Sissel Robertson

Sissel Robertson started Crazy Woman Kayaks three years ago in Montana and expanded the business last year to Fort Myers Beach, where she rents and sells kayaks during season at Fish-Tale Marina. Robertson, 59, found that starting a business here was more complicated than in Montana. "There are more regulations in Florida," she says. She credits the company's name for helping it survive the recession. "The name draws people like you wouldn't believe," she says. "Everyone wants to talk to me. They want to see if I'm really crazy, and then they check out the kayaks."