The work I’m doing on this website is layered, intentional, and time-consuming—and that’s not by accident. I think about every last detail because this isn’t just another platform. This isn’t a corporate e-commerce site built for speed, scale, or convenience. This is my heart on every page, my belief in creators, and my refusal to recreate systems that overlook the people who care the most.

Over the last few months, YumYumRunner™ has grown from a vision in my heart into something that feels more like a movement every single day. I’ve been pouring every ounce of energy into bringing this platform to life — showing up at markets, building connections with local creators, and shaping both the front end and back end of our website until it matches the level of excellence our community deserves. This journey isn’t easy, but it’s the kind of work that feels like purpose. Strengthening Our Leadership Team I’m excited to officially share that I’ve brought on two powerful forces to help guide YumYumRunner™ into its next chapter. JB — Chief Operating Officer (COO) JB isn’t just a partner — she is my right hand, my operational backbone, and the steady mind beside me as we build something entirely new. Her heart for this community and her ability to navigate both chaos and strategy make her a core part of this company’s DNA. YumYumRunner™ wouldn’t be where it is today without her. Kassandra — Community Outreach Officer Kassandra brings connection, warmth, and spirit everywhere she goes. She has an incredible gift for reaching people and making them feel seen. As our Community Outreach Officer, she strengthens our relationships with local creators and ensures our community feels supported at every step. Her presence is a blessing to this mission. Together, we are shaping the foundation of what YumYumRunner™ is becoming:A platform built for the community, with the community. Showing Up at Every Market I Can If there is a market happening in Hampton Roads, there’s a good chance you’ll find me there — talking with vendors, learning their stories, and listening to what they truly need. Every conversation reminds me why this matters.Every booth visit fuels my determination.Every creator I meet shows me exactly who we're building this for. This isn’t just business — it’s heart work. Working Tirelessly Behind the Scenes While I’m out connecting with our makers and local entrepreneurs, I’m also spending countless hours behind the scenes — refining the website, improving functionality, securing the marketplace structure, testing features, fixing issues, and making sure the platform we launch with is something our community can be proud of. Front end. Back end. Early mornings. Late nights.It’s all part of the mission. Thank You for Your Patience To everyone who has supported me, checked in, encouraged me, or simply believed in this dream: Thank you.Thank you for your patience.Thank you for trusting the process.Thank you for cheering from the sidelines while I build something meant to uplift every local creative soul in Hampton Roads. We’re getting closer every day — and I can’t wait to show you what’s coming. YumYumRunner™ is more than a platform.It’s a seat at the front row.It’s a chance for our creators, makers, and dreamers to be seen.And we're only just getting started.

When people talk about starting a business, they usually talk about the win.The launch day.The investors.The “look how far you’ve come.”The shiny parts.

This morning… I won’t lie.I woke up defeated — the kind of defeated that sits in your bones. Bills weighing on me. Pressure gnawing at the edges. The dream feeling close enough to touch but somehow still heavy enough to crush me.

Today I spent time at the Virginia Beach Christmas Market, and I’m still buzzing from it — the creativity, the craftsmanship, the STORIES. My heart left that building heavier in gratitude and lighter in hope, if that makes any sense at all.

Today, I had the honor of standing beside something much bigger than myself.

This weekend was one of those beautiful reminders of why I started YumYumRunner™️ in the first place.

Today, I’m stepping away from my laptop, grabbing my tote bag, and heading straight into the magic of the Ren Faire — not just for fun, but for something even better: connection.

(by Naomi, Founder of YumYumRunner™) Okay friends… pull up a chair. Or sit on the floor like I’ve been doing for WEEKS, because apparently that’s my natural habitat now. Your girl has officially entered startup gremlin mode. Let me tell you about the last few weeks of my life. So first, I teamed up with the Free Website Guys — bless these humans. They looked at my chaos, my vision, my “I have no idea what I’m doing but I’m doing it anyway” energy and said, “Yeah, we can work with this.” And now? BOOM. Website in the making. Real brand colors. Real structure. Real potential.Not me getting emotional over fonts. Then I upgraded from “living room floor CEO” to “woman in her tech era” because your girl got a whole Microsoft Surface and an actual desk. Like… A REAL DESK.Not the Japanese extra-low coffee table that has had me folded like a lawn chair for months. When that desk arrives Tuesday?I might actually cry on it.Big girl sobs.Happy tears and maybe some regular exhausted ones too. I even got a legal PO Box for the company.Tell me WHY this felt like signing a lease on my dreams??Like ma’am, you’re still eating cereal at 1am, relax. And THEN… insurance hunting.Trying to find a company brave enough to insure a dream that is basically taped together with grit, caffeine, and feral determination.Who wants it?Anyone?Bueller? We’re also moving into a local partnership—and not just any partnership. A group that SEES the community the way I do. They get the importance of local. Of makers. Of small creators. They get ME.(Which, honestly, is impressive in itself.) And yes, there’s a potential investor.A real one.Deep pockets.Community-minded.Probably eccentric (which tells me he might LOVE me).If that conversation goes well… ohhhh baby, we’re about to take off. And through all this?I’m juggling two dogs, a special-needs kiddo who needs the right kind of care, and DoorDashing so we don’t sink financially.It’s giving “main character in a heartfelt comedy” vibes.It’s giving “if one more thing goes wrong I will scream but also still keep going.”It’s giving real life. Here’s the truth: I’ve cried on my floor more nights than I can count.Not because I’m weak — but because doing something HUGE while doing it ALONE hits different. I’ve wished so many times for help, for support, for someone to say, “Naomi, you’re not crazy. This is going to work.” And yet every morning…I get back up.I log back in.I build again. I know creators don’t fully see the vision yet.I know people are watching me thinking:“Okay girl… what IS YumYumRunner exactly?” But one day very soon…They will see it.They will FEEL it.And when they do? It’s going to be magic.Not because I got lucky — but because I refused to stop building. I’m tired.I’m broke.I’m hopeful.I’m terrified.I’m unstoppable. And for the first time in a long time…I don’t feel like I’m doing this journey alone anymore.You’re here. The team’s forming. The foundation is real.My little spark of a dream is turning into a fire. So yeah…Welcome to YumYumRunner™ — where I build a multi-million dollar vision from the floor of my living room, with messy hair, a stubborn heart, and more determination than any Fortune 500 CEO could ever handle. Stick around.It’s about to get wild. — Naomi ❤️