On Wall Street in Uptown Kingston, New York business is booming. The bustling street is home to the county courthouse, banks, and several locally owned and operated businesses. A majority of the businesses on Wall Street are owned by women. I found this inspiring so I sat down with four of the female business owners as they discussed the challenges, controversies and triumphs of owning a business today.

    The business women that I spoke with are Jenna, owner of Uptown Coffee who acquired her business through previous owners and has since made tons of drastic and patron approved changes. Emily, owner of Blush Bridal Boutique who is a first time business owner and whose doors just opened earlier this year. Theresa, owner of Theresa Regan Massage Therapy LMT who has been a nurse for the past 35 years and uses those skills and her nurturing nature to succeed in the world of massage. And Karen, owner of Bop to Tottom a woman with 20 plus years experience in wholesale and retail manufacturing, buying and selling who decided to take a risk and set up shop in Kingston back in 2000. These women are of different generations, acquired their businesses in completely different ways, and are in entirely different fields of industry and while most of their experiences have been positive there has been some scrutiny and doubt on if they would succeed. But they are proving all of the naysayers wrong and succeeding without a doubt.