Are you thinking about starting a business? If so, we think you’ll enjoy reading about how these seasoned entrepreneurs thought about the question when they were in your shoes.

Steve Phipps | Founder & President

I’ve always had an entrepreneurial bent, going back to elementary school when I first thought about starting a business. In 2014, I was VP of a digital marketing agency and had a very promising future there. Then the CEO passed away unexpectedly from a kayaking accident. HIs loss sent the agency into a tailspin which left me with three choices: go to work for another agency, find a corporate marketing job, or start my own agency. It became very clear that launching out on my own was the best option. And that led to the start of Wayfind Marketing in February 2015. Read more>>

Neil Nayyar | Multi-Instrumentalist Musician, Singer, Actor and Author,

What was your thought process behind starting your music career? I guess you could say that my journey as a musician started when I was in the womb. My dad was always a big believer in the power of music. So, when my mom got pregnant, he decided to test out the theory that listening to Mozart could help form the heart, soul, and mind of the baby. They gifted me with my first drum set when I was two, but it wasn’t until I was five years old that my passion for music started to take off. Read more>>

Lakeisha Rush | Personal Shopper & Influencer

I think it came out of my own selfish needs and thinking there will be others who have the same concerns. Also at the time I started many were not doing the same things I was, so it was a opportunity to differentiate. Read more>>

Cullanete Bloom | Lingerie Guru

My journey to starting my own business began when I faced the fact that I wanted to do two things in life; express myself creatively and make a positive impact in today’s fashion world. My corporate design career was not fulfilling either of those needs. I realized the only way to accomplish these two things was to start my own business- one which is much different than the norm. Little Pieces is a burlesque inspired lingerie line that is dedicated to ethical and sustainable fashion. Read more>>

Hanae Suk Bragg | Founder & Executive Recruiter

I never considered entrepreneurship as a career option for myself. Culturally and scholastically, I was well prepared for excelling in a corporate company or pursuing a field that is traditionally revered in the eyes of immigrant parents. There is a tremendous amount of pressure growing up as a first generation Asian American to achieve that version of success. This is the understood way of honoring and living up to the sacrifices of your parents, their parents, and everyone who fought to pave the road to a better life for you. Read more>>

Heather Edwards | Co-Founder/CEO of AhHa!Broadway, Educator, Pianist/Musical Director

In working for other arts education companies and didn’t always like the way their organizations were run or the way people were treated, although I loved the work itself. I felt that the money from government funding and grants could be used more efficiently with greater impact and serve more people. There was a decision to start a new non-profit company with a focus on maximum impact on the community, more diverse programming, service to other demographics, more competitive compensation for the teaching artists and a working environment and culture for employees where they were allowed to express themselves creatively, be heard, feel appreciated and respected. Read more>>

Krissy Dorn | Literary Translator, Vocalist & Voice Teacher, co-founder of Jewel Box Musical Theater

I’ve started two businesses in my life – right after college I went into the translating business as a freelancer working for publisher’s in Munich, Germany. It was a matter of good networking and getting recommendations from colleagues and editors to build that career. After about 25 years of doing that I decided that I needed more music in my life and more interaction with other people – translating books is a pretty lonely job. As a freelance literary translator, I had always been able to sing and perform and study music and voice on the side. Read more>>

Drew King | Photographer/Videographer

I’ve always loved the art of photography, but in order to monetize it, you need to start a legitimate business. You can always do photos for people and ask for money, but if you want to start working with companies and larger entities, you need tax information. Also it feels good to say you’re a company and you own your work Read more>>

Itunuoluwa Oyeniran | Sugar Artist

I did not have a specific thought process at the start of my business. I learnt baking for fun and for the love of art. I was just going to make cakes for friends and family on their special days. I was in the university at the time After a while, people started offering me money to bake for them because they had a taste of the free cake I made for someone. It started with one person and the referrals kept going on. Then, I started to take things seriously. I felt if people could offer to pay without any official announcements, its means I’m good at it and should consider making the business official Read more>>

Kim Iglinsky | Transformation coach / Journey Guide / Integration Maven

In my early 30s I got severely depressed, when a lifetime of suppressing my feelings with destructive coping strategies caught up with me. I had money saved from my previous career as a fashion model so I dove into learning modalities that would support a mentally and physically healthy state of being. Once I cleared the past and was no longer depressed I found that I had a big bag of tools I can offer others and my coaching practice was born. Read more>>

