The Living Archive
A permanent editorial collection of stories from women in business: the moments that shaped how they build, lead, and keep going. Every contribution is read personally and reviewed before it enters the archive.
Identity Shift · 1 min read
I used to introduce myself by my job title. Now I catch myself pausing before I say it, because it doesn’t feel true anymore. I built this business as a younger version of myself who needed to prove s…
By Anonymous
Jul 2026
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Identity Shift · 1 min read
started my business because I wanted freedom. Five years later, I realized the thing I built was running me instead. The version of me who designed all of it wanted safety and proof. The woman I am no…
By Anonymous
Jul 2026
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Business Growth · 2 min read
Before Urban Vanity Lounge, my life looked completely different. I started my career working as a unit clerk in the hospital. It was a stable job and a path I could have easily stayed on, but as my li…
By Danielle Stewart-hoare
Aug 2026
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Visibility · 6 min read
Everyone thinks their life would change for the better if they just had "more visibility." I know this, because these were the thoughts I used to think. More followers on social media. More eyeballs l…
By Katrina Owens
Sep 2026
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Identity Shift · 2 min read
★ FeaturedI thought I was writing a book. Honestly, I wasn't even thinking about what would come after it. My daughter Goldie was born medically complex and spent 132 days in the NICU. Our life changed in ways…
By Michelle Hooey
Aug 2026
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Leadership · 5 min read
★ FeaturedSomeone once told me, "Coralee, I wish I had your confidence." I remember not quite knowing what to say. Because the truth is, it never came from how I saw myself, it came from how many times I pushed myself, quietly, when nobody was watchi…
By Coralee
Aug 2026
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Identity Shift · 3 min read
My life started out idyllic. Until I got married. Young. At 19. I moved around a lot as a child but grew up through my teenage years in Texas, and at 19, I met and married a man who was from a German…
By Mandi Brix
Women's Advocate Leader
Sep 2026
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Evolution · 3 min read
★ FeaturedI have loved bringing people together since I was a child. I was the mother hen, the gatherer, the table-setter, the planner, and the organizer. I enjoyed sharing meals and celebrating birthdays, reun…
By Rita
Aug 2026
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Lesson · 3 min read
In 2023, I was introduced to entrepreneurship. I was working hard to get my business off the ground. I was driven, ambitious, and wanted to prove to myself I could have a thriving business. As someone…
By Melissa Couradet
Heartset Mentor
Sep 2026
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Motherhood · 7 min read
★ FeaturedI thought I'd be a bedside nurse until retirement. That wasn't a plan I let go of. It ended, not by my choice, right around the time I had my son, and I had to become something else fast. My dad moved…
By Leah Johnson
LPN, Medical Aesthetician & Founder of Skin Co Aesthetics
Oct 2026
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