Deciding to start a business is an unusual decision. It’s often considered irrational and yet for many it’s the best decision they’ve ever made. So we asked folks to think back to when they were starting their businesses and to tell us about their decision making process.

Malique Banks | SBE/LBE Liaison and Supplier Diversity Expert

I had a unique and challenging set of experiences entering the industry that I am in. I work mostly in small/local/diverse supplier (disadvantaged businesses) engagement and economic development. I have worked jobs where I have conducted empirical studies of the utilization of disadvantaged businesses for contract owners like state and municipal governments. I have also worked for contract owners to strategize how they can increase their economic impact by utilizing disadvantaged businesses. Read more>>

Rece Wheeler | Metaphysical healer/educator& business consultant/educator

I embarked on the journey of starting my own business because I’ve always had a desire to do things my own way and stand out from the crowd. The idea of conforming to the traditional structures of a big company never resonated with me. Instead, I wanted the freedom to pursue my passions and create something unique. While this path has its challenges and requires sacrifices, I’m grateful for the opportunity entrepreneurship provides to chart my own course and make a meaningful impact in my own way. Read more>>

Kitty Rheault | Interior Designer + Prop Stylist

I had always hoped to own a business but never knew how it would shake out! I had been working in corporate creative positions for years but I eventually took a great job with a company that ended up not being the right fit. The emotional challenges of that year pushed me to define how I wanted to be treated as a person, how I wanted to treat others working around me and most of all, what I wanted my overall life to look like. Read more>>

Shunji Hironaka | Founder of Always Busy Dreaming

It all happened when I was 16 years old, living in Los Angeles as a high school student from Japan.

One day, my friend Ethan and I came up with an idea of starting a clothing brand together back in 2015.

He designed our first logo, and I found out about a silk screen printing kit. Read more>>

Kai Cromwell | Founder of New Seas

Growing up, I’d always wanted to start my own business, but truthfully I’d never thought it would be THIS business. I started a small fashion brand in college, a fun introduction, before heading to graduate school. But funny enough, I actually dropped out of grad school 3 months later – I realized I no longer wanted to study oceanography. Read more>>

Kao Wonder | Entertainer/ Founder Kao The Brand LLC

Long story short ..there are alot of doors slammed in your face out there. Especially when you’re unknown behind Hollywood’s door. I come from a family that believes when one door closes, and the other , you go to Home Depot and learn how to build your own door to walk thru it. Your terms. With that in mind, it was my Aunt actually who really inspired me to go back to school to learn the mechanics behind the music industry in full, learn the tricks of trade in which I did ( I graduated from the Los Angeles College of Music right before the Pandemic ), so I can build my own Empire. This is what began Kao The Brand LLC authentically, Im just doing really what most Independent Artists’ do on the beginning of their journey. Read more>>

Dan Miller | Entrepreneur, Adventurer, Author, Global Health and Wellness Expert

I’ve always been a little bit of a rebel and don’t like following the rules. When I was working for other people I found myself hitting goals (sales or performance) with a much smaller time invested than most of my peers. I’m a path of least resistance thinker and believe that most of us work far too many hours and do far less work in those hours than we are capable. So I started working for myself to free up more of my time and stop making other people rich off of my efforts. Read more>>

Diamond Aminyti | Wig Designer & Hair Dealer

I originally starting selling hair in high school for extra money. I graduated in 2019, the last class of high school before the world changed as we knew it. I would offer free delivery with orders so this helped me gain customers quickly throughout the LA area. Unfortunately the Covid lockdown happened, and it left me with a huge shipment of hair that I didn’t really know what to do with. I didn’t know how to do hair, I hardly knew how to silk my own ponytail right. But I had YouTube, and a year to lock into a new skill. I started learning how to make wigs and experiment with my hair, and I took off from there Read more>>

Marc Cartwright | Photographer & Director

While anytime I take on a task, I like to put my 100% into it, I wasn’t inspired to work long hours to make someone else rich. At the time I was working at a hotel, bringing in thousands of dollars a day for the company, while I was making $12 an hour. I had my own visions and dreams that I wanted to achieve, but working a survival job limited the amount of time I had to work on realizing my own objectives. Read more>>

Susannah Darcy | President of BritCan Media, Film & TV Producer

We wanted to stop working so hard for others, when we didn’t get the profit or bonus, other than thank you. See you on the next one. I remember where I was when I decided to change my life. Read more>>

Brooke Loesby | Founder of Law Life Coach, Inc.

