Kellee Twadelle, owner of Rose & Dove Specialty Gift Shop, is proud to own her own business. In this episode, Kellee shares how support from her local business community, quality staff, and loyal customer base keep her business going strong throughout various industry changes and personal challenges. Small Biz Stories tells the story of some of the bravest people you’ll ever meet — small business owners. You’ll hear how they got started, their biggest challenges, and their dreams for the future. Find us on Stitcher You can also read the transcript below: Small Biz Stories is brought to you by Constant Contact. Constant Contact is committed to helping small businesses and nonprofits connect to new and existing customers with email marketing. Find out more at ConstantContact.com. Kellee: It was nice sort of being in charge of your own destiny. Then again on the flip side, there’s so much pressure in wanting to make it succeed and that always in the back of your head, that chance of failure. I think seeing my father and how successful he was, that fear of failure, I sort of had this drive. “I’ve got to just keep going and running with this and changing and mixing it up and evolving.” I think anyone who goes straight to starting their own business has got such great moxie. My hat is off to them because that’s pretty amazing, too. At least I’ve got a base, a foundation of . . . I was a project manager, so I kind of knew how to approach certain things and events and I’m like “Okay. I can kind of use that template.” But someone coming, brand-new, that’s pretty incredible. Dave: Earlier this year, we surveyed small business owners to hear about the sacrifices and rewards of owning your own business. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that 59 percent of those surveyed agreed that the freedom to try new things, make your own mistakes, and control your destiny is the best part of running a small business. As important as personal freedom is to many owners, listening to their stories has shown that no successful business is truly self-sufficient. Today you’ll hear from Kellee Twadelle, owner of Rose and Dove Specialty Gift Shop. Kellee shares how support from her local business community, quality staff, and loyal customer base keep her business going strong throughout various industry changes and personal challenges. More than fifty percent of small businesses fail within the first five years. These are the stories of those who beat the odds. My name is Dave Charest and I’ll be your host as we share the stories of some of the bravest people you’ll ever meet, small business owners. You’ll hear how they got started, their biggest challenges, and their dreams for the future. Dave: Unlike a few of the other business owners we’ve talked to, Kellee didn’t start off her career as an owner. After spending over a decade working in the corporate world, Kellee shifted her focus to explore other talents.