nickel and suede
Kilee Nickels was working at Gap Kids when she noticed that something was missing from the retailer’s apparel line. “They sell a lot of cute clothes with belt loops but no belts,” Nickels said. “I thought, ‘This could be cute, and no one else is doing it.’” Nickels went to work for herself, making leather belts for children at home and selling them online. That business eventually folded, but not…
After operating a free clinic on the weekend for years, chiropractor Dong Chang Lee was confident he could help even more people if he started his own full-time business. The question was, would anyone help the South Korean immigrant? Lee, the founder of Lohan Chiropractic and Acupuncture in Kansas City, Mo., is one of more than 7,000 immigrant entrepreneurs in the metro area. According to data from the Greater Kansas…
healthy plus
Sean Bledsoe’s roster is about to get a lot bigger. The basketball-coach-turned-entrepreneur launched his medical services company in April and had 16 employees by late August. He expects to employ more than 100 workers by spring. “Every day we have potential new clients calling,” said Bledsoe, CEO of Healthy Plus LLC, based in Independence. “We’re adding three to  five new clients a month, and for every two to  four clients…
westpro fire
When Western Fireproofing opened in the 1930s, its name indicated exactly what the business offered, using plaster and gypsum blocks to make buildings safer. After World War II, the company got out of the fireproofing business and expanded into other subcontracting services, such as building roof decks and floor underlayments and installing glue-laminated timbers and folding wall partitions. Despite its evolution, its name remained the same until recently. “It didn’t…
walston door co
Company // Walston Door Co. Entrepreneur // Co-founders Caleb and Jessica Walston What they do //  The Walstons build and sell custom doors. “Many customers choose from our existing designs on display, some from Pinterest, and we’ve even had clients come in and sketch out their own unique design,” Caleb Walston said. Inspiration // Jessica Walston wanted a barn-style, sliding door for a basement closet. When Caleb couldn’t find any…