Courtney Bowman was a middle school Latin teacher who made charcuterie boards as a creative outlet. Four boards later, she started Raleigh Cheesy in October 2019. Three months after that, she decided to leave teaching and go full-time with the business.

Then COVID hit.

In this episode, Courtney walks through how the pandemic unexpectedly helped her business grow, why she closed her first location to focus on one store, and the day her AC died during the slowest season of the year. We talk about what happened when the Raleigh community showed up with $15,000 in 48 hours, The Bachelor Series she started and why it is hard to keep going, and her biggest leadership lesson: your response to stress directly impacts your team.

Plus: elevated spreads, grazing tables, favorite cheeses, and the importance of good shoes when you're on your feet all day.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• Raleigh Cheesy: 3075 Medland Drive, Raleigh NC
• Instagram: @raleighcheesy
• Facebook: Raleigh Cheesy
• Event space rental (holds up to 30 people)
• Classes & workshops available
• Favorite cheeses mentioned: Délice de Bourgogne (Fage Pave from Trader Joe's), Toma Provence, Meredith Dairy marinated goat & sheep feta, Humboldt Fog

Support the show

🔗 My Links:

• Email story ideas to AllUpInYourBusinessPod@gmail.com
• Follow / DM on Instagram: www.instagram.com/allupinyourbusinesspod
• Youtube: www.youtube.com/@AllUpInYourBusinessPod

Become a Supporter of the show for as little as $3 and get exclusive access to shows early, special interviews, and updates from guests! Support the show here

Joanne Wetzel bought a camera in 2019 to help shelter dogs get adopted. She had no photography background—just a hunch that beautiful photos would help overlooked dogs get seen. Five years later, she's photographed nearly 1,000 rescue dogs and built a thriving pet photography business that's completely different from what you'd expect.

Five Freedoms Photography isn't about quick photo sessions and digital downloads. Joanne creates custom artwork for pet parents' homes, guides them through planning calls and ordering appointments, and hand-delivers albums to their doorsteps. She specializes in working with "stranger danger" dogs, reactive dogs, and end-of-life sessions where pets fall asleep in their owners' arms during the shoot.

In this episode, Joanne breaks down why she's not a "turn and burn" photographer, how 80% of her revenue came from repeat clients last year, and what it's like photographing dogs who are days away from being euthanized. We talk about the business lessons she learned from six years doing hair and makeup, why problems are just part of the process, and her new Rescue Lens Sponsorship program that lets local businesses fund shelter photography.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• Five Freedoms Photography: fivefreedomsphotography.com
• Instagram: @fivefreedomsphotography
• Rescue Lens Sponsorship Program: Available on website
• Wake County Animal Center (volunteer location)
• Second Chance Pet Adoptions
• Pit Bull Flower Power by Sophie Gamand
• Foster Photo Day Initiative (monthly slots for rescue dogs)
• Unleashed Dog & Cat Store (Spring Fling event)

Support the show

🔗 My Links:

• Email story ideas to AllUpInYourBusinessPod@gmail.com
• Follow / DM on Instagram: www.instagram.com/allupinyourbusinesspod
• Youtube: www.youtube.com/@AllUpInYourBusinessPod

Become a Supporter of the show for as little as $3 and get exclusive access to shows early, special interviews, and updates from guests! Support the show here

Michele Wilson is disrupting the construction industry with dignity and class—and she's doing it by erasing the lines that keep people siloed.

As the founder of Sonder Luxe Home Solutions and the creator of Coffee with Contractors (a quarterly networking movement that pulls 70-100 people every single time), Michele is on a mission to fix what's broken in construction: the lack of collaboration, the transactional relationships, and the fact that homeowners keep getting screwed over because they don't have anyone fighting for them.

In this episode, we dive into what it's like being a woman in a male-dominated industry, why she named her company after a word from the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows, and how she went from expecting 10 people at her first networking event to consistently selling out at 75-100. Michele breaks down the hard lessons about protecting what you build, why verbal alignment is not legal protection, and how boundaries are a leadership skill—not an emotional reaction.

We also talk about her portfolio of gorgeous renovation projects, why she outsources design work to support interior designers, and the power of knowing when to walk away to protect your peace.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• Sonder Luxe Home Solutions: sonderluxe.com
• Coffee with Contractors (CWC): cwcrdu.com
• Instagram/LinkedIn: @sonderluxe, @cwcrdu

Support the show

🔗 My Links:

• Email story ideas to AllUpInYourBusinessPod@gmail.com
• Follow / DM on Instagram: www.instagram.com/allupinyourbusinesspod
• Youtube: www.youtube.com/@AllUpInYourBusinessPod

Become a Supporter of the show for as little as $3 and get exclusive access to shows early, special interviews, and updates from guests! Support the show here