There are so many factors that can play a role in determining our results, performance and ultimately our success, but some factors matter more than others. We asked folks what they felt was the most important factor driving their success.

Nikki Becker | President & Founder of Ghauste Agency

I would have to say, learning to pivot and not being afraid to change course. I think a lot of times, as business owners/founders, we feel like we have to stick to our initial vision and make it work, otherwise we feel the whole vision was a failure. However, I’ve really learned that the opposite is true. I think the best business owners are the ones that aren’t afraid to abandon things that are not serving the business and try new things to adapt to the changing market. The business I run today has lived maybe 5 different lives since it’s initial launch in 2017. The core of what we do is the same, but the services we offer, the way we provide our services, etc has changed significantly and is the reason we have been able to survive things like COVID. We even changed our company name and branding along the way. Some may say that pieces of our journey were a failure, but I think the fact that we’ve been able to grow exponentially year after year is a testament to the opposite. Read more>>

Lawrence Murphy | Personal Trainer/Fitness Coach & Actor

There are many factors that contribute to success, nothing short of hard work, commitment and consistency. Consistency may be the most important component as you have to keep at , be ready to be flexible and do what is necessary to be successful every day in light of an ever changing environment Discipline that helps create positive habits to meet ones goals is part of consistency. My clients know what they are getting – a personal trainer/ fitness coach that is passionate and walks the walk with them . Read more>>

Shinjung Park | CEO & Founder of Lemon Sound

I haven’t yet reached the level of success I’m aiming for, but I believe I’ve come farther than many. I credit this to big dreams, persistence, and the ability to execute. Growing up, my father’s business failed, and my childhood and school years were incredibly tough. My family couldn’t afford basic living expenses and relied on government support, yet I wanted to major in composition. Most people I know in music come from financially stable backgrounds; even those without strong family support didn’t face the level of struggle I did. This was especially true at the Korea National University of Arts, where I eventually graduated. Read more>>

Elizabeth Hyer Rose | Quantum Healer and Channel

Trust. My clients inherently trust me, my work, and my discretion. I’ve been lucky enough to have some extraordinarily successful talents to work with, and they, in turn, have referred me to others in their circle, also accomplishing extraordinary things, or on the verge of such. That’s been a key to building my brand — the people. And as I said, their trust in getting results when working with me. Read more>>

Melanie Mancil | Functional Medicine Nurse & Founder of Twelve28: Health & Wellness Medical Center & Spa

The most important factor behind my success is my unwavering commitment to truly understanding and empowering my patients on their wellness journeys.
At Twelve28 Health and Wellness Center, I’m on a mission to redefine what wellness means. Here, we don’t just treat symptoms; we dig deeper, exploring the root causes of health concerns to create highly individualized treatment plans that are as unique as the people who walk through our doors. Read more>>

María Sardi | Mixed-media artist

It’s easy to create art for others and please the algorithm by making 5-second videos with viral audio, but what’s truly important is believing in myself and my capabilities. Trusting my own process and knowing I can accomplish whatever I set my mind to is what makes my art successful—as a brand, as an artist, and as a creative human. Read more>>

Ctln | Artist

Intention directs and fuels success. I hold myself accountable to walk the walk and lead by example. It’s vital for your audience to trust you and see you embody the positive qualities that they see in themselves (or want to). I write my music in real time about real experiences and lessons I’m learning from these experiences. Oftentimes I end up relearning the same lesson I was learning when I made the song as I’m releasing it. I use the process of releasing music as a way to let go of the past and embrace the future with this new lesson integrated into my spirit. Read more>>

Ingrid Yeh | Wedding/Event Planner & Officiant

Being very much a people person, I’m very conscious of others’ energy, as well as the energy that I put forth. I thrive and do my best work when I feel my own energy is not only appreciated but also reciprocated. While I’m aware my level of connection with others will vary from person to person, I always aim to present my best self to those I work closely with—whether its my clients, my colleagues, or my team. Read more>>

Trish Bolden | Senior Publisher and CEO of Trish B. Media and Consulting, LLC.

