Press Colorado Juice Company

Stephanie Witwer’s dream of creating high quality, all-organic cold press juices to help individuals live healthier, came to life at an event early in 2015. She met Jon Maraschin, Executive Director of the Business Incubator Center, who encouraged her to attend the SBDC’s Leading Edge course in February. Stephanie did and was inspired to launch her business from the Business Incubator Center’s Commercial Kitchen a few months later.

After moving into the Business Incubator Center, Stephanie purchased a $25,000 juice press to keep up with her growing business. She continued to meet with SBDC coaches and take other SBDC classes. Stephanie learned to manage cash flows, hire an employee, and other skills to grow her business. Stephanie says she “built confidence and was able to keep after it and never give up.” She was motivated and “wanted to make the community healthier,” one person at a time.

After a busy summer season at the Downtown Farmer’s Market under her belt, it was clear she needed to expand into a location with high foot traffic. In August of 2015, she had the confidence to go it alone and moved into a location on Main Street in Grand Junction. Stephanie’s business continues to grow and she would like to eventually expand to the Telluride area.

Stephanie gets ongoing coaching from the Grand Junction SBDC. Her advice to business owners is to “go from the heart and be passionate about what you do.”

(970) 201-7346
555 Main Street, Grand Junction, CO 81501
Stephanie Witwer

Alpine Autohaus

Louie is a six-foot-tall (and growing) house plant and the shop greeter at Alpine Autohaus. He was passed down from the original owner with the adage, “If Louie is doing well, the business is doing well.” According to Alpine Autohaus’ owner, Sean Cotter, Louie is doing very well. Alpine Autohaus opened in 1995 as a one-man operation. Cotter was hired in 2013 when the original owner was ready to move on and with the understanding

gelu Italian Ice

Ronn and Karin Gookin are not new to the entrepreneur world. They bought their first business, a flooring store years ago. With no food service background, it was an idea presented to them by their partner, John Nelson, to start producing and selling Italian Ice in the Grand Valley. In New York City, where John is from, it is not unusual to see an Italian Ice cart on every corner and in every park. However,

Angels In the Making

Teri Thomas, owner of Angels in the Making, LLC, has always had a passion for working with animals. She trained her first dog at the age of 8. As a child she spent her summers at her grandparent’s ranch in New Mexico, there she raised and trained chickens to do a variety of tasks much to everyone’s surprise. Born and raised in Colorado she attended CSU in Fort Collins for 1 year and Mesa College