We reached out to some of our favorite entrepreneurs and asked them to think back and tell us about how they decided to start a business. Check out their responses below.

Natasha Case | CEO, Lunch Bunch, CEO & Co-founder, Coolhaus

For Coolhaus – As the recession hit, an idea that I had been exploring for years—making architecture more fun and digestible using food as the canvas—suddenly seemed more relevant than ever; I started making ice cream sandwiches and naming them after architects – the product brought comfort and relief during those tough times, and the punny architectural names brought value to the discipline. Read more>>

Regina Tate | Makeup Artist and Hairstylist

As a newly single mom, I didn’t have time to play around anymore. If I wanted to make real money to be able to support myself and my child, I knew I had to go out on my own and not work for somebody else! Thank God I believed in myself because I know no one else did. Read more>>

Jacqui McMahon | Founder & CEO BRNG Bag

My life didn’t always revolve around making bags. In fact, my career was just the opposite. Born and raised in Essex, England. I worked in finance for many years at Goldman Sachs. What I loved most about my time there is that I was constantly challenged and always finding new ways to be more productive. I loved my job so much because I had a real purpose there. It’s also the place where I met my wonderful husband Ryan. Fast forward 10 years and three kids later, I decided to leave my career at Goldman to focus on raising my kids — a decision that did not come easy. Read more>>

Linda Ruiz | Business Owner

I started my business, Off The Threads, in Feb of 2018 shortly after I graduated high school in 2017. My thought process after I graduated was how was I going to make money if i didn’t want to go to college. I always struggled really bad with anxiety so i was never able to get a job, nor make it pass any interview. Thats when i came up with the idea to sell my clothes on depop, an online selling app. I knew it was something i could do without having to interact with people in person and I already had lots of clothes to sell. Read more>>

Wenjia Wang | Artist& illustrator

Being a freelance illustrator has been my dream since I was still an undergraduate student at the School of Visual Arts. I had inspiring teachers while at school they shared a lot of experiences with us as full-time illustrators. I saw they had published amazing works on all kinds of platforms, which I really looked up to. Back then, I had this fantasy idea about being a freelance creator, which means I can be my own boss, I don’t need to go to work every day, I can manage my own working time and take a vacation anytime I want to. Read more>>

Gardenia Zuniga-Haro | Publicist, Mother, and founder of Gardenia Zuniga & Associates

The thought process I had when starting my own business was, “I do not want to work for anyone that’s holding me back from my creative growth”. I come from the infamous word of tech in the San Francisco Bay Area in which I learned that my voice, my ideas did not matter to those above my role. I was put in a box way before the Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion at work laws came in place, but I am thankful for those experiences because it pushed me to start my small PR Firm that is constantly growing and expanding. Read more>>

Meredith Chapuis | Co-Founder & Director of Operations

We started simply because we saw a need in our community. The year was 2020, the three of us were just out for a run together having a conversation, the world was wild. People were disconnected, discontent, confused, and, more practically, there were people going to bed hungry in our own community. God put an urgency in our heart to meet a tangible need. We have realized that people were always experiencing hunger and lack of community. The needs were just highlighted to us, and when you see a Kingdom need, you’re called to respond to a Kingdom need. And we believe that in God’s Kingdom people are fed and find authentic and loving community. Read more>>

Leilani Mathews | KIMONO INFLUENCER

I have always been obsessed with clothes and fashion. I have been working in luxury retail for over 20 years. My grandmother introduced me to vintage shopping. When I was a little girl our Saturday shopping trips consisted of thrift shopping, finding vintage clothing and gems at local vintage stores. Two years ago during the pandemic I decided that I wanted to try working for myself and becoming a business owner. I had a lot of motivation, confidence and enthusiasm to create my own success in the pre-loved fashion world. Read more>>

Monti Bianchi Performance Wellness | Elisa Monti, PhD | Psychologist, Researcher, Performance Wellness Therapist – Stephanie Bianchi, MT-BC, FAMI | Music Therapist, Composer/Lyricist, Performance Wellness Therapist

As performance wellness therapists initially working in a traditional way, we noticed a lot of common themes coming up in our sessions, one of which was the lack of community and accessibility for mental health tools and resources in the performing arts community. Read more>>

