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Local small businesses discussed their growth and recent success during the Shelby County Chamber Connections Luncheon on March 6 at the Grande Hall in Columbiana. (Reporter photos/Noah Wortham)

By NOAH WORTHAM | Managing Editor

COLUMBIANA – Local small businesses discussed their growth and recent success during the Shelby County Chamber Connections Luncheon on March 6 at the Grande Hall in Columbiana.

The luncheon featured presentations by a panel of representatives from Shelby County businesses who received 2024 Small Business of the Year awards.

The first speaker during the luncheon was Melissa Dixon of CDI Janitorial services in Pelham which was named the 2024 Small Business of the Year in the category of 21 or more employees. Dixon shared that, unlike other business owners present at the meeting, she married into the business but also shared that she has since helped it grow tremendously over the last several years.

“In the 6 1/2 years that I’ve been a part of the business, I have helped double our business because more people know about us than ever before,” Melissa said.

Melissa Dixon is the vice president of Charles Dixon Industries Janitorial Services and is a retired educator with a master’s degree in education. CDI Janitorial Services was started in 1987 by Charles Dixon after he majored in business and graduated from Jacksonville State University.

“You’re sitting in a building we actually clean,” Melissa said to those present in the Grande Hall. “We clean this building (and) all of the county buildings for Shelby County.”

As part of the luncheon, business owners were tasked with discussing the biggest challenges they were facing and Melissa focused on when her employees received incorrect accusations.

“One of the biggest challenges, for me, would be when I know my people are right,” Melissa said. “A lot of times, if something goes wrong, it’s really easy to blame a cleaning company… We’re not perfect but I’m really good about defending my people.”

CDI Janitorial Services has approximately 50 individuals on staff and 10 of them have been with the company for 20 years.

“We pay by the job,” Melissa said. “And so, it could very well be that you come to work for me and you get to be there by yourself, you put your headphones on and you can go about your business. And you’re making from $19 to upwards of $35 to $40 an hour. That’s why we get to keep our people, and I couldn’t be more blessed with that.”

Khiari McAlpin Knox spoke during the luncheon on behalf of her business, Vinehouse Nursery in Alabaster which was named the 2024 Small Business of the Year for businesses with 11-20 employees.

“What an honor it is to be standing here today,” Knox said. “With so many things happening in today’s society, I don’t take for granted the many blessings that God has allowed for me and my business and the success we have accomplished so far.”

Born in Asheville, North Carolina and raised in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, Knox is a graduate of Auburn University with a bachelor’s in education and master’s in elementary education. She also worked at a child development center for more than 10 years as a teacher of infants, toddlers and pre-k students as well as a camp counselor.

“I tell anybody who wants to go into entrepreneurship that it is certainly not a cake walk,” Knox said. “But if you truly believe that you’ve been called to do something, nothing is impossible when you’ve got God by your side.”

Knox shared that the biggest challenge for her business was finding clientele and being unfamiliar with running a daycare.

“I did struggle for the first three months,” Knox said. “I was new, I was young and anybody that has children, you know it’s a big deal for you to let somebody to take care of your baby.”

However, thanks to a public event she learned about through her landlord, she was able to get out in the general public and gain her first two customers. From then on, word of mouth helped her business grow.

Knox said that, in the future, they are hoping to open up a brand new building where they can serve more children and families.

The winner of the 2024 Small Business of the year in the category of one to five employees was Creations Galore and Moore in Calera. The business’ owner, Nedra Moore, has a degree in network engineering and previously worked in information technology before transitioning to a career in baking.

“My aha moment didn’t come all at once,” Moore said. “It started as a simple desire to create, to put my hands to something meaningful while caring for my daughter who suffered a severe birthing injury. Baking became an outlet for me, but before I knew it, it turned into something much bigger.”

Moore began with orders from family and friends before turning her hobby into a business and opening a brick and mortar location in Calera in 2020.

“Building a business comes with challenges,” Moore said. “And launching a business in the midst of uncertainty, shutdowns and supply chain disruptions—that was like planning a parade in Alabama and then realizing a thunderstorm a heat wave and a surprise snowfall decided to all show up at the same time.”

For Moore, one of her biggest hurdles was balancing passion with business sense. She knew how to be creative but running a business required a different set of skills. Despite the difficulties she faced, the community aspect of the work was its own reward.

“Seeing families gather at our bakery, watching kids light up during our decoration classes… partnering with our local farmers and organizations like The Arc of Shelby (County) and Project SEARCH made me realize I wasn’t just selling sweets,” Moore said. “I was creating something biggest than business… Our bakery has become a hub for learning, creativity and inclusion.”

The final speaker of the luncheon was Aubri McClendon of Counseling and Consulting, LLC in Columbiana which was the named the 2024 Business of the Year in the category of small businesses with less than 25 employees and open less than a year. McClendon is an associated licensed counselor under the supervision of Dr. Kelly Owenby.

During her presentation, McClendon highlighted her heritage as a fourth or fifth generation Columbiana resident and discussed her journey to becoming a practicing counselor.

After working with the South Shelby Chamber of Commerce and the Greater Shelby County Chamber of Commerce, McClendon worked for the Shelby County County Schools Board of Education as a career coach. During the COIVD-19 pandemic, McClendon decided to go back to school and get a master’s degree.

“Then I opened my private practice in Columbiana because, like I said, this is home,” McClendon said.

While her office space was being renovated, McClendon got her start in the back offices of Leaders’ Corner Coffee and Tea with eight clients. Now, with her own personal business seeing success, she credits the help of others for making everything possible.

“Now I have 120 (clients),” McClendon said. “I’m on a wait list and all these beautiful things but it was really because people poured into me.”

McClendon shared that she doesn’t have to utilize funds and efforts toward marketing thanks to the help of word of mouth from her clients. She also shared that she finds the job itself to be its own reward.

“If I can be just a small part to help somebody overcome some mental health barriers, then that’s all I want and I enjoy it every single day,” McClendon said.

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