Raleigh’s Most Inspiring Stories

The heart of our mission is to find the amazing souls that breathe life into our communities. In the recent weeks, we’ve had the privilege to connect with some incredible artists, creatives, entrepreneurs and rabble rousers and we can’t begin to express how impressed we are with the incredible group below. Check out our favorite stories from across the Voyage family.

Angie Young

I developed the Kindness Closet in 2022 as a service-learning project to benefit students and their families experiencing hardships. The Kindness Closet provides nonperishable food, clothing for all weather, basic hygiene products, school supplies, and many other items. The Kindness Closet creates a discreet atmosphere that enables students and their families to locate and receive essential items while maintaining their privacy and self-respect. Also, our 5th-grade students utilize their recess period to work inside the Kindness Closet as part of their service learning, where they perform tasks, such as folding and hanging clothes, stocking the pantry, and other jobs. Read More>>

Lynnette Hines

My first business was An Elegant Encounter that was developed from hosting events in my home. While I enjoyed hosting events at my home I quickly realized my living space was smaller than my ideas could hold. I also realized how much I enjoyed helping others bring their vision to fruition. Which is why An Elegant Encounter tagline is “Let us make your day for the fancy toothpicks” Read More>>

Mike Harris

What sets me apart from the rest is my integrity. I’m always on time, I’m always prepared, and I’m always ready. Both in their respective positions individually are super important to craft at my highest capacity, but to do both together and keep the integrity is super critical to longevity. Read More>>

Charles Norman

We supply rock,sand,asphalt, and demolition pick all across the triangle and even further out to the coast of NC. Construction and infrastructure needs dump truck owners and operators to supply these materials to build highways, commercial buildings, residential homes, and much more! Read More>>

Nikki Benton

At the tender age of 8 years old I was at a bible study service at my home church, Praise Worship Tabernacle located in Raleigh, NC. The drummer at the time wasn’t there, so my Mother randomly told to get on the drums, so I did. From that day on I’ve been playing the drums now for 31 years. As time progressed I began to get better and gained more interested in cultivating gift. As the years passed around the age of 15 years old, I began to have dreams of having my own all girls band and putting different bands and singers together. Read More>>

Beverly Mahone

When I lost my full-time job as a result of Covid in 2021, I was trying to find ways to supplement my income. My, then 14-year-old, grandson suggested I go on TikTok to help his generation communicate better and he said I could make a lot of money.. I resisted vehemently but he managed to convince me and the rest, as they say, is history. Over the past four years now, I have been amazed at the number of following I have across the three social media platforms I am most active on. I believe the key is consistency. I show up every day with at least two videos related to vocabulary. Read More>>

Sahar Rehman

In high school, I leaned in to my craft. My winged liner became a daily ritual, a signature look perfected through several trials and countless errors. I think I did it better then than I do now. Art classes fueled my creativity, and makeup became my canvas—a way to explore, experiment, and express. One day, someone asked me to do their makeup. Then another. And another. By senior year, my weekends were a blur of appointments: homecomings, proms, senior portraits. What started as a small passion blossomed into something bigger than I imagined. Read More>>

Teara Mcneill

A couple of weeks had gone by of me thinking about that job before deciding to do a bit of research on what someone does in this role. I was intrigued by what I saw, especially after looking at the role with the UNC Carolina College Advising Corp. There were still a few positions open, and I ultimately decided to apply, figuring, “What’s the worst thing that could happen?”. I thought this would be nice to include on my resume while working on my Masters. Read More>>

Edwin Hong

I started as a young curious under-qualified broke kid trying to figure some shit out. Now, I am not so young, still under-qualified, and still broke relative to my accomplishment, but most importantly still curious. Curious to see if I can reach my goals. Curious to learn more information to help the under-qualified thing. I’ve made progress but still a long ways to go. Stay curious friends. Read More>>

Camila Hojas

The journey to building Che Ink has been exciting, but it definitely hasn’t been a smooth road. One of the biggest challenges was starting fresh in a new city. The three of us moved to Raleigh, North Carolina, not too long ago, so we had to focus on building connections, establishing our reputation, and finding our place in the local tattoo community. Read More>>

