Brandi Stewart

Cancer didn’t leave Amy Ohm bitter or angry, but instead just the opposite.

These FOXBusiness.com readers are all determined to overcome a common challenge: location. Here are their stories on how they are beating the obstacles presented by where they’ve rooted their companies.

Are you, or do you know, a well-established mom-and-pop and/or thriving startup that started out at the bottom of the barrel? How did they dig out and climb up? Share your story.

Here are reader responses sent in by e-mail about your "determined" local businesses.

Find out how these business owners say their determination is helping them overcome challenges as diverse as their companies.

It took eight years of research and development before she even opened up shop, but Eliza Minden had finally defied skeptics in the dance world and built a reputable and unique line of advanced ballet shoes. And then one day it was about to crumble into pieces right before her eyes.

On stages and screens across the country, ballerinas captivate audiences with their dazzling tutus, sky-high jumps, and one the most magical tricks of all, dancing on their toes. But have you ever thought of what those delicate yet rugged slippers, known as pointe shoes, are made from? Entrepreneur Eliza Minden said she was shocked when she found out, so she set out to create a technologically advanced pointe shoe and to convince the dance world that there are some things about ballet that should not remain traditional.

Small business owners from across the country share secrets-to-success stories.

Born and raised in rural Tuscaloosa, Ryan Glass ventured out of Alabama to refine his cooking skills at the New England Culinary Institute and at the upscale Martini House in Napa Valley, California. With his family, heart, and cooking style deeply rooted in the south, Glass said he decided to take what he had learned and head back home in 2005 to open his own restaurant. Ironically, at the time he thought he was taking the easy road.