From Robin on why she wants an SB Small Business Grant: "The goal I have for my life right now is to live every day as closely aligned to my core values as I possibly can. In my personal life and in the life of my business my focus is contributing to my own physical, emotional and mental well-being and that of the clients I work with. I believe women are conditioned and encouraged to put their needs last and sometimes, if there is a history of trauma, are disconnected from what their own needs even are. As I continue to bloom as a business owner, the nuances of all of my interactions become more important to me. Building the business means time away from my family and friends, means less time for my own pursuits. So everything I interact with is examined through the same lens: Is this in alignment with who I am and what matters? Is this interaction life affirming? I joined the Sabbatical Community after a brief conversation with a friend. She talked about the products, of course, and how slowing herself down to care for her skin had shifted so many other things in her life in ways that she was surprised and delighted by. But what struck me was the way she talked about the women she’d met in the group, how through the ether they’d formed this true community, and how she felt there was a place for her concern and voice in a climate that was (and is) feeling hostile towards women. Of course the financial impacts of being awarded the grant are important, but I will press on even without the money. What’s so exciting about this grant is the potential of being recognized by an organization whose has built their own vision in an introspective and intentional way."

From Ruth on why she wants an SB Small Business Grant: "Plane tickets to Nicaragua. I want to go and teach our new team of mom seamtresses faster sewing techniques so that they can make more money doing their work and so that we can share more toys with more children. Kids need to know that the items they use didn't just magically appear, they were made by a person with a name who has value. Because eventually, our children will be people who have jobs and make things and I want our kids to know that their work, whatever they choose for it to be, has value."

From Izabela on why she wants an SB Small Business Grant: "We have a lot of expenses due to registering our company in the US. I would use about half of it to register the trademark and the other half for advertising purposes in order to drive trafic to our website and scale sales."