If you have ever scrolled Huron Facebook groups looking for a good nail tech, wished you did not have to drive to Sioux Falls for beauty services, or wondered how young women business owners are shaping the Huron beauty industry, this episode of the Huron Spotlight Podcast needs to be in your queue.

In this conversation, we sit down with Irie, a Huron SD cosmetologist who has built a growing, word of mouth beauty business in under a year by focusing on one simple goal. She wants every client who sits in her chair to walk out feeling confident and beautiful.

If you have searched for Huron SD nails, a local nail tech in Huron SD, or a cosmetologist who actually listens and cares about your natural nails, this is your peek behind the scenes of what it looks like to build that kind of business from the ground up.

Irie shares what it was like to graduate high school in 2021, try a more traditional college path, realize it was not for her, and then take the leap into cosmetology at Lake Area. She talks candidly about finding her place in Huron, honoring her Asian family’s expectations to stay close and support her parents, and still carving out a path as a young woman business owner in South Dakota. We also get into the real life side of starting a beauty business in a town like Huron, where the official population is around 14,000 but the surrounding rural communities make the reach much bigger. Irie describes those early months when she was brand new, did not know many people, and honestly thought there might only be a few hundred potential clients. We talk about how she used social media, Instagram tags, and client referrals instead of paid ads to slowly fill her books.

If you are curious how services like builder gel, hard gel, and GelX nails actually work, why they last longer, and why they are different from traditional acrylics, Irie breaks it down in regular person language. She also shares the part most people do not see. Taxes that are kicking her butt, trying to find work life balance when your brain never really shuts off, and the emotional relief of not having to walk into a job where a difficult coworker can ruin your day. Along the way, we zoom out and talk about culture, multigenerational living, and why so many immigrant families in Huron feel like they have cracked a code that many of us in more isolated western style households are still trying to figure out.

If you care about Huron small business stories, are curious about the Huron beauty services scene, or simply want to support a young woman who is quietly raising the bar for what is possible in our local beauty industry, this episode will give you a mix of heart, humor, and very real talk.

Tune in to the full conversation on the Huron Spotlight Podcast to hear Irie’s story, learn more about her services, and get a feel for why keeping talent like hers in Huron SD matters so much for our community.

• Follow Irie on Instagram HERE
• Book an apppointment with Irie HERE

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If you have ever driven past Solveig Gym on Market Street and wondered what happens behind that big garage door, this episode is your invite inside. On this week’s Huron Spotlight Podcast, we sit down with local gym owner and small business powerhouse Katie Reno, the woman behind one of the most community-driven fitness spaces in Huron, SD. If you are searching for a Huron SD gym, curious about local fitness classes, or just love hearing real stories from women business owners, this conversation is absolutely worth a listen.

Katie never planned on owning a gym. In fact, when the previous owners approached her about buying Solveig, she literally went home and told her husband, “Whatever you do, don’t let me buy this.” At the time she was working a full-time government job, raising teenagers, and squeezing in classes as a member and coach at the gym. But somewhere between a drive out to Lake Byron, good music on the radio, and thinking about the people she had met on those gym mats, something shifted. She realized Solveig was not just a fitness studio. It was her people. It was her kids’ people. It was a community she did not want to see disappear.

In this episode, Katie shares what it really looked like to take the leap from “safe” government work into small business ownership in a small town. We talk about those first months when membership was low, the bills still had to be paid, and she was juggling a full-time job, a full-time family, and a full-time gym. If you have ever romanticized owning a cute little local fitness studio in Huron or imagined that being a business owner means passive income and sleeping in, Katie gives a very honest, very relatable look behind the curtain. There are early mornings, late nights, and a lot of “do the hard thing even when you don’t feel like it.”

We also dig into what makes Solveig different from a typical gym. Yes, there are StrongFit classes, GritFit sculpt and blend, and yoga sessions with garage doors open to the morning air. But underneath the burpees and yoga blocks is something bigger. Katie describes Solveig as a place where people practice doing hard things together so they can face hard things outside the gym. It is about showing up for yourself, being surrounded by people who cheer you on instead of judge you, and walking out 45 minutes later as a slightly stronger version of the person who walked in. That is the kind of Huron SD fitness community many of us are craving.

If you are a woman business owner in Huron SD, someone dreaming about starting something of your own, or a local who just wants a judge-free place to move your body and find your people, Katie’s story will hit home. You will hear the messy middle most people don’t talk about, the mom guilt, the hustle, the honest fears, and also the pride that comes with building something that might someday be passed on to your kids.

Tune into this episode of the Huron Spotlight Podcast to hear the full story of how Katie went from “don’t let me buy this gym” to leading one of Huron’s most welcoming, hardworking fitness communities. Press play to hear how Solveig Gym is helping people in Huron show up, get stronger, and do hard things together.

