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.

Robert Jahns | Artist, Photographer, Director

Self-fulfillment has always been important for me and I realized I can only reach a high level of that when I‘m my own boss. I wanted to set my own goals and make my dreams a reality. Read more>>

Patrick Davis, MD | Facial Plastic Surgeon

Starting a business is quite the commitment, and a deep understanding of why you would want to embark on such undertaking is a must. To me, running my own business, is a the best way to have creative control of my professional career. Much a like a film director desires to have “final cut” privileges at the end of the production of a film, an entrepreneur’s vision is inseparable from the business they run. In my business, which happens to be Facial Plastic Surgery, I strive to put my own version of what it means to care for patients and their needs. Read more>>

Bella Camerino | Founder and Marketing Manager of Bungalow95

It’s been a quite the process starting my own business and to be honest, it’s still getting started. I’ve worked in numerous corporate companies where I felt like I was unheard and under-valued as an employee. Not only that but I felt that I constantly was in a creative block because these bigger corporations wanted to stick to what they already knew, not trying new things. That’s where I felt stagnant in what I was doing because I am constantly keeping up with social trends and thrive off of trying new ideas. So that is one of the main reasons why I started my own business. Read more>>

Taylor Lambert | Casting Director

I always pursue creative opportunities – I started acting in San Francisco in 2011 and found collaborations with other artists to be extremely rewarding. Over the past decade, I’ve worked in various fields – tech, film production, even cookie sales. I became involved with casting when working at a production company. That’s really when the inspiration lightbulb turned on for me. There’s no better feeling than finding great talent for producers or telling an actor that they are BOOKED. Read more>>

Cassandra Pyles-Trebar | Boudoir and Glamour Photographer | Body Image and Empowerment Coach

My thought process on starting my own business was actually a total accident if I’m being honest, and looking back I wouldn’t have it any other way. My story started out while I was in college for my pre-med degree. I was a full-time multi-major student with plans to go on to medical school and then out into the field to save lives. I loved my path and was so excited to become a doctor, but about halfway through school, my life changed completely when I ended up being diagnosed with an autoimmune kidney disease and told I would need dialysis or a transplant in less than a year. Read more>>

Kateryna Kondratieva | portrait photographer

One day I understood that the only way to be successful – is by doing what you are passionate about. Finding what you really love is essential, something you can’t live without. My life wasn’t always as today. I grew up in a family of medical workers and that’s what I heard in my childhood: ‘If you don’t enter a medical school, I’ll get you a stall, and you’ll be selling goods there’. It meant that unless I became a part of the medical personnel, I would be doomed. As you understand, I didn’t have a stall. I got into a medical school, I was a perfect daughter and an a student. Read more>>

Bianca Camara | Cosmetic Maker + Event Manager

I was intrigued to start my own business at the end of 2020 due to an interest in entrepreneurship + taking a chance on myself. I had the idea to create my own natural/vegan lip cosmetic company + spent numerous hours on research + studying formulas. We launched successfully on March 1st of 2020. Read more>>

Greg Driscoll | Freelance Photographer

Boyriot Photography came out a debilitating need for a creative outlet for myself. I had been working in restaurant after restaurant because that was the “easy” thing to do; not to mention the only thing I felt I could do. Before I knew it, nine whole years had passed by and I was miserable. I wanted to do something I was not only good at, but also proud of. That’s when I decided to pursue photography. There’s nothing I love more than getting that photo that makes someone say “Oh my god, that’s me?” or “I look hot.” I can proudly say that both are said quite frequently. Read more>>

Annette Morris, MA | Therapist turned Life & Mindset Business Coach

I initially started a business for the freedom and flexibility. As a mother owning my own business allowed me to spend more time with my kids and to be present for them in ways I was unable to being b employee. Also as a daughter caring for an elderly, it’s also given me the flexibility to assure my mom is able to have Dr’s visits without problem. Read more>>

Janine Glass | Yoga & Pilates Trainer/ Studio Owner

Since I was a sophomore in college I dreamed of having my own business. Little did I know it would be in the fitness & wellness world. I truly believe that movement is medicine and we all need a daily does of mindful movement. Not only does it connect us to others, but it deepens our awareness of self! In 2010 I walked into a Forrest Yoga class and fell in love with the slow deep healing work. Since then, it has been my mission to help our people and my community heal chronic pain. And that is why I chose the next step to owning my own sanctuary for healing and spread that out to our community! Read more>>

Ana Gabriela López | Guatemalan-American Social Impact Founder + Designer

When the Covid-19 global pandemic started I reconnected with a team of Indigenous artisan women in rural Guatemala I had met in 2018. I remembered them telling me how much their communities rely on tourism for their business to thrive. Their coperativa (co-op) was made up of 35 resilient women who were each representing and providing for their families. Read more>>