It started when I was an unhappy lawyer. I knew I didn’t want to practice law, but I wasn’t sure what else I could do with my law degree. I hired a career coach, and I thought “I want your job.” Luckily, she was very supportive and we came up with a plan. There was a need in the market for attorneys who needed a career coach who specialized in lawyers. I got started working in career services at Loyola Law School, where I took every coaching course I could get my hands on, then used my students as guinea pigs to practice coaching. The students thrived under the coaching. And after they graduated they began contacting me looking for additional guidance. That’s when I knew it was time to start Law Life Coach to serve attorneys who are looking for career coaches. I am proud to say I was one of the first on the block, and our community of lawyer coaches continues to grow! It is now recognized widely as useful whether an attorney is looking to transition practices or careers, make partner, build their book of business, work on a soft skill, or practice boundaries and work-life balance. Read more>>

Roger Perry | Realtor/Broker/Investor

I tend to be more of a thinker and leader. I am not very good at taking direction/orders. Plus, I love the independence and flexibility of time and schedules. Read more>>

Sarah Mirsini | Holistic Wellness Coach & Clean Beauty Founder

I had been struggling with cystic acne for over 15 years and nothing seemed to be working for me. I tried every skincare brand under the sun, and my skin either got worse or the acne came back after a while. It wasn’t until I took matters into my own hands at the age of 29 that a whole new world opened up for me. I graduated from IWA (Integrative Wellness Academy) in 2018 as a Holistic Wellness Coach, and the synergy between emotions, skin and food finally clicked. I was also introduced to Hemp during this time, which was such a catalyst to clearing my skin and really help me open up to who I really was and what I wanted to do. There really wasn’t any skincare containing CBD back then, so I thought to myself, what do I have to lose? It all started in my small bathroom in the East Village, NY where I would mix my CBD Tincture with either my moisturizer or just use it as a serum, and I just saw such a shift in my skin. CBD was still very new back then, and a lot of people were sceptic. I started thinking of ways to introduce this in a harmless and fun way, and that’s when the idea of a sheet mask came to me. Everyone has several masks in their home, but a lot of us are more reluctant to switch out our cleanser or moisturizer. People think that’s why MĀSK is named what it is, but it’s so much more to the name. “Each of us wears masks by which we move through the world: From how we present ourselves at the office to time spent with our loved ones, we exhibit to the world a mere version of our genuine selves. At night, we wash the day away and lay bare our truth. It is this moment, when we discard the facades, from which MĀSK draws its inspiration.” Read more>>

 Julia Grimm | Producer & Co-Owner of SLAQR Studios

From the time that I had my first job at a mall coffee shop at age 16, I couldn’t help but notice little things that I would put on my own mental list of “what not to do when running a business.” That list only continued to grow at the first production companies I worked at in LA right after college. Some things on the list were logistical, but the vast majority – and in my eyes, the most important parts – were around how (not) to treat people. I just remember thinking, “Why do some people think that success and compassion can’t coexist?” I’d never had an explicit goal to start a company, but even as an inquisitive 24-year-old, I knew that if I ever had the opportunity to, I wanted to prove that you could have a successful business that’s founded on the real, tangible values and actions of empathy, understanding, and simply treating people the way you want to be treated – collaborators, clients, and most importantly, anyone working “under” you. Read more>>

