself listening to all different genres of music, and each appealed to me in its own way. The properties of sound also fascinated me and I was constantly acquiring bigger, better, and of course, louder stereo systems. In 1999, I helped run the soundboard for my church’s youth group band and loved it. Read More>>
Sam Nikicic
In 2001, I moved from Montenegro to Chicago. I started working with friends and family doing painting work. During this time, I had many great learning experiences. In 2007, I took a risk and started my own company, USA Painting & Remodeling. We started out doing basic painting projects. Since then every year we have expanded our clientele and our scope of work which now includes more remodeling, particularly bathrooms and kitchens. Read More>>
Lee + Tiffany Parson
I was merely a lad when the appreciation of anything antique and vintage took over. Since the early days, when at the age of 9, I would make the rounds at flea markets with my parents identifying vintage toys by brand, my adoration of antiques and collectibles grew into a career and lifestyle my family and I now share. My past included working at auction houses, antique and secondhand stores, buying and selling high-end antiques and doing marketing and branding work for antiques, collectibles and secondhand goods industries. Read More>>
Naomi Epstein
Capturing the history of time in a single frame is what motivates Naomi. She graduated with a degree in Photography and Graphic Design at the University of Michigan. Over a decade, she worked in production and TV but always had her camera and family close to her heart. The hours spent on commercials really got to her, and what mattered most was family. Read More>>
Kevin Foster
My passion for natural remedies was the inspiration for Nature Maid Clean. Like many people, over the years I’ve spent a lot of time researching natural remedies and healthier options to what I might find in a drug store. After years of using natural, non-toxic home and personal care products, I decided to share my knowledge and passion with the rest of Chicago in the form of a natural cleaning company. Read More>>
Doug Steeves
18 years ago I was not happy with what I was doing for a living and wanted to make a change. I followed some “fatherly advice” and decided to find and pursue my passion. I started to look for a golf related business. I went to the local bookstores (pre-internet days) and bought every golf magazine on the shelves and took them home. In the back of one of them, I found a small boxed add for a national synthetic putting green company that was advertising their product as well as looking for distributors. Read More>>
George Pfeiffer
I am the CEO of BOS Holdings, of which Business Office Systems (BOS) is a subsidiary. I began my thirty-year career in the office furniture industry as a sales representative with Wrightline and Vecta. In 1986, I co-founded Corporate Business Systems, a premier contract office furniture dealership. Read More>>
Greg Wittstock
From building backyard ponds to house his pet turtles to building ponds to make money over the summer, Greg Wittstock, aka The Pond Guy, has been dabbling in water gardens since the age of 12. He began with a concrete creation and evolved to the ecosystem ponds that Aquascape is well known for. Now that you know how Wittstock’s love of ponds began, here’s how Aquascape, Inc. has grown and evolved into what it is today. Read More>>
Joelle Arner
My story begins when I was six years old, as a flower girl in my older cousin’s wedding. I remember being so mesmerized by every little detail – (and marveling at the invention of chocolate covered strawberries)! That was where my love for weddings began. My love for photography undoubtedly came from my father, who would always bring along a point-and-shoot with us on trips and in daily living. Read More>>
Don (Tucker) Strzepek
Donald R. Strzepek – born August 3, 1961. — a day older and a day wiser than the 44th president of the United States. Mr. Strzepek is a true Chicagoan. He attended Lane Technical High School (class of 1979). He graduated from DePaul University of Chicago (class of 1984) with a double major in English and Communication. Mr. Strzepek has over 25 years of experience in both business and education. Mr. Strzepek earned a gemologist degree in 1993 from the Gemological Institute of America. Read More>>
Lauryn Keenan
I had a corporate job for many years, and wanted something different. I saw this store on Martha’s Vineyard, and thought that this concept would work in chicago. I found out the owner of the store was just starting to franchise. we worked with her to get this store stocked, and up and running. At one point there were around 6 additional locations, but all but two closed pretty quickly; the Mall of America location and Chicago are the only stores still in business. Read More>>
Soheila Ghofrani
My name is Soheila Ghofrani and I have been an expert in my craft for over 30 years. My childhood summers were spent working for my uncle, a prominent tailor in Iran. I was constantly surrounded by threads and needles, and I learned French sewing techniques from both my uncle and my mother at home. Eventually I decided to study Architecture and moved to the United States in 1979. To supplement my income, I would sew and make small alterations for my professors. Read More>>