• Solveig Website – View Solveig's class schedule
• Solveig on Facebook
• Solveig on Instagram
• Access all classes and memberships here:

If you’ve ever looked around Huron and thought, “There are so many good ideas here… why don’t we hear more of the real stories behind them?”, this episode of the Huron Spotlight Podcast is your sign to hit play. In this conversation, we flip the mic toward co-host Megan Smith so you can really get to know the teacher, organizer, and systems-brain behind the show. Megan is a longtime elementary teacher in Huron, South Dakota and the 3rd grade English Learner teacher who spends her days helping kids grow in reading, writing, speaking, and listening. She’s also the founder of Stress Less Organizing, a home organizing and systems business that was born out of her own ADHD diagnosis and years of quietly building coping strategies that turned into full-blown strengths. In this episode, we talk about what it’s like to juggle a full-time teaching career, a growing side business, a farm family schedule, and still answer the call to start something new for our community: a podcast dedicated to Huron small business owners, rural business growth, and women entrepreneurs who want their businesses to actually work in real life. You’ll hear how the idea for Huron Spotlight hit Megan like a lightning bolt one night in August, why she immediately thought of partnering with brand photographer and studio owner Malwina Aviles, and how their two very different brains—one visual and marketing-driven, one obsessed with systems and backend logistics—came together to build a platform that can highlight local businesses while also talking honestly about what’s working, what’s not, and what needs to change for small businesses in rural towns like ours. If you’re tired of generic advice aimed at influencers with 20,000 followers and you’re craving conversations about what actually moves the needle for a brick-and-mortar shop in a town of a few thousand people, this episode will feel like a deep exhale. We get into why systems and marketing are the two most underrated pieces of running a business, how messy backends and “Venmo-only” setups can quietly cap your growth, and why you don’t need to be a viral content creator to have a thriving, sustainable business in Huron. We also talk about intuitive time and energy management, why everything from your home routines to your business workflows are connected, and why Megan believes organizing—at home and in business—really comes down to knowing yourself and what you can actually manage. At the heart of it all is our shared belief that everything is figureoutable, success is never truly “overnight,” and you deserve a space where you can admit that this year has been tough without feeling like you’re failing. If you’re a Huron business owner, a service-based entrepreneur, a woman dreaming of starting something of your own, or just someone who loves this town and wants to support local, this episode will give you both encouragement and practical language for what you’re feeling. Tune in to hear Megan’s story, the bigger “why” behind Huron Spotlight, and how we plan to use this podcast to support and celebrate the people building Huron’s future.

• Human Design
• “Everything Is Figureoutable” – A book by Marie Forleo

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What happens when a systems-obsessed organizer and an immigrant brand photographer with a big-city eye sit down in a small South Dakota town, hit record, and decide to talk honestly about what it really takes to run a business here? That’s exactly what you’ll hear in this very first episode of Huron Spotlight: Local Stories and Business Growth – recorded right inside Spotlight Studio & Events in downtown Huron, SD.

In this intro conversation, Megan Smith (Stress Less Organizing) and Malwina Aviles (Spotlight Studio & Events) pull back the curtain on why they started the Huron Spotlight podcast, what makes Huron’s small business community so unique, and why they’re so passionate about shining a light on the people who are building this town’s future. If you’re a Huron, South Dakota small business owner, a local who wants to support hometown shops, or someone secretly dreaming about starting a business here, this episode is for you.

You’ll hear how the podcast idea literally hit Megan mid–stick-vacuuming in her kitchen, and how two very different brains – a Projector who sees systems and efficiencies everywhere, and a Manifesting Generator who is fueled by ideas and action – came together to create a show that blends real talk, practical tips, and hometown pride. This isn’t a polished “everything is perfect” business podcast. It’s honest, a little spicy, and deeply rooted in what it actually feels like to run a rural business in Huron, SD.

Malwina shares her story of moving from a large city in Poland to small-town South Dakota (yes, the journey does sound a little like a real-life “90 Day Fiancé” plot), what it was like navigating culture shock, and how she went from counselor to brand photographer to opening a modern event space in downtown Huron. She talks about learning to stop apologizing for taking up space, embracing confidence as a woman and immigrant business owner, and why it matters that we recognize just how many diverse entrepreneurs are quietly powering Huron’s economy.

You’ll also hear how resources like the South Dakota Small Business Development Center, a supportive landlord, and a local bank helped turn a dream into a fully booked studio and event venue – and why Malwina intentionally designed Spotlight Studio & Events to make life easier for moms, families, and other photographers. Think: a beautiful, done-for-you space where you don’t have to deep clean your house before a birthday party, and where local photographers can shoot year-round without worrying about the weather.

At its core, this first episode of Huron Spotlight: Local Stories and Business Growth is about more than one business story. It’s about visibility, diversity, and giving Huron’s small business owners – especially women and women of color – permission to be seen, heard, and fully celebrated. If you’ve ever felt like a “hidden gem” business, or like you’re figuring it all out as you go, this conversation will feel like a deep breath and a pep talk rolled into one.

• Find out your Human Design
• South Dakota Small Business Development Center (SBDC - Kelly Weaver)
• The White Frame event space in Brookings, SD
• Maddie Peschong: Malwina's business coach

Huron Spotlight Podcast Website