Stephanie Thendres | Founder & Chief Artist

The Covid-19 pandemic was a massive eye-opener for many people, including myself. At the time, I had a 9-5 job and worked as a bridal hair and makeup artist part-time on the weekend, but the time and flexibility the pandemic provided gave me a chance to begin pursuing what I truly loved rather than working for someone else’s dream. Read more>>

Pauline Eveillard | Founder, mission-driven entrepreneur

I started my business with the aim to celebrate and showcase Tunisian designers through the specialized and creative goods, foster mutual understanding between cultures, and offer a platform for Tunisians to share their creations with a broader audience. I had lived in Tunisia while on a Fulbright studying ancient Roman mosaics. In addition to the research there, I cemented life-long friendships and kept returning when I could. Read more>>

Nancy Eisenhart | Small Business Owner

Honestly, Byrt & Gerty’s Kids Redeux began on a whim. My best friend and I had previously run a cottage business creating fabric-covered earrings. In February 2020, I learned of a sleepy children’s resale shop available for sale. We both value thrifting as a way to save money and be sustainable, and with several years of retail experience between us, this opportunity seemed like a natural fit. The shop had gone through two owners in a year and a half and struggled to stay afloat. This was the kind of challenge that we lived for, and we recognized the need for a children’s resale shop within the community. We took the plunge and on April 1st, 2020 we took possession of the store…And then Covid. Read more>>

BOJITT | Bojana Ilic BOJITT – the artist behind the name BOJITT

It is really not a question, I grew up in the family of business owners, I always knew I want to make my product my art my dream- and this is what i do the best. Read more>>

Tara Moeller | Dreamer-in-Chief and Editor

After writing and editing my first novel–and researching how to get published–I decided that an author’s collective might be a good idea. That initial book was 10 years ago, and now this little collective has 8 authors! Read more>>

Katheryn Perez, LMFT | Latinx Psychotherapist & Owner of Perez Family Therapy, Inc.

The thought process behind starting my business has a lot to do with my upbringing and being the daughter of hard-working immigrants. My parents worked long hours, which did not allow them to be emotionally and physically present when I needed them the most. They missed many special events, graduations, and parent conferences, which led to feelings of sadness and unworthiness. We can say that starting my own business is my version of breaking cycles of intergenerational trauma in my family and future children. Read more>>

Kenton Lee | Founder of a nonprofit called Because International and creator of our first project The Shoe That Grows

Right after college, I decided to travel the world for a year. I lived in Nairobi, Kenya for six months and volunteered at a small orphanage. Two or three weeks into my time there – I was walking next to a little girl wearing a white dress. As I looked down at the girl, I was shocked to see how small her shoes were. She was wearing shoes that were WAY too small for her feet – they were so small she had to cut open the front of her shoes to let her toes stick out. That was the day I had the idea for a shoe that could adjust and expand their size. That was the day the idea for The Shoe That Grows was born. Read more>>

Max Greenberg | CEO and Co-Founder of Stoggles

Stoggles was initially conceptualized in May of 2020, just as the COVID-19 pandemic was widely spreading across the country and Dr. Fauci was recommending that the public avoid touching their eyes. My co-founder, Rahul Khatri, and I—being veterans of the fashion eyewear industry—saw a unique opportunity to add value to the newly vacant space. We thought the existing safety eyewear options on the market were unattractive, hyper-masculine, uncomfortable, cheap, and poorly branded. The solution we came up with was a carefully designed, stylish yet highly effective product made of prescription friendly, lightweight, and durable polycarbonate lenses with anti-fog coating. Read more>>

Silvia Trabelsi | Floral Designer

Becoming an entrepreneur was always a far-fetched dream for me. It was a desire to operate a business, and be the decision-maker, and mostly, in a creative field. I enjoyed the arts — writing, reading, and nature — but did not see the opportunity for a full-time, risk-free, successful career. However, after being a part of several weddings, and helping with their design and decor, this dream of mine was planted. I was the maid of honor and only bridesmaid for a small wedding of a dear friend. She loved flowers also, but, did not see it in her budget to have centerpieces. I offered to create centerpieces for her as a gift. Read more>>

Demi Boyer | Wardrobe stylist

My thought process behind starting my business was . I want to be able to make someone feel good within because of what they are wearing . To bring confidence, poise and elegance that no one can take from them . To be able to create a signature style for someone and it stick with them for the rest of there life . To bring out a part of a person they never seen before. Through out my life I had always got compliments on the way I dressed . Read more>>