Phasion | Content Creator | Influencer

When I started my business my first thought that came to mind is how can I serve my women and what were some of the things that I am usually questioned about on the day to day basis. Read more>>

Makeba Lloyd | Certified Aromatherapist, Artisanal Perfumer & Entrepreneur

I was dealing with some challenges at work, as a new development sales agent, where I was tasked to selling raw space on a construction site. I needed to figure out how to make myself and my presentations memorable. I figured I could accomplish this with personal fragrance that was subtle and pleasant. I began experimenting with oils and shea butter as a therapeutic hobby to wear during showings, but also address my dry skin issues and bouts of anxiety. After a vacation traveling through Egypt I became hyper inspired, almost obsessed with creating aromatic blends using my intuition and what I learned from courses I took here and there. Read more>>

Maria Morrow | Founder of Air Contemporary Gallery

I’ve always wanted to run my own business but I was well established in a successful gallery which I loved being part of. Then I had my son and I lost my job. It was a huge shock, but it gave me the drive to start AC. You have to take the positive from bad situations and looking back it was the best thing that could have happened. Read more>>

Gabriela Shanklin and Tywan Shanklin Gabriela Shanklin and Tywan Shanklin | Owners & Operators

Tywan: I’ve always wanted to own my own business, in college I pursued a degree in business administration and some of my favorite classes were the entrepreneurship classes. At an early age I saw the value of ownership. My mother is a business owner and we would often talk about expanding her business and building from what she has started. It was always a desire of mine so when I noticed my wife’s baking talent I encouraged her to start selling her desserts. Read more>>

Mindy Shamp | Photographer

Not to be cliche, but I figured, why not make money doing something I really like? That was the beginning at least that got me started. Growing my business has taken a lot of learning, trusting my intuition, and building a brand that people really trust. Read more>>

Federico Laboureau | Creative Director. Designer.

I was always trying to thing what should be different.. not trying to see what the other were doing.. trying to make or create something different. of course I reach all the other people or companies related to my world to take my direction in a different direction and have my own niche Read more>>

Sage Flores | Owner of Sunburst Films Content Creation Company

Ever since a young age, I had really been into creating youtube videos for fun. I started when I was 13 and continued to do it for 4 years until I was 17. Although I never made money from it or gained many followers I did get alright with a camera and was getting good at editing. My father Big Chris Flores who is a music producer had a client who asked him if he knew anyone that could make a music video for him. My father told him that I made youtube videos and I could probably do one if he was interested. Read more>>

Karah Rainwater | Influencer & Graphic Designer

As the CEO of Black College Culture and a Los Angeles native that attends Thee Illustrious Southern University A&M College, I bring my passion and excitement of all things HBCU to the masses. My background in digital marketing, content creation, and design helped fuel my desire to launch Black College Culture. As a California student, I didn’t not have exposure to HBCU life and culture, I am committed to sharing with students from similar backgrounds to ensure that they understand the magnitude and impact that HBCUs have on the lives and outcomes of its students. Read more>>

Cherise Small, LCSW | CEO of The Healing Point Therapy and Wellness & Licensed Clinical Social Worker

The Healing Point Therapy and Wellness was created because I noticed a huge need for additional support within my community. Growing up as an African American kid in Philadelphia I felt we lacked a safe place to truly process how we felt and didn’t know how to express our true feelings and emotions. The Healing Point Therapy and Wellness supports individuals by allowing them to address their true feelings without shame, judgment and guilt. We provide a safe space to express and process their feelings. I truly believe having a place to truly feel and be your authentic self is super important in a world where you can be influenced by your environment. . Read more>>

Yuanyuan Zhou | Illustrator & Designer

I haven’t actually started my own business. I heard many people from the art community talk about how they discovered their passion at a very young age and they always wanted to be an artist. For me, I went with a different path. I have a background in accounting and worked as a teacher and an event planner for a few years. I discovered I wanted to be an illustrator recently two years ago. Actually, it was my colleague who asked me why I was teaching, and suggested I do illustration for books. Read more>>

Nia Black | Floral Designer, Planner and Event Manager

I’d always been interested in becoming a florist, but I never really considered it as a serious career option until recently. After working in a corporate job for many years. I realized that I missed being creative and working with my hands. I also didn’t want to be tied down to one location, so the thought of owning my own business was appealing. Floristry seemed like the perfect way to combine my love of art with my desire for independence, so I decided to take the plunge and start my own floral design business. It’s been a lot of work, but it’s also been incredibly rewarding. I’m grateful every day that I made the decision to follow my dreams. Read more>>