Adir Tal | Hospitality Guru & DJ

I always take time to explore the current market I work in or am investing in, to first find out if there is are any voids in the industry. Although I follow my passion in hospitality and music, I also want to make sure that the venues I invest in make sense for the initiatives I want to implement. I think about the location, the demographic, the aesthetic…every single detail before jumping in. Becoming a partner at The Victorian just made perfect sense. I love nightlife and music (since I DJ still as “DIJITAL”), and want to bring new programming to the west side. Read more>>

Anastasia White | Founder & Designer

Although I’ve designed women’s apparel corporately for 20+ years, it was in what we referred to in the industry as “related sportswear” (think casual & wear to work) and then later “fashion separates”. I was beginning to reflect on my role in fashion’s complex and rapidly changing industry. As time went on, I would become more aware of industry practices which were largely unsustainable to people and the planet. I’d began to travel frequently as a form of self care. As my love for global travel flourished, my passion for swimwear design grew as did my awareness of everything that made buying swimwear stressful- poor fit, throw-away quality, overpricing, & unflattering designs. Read more>>

Matt Grayson | Creator of Rolling Heavy Magazine

The thought process behind starting Rolling Heavy Magazine was actually one of accidental necessity. Yah see, up until October 24th 2011 I had been a working photographer here in Los Angeles. Arriving in L.A in 2006. fresh from the St. Louis area of Southern Illinois, I hit the ground running, working my ass off to develop my career and a client base as a photographer that could do nothing more than to pay the bills. Well, miraculously through hard work, self sacrifice and sheer luck, that’s exactly what was happening. Read more>> 

Crazy Tomes | Rock’n’Roll musician

I have wanted to make music for a living since I was 9 years old. During college I studied music at Williams & Mary in Virginia which is also when I started to professionally play in the first band I co-founded, Burning Wagon. Over the years, I have worked for and partnered with various other artists and bands. However, I never stopped pursuing or working on my solo projects and performing regularly as a solo artist. Read more>>

KaNisa Alberto | CEO | Principal Designer

My fascination with interior design dates back as far as I can remember. Creating beautiful, functional spaces that people love has always been my dream. In order to provide that service, I started my own business. Aside from that, I also wanted to be my own boss and serve as a role model for my daughter and other little girls. I consider interior design to be a form of art, and I use it as a medium for self-expression and artistic expression. My favorite thing to do is to help people turn their dreams into reality when they are designing their homes. Read more>>

Chetina Guadalupe | Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist, Consultant, & Speaker

Always Live Lovely actually started out as a blog in 2009. I always enjoyed providing people with motivation and figured this was the best way to do it. The name of my business was inspired by my grandfather. Whenever anyone would ask him how he was doing, he always replied “lovely, lovely, lovely”, no matter what he was going through. This helped me begin to think about what it means to live a lovely lifestyle, what it means to always live lovely. Read more>>

TARINA TARANTINO | Founder and Creative Director

Freedom. I wanted to work for myself. My Grandparents owned their own company and I grew up seeing the freedom it afforded them and I wanted the same. Read more>>

Annie Wood | Writer, Actor, Artist

Ever since I can remember, the idea of working for someone else didn’t feel like it would be a good fit for me. I have too many of my own passions and ideas to be able to commit fully to someone else’s passions and ideas. So, I really never thought about starting my own business, I just always behaved as if my life is my business and I will find a way to make money from doing what I love. Read more>>

Royston G King | Advisor, Investor, & Partner

When I first started my first few businesses, which is a clothing brand and a digital marketing agency, it was according to my circumstance. What I meant by that was I had very little startup capital as a college student to invest in starting a company, hence I had to look at affordable profitable businesses with low upfront startup capital. At that time, I launched my businesses with the thought process of not wanting to work a traditional corporate job but be more entrepreneurial and take calculated risks I can afford as a young adult who just graduated from college. Read more>>

