“My Economy” tells the story of the new economic normal through the eyes of people trying to make it, because we know the only numbers that really matter are the ones in your economy.

The concept for Marissa Ferola’s soon-to-open Korean American bakery, Nine Winters, started with her kids. “The shop really began as a passion project of baking with Korean ingredients with my oldest daughter who’s now 7, Janine,” she said. 

Producing American-style pastry with Korean flavors is a way for the Cambridge, Massachusetts-based Ferola and her children to fuse their Korean heritage with their American upbringing. “I hope that they see when they’re older that they have deeply inspired me to dig deeper into my own identity and to love myself more and to be more open with sharing who I am as a person.”

Ferola is one of a growing number of women entrepreneurs. Since 2019, women have opened businesses at nearly double the rate of their male counterparts, according to a recent Wells Fargo report on the impact of women-owned businesses. 

But opening a brick and mortar is no easy feat. “A food business, it’s a tight margin. Knowing and understanding food costs and supply chain issues and also wanting to keep food accessible is a line that I’m walking every day, and it does force me to think more creatively.”