Meghan Kelly | Certified High Conflict Divorce Coach

When I went through my divorce, I felt entirely alone. I had a therapist. I had a lawyer. I had an incredibly supportive network of family and friends. But I was missing someone who had been in my shoes…someone who could relate to my fears from a place of genuine empathy and lived experience. I began Now Free & Found to be for others the person I wish I had when I began my own divorce journey. Read more>>

Aminah Claxton | Designer

At the time it just seemed like the next step in my fashion career. I was making custom pieces for people and I ended up doing a fashion show later on that year. I was very inspired by what I was creating and just the feedback I was receiving from my designs. I wanted to take the next step in sharing my creations and creating a brand that represented my creative freedom and personal journey. Read more>>

Carol Saadé | Founder & Chief Science Officer

As a Lebanese, olive oil has been a fundamental part of our culture for centuries. My ancestors planted olive trees and I wanted to honor them by bringing our oil to American users and to preserve our heritage. I am a food scientist with an entrepreneurial spirit, and I loved the challenge of creating something combining my background and skills. Read more>>

Mort Burke | Comedian, Actor, Writer

I wanted to do comedy from before I really knew it was a thing. The only real thought process has been that nothing else seems as magical to me. I’ve had other jobs, and it’s not that they were harder, it’s just that suffering through the challenges of them didn’t seem meaningful to me at all. Read more>>

Alec Lorenzo | Co-Founder

To make the game of golf more accessible and fun. Over the years golf has continually gotten more and more expensive while getting more and more stuffy. We wanted to make golf technology more affordable and accessible to golfers of all levels around the world. While we did this we were improving peoples games which allowed them to have a betetr time out on the course. Read more>>

ewart chin | ACTOR/PRODUCER

As an actor/producer i wanted to start my own production company so i partnered with my director/producer to start Bowfin lane Entertainment a production company for films. Read more>>

Erin Sakakibara | Cosmetic Tattoo Artist

I feel like starting my own business was a no-brainer for me—I’ve always craved the freedom to be my own boss and carve out my own path. With Covid shaking things up in the corporate world, it felt like the perfect time to explore my creative side and dive into entrepreneurship. I’ve also never been one to shy away from a challenge, and I thrive on diving into the nitty-gritty details to make things happen. Whether it’s perfecting a craft or learning a new trade, I’m all about getting things done. Read more>>

Olivia Frates | Undergrad Student

Fashion and art have played a massive role in my life for as long as I can remember. With that being said, I always felt a passion for taking both of these things more seriously. When starting Tigers Eye Tshirts, my motive wasn’t originally to create a business, it was to explore my two passions and see where it took me. I began making bleach-painted t-shirts; regarding my painting technique and skill, I worked extremely hard to create things I was genuinely proud of and was open to failure initially. I mainly started with making pieces for myself and my friends. People began asking me where I got my clothes, and I was proud to tell them that they were my creations; it made me extremely happy to see people enjoy my work. This led to me making more and more and improving my skills. When I realized this was something I was genuinely passionate about, I wanted to share my creations with the world, I knew that around my university, there were multiple opportunities for pop-up shops as well as a vast crowd who was interested in my pieces. This made me feel so much more passionate about my work, leading me to open an Instagram shop and sell at events. Read more>>

tidbit | graphic design house

My husband Aaron Burke and i formed tidbit in 2006 with the idea of providing our small design house to people we knew, and who knew other people. Aaron has a background in illustration, graphic and typography design and I have a background in photography, digital fashion/beauty retouching and graphic design. We knew we had a lot of needs covered between us and many years experience. One of the toughest decisions was choosing a name. We knew it needed to last a long time and not be too cute or au courant. After a large white board of lists, tidbit stood out to us. we liked how the word reflected when lowercase, that it harked back to the vintage experience of luaus and small bites, and that it was fun too. Aaron left his corporate job and jumped in full-time while I used the company for my freelance work. Read more>>

Tony Nino | successful entrepreneur, mentor and founder of str8updriven

I Knew that i was not going to obtain the things i wanted in life by working for someone else. So I had to become creative in the way i became a entrepreneur.

