Rhonda Hamilton's Nick & Pin Nostalgia sells merchandise pictured above.

Rhonda Hamilton has a vision: She sees a world in which people can look good without spending a fortune on fashion.

Hamilton runs Nick & Pin Nostalgia, a business offering women’s clothing and accessories at a deep discount. She specializes in dresses, pencil skirts, high heels, hats, gloves and jewelry. Most of her inventory is vintage, but her standards for acquisition are high: “I don’t sell nothing I don’t love,” she says.

An eye for value is the key to selling quality goods at low prices. For Hamilton, it’s become sixth sense. She can scan a sea of bargain basement apparel, spot something special, and place it in a stunning ensemble. “It’s how you put it together that counts,” she says.

This line of work has long been a calling for Hamilton, who recalls dressing up in her mother’s clothes as a little girl. Her passion soon became a career: she ran a women’s clothing shop in St. Louis before moving east five years ago.

She now sells clothing at outdoor markets in central Jersey while taking orders over the phone and via e-mail. Mid-Westerners still comprise much of her client base: She offers them East Coast styles they have yet to see in their local stores.

Hamilton likes to point out that her business is about more than clothes, that it’s about confidence, too. By putting together a great outfit, she says, “I can keep that smile on my face regardless of whatever problems I may have.” She wants to offer this same type of relief to her customers.

“If you feel good on the inside, you should look good on the outside,” she says. “And I love to see people look good.”

Customers can reach Hamilton by e-mail, at rubyred7707@yahoo.com.

Pictured at the New Brunswick Farmers Market, Zakiyia Forbes sells personal and cultural items.

When Zakiyia Forbes’s birthday rolled around a few years ago, she gave herself a gift that has kept on giving. That day, Forbes quit her day job so she could devote more time to a business she’d been working on for years.

That business is The Lounge Society, which offers jewelry, perfume oil, soaps, cultural items and a host of other products. Forbes sources her merchandise far and wide, offering bar soap from Manhattan and jewelry from India. Her goal is to run a socially responsible business that promotes cultural awareness through the arts.

In addition to running her business, Forbes operates a clothing pantry in her store. She offers members of the community business suits when they have job interviews and heavy coats for the winter.

Forbes looks to expand her business while maintaining her socially responsible focus. “You don’t start off with a big idea today and end up with a Fortune 500 company tomorrow. But that doesn’t mean that it’s not possible if you’re willing to take the steps.”

Forbes can be reached at (732) 470-3395

When Ruby Wesley worked as an accountant in New York, she would bring homemade cheesecakes to the office on special occasions. Every time, someone would suggest she start a business selling them.

In 2007, she did just that.

Armed with a recipe that has been in her family for three generations, Wesley began baking cheesecakes, and her repertoire has since grown to over a dozen different types.  In addition to traditional, New York-style cakes, she offers varieties such as Pecarmel (pecan and carmel), Dalmation (Oreos and fudge) and Caribbean Dream (fresh mango).

Wesley sells cheesecakes through her website — www.atasteofrubies.com — at the Raritan Bakery in Edison, and at several restaurants in Newark and Asbury Park. Since getting started, Wesley has expanded her offerings to edible party favors, mini-cheesecakes, and cupcakes.

She is also dedicated to fostering entrepreneurship in region, serving as president of the New Jersey Association of Women Business Owners chapter that covers Middlesex and Somerset counties.

“I have a passion for what I do,” Wesley says, adding that she is motivated by moral support from her family.

Eventually, Wesley plans to open a store in downtown New Brunswick.