Annamarie von Firley | Founder and President of Adventuretown Toy Emporium

I started my first business when I was 27. reVamp was a fashion house that specialized reproduction vintage clothing for men and women focusing on 1910-1957. The concept was my friends idea. I wasn’t interested in starting a business because I worked for a startup and saw that my boss never got paid. I needed to get paid. When that company sold and moved to the Midwest leaving me without work, I relented. reVamp was born in 1998. I didn’t even know how to sew at the time (but I knew how to operate a bandsaw. Turns out they require the same eye-hand coordination). Read more>>

Sarina Ho and Cesar Moran | Founders of One Hot Minute

At the start of the pandemic, we were helping a friend with his Nashville hot chicken sandwich pop-up weekly. During that time, we developed a vegan sandwich recipe. We wanted to create a vegan recipe because we were learning about being more environmentally conscious and are in the process of transitioning to a predominantly vegan/vegetarian diet. Our friend eventually stopped his pop-ups, but we still had the desire to share our sandwich, which brought us to where we are now. Read more>>

Janie Glassmith | Psychotherapist & Owner of Spaces Therapy

I originally started my practice because I found that, unlike most therapists, I really enjoyed the business side of therapy and felt pretty sure that I could run a business. The practice grew into being a group practice mainly because as I got deeper into the business side of therapy I was pretty sure that I could run a different kind of practice from the ones my peers and I had worked in. Therapist burnout rates are unfortunately high (especially therapists that work in group practices) and that means that many people aren’t able to get the help that they need because their therapist is burned out or because it’s so difficult to find a therapist with openings. Read more>>

Lucine Flores | CEO & College Student

Living in uncomfortable situations drove my hustle. I knew I wanted better for not only myself but I wanted to create generational wealth in my family. I used to always set up lemonade stands, I also sold those little rubber band bracelets everyone used to wear. I can go on all day about items I sold during my pre teen ages but as I grew I finally decided I knew what I wanted my first legit business to be. Selling lashes. Lashes are very popular and all my friends we’re always complaining about wearing hair store lashes. Read more>>

Jaime Annett | Certified Sound Healing Practitioner

Jaime Annett’s treasured mother, Joanne, is in hospice. Ovarian cancer.
Terminal. And yet hope – just like the undying love between mother and
daughter – remains. “During the pandemic, wed lay on the floor together, just like when I was a little girl,” recalls the owner of Thermal Horizons, the
yoga and wellness center in Valencia. “Wed talk about what chis
place could be, right down to the tiniest detail. Read more>>

Alex Pesak | Independent Graphic Designer

One word, burnout. I was completely burnt out from my marketing agency job. I lost my creative touch, I lost sight of why I started designing in the first place. I also found myself not being pleasant to be around and always complaining. At that point, I knew something needed to change. I had always known I wanted to eventually start my own independent design studio, I never thought it would happen so soon. But i’m so glad it did. Read more>>

Debra Mittler | Spiritual Healer/Transformation Coach

I’ve always known deep in my soul that I’m here to assist others in their healing and bring more peace and LOVE to the world, however, first I needed to go through things like struggling with eating disorders, having anxiety, depression and being suicidal. First I needed to experience what it was like to go from self hatred and doing self abuse and self sabotage to feeling at ease, allowing myself to follow and experience my heartfelt dreams and love and accept myself unconditionally. Read more>>

Stephanie Geismar | Fragrance Content Creator

I have always loved fragrance since I was young. I get it from my mother. Over the pandemic, I spent my time watching videos on fragrance and learning everything there is to know. After a while, I thought to myself, “wait a minute…I could make these videos!” My goal initially was to just enjoy myself and have fun! I love educating people on fragrance and helping them become empowered by it, the same way it has empowered me. Although it has turned into something more tangibly lucrative, I still see my small business as passion and enjoyment, in addition to a community I hold dear. Read more>>

Marcus Hood | Director, producer, entrepreneur & Media Mogal

Creating a Platform that is for Black, indigenous, and people of color. Owning something that was bigger than myself that represents groups of people that are always celebrated in the media. The biggest part of my dream is owning the studio that could rival a Warner Brothers NBC ABC but represented by the faces that are always given the opportunity. As a culture it seems that it’s always people of color have always been the leaders and cool culture but we’ve never owned any of it. Read more>>

