Entrepreneurs of the Year | Coral Pleas

Why we chose Her:

The risks in launching her own business were all there for Coral Pleas in 2008: She was already a part owner and stylist for one of the more prominent salons in Sarasota. She made more than $100,000 a year. And there was the faltering economy.

Pleas, 53, plowed ahead. She spent at least $500,000 to open Cutting Loose, in a strip mall off University Parkway in east Manatee County. She has since opened three more locations, including one in Connecticut and one in downtown Sarasota. The focus at all the locations is to combine white-glove-style service with French hair-cutting techniques that complement each client's head shape and frame.