Victor H | Artist/Designer

I have an IT background and I was tired of the 9 to 5 hustle. As a kid I was always interested in art and painting. I wanted to find a way to incorporate art into making money. Owning your own company and being self employed was always a dream of mine. It’s not always easy but it is definitely worth it. Read more>>

LUCAS RECCHIA | Furniture designer

When I started designing furniture, I was still at university and I never imagined that it would become a business and take on the proportions that it has. So it started more as a desire to do something and little by little opportunities came along and the business took the shape it has today Read more>>

Dayjah Rogers | Designer & CEO of Good Bad Girl

The foremost priority for me is the freedom to savor life and establish a better lifestyle not only for myself but also for my loved ones. Fashion has been my passion since childhood; I’ve consistently been the go-to person in my social circles for fashion tips or the one with a closet everyone wants to raid. With a naturally business-oriented mindset, I continuously explore ways to turn my dream into a profitable venture. Read more>>

Mariam Adekola | YouTube Creator, Computer Engineer & Frontend Developer

Starting my own YouTube channel was a dream I had always wanted to pursue. My thought process behind starting the channel was to actualize my dreams and turn them into reality. I took the initial steps of planning and creating content while still studying for my undergraduate degree in computer engineering. I faced challenges while starting the channel, such as my friend backing out from being a co-creator; however, I felt ready to take on the challenge and start my creator journey. Despite the hurdles, I persisted and continued to create content, which helped me gain traction and build a loyal audience. Today, my YouTube channel has become a successful venture that I am proud of, and it continues to grow every day. Read more>>

Lauren Gerard | Professional Dancer & Creative Entrepreneur

I started dancing at age 5 and always knew that dance would be in my life in some capacity. I essentially grew up in a dance studio, spending all my days after school training in ballet, contemporary, jazz, tap, and hip hop, competing at local and national dance competitions, and performing with my high school dance team. I followed that passion into college at the University of Virginia where I spent most of my time outside of my academics performing at football and basketball games with the NCAA Division 1 Virginia Dance Team and choreographing/ performing for the Virginia Dance Company, a student run performance company on campus. Read more>>

Futuresight Studio | Boutique LA-based Photography and Videography Studio Co founders Ruijia Wang & Yuxi Liang

Hardships. Our first thought is that since my partner and I are both freelances and more often then not, each individual does not have the same strength as a group. This idea drove me and my partner to start and grow our own team, to pool all of our resources together so that we can help each other out and grow together. Read more>>

Sarah Katrina Maruani | Founder and Chief Growth Officer

The ability to teach children or anyone to read is an invaluable gift—one that resonates deeply within me. This belief has been the cornerstone of my decisions over the past two decades. As my career evolved, I encountered numerous students facing challenges in reading, prompting reflections on my own struggles as a student. With my Family’s native language as my first, school felt like a hazy experience, with memories of being in and out of classrooms from Kindergarten to 5th grade leaving me feeling alienated and uncertain. Read more>>

Barbara Sneider | Integrative Wellness Coach, Nutritionist & Intuitive Guide

About 11 years ago my life took a profound turn. After my marriage breakup, I felt lost and confused and during this challenging time, I embarked on a personal journey of self-discovery, exploring various healing modalities. These experiences unlocked a sense of freedom and inner peace that I had never thought possible. Read more>>

David Bradley | Booking Agent

Road House Entertainment was founded in 2008 in a restaurant at The Grove in Beverly Hills California. It is really a simple story. Actor Ron Lester (Varsity Blues / Not Another Teen Movie) and I were having dinner when I had expressed an interest in becoming a manager for celebrities. Ron told me that I did not have the temperament or personality to be able to possibly handle Hollywood. Read more>>