Decision makers series: difficult decisions

We asked some of the city’s most brilliant and creative minds to tell us about the most difficult decision they’ve had to make.
Leaving my home country Finland to pursue my dream. Read more>>
The most difficult decision I’ve ever had to make was figuring out how to leave the comfortable 9-5 position I was in and dive full force into the terrifying unknown. Read more>>
As a producer, I am constantly making difficult decisions that affect creative, schedule, budget, or even personnel. I strongly believe every difficult decision I’ve been faced with has made me that much stronger as a producer and has helped me offer more experience with every new project I take on. But the most difficult decision goes back to the very beginning before I even understood what being a producer really even entailed. Back when I was telling the world that I wanted to be a producer without a lick of “real world” experience. It was 2012 and I had just moved my entire life from Texas to Los Angeles to pursue a career in the entertainment industry. I had no “in” with the industry and barely enough money to pay $400 rent on an Echo Park bedroom that I shared with another girl. Through my school, I was introduced to a very successful producer who was also a University of Texas alum, so we shared that connection. Read more>>
The most difficult decision I’ve had to make was to leave a lucrative, pretty stable career to pave my own way as a young entrepreneur. I had originally entered the entertainment industry with high aspirations of wanting to change an antiquated industry. I desired to be a prominent Asian American female film or television editor so that I would create waves in a majority white male industry. Even though I was on a climbing ladder of success in post production, I ultimately made the very difficult decision to leave a career that wasn’t congruent to who I was and am. The departure was fraught with anxiety and A LOT of self-doubt. I knew that starting my own small business would come with its own challenges, but I am overall happier and healthier. Read more>>
The most difficult decision we’ve ever had to make was when we decided to sell our second location. While it was not a mirror of our brand, we were directly attached to it since it showcased our products and had begun with a great start because of our desserts. The business was a joint venture and while we had delays in opening and had underestimated the starting budget due to construction set backs, we had a phenomenal first year of business that had blown our original projections out of the water. Despite this successful start, there were a number of things that led to our eventual selling of the business 2 years later. One, we were in the hole because of our late opening, so we had eaten into our starting budget. Read more>>