Jay James | Film Writer and Director

The videography field has blown up in the past few years thanks to social media and other emerging technologies such as drones. Businesses and artists have had to develop a strong online presence in order to get the word about what they’re doing out into the world. After the pandemic, I felt a strong sense of community, and knew I wanted to do my part to help out my fellow artists and entrepreneurs, Read more>>

Shonnell Pleshette | Entrepreneur/Artisan

Initially my thought process behind starting my own business was definitely financial. But the moment my son was born my whole mindset changed and all I could think about was time, and how much of it I could spend with him if I mastered entrepreneurship. Read more>>

Gabriel Mc Creadie | Commercial Photographer & Filmmaker

Some background info – I am a Commercial Photographer and Filmmaker based in South Africa – I have always had a deep connection to art in all forms. I was very fortunate to have been born into a family full of entrepreneurs , from my parents all the way down to my siblings , we all have our own businesses. ( I am the youngest of 4 ) When my parents had noticed my love for art , specifically conceptual photography , they immediately nurtured the connection and threw as much support as possible my way knowing that I could build a company out of it later on in my life. Read more>>

Candie Renee | Makeup Artist / Producer

I began Candie Renee, now Illea Studios, out of a necessity to be happy. I had returned from Germany as an opera singer but there were no theaters I could go to for work where I lived at the time. Having had a need to make money I went to work in a corporate job. I loved my job, and the customers, I was able to meet during my time in the corporate sector but I was unhappy because of my colleagues and upper management. In 2014, I made the decision to take a massive pay cut and go freelance. It took me about three years before I really started to see momentum with feature film and commercial work doing makeup. Read more>>

Caroline Zamayoa | Owner and Designer of Caffeinated Coven Co.

I have always been a huge fan of horror and Halloween. I was at a barbecue with friends, talking to them about a small horror themed vending event I was attending the following day, Terror Market. One of them asked, “So they just make Halloween inspired art? You can do that.” That really sat with me. I was always drawn to art throughout my youth, but was discouraged in pursuing it as a career. I never considered doing it as an adult, but as my friend said, why couldn’t I? Read more>>

Chris Clifford | CEO + Founder of Day One

I’ve always wanted to start my own business. Growing up around entrepreneurs, there’s really no other train of thought. After chasing opportunities over the years, entrepreneurship to me became more about “why” I am doing what I am doing. I’m passionate about people’s mental health, and I saw the way that plant-based medicine, cannabis specifically, positively impacted the lives of people close to me. And so, my work with Day One comes from that place. CBD emerges from the cannabis space, but it is a non-psychoactive ingredient that can help with day-to-day anxiety, stress, and productivity. Read more>>

Seth Benhaim | Founder and CEO, Infuse s& Broken Barrel Whiskey

Shortly after graduating college I moved back home to Los Angeles. I had started my own business in college and had enjoyed the experience of making money doing what I felt was interesting at the time. I continued to have an entrepreneurial ideas and concepts the year after graduating, to the point where I eventually said to myself, “the next good idea you have you cannot pass it up, you have to go for it.” It turns out that next idea was to create a brand of single bottle infused vodka‘s. All of this was in 2012, and I had just turned 24 then. Read more>>

Jr | Podcaster and Artist Manager

It was different in the sense that I became more open to others and new ideas to receive the best outcome. Learning to work as a team instead of as an individual to get more work done effectively. Staying focused, determined and consistent. Read more>>

Yamileth Arteaga | Dress Maker and Designer

Since I was a little girl, I knew fashion design was my dream, I went to fashion school and pretty soon jumped into working in the fashion industry as a seamstress for bridal shops and a working doing alterations for celebrities. I felt so inspired being able to work on major designers gowns for red carpet events. I decided it was time to make my own designs. Making my own wedding dress was such a beautiful experience. Soon people were reaching out to me. The business came to me and that was such an amazing feeling. Thanks to social media and family and friends for encouraging me to post photos of my work. It was completely new but I knew I could do it. Read more>>

Flabio Doci | Wedding + Lifestyle Photographer | Filmmaker

I think I just got to a point where I was shooting lots of freelance work as an assistant / second shooter and I felt that I was at a proper experience and talent level to just go out and begin doing my own thing! Read more>>

