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.

Astrid Morales

Everything started as a side hustle back in 2018. My husband, Ezequiel Garcia, was working full-time in construction, but he had past experience in lawn care. He started doing weekend jobs to bring in extra income and quickly realized there was a real demand. Clients would often tell him how hard it was to find honest, fair businesses. Read more>>

Cristian Silva

In 2021, I founded GDS Lawn Care & Landscaping as a side hustle, using my job at Harris Teeter to help fund my dream. Each year brought growth, experience, and new opportunities. By 2025, I made the life-changing decision to leave my full-time job and dedicate myself completely to my business. Read more>>

Fitima Miller

At nineteen, I founded Fitima’s Special Event Planning, organizing high-profile events for major corporations, universities, and hospitals. Around that same time, I enlisted in the United States Air Force, choosing service over college life. That experience deepened my leadership skills, discipline, and commitment to service—values that continue to define my entrepreneurial journey. Read more>>

Brandon Patrick

Its a long story, but my wife’s sister got killed in a hit and run in Durham and her parents gave us money from her insurance death payout, I used that to start my business out the back of an old tool truck. Now 20 years later we are in a 8k SF building on 17 acres at Hyco Lake in Semora NC Read more>>

Steven Winters

1.) I always had a love for cooking. I remember being 8 years old and flipping the channels between food network and cartoons. I always enjoyed helping out my parents in the kitchen growing up as well. My first professional kitchen job didn’t come until much later back in 2012 washing dishes and prepping on the weekends at manna in downtown Wilmington. Read more>>

Stephanie Lynn

My path into coaching grew out of my own experience navigating betrayal in my first marriage. For years I didn’t have language for what I was living through, until I discovered the concept of betrayal trauma and began my own healing process. That journey led me to rebuild my life, remarry a caring and transparent partner, and pursue deep training so I could support others. Read more>>

Cassey Wyatt

I started dancing before I could even understand what dance really was — at just 18 months old. One of my earliest memories is driving a tiny car on stage for a Batman-themed dance. Even then, performing felt natural. I loved that doing something I was good at made people happy, and their happiness made me happy. Read more>>

Ginna Neel

Like many millennials, my career has taken a few twists and turns since graduating college. I began in marketing and advertising, but when my second daughter was born, I decided to stay home for a season. Read more>>

Jungeun Cottrell

After moving to the Raleigh from South Korea with my husband, I found myself drawn to baking. So when my husband said he was going to make macarons for me for Valentine’s Day, I had to beat him to it. It took 9 batches to finally get macarons that I could admit to making. Read more>>

Tara White

I gave birth to my first child in 2012. I was woefully uneducated, unprepared, and ended up with a fairly traumatic experience which left me feeling like surely, if I had known more or done things differently I would have had a better outcome. So, I began reading and learning as much as I could about pregnancy, labor, birth, and postpartum recovery. Read more>>

Danielle Hennis

About 10 years ago, I was working as a graphic designer for a research organization. I worked on many different types of designs, but what I found constantly frustrating were the presentations. Read more>>

Lorenzo

The very first time I knew something was different is at the age of 7 years old. I started getting visions and dreams and messages not knowing what exactly is going on. Of course, for a young child it was very scary and uncomfortable, but it took me years before realizing at a later age what exactly was going on. Read more>>

Nia McAdoo

I always say my path to Note and Accord really began in childhood. My father owned a fragrance company, and my Aunt was a perfumer in New York City, so I grew up surrounded by the world of scent without realizing it would one day become my own calling. Before launching the studio, I spent 12 years building and eventually selling a commercial printing company. Read more>>

Greg Smith

Growing up, science was not a subject I was particularly interested in. In fact, I always wanted to be an airline pilot. As I got older, I became interested in people, and after some thought, majored in psychology for my first degree. In the 1990s, I became a career changer and went back to school. Read more>>

Becky Skinner

I got started on my personal health journey by necessity for my daughter and eventually my whole family. Little by little I was exposed to more and more people and information that allowed me to help my family and grow my love for health and natural remedies. I started to take classes and earn diplomas in muscle testing, nutrition , and herbalism. Read more>>

Michelle Padilla

I am the Director of Integrated Strategic Sales and Marketing for Eventus WholeHealth, a national leader in post-acute and long-term Care. I am also the owner of Big Tomato Marketing, a digital marketing agency dedicated to empowering small businesses and nonprofits through strategic, values-driven marketing. Read more>>

Elissa Porter

Fashion and design have always been a part of who I am. For as long as I can remember, I dreamed of opening my own boutique. Over the years, I built a strong foundation in merchandising, product development, and business analysis, working with major brands and helping design and curate apparel. Read more>>

Yulai Alvarez-Rodriguez

My journey into entrepreneurship and mental health is rooted in both personal experience and professional purpose. Read more>>