Amy Carter

I came to know that the creator of Heaven and earth loves me so much that He sent His son Jesus Christ to die on a cross for my sins so that I could have a living relationship with him forever! I now have been married to a wonderful man for the last 12 years and have three beautiful children. Jesus has forever changed my life and filled me with peace unexplainable and I devote my life to sharing that truth and love with the world around me. My ministry is called Faith in Action and we mobilize followers of Jesus to also share their incredible stories of faith and redemption and transformation that is only available through the one and only living God, Jesus Christ! Read More>>

Kayla Kinsey

In 2019, I felt it was time for something new, so I packed up and moved to Leland, NC, where I was able to truly focus on what I wanted as an artist. I worked day and night, creating character designs for TTRPGs and taking on freelance work, while also beginning my journey as a comic artist on Ascend Online with Aetherworld Productions! When I moved to Raleigh, NC, in 2022, I continued my work and decided to start selling my art at local markets. The art culture in Raleigh is amazing, and I’ve had only incredible and positive experiences with other artists and creators. Everyone I have met has continued to support me and push me to reach my goals. Read More>>

Gayatri Rambilli

Art has been a central part of my life, and it feels as though The Art of Henna chose me rather than the other way around. My journey began when I volunteered to do henna at my daughter’s school event for their International Day for two consecutive years. Everyone appreciated my work, word spread, and soon people started approaching me for henna appointments. This experience inspired me to establish my own henna business. Read More>>

Debbie Cain

Mirrored in the selection of vendors, you will find everything from traditional to contemporary designs and my desire to bring back the value of customer service. Each vendor represents a NC small business; in fact, are all female owned businesses. These highly successful women have built wonderful brands and they strive to bring you only the best in products and services. We are proud to have this spectacular team in place! Read More>>

Jocelyn Wright

Almost immediately we had men and non-binary people wanting to join our team. We decided to become a multi-gendered team, which is also something that hadn’t happened in the country. We had about two years of practicing all together before the men had grown enough that they were able to branch off and form their own team. After that we decided to return to our roots as a femme-only team. Read More>>

Miranda Blizzard

After years in HR and recruiting, I started feeling the pull to create something more personal. Candy has this incredible way of bringing back memories – the taste of something you loved as a kid or discovering an old favorite you haven’t seen in years. I wanted to capture that nostalgia while also offering fun, trending treats that people of all ages could enjoy. That’s how Miranda’s Candies began. Read More>>

Gabe Lustman

I’m a Pop singer songwriter. I’m really known for my clean harmonies and distinct melodies that are very much ear candy and commercial radio friendly. One thing a lot of people don’t know is that I write my own music, arrange my own vocals, record mix and master myself and pretty much am a one man team. I can’t speak for others but I know that’s rare to be so self sufficient and I pride myself on being so. Read More>>

Deone Mitchell

My story starts in 2009 at Shaw University where I majored in Mass Communication and concentrated in journalism. This is when I was challenged to be the first student Editor In Chief for the Bear Facts, the university’s online publication. The position strengthen my writing skills and leadership skills that at the time I did not know I had. It was senior year and I was finishing up with my final credits and I decided that I wanted to further challenge myself so I decided to write my first novel, Secrets Lies and Deceit. Read More>>

Sarah Moody

Back in 2018, I had just moved back to North Carolina from Atlanta where I worked at a university doing International Student Coordination. I was passionate about this work, but there wasn’t much room to grow and I wanted to move back to NC to be closer to my family. I was starting over in my home town and worked at a coffee shop while trying to figure out my next career move. I’ve always had a passion for art and creating things. I’ve also worked in small businesses throughout my adolescence and adulthood. Read More>>

Missy Farrow

I was completely addicted when social media became a thing. Coming from the Gen X era where we started out with not even a cell phone, we were just happy to have an answering machine for our corded phones! I guess you could say they were the first ‘status updates’ of our time. As for first computers, I attended Meredith College, and we did have a computer lab, but we had to bring our own floppy disks, and half the time we lost all we had before we had a chance to hit the save button. Read More>>

Jameka Ramnath

I am a mom and wife who enjoys designing, traveling and creating content. In 2015 I started a family travel and lifestyle blog, Got The Travel Bug Too which was later rebranded as Ramnaths Away. The blog allowed us to travel and collaborate with tourism boards, hospitality and lifestyle brands. Read More>>