Jonathon Williams | Film director

As a young kid I grew up in a broken home and troubled area of Melbourne, Australia. But, I always had movies as an outlet to transport my mind, ideals, dreams and hopes. So, I moved to Hollywood to pursue a film director career and craft stories and films that help people, like they helped me. My upcoming feature film “I Want To Thank The Academy” is all about chasing your dreams in life and will be released in theaters on December 16th. Read more>>

Caleb Engstrom | Artist & Fabricator

So much has brought me to this point, running my own business. My family and I moved from Brooklyn in 2017 so that I could attend the University of California, Irvine– for a MFA in Studio Art. Right now I do a lot of fabrication work for galleries, artists, and some commercial/residential millwork projects. I’m simultaneously working to design and prototype a collection of furniture to launch at the end of this year. I think at the core of what drives me, or the ‘thought process’ behind this work, is discovery. Read more>>

DJ Watson | Filmmaker & Photographer

I wanted to work on something that was easy, lucrative and fun. Filming was always something I did as a kid and teenager, so it was only fitting to pick the camera back up again after college. If I could be financially free by creating videos for brands and restaurants, it was a no brainer to start. Read more>>

Dan Jumanan | Creative Director

This is my second run at starting a business. I used to run a design agency where I’d drop into marketing team to support a campaign. Now, I’ve co-founded a hybrid agency fusing strategic consulting and creative services. We understand it is a struggle to hone in on a company’s unique position. And it’s much harder bringing it to life with the right creative direction. More often than not, the result is a disjointed, or generic brand experience. We build both sides from the same DNA. Read more>>

Bob Divney | Music enthusiast, label owner & music marketing expert

In a word, necessity. In the music marketing and promotion for hire space, I needed help with various projects I was working on, and it felt like every time I needed a team I had to start from scratch. I decided to build a music promotion and marketing company that could be flexible and provide a long-term commitment to developing and breaking artists and The Artist Cooperative and Mars Music Services were born. Read more>>

Lea Mende | CEO Origin Film Productions + Co-Founder OriginActors

I once read this quote by one of my favorite authors, Robin Sharma saying something amongst the lines of “See what you can do for other people, instead of waiting for people to do something for you”. Coming from Europe I had studied acting and moved to Los Angeles to pursue primarily this field of art. I am sure many actors can relate, the position you’re in as an actor can feel quite needy at times as you are depending on other people to see you, like you, consider and support you. While this is true for most artistic jobs, it feels different to have the subject of it being you, your looks, personality and most vulnerable self. You can be the hardest working person in the room and yet get rejected over and over again. Read more>>

Rob Write | Recording Artist & Ceo of Uphill Global

To be honest, I never really thought about starting a business, it all kind of happened incrementally. My passion first and foremost was music and then production soon followed. I started by filling a need in my church’s music department, then I started to get curious on how the lights, sound board, and cameras worked. After that it became an obsession leading me into wanting to do this as a career and therefore turning it into a full time business. Read more>>

Finlay Bressler | Founder and CEO of Terra & Tu

I’ve always felt that our culture’s general approach to wellness is over-restrictive and over-commercialized. Instead of focusing on what makes us feel good, wellness seems to ask us to beat ourselves up when we don’t eat the “right” foods, do the “right” exercises, and use the “right” serums and supplements. I wanted to find a way to expose people to ways of wellbeing that we may not see in LA, so I created Terra & Tu, which uses the power of travel to do exactly that. Read more>>

Mandy Dyonne Lieveld | Model Coach

My thought process, was that I saw there was a need for models on how to feel confidence in their walk. When I was modeling I had to go to different castings and shoots. My agents would tell me a little bit on how to act but it wasn’t something that there would be a coaching about. They were busy with booking models. That was always in the back of my mind, because it’s almost a ‘top sport’. You have to always show yourself at your best, eat well and have to deal with rejections. So why would a basketball player train his whole life, but a model won’t have training before starting. Read more>>

Jeffrey Harris | Co-Founder, Chief Executive Officer & Chairman of the Board

I’ve been concerned about the plight of animals from a very young age. I became a vegetarian at the age of 14 and I embraced a fully vegan diet when I was 36. Beyond the ethical issues of consuming animal products I also gradually became aware of the devastating impact that animal agriculture has on the environment and the fact that it is a major contributor to climate change. So the question was, how do we introduce the benefits of a plant-based diet to millions of people who may not otherwise be thinking about the ethical, environmental and health dimensions of such a change? And then one day it came to me: Someone needs to build a 100% plant-based version of traditional fast-food restaurant chain. Read more>>