Julia Lumpkin | CEO of Magnify Consulting

Initially in January of 2020, I started as a freelancer, hoping to just discover more about the kind of work I liked doing. However, I started getting referrals and discovering more opportunities with my skillset to help businesses during the pandemic sell their services online. After about 6 months, I realized that I had a huge opportunity to serve a distinct niche of business owners and dediced to officially ramp up marketing with a website and social media launch. Now I’m almost 3 years in business! Read more>>

Rachel Howell | Nutritionist + Wellness Consultant

I strongly believe that we all deserve to feel good in our skin, bodies, and minds. I don’t believe in fad diets, unhealthy methods of reaching physical goals, or short-term solutions. I believe that it’s important to commit to serving yourself from the inside out on a cellular level, which means learning sustainable practices to improve your health that last forever. My goal with Well + Good was to create evidence-based nutrition services that get to the root cause of clients’ health struggles and create customized wellness plans based on individuals’ biological needs. Read more>>

Elizabeth Goldschen | Speech and Language Pathologist

I had spent my career working for other people, in public schools, in private practice and then the pandemic happened. I had always been interested in running my own business, but had yet to take that leap. Due to closures at the beginning of COVID-19, speech therapy with children was truly flipped on its head. I was unsure of how I would work at all. As I learned how to facilitate teletherapy and became far more independent in my work due to the physical distance from others, I learned that I enjoyed the independence and creativity that came with it. I began seeing my own clients as a side business and as it grew, I began to believe in myself more as both a professional and business owner. Read more>>

Elle Cole | Author, Producer, and Caregiver Advocate

I started my own business after I learned that I would be a caregiver for my daughter. I worked for an American corporation that did not have a lot of flexibility. I knew that as my daughter grew, I would need to be able to go to many doctor’s appointments as needed. Read more>>

Prov Krivoshey & Asha Rahaylia | Co-Founders, Residents, Music and Creative Directors

Prov – I’ve had a vision to build a brand that would foster positive change in Chicago for many years. As a freelance artist and musician, this has been particularly challenging because the nature of creating music is fundamentally focused on nurturing the self. The thought process behind starting Dark Heaven was finding a solution to combine my love for music with the goal of giving back to the community, whether it was in the form of hosting events, donating to nonprofits, etc. Read more>>

Priya Jangda | Creative Director of Quillattire

I have designed for many fashion houses in my career, I have over 10 years of experience designing for the likes of Burberry, Topshop, Asos, Umbro, Ted Baker & more. As amazing as the experiences were and the learning from each company I became tired of designing for a specific customer that was not true to me, I grew up as a tomboy, and I was not influenced by society but just to be comfortable and be myself. I looked up to artists like Rihanna and Asap Rocky. I tried styling music videos for a bit, where I did work for artists such as Skepta and Chipmunk but still had this burning desire to start my own brand that was true to me. Read more>>

Maria Castro | Makeup Artist

The thought process was a scary one. I wasn’t sure how I would make it on my own and where and how to even start. I used to work for a makeup/beauty salon and working for someone is easier because they make your schedules and bring you clients, but I knew I didn’t want to work for anyone and I wanted to work for myself and be fully freelance. Covid happened it and kind of forced me to take the leap of faith and start my own business, it was the best and scariest decision I’ve ever made and I’m so glad that I did. Read more>>

Rowena McCormick-Robinson | Model Manager, Agency Owner & Certified School Teacher

I was born the oldest child to parents that gave birth to 13 children. My dad is 6’7 and my mom is 5’8 therefore, my siblings and I tower over most people we know. It was a no brainer for me to come up with the idea to start up Chic Nouvelle Model and Talent Agency because it allowed me to book my tall and attractive younger siblings and our mom. Our family members are also, designers, music producers, writers, poets, trained, actors, boxers, visual artists, graphic designers, photographers rappers, trained African dancers, drummers and stilt dancers so the idea of putting on productions within our own city and within the nation and world was appealing. Read more>>

Dawn Buchanan | Winemaker & Author

Moments. I have always loved spending time with family and friends. Making memories and sharing stories. These times have always been encircled with food and music. I wanted to make something that when people would get together and have their moments it could be with a good wine. I share my heart in each bottle. I made it to be enjoyed with amazing music, laughter so full that it fills the room, with friends, family and thoughtful conversations. Read more>>

Daniel Parsons | Kinesiologist & Collegiate Professor

Founding and growing Surf the Spectrum was a culmination of several years of life experience, opportunities, relationships, education, and self-realization. It’s been a journey that I imagine is very similar to that of many other entrepreneurs Peeling back the layers, it’s one that has been guided by the notion that all individuals can be the author of their own story and achieve great things. Working with several populations in physical activity settings over the past fifteen years, from competitive athletes, older adults, teens recovering from drug addiction, to children with special needs, I’ve learned that perhaps the most valuable ingredient in service delivery is fortifying the human connection; Read more>>