Amanda Johnson | Creator of a Victorious Life

Starting my own business and being an entrepreneur isn’t necessarily something I grew knowing up I wanted to do. It wasn’t something I heard about when I was younger, seen modeled for me or even had presented as an option. Entrepreneurship came from personal growth, time and the creativity within me. It started as a dream to just leave my mark on the world by creating a simple logo and having a few t-shirts or stickers, but as I grew, so did the dream. The thought process behind starting my business came from a loss in my life and became centered around time and freedom. Read more>>

Kylie Dang | Energy Therapist, Writer and Mindfulness Meditation Teacher

I remember when I was a young child, around 3 or 4 years old, I was sitting in the corner of my kindergarten classroom and watching the other children play, sing, and laugh. I remember asking myself what I was supposed to do. What did I love to do? Did I want to play, too? These types of questions followed me all through my life. On my first resume I was asked what I liked to do and what I wanted to do. I couldn’t think of an answer. Read more>>

Kayla Austin | Gun Safety Advocate | Social Entrepreneur, Author, Content Creator, Photographer, Filmmaker, Howard University Student

My business idea started as a 12-year-old growing up in the Chicagoland area. Gun violence is a daily issue in Chicago. Watching the news as a young person was and still is disturbing, to say the least. I decided to be the change I wanted to see. While participating in the Junior Afro-Academic, Cultural, Technological and Scientific Olympics (ACT-SO) program where we had to solve a world problem, I got a chance to evaluate the problem of gun violence against youth with significant data. I discovered that many shootings involving use are caused by adults not safely storing their weapons. In other words, I found out that these tragedies are preventable! Read more>>

Tosin Morohunfola | Filmmaker and Actor

The film industry is historically vague and inaccessible. It also requires a lot of capital to get projects up and off the ground. As a filmmaker with plenty of my own stories to tell, and no one to give me permission to tell them, it felt like there honestly was no other option than to kickstart my own directing career myself. And that’s a lot of arduous work. Coalition-building. Crowdfunding. Etc. But because I so desperately wanted to see the things in my head come to life, I knew it was worth it. And as a social justice filmmaker, I truly believe it’s worth it for everyone. Read more>>

Susana Zazueta | Discoverlist, Inc. Co-Founder & CEO

As and avid traveler, 25 countries thus far, I kept encountering a problem that all travelers faced, so I decided to develop a solution. After I would come back from a trip, my friends would ask me to send them my recommendations for those trips I had taken. It would take me quite a bit of time to either remember the names of everywhere I visited and or search for those spots online. During one of those trips I decided to start my own business, Discoverlist Inc., Read more>>

Kendall Wheeler | Photographer

About 5 years ago in Denver, I was working a corporate job in Finance. It was a solid company with great people but knew something was missing. Growing up around cameras (dad was a documentary filmmaker/photographer), I naturally gravitated towards photography as a creative outlet. Like with any passion, I became obsessed. What started as 4am wake up calls to shoot sunrise in Colorado soon transformed into moving to Southern California and working with incredible brands/individuals in the health/wellness and fashion space. Read more>>

Miranda Huerta | Lead Esthetician & Owner of Barefaced Studio

I knew from the start that I wanted to own my own business when I started Barefaced Studio (previously Project Skin). I am a mom or 3 babies, so it was Important to me to be able to make my own hours so that I was able to take them and pick them up from school, to be able to be there to take them to and from baseball practice & ballet. Not to mention childcare is really scarce and also very very expensive. Sometimes it feels like you’re working to strictly pay for childcare. Read more>>

Sophia Rivera | Metal Smith and Wire Wrapping Jewelry Artist

At the beginning of 2020 I was living with my best friend, Julianna, the other co-founder of Piezas Únicas. Together we took a metal smithing jewelry class on our college campus as our effort to find a creative outlet. Within the three months of taking this class, I fell completely in love with metal fabrication. I spent many days and nights creating my first ever collection and finding my artistic voice. Read more>>

Eric Cervantes | Freelance Artist

The idea for marketing myself and my art initially came out of a very positive response to personal work that I had done. My family was very supportive and instrumental in sharing what I had done with others in my community. That helped grow into opportunities to participate in community art shows and to interface with local business owners to both exhibit my art and create art displays for them. Read more>>