About

Independent Business Journal publishes long-form profiles of owner-run American businesses: the roofers, painters, cleaners, lawn crews, plumbers, detailers and electricians who keep a town running. It is not tied to any one city or region.

Businesses like these do much of the everyday work of a town, and they are rarely written about with care. A listing gives a phone number and a star rating. It does not say how the owner learned the trade or what a working day looks like. Those are the stories we write.

Every story is a profile of one business and the people who run it. It is reported from conversations with the owners and from public records, such as state business registries and license lookups, along with the business’s own published work and its public reviews. Quotes are the owners’ own words.

We leave out personal finances, health and private family matters. Each profile ends with the name of the business, where it is based and, if it has one, a link to its website.