Jeff Denson

My grandfather bought this farm after being a fighter pilot in war world II. He began the Christmas tree farm in the 80’s and as I grew up, I would help him. So many families would come year after year and it became a generational tradition for most families. When my grandmother passed in 2011, my grandfather quickly declined and he passed in August 2012. Read more>>

Asha Kenley

I started my career in the school system as a Special Ed instructional assistant. I worked there for 12 years, and during my summers, I worked for Durham Parks and Rec. I loved working in Parks and Rec because every day offered something different. After 12 years in the school system, I decided to leave and pursue a full-time job in Parks and Rec. Read more>>

Kimberly Brite

I love being a hairstylist! I didn’t always know what career I wanted to pursue, but I’ve always had a strong artistic bent and love doing hands on work. Not knowing how that translated into a career, I acquired a Bachelor of Arts in English, and still enjoy writing poetry and reading quality literature (I’m not even using AI to write this!). Read more>>

Ashley Van Horn

Southern Glow Beauty began long before it had a name. I’ve always been drawn to the world of beauty from the transformation, the confidence, and the emotion behind it. What started as doing makeup for friends, family, and local events slowly grew into something much bigger. Read more>>

Laurel Kilgore

Sure! Saltire Gallerie brings together long years of related work and experiences with the sheer serendipity of place and time. Perhaps it began in the Gallerie Affrica, on R Street NW, Washington DC, where my imported African art pieces became part of the Smithsonian Museum permanent collections. Read more>>

JenDina Bowers

It all started with Chemistry 101, when that ‘D’ hit my transcript, it broke my heart and crushed my dreams of becoming a medical doctor. Today I thank God, because he knew what he was doing; me and other humans’ bodily fluids do not mix well. But you know what did mix well? It was my empathy with what other people are going through. Read more>>

Guy Cooke

After getting my license in land surveying and training numerous people in the industry, I found that I was more concerned about quality than the people I worked for, worked with, and trained. I was a survey manager during the 2008 market crunch, required to sell services that no one was buying. Read more>>

Bill Harper

The challenge of finding a career that was equal parts theater, design, writing, photography and strategy was daunting. I left high school having convinced myself the answer was a path to automotive design through mechanical engineering – I had visions of becoming the next Pininafraina in my head. Read more>>

Kasey ‘CaveMan’ Jones

It all started in the jungles of Peru, involving the omens of hummingbirds, butterflies and bats. Went into the jungle as an amoeba, but came out with a mission to bring the Djembe, and ultimately, music to the world. Starting from nothing, literally building the business with my own hands, one drum at a time. Read more>>

Austin Strickland

Halo Method’s inception began many years ago at the start of chiropractic school. Coming into school, I was looking to learn everything about the body and how everything connects together. In addition, I wanted to be the type of doctor that was able to heal people of conditions that were otherwise unsolvable. Read more>>

Melissa Cogliati

Grew up on Long Island NY, moved here with my husband (known each other all our lives) in 1989. After working for Leith Cars for about 12 years, I wanted something more for my family. I was a Loan Officer at the time we started this business in 2004. Read more>>

Eric Moran

I started playing guitar when I was eleven, thanks to my Dad, who’s a fantastic guitarist. Growing up, my parents introduced me to all kinds of music and I quickly fell in love with playing guitar. Read more>>

Kaitlyn Blake

I’m Kaitlyn Blake, the photographer and bridal stylist behind Bride of the Pines, a journey that began eleven years ago when I fell in love with photographing weddings. What started as capturing intimate, emotional moments for couples across North Carolina has grown into a career that now includes photographing designers like Hayley Paige, Sandals Resort Weddings, and celebrations at stunning local and destination venues. Read more>>

Tracee Larson

As this venture began, she branded her business as “tl design.” Throughout the years, Tracee worked with a few other photographers designing custom, high quality story book albums for weddings, maternity, newborns and babies, children, seniors, families, engagement sessions and guestbooks. As business grew, Tracee gained clients from across the US creating birth announcements, greeting cards, invitations, bookmarks, business cards, letterhead, postcards, brochures, logos and more! As the economy hit, Tracee had to return to working part time in the corporate world as she continued to grow her business. Read more>>

Alice Hsu

The path to becoming a healer felt like a calling since I was very young, a persistent inner voice I couldn’t ignore, though it took decades to finally answer it. The instant I immersed myself in this practice, everything felt completely natural. I quickly realized I possess a genuine gift for guiding people through deep healing work and personal transformation. Read more>>

Rhea Sims

I pursued a Master of Science in Global Health to broaden my ability to advocate for systemic change through policy, but that path came with its own bureaucracy and challenges. What became clear to me, though, was what I truly loved doing: providing direct, personalized care and education to families. Meeting them where they are, guiding them with evidence-based support, and empowering them to make decisions that are best for their own family. Read more>>