Celebrating small businesses and the inspiring stories behind them
Small businesses are a way for people to turn something they love into a thriving career and lifestyle. Behind so many small businesses are inspiring stories, people who have poured their time, money, and resources into building a dream. So often as business owners, these people wear multiple hats such as content creators, operations, and finance managers, while overseeing sales and customer engagement.
This Small Business Month we’re proud to celebrate some inspiring owners, entrepreneurs and side-hustlers who continue to showcase their creativity through the work they do every day.
Meet three small business owners
Britney Wang, chef and creator of #cheesecakebao
Inspo for starting my business: Initially, I started out teaching dumpling making classes because besides cooking, I really enjoyed how food was able to bring people together. When Covid hit, I wasn’t able to do that anymore and decided to venture into cooking and met my current business partner. We didn’t have anything inspiring in mind when we first created our “cheesecake bao,” we were just two friends finding a creative outlet to create something we both loved — baos and cheesecake! Maybe that’s the inspiring part — to find someone who is just as motivated as you to create something and continue to make it into something much bigger. If you ever have a passion project or some idea, bring it to life, you never know where it might lead you.
What I love most about being a business owner: Being able to bring a lifestyle and products I care about to life! I value connecting with our community and being a small business owner allows me to have more control over that. Of course, not all ideas are brought to life, but as an entrepreneur my drive comes from being able to uphold values that are most important to me, allowing that message to translate into other people’s lives. In this case, introducing a unique product that’s a reflection of who we are as Asian-Americans, sharing a product and brand that brings joy and educating our community — to have that impact motivates me every day!
How I use Adobe Express: As a small business owner I don’t always have the flexibility to and financial means to hire a third party to create content, and Adobe Express gives me the power to use my own creativity and vision to bring my business to life. I’m able to organize and easily create content fast and efficiently by choosing from endless templates and stock photos to get me started. I’m able to create a poster for a pop-up or even in half the time, while also being financially savvy!
Abigail Eilermann, founder and owner of Daily Disco
One thing I wish I was told about starting my business: My dad gave me the best advice 6 months into my business. I was working full time while also trying to run my business and I was being stretched thin. He told me I needed to go all in. The next week, I quit my job and was terrified, but my dad was right. My business grew so much more once I let go of the fear and fully committed!
How my business gives me a creative outlet: I love all the hats I get to wear as a business owner. I get to be an embroiderer, marketer, graphic designer, video editor and content creator to name a few — it is so fun! I also think it’s important to have creative hobbies outside of work that I do just for the joy of doing it. Right now, I’m obsessed with knitting!
Something I can’t live without: My phone! Whether it’s answering emails, social media, or even designing a graphic on Adobe Express, I do so much of it from my phone these days.
Kalkidan Gebreyohannes, Co-Founder of Blk Girls Green House
Inspo for starting my business: The inspiration behind starting Blk Girls Green House was birthed from a vision to create a space that countered violence and injustice and from the need to provide a safe space that celebrates our community and culture.
How creativity helps me with my business: It allows us to stand out and re-imagine what a retail experience can feel and look like — it's the heart of our business! Adobe Express really helps to support telling our story, we can capture moments and present it to the world quickly, creatively and authentically.
What I love most about being a business owner: Being a business owner is probably one of the most challenging and rewarding things I’ve ever done. On different days I have a love/hate relationship with different aspects. I realize now though, that’s just the reality of being an entrepreneur and more often than not, I love the autonomy I get to have to build something in a way that is most needed by our community.
Adobe tools supporting small businesses
This month and every month, we’re proud to provide small business owners with simple and tangible tips and tricks and the tools and resources to help take their end goals to the next level.
Adobe Express is an invaluable resource for small business owners to help get things rolling, simply and quickly. With thousands of professionally designed templates, thousands of fonts, millions of stock images, Express can help small businesses create professional-looking logos as well as social media content, graphics and so much more. And Adobe Acrobat continues to deliver PDF and e-signature capabilities that are powerful enough for the enterprise, but tailored to the unique needs of small businesses.
Small businesses are helping to pave the way for the innovation of new digital technologies and experiences, implementing new creative platforms, jobs and services, which in turn drives engagement with current and future customers across a larger array of physical and digital experiences than ever before.
Join us on social media to celebrate your favorite creators and small businesses using #SmallBusinessWeek.