Readers often email us asking us for advice about new businesses they are thinking about starting and we often find that many of them don’t have a framework for thinking about a more fundamental question: why should or shouldn’t you start a business?

Tolis Keivani | Brand owner

I Always wanted to be independent ,and when i was in a good place financially i invest my money to build my business. Read more>>

Geoffrey Bywater | Head of A&R and Management- Roadcase Management

I just started managing Artists little under a year and I came across Madisonxoxo sent it to Nancy and she want to be part of it so we chatted and we thought it be cool to start a little management company from there and make it a family affair. Read more>>

Richard Hosack | Photographer

I enjoy doing photography going places meeting people. So I figured if I can make some money while having fun, I should at least try it. Read more>>

Erica Richards | Equestrian and Equine Portrait Photographer

Life can be so funny; it can take you in a direction that you never, ever would have expected. While all my life I have loved taking pictures and not just snapping the camera but setting up the shot, being a professional photographer never occurred to me. I spent my adult working career in the film industry and doing graphics as the Labelling Manager for a cochlear implant company. Read more>>

Dillon Ford | Writer, Accent Reduction Coach & Actor

The pandemic had just shut everything down and I was laid off from my “actor survival day job” in telemarketing. Personally, I absolutely dread getting phone calls from salespeople so I always felt really bad about calling people in that job, even though we were selling a legitimate product. Either way, I was out of a job and nothing was open. My wife who runs her own business had been encouraging me to start my own business for a long time at that point and I figured this was the best time to do it. Read more>>

Sarah Gorski | Accessories Designer

I started my business making women’s accessories when I was a relatively inexperienced designer. I had the passion and interest in spades, and some loosely related creative industry experience ranging from business to marketing. Otherwise I was an absolute beginner when it came to actually making jewelry and accessories. Recently married, I chose bridal accessories because I found them to be beautiful, and I liked the idea of helping brides achieve the perfect, personalized finishing touches they desired on their wedding day. Read more>>

Angelica Brooks | Founder and CEO, The Table Music Education Corporation

I started The Table Music Education Corporation because there is a need to address the recruitment and retention of music educators, particularly music educators of color. I see this as an act of social and educational justice because of the disparity between the number of music educators of color and those who identify as White (non-Hispanic). Read more>>

Vivian Azrya | Founder & Creator

The Rya Brand formerly known as Vivid Photography has evolved into an all inclusive Talent Agency focused on scouting, image/brand development and career guidance in the Talent’s path of success. My thought process behind starting my own business deprived from meeting individuals who either lack confidence in their craft or didn’t exactly know how to break out their full potential to get them closer to their vision as they wished. Read more>>

Shermineh Ghane | Fine Jewelry Designer & Business Owner

I always knew that at some point in my life I would start my own business focused on my love for fashion and creativity. However I didn’t know that it would be in jewelry until it was already happening! As someone who loves to wear and shop for jewelry, I was getting frustrated with the lightweight, plated jewelry dominating the industry. When I’m spending hundreds, maybe even thousands of dollars, I expect to wear solid, substantial jewelry where I can feel the weight and quality of the materials. Read more>>

Kimberly Wallis Licht | Baker and Actor

When everything shut down due to the pandemic in 2020, it seemed as though everyone was making banana bread, including me! I needed a creative outlet. One evening, I was reading a story about Shabbat to my son, and at the very end there was a recipe for making challah. I had never made it before and my son wanted to try. We did it together and it was a complete disaster! Read more>>