Rayah Thomas

The list goes on. Hilariously enough I wouldn’t have ever imagined “musician” for myself. I have always been searching for some sort of clarity through what I do; clarity of expression, and to find something I deeply connect with. Music is something I stumbled into by happenstance but it has been very fulfilling to me so far, I love being able to articulate myself with more than just words. I graduated high school in 2024 and I am currently a jazz performance student at the Johns Hopkins Peabody Institute in Baltimore. Read More>>

Emily Fry

After spending about six years working in the creative ministry at my church, I began craving a new way to express myself creatively in my personal life. So I picked up a camera again! I loved it so much that I started offering shoots to friends and family. Around the same time, two of my brothers got engaged, and I offered to take their engagement photos. That experience was a game-changer—it was the first time I realized just how much I loved storytelling through the art of photography, as well as the process of directing and editing the images. Read More>>

Elizabeth Gonzalez Lopez

I was already enrolled in Wake Tech at the time, but I wanted to wax so bad that I ended up being dually enrolled. ! I graduated with my Associates in Business Administration in July, esthetics school in August, and opened my suite in October. I learned so much while in school because I had amazing teachers there. This allowed for me to be extra confident and jump into opening my suite fresh out of school. My biggest motivation is that I come from immigrant parents that wanted the best for their 3 children! Also, I always knew that I wanted to be my own boss! Read More>>

Quianna Brown

Clearskin and Wellness Aesthetics was thought about by our P.A. Anay Castro and Dr. Scales. She is an excellent dermatologist but also very skilled in cosmetic services. With her strong cultural, dermatology, and emergency medicine background and my great business skills, along with a great staff of course, we have worked hard to provide services to assist in everyone’s skin journey. Make you feel great while showing great results. We genuinely care about everyone’s progress and experience while in our MedSpa. We’ve been open for 1 year and thankful for everyone that has supported us and trusted us. Read More>>

April Hatchell

Boon Blooms started as an online bouquet shipping service with my care package business, Boon Mail. Boon is a synonym for blessing and I loved it for my business name. I started Boon Mail in 2021 to help support small shops after the pandemic and it’s been so much fun spreading a little joy. Read More>>

Rosario Morgan

The journey hasn’t always been smooth. Rebranding from “SavannahFoods” to “Raleighrosee” was challenging, as I had to rebuild my follower base from scratch. There were also periods of stagnation when I took mental breaks, and the account lost traction and followers due to inconsistent posting. However, I’ve learned the importance of maintaining a healthy relationship with the platform, focusing more on meaningful connections than follower count. These challenges have helped me grow, refine my approach, and prioritize balance, turning obstacles into valuable learning experiences. Read More>>

Hannah Whitt

Like any entrepreneurial journey, there have been bumps in the road. One of the biggest challenges has been battling imposter syndrome. Sometimes I question if I’m truly good enough, if my work is unique, and if I’m worthy of being called a professional photographer. I’m naturally a bit of a perfectionist. I tend to overthink things and want to have every single detail figured out before I even take the first step. This can sometimes lead to analysis paralysis and prevent me from actually starting. Read More>>

Coby Hall

During the thick of Covid, I met my now husband, and the growth of our relationship shed new light on the world of photography to me. We are a non-traditional couple, as he is 50 and has lived a previous life. I was nearly 35 with an independent mindset. It made sense for us to have a wedding that spoke to who were as a couple. Therefore, we had an adventure elopement in Moab, Utah, in 2022 and spent nearly a month out West for our honeymoon. The experience was one-of-a-kind and was the perfect wedding for who we are as a couple. Read More>>

Mike Otis

Not knowing anything about the food business I just kept making single batches for friends for decades, but the idea of actually making it for resale in stores was always in the back of my mind. In 2018, I sent a mason jar of sauce to a friend, who shared it with a friend that wrote for Forbes magazine and had helped get seven different invention products on Shark Tank (not food products but physical inventions). When he tasted the sauce he asked what it was, my friend told him his friend (me) made it. His response was, “You better tell him to bring it to market.” Read More>>