2023 Small Business Awards reveal a caring community

David Crawford said he was thrilled to be named as a finalist for the Community Impact Award and be among the “amazing” organizations honored at the Greater Sarasota Chamber of Commerce Frank G. Berlin, Sr. 2023 Small Business Awards.

As the owner of Catalist Realty, a brokerage firm built on a model of offering 15% of all commissions to a charity of the homebuyer’s choice, he said his company's mission was made possible through Sarasota’s philanthropic community.

That community, he said, was on display with the awards, which were presented during a luncheon on June 23 at the Hyatt Regency and included honorees such as Rise & Nye’s and All Faiths Food Bank, organizations to which Catalist Realty had previously donated.

He added that a “thriving” chamber of commerce was also important to help local businesses. 

“This event today is hands down a favorite event that we do every year,” said Sarasota Chamber CEO and president Heather Kasten, citing the organization's mission of supporting businesses in a competitive market, helping them grow and creating an attractive business climate.

Ed Hill, vice president of the chamber, said he could speak for the value of the awards, having originally experienced them while representing the Venice telecommunications company Lightspeed Voice.

“The additional exposure this event gives businesses — you cannot put a price on it,” he said.

Rise & Nye's

A downtown coffee shop, Rise & Nye's, won the Community Impact Award, thanks to its unique mission.

Of the 35 people that currently work at Rise & Nye's, most never had a job before they began working at the coffee and ice cream shop at 1534 State St., said owner Beaver Shriver.

Since its founding two years ago, the shop's purpose has been to provide jobs for people with developmental disabilities and to serve as a two-way street between staff and customers, said Shriver.

While the staff receive a job, a paycheck, a share of the tips, and a chance to show their talents, customers also benefit by having the chance to meet people with disabilities.

“Here they are, making your coffee, making your beignets, smiling, sitting down with you. It’s just been an honor to be able to create the space for these people,” Shriver said.

As visitors get to know the people who work at Rise & Nye’s, they may learn that they are just like everyone else in many ways.

“They want to have jobs, they want to have boyfriends and girlfriends, they want to get their own house and live on their own — they just want to do all the same things that all of us do,” he said.

Shriver said the shop helps right the fact that an inclusive environment was often denied to such people in the past.

“We’ve neglected these people, marginalized them, institutionalized them, forgotten them for way too long, and it’s just high time we give them a chance to shine,” he said.

He noted that while the bakery’s mission appears to be hitting home, it also offers quality products to back up its offerings, having been voted best coffee shop two years in a row through a Sarasota Magazine reader poll.

“We’re honored,” he said of the Community Impact Award. “It’s been great to see recognition and appreciation of what we’re doing.”

Stage Door Studios

Students from across the 16 years that Stage Door Studios, the winner of the Woman-Owned Business Award, has been in operation have returned there with stories of the impact dance had on their lives, said owner Jill Athridge.

Although Athridge knows a thing or two about running a business, bringing experience from the New York City restaurant scene, she said the studio, which she described as the largest in the Sarasota and Manatee County area, is about more than turning a profit.

“What I do is not about making great dancers,” she said. “It’s about making great kids.”

Among the skills the kids learn, she said, are time management, body awareness, and being able to perform and be confident in front of an audience. The studio also works closely with schools, having served as a business partner of multiple schools since its founding.

When she established the studio in 2007, Athridge was working at Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse on weekends to pay her bills and purchase props, and there were 40 kids participating. That number has since risen to 750, but it isn't just the efforts of one woman that have made the business a success.

“I have an incredible staff of women that support me, and that continue to move our mission forward,” she said.

Athridge said as a female business owner, she was honored to receive the award.

“It is hard being a woman, where most people don’t always take what we do seriously. It is a really great honor to be up for that.”

Yet she said it was important for the students as well, who are mostly girls.

“Having this award shows them that their dreams are important to us,” she said.

Herrera Psychology

The winner of the Minority Business Award, Herrera Psychology has grown considerably since its 2016 founding. When Dr. Stacie Herrera started the practice, she intended to serve as its sole proprietor, but she was found such an overwhelming demand for its youth-oriented services that she sought out additional staff.

“I’ve been so thankful to find values aligned, passionate individuals who have a diversity of background, and thought, and expertise, who are now able to work with youth,” she said.

The practice offers individual therapy and group therapy focused on helping children and teens, as well as evaluations for learning disabilities, autism, ADHD, and any type of anxiety or depression that may affect a student’s ability to perform.

Herrera said as she worked to establish the practice, she saw that the reality of running a business did not align with the definition of “freedom” typically associated with the idea, but amid her hard work, she was able to assemble a “very strong team.”

She called the group’s psychologists excellent collaborators, adept at having raw and honest conversations that result in everyone feeling seen, heard and valued. Yet because of the intimate, one-on-one nature of therapy as a practice, she found it exciting to gain further community exposure. 

“I think what makes us exceptional is that we are all about being part of each family’s village,” Herrera said. 

She said the practice not only works with families, but ensures they are connected throughout the community. An important part of that mission is innovation. For instance, this summer, Herrera Psychology is providing skill-building workshops to help kids learn to manage the emotions “that come with being a human.”

Herrera said she was surprised to win the Minority Business Award against competition from Aginto | A Digital Agency and Jah Movement.

“The common theme that I see between our three businesses is that sense of giving back to the community, that philanthropic spirit,” she said.