Pharmacist Glen Rawluk wanted to keep Meyers Drugs locally owned so much, he bought the place.

The timing wasn’t perfect for Darcy Hannah, but owning her own business turned out to be the perfect fit.

The Local Frequency app launched in 2016 as a shop-local rewards program to keep money in the local economy, where it can have the most impact. Every little shift to local counts.

Ce Soir Lingerie’s Carol Yaschuk is a risk-taker. “You have to be to start your own business,” she said. “You also have to trust yourself.”

In the two years since opening Next Level Escapes with his wife and co-owner, Meghan Pesclovitch, Daniel Gravenor has taken a generic storefront in a suburban strip mall and created a place where problem-solving and imagination take hold.

Harman Dhaliwal and Gabrielle
Zoppa have come through the hard times together. When the duo started Spa Botanica six years ago, “we had zero dollars,” said Dhaliwal.

You’ve got a friend in Gorilla Jack. Owners, brothers Bernard and Martin Pacak, sell supplements to build muscles. They also build a support system.

Owning a small business is no accident for Sinan Leylek, the 29-year-old owner of Spark Rentals.

City Bread’s beginnings date back to 1948. Today the bakery is owned by Harvey Goldman. His father, the late Max Goldman bought the business in the 1970s from the Perlmutter family.

Optometrist Dr. Luke Small once spent three days scrubbing tiny flecks of paint from a parking lot full of cars at Speedy Muffler, the business formerly located next door to Armstrong and Small Eye Care Centre at 1140 Portage Avenue.