My Economy

Once an actuarial analyst, Liz Young of Denver has achieved work-life balance and financial stability in his new role.

Dylan Demery is focusing on her woman-centric business, She's Fly, after losing her full-time job. "It just feels right," she says.

"We want to add something good to Burlington, Vermont," says co-owner Hannington Kasagga.

Spending on services is up, but Leta Harris Neustaedter says business at her Metamorphosis Performing Arts Studio has its ebbs and flows.

Rico and Crystal Worl, the siblings behind Trickster Company, used to have a brick-and-mortar shop. They're looking to recapture that physical presence with partnerships.

"For me, quilting is about our relationship in a lot of ways," said co-owner Jacqueline Economo about her mother.

"There was a romantic ideal about being in control of your own destiny," says Backwards Distilling co-founder Amber Pollock.

Danielle McCarthy and Ellen Kelly run a luxury wedding stationery business in Newport, Rhode Island, where they specialize in letterpress printing.

"I got that first chainsaw and, I don't know, I just felt right at home," says Taylor White, a chainsaw carver in Maine.

Shepherdess Land & Livestock offers prescribed grazing services with sheep and goats.