The most important factor behind my success in launching my boutique consulting business. Trish B. Media & Consulting, LLC. during an economic crisis has been strategic adaptability combined with a focus on delivering tangible value. In a challenging economy, businesses are more selective about their investments, so I prioritized understanding my clients’ unique pain points and crafted tailored solutions that address immediate needs while providing long-term benefits. By remaining flexible, continuously analyzing market shifts, and aligning my services with what clients need most, I’ve been able to establish trust and relevance, proving that even in difficult times, impactful solutions are invaluable. Read more>>

Stephen Hemmert | Co-Owner and Winemaker – Stephen Hemmert Wines

Quality of the wine we produce. Like many of our wine club members say, “Your wine sells itself” But just as important as the wine is the service we provide our customers. You must have great wine to compete with everyone else in the industry, but your people make the difference. Great service means customers stay and enjoy your Tasting Room longer and in doing so, purchase more. Read more>>

Logan Loya | UCLA Football Player

Competitive drive; whether it’s football or video games, I want to be the best in everything. I hate losing/failing and I learn from the failures I have so they never repeat. Read more>>

Mingway Lee | Director & Producer

The most important factor behind my brand’s success is the spirit of freedom. This means stepping beyond what is familiar, embracing diverse cultures, and allowing creativity to flow without limits. While traveling in Mexico, I visited a Mayan culture museum and encountered the work of an artist deeply inspired by ancient Mayan traditions. This experience sparked an idea: to create a short animated film about a young Mayan girl who falls into a mysterious world within a painting. Though I grew up in China and knew little about the Mayan culture, that curiosity drove me to learn more. I reached out to the Mexican artist, and to this day, we stay in touch. When I shared my film with her, she was delighted to see her culture inspiring new stories and even shared her latest artworks with me. Read more>>

Andrii Shatyrko | Entrepreneur & Marketing Manager

Hi, I’m Andrii Shatyrko, an entrepreneur and marketer with 15 years of experience in the industry. Currently, I run FAMEO Marketing Agency, where we specialize in helping businesses and personal brands elevate their visibility and impact. Additionally, I oversee FAMEO Kids Store, offering educational products for children, and FAMEO Kids Studio, where we provide specialized courses and a summit geared toward youth education. Read more>>

Dr. Priyadarshini Roy | Actor | Producer | Professor

rather than chasing success. I was deeply inspired by the arts from a young age, beginning with a pivotal childhood moment in New Delhi, where a Bollywood film awakened my fascination for storytelling and performing. That passion has guided me every step, encouraging me to strive for the highest standards in all my endeavors: acting, filmmaking, or academia. Each time I deviated from this path, life redirected me through challenges, teaching resilience, patience, and the liberating power of faith in the process. This principle is evident in my diverse journey: excelling academically with a Ph.D. in Strategic Media and an M.F.A. in Digital Cinema, contributing to Hollywood and Indian cinema, and representing underrepresented voices through my creative works. Read more>>

Emily Coldiron | Artist & Business Owner

Being comfortable with failure and making mistakes. The process of making art is never straightforward and there’s always an “ugly” phase that make you want to stop. In the past, I was very critical of myself and it held me back in pretty big ways. I used to be very afraid to try something (especially publicly) out of fear that I wasn’t good enough. Once I realized that I needed to stop trying to be perfect and just put forth my best effort, everything changed. The art that I like the most feels a little “messy” and lived-in – there’s something authentic about working with mistakes instead of trying to fix everything. Read more>>

John Semirdzhyan | Nutrition Innovator

Introducing the Guilt-Free Pizza crust: The Perfect Blend of Taste and Health. After five years of research, testing, and perfecting, I am proud to introduce a pizza like no other—one that is both delicious and healthy. Imagine enjoying a pizza without the guilt, made with lean chicken breast and offering a high-protein, zero-carb crust. This pizza is the result of years of dedication and innovation, crafted for those who want to savor their favorite food without compromising their health. Read more>>

Erin Ziering | Aesthetic Nurse

I believe the most important factor behind my success as an Aesthetic Nurse is always listening to my patients wants and focusing on their needs. I focus on natural outcomes and helping them reach their goals to gain confidence at a steady pace. I focus on a total body approach. I like to know everything about my patient before we dive in to changing something about them. I believe that truly listening to patients and finding out what is going on is the key to successful outcomes In long-term relationship relationships as providers. Read more>>

Sofia Badaoui | Designer & artist

I like to think that authenticity is behind the success of Calikesh. I didn’t discover the inspiration for my art while travelling or searching online. Calikesh is my life. Some of my earliest memories come from moments with my family in Marrakesh, breaking bread, drinking tea. It’s been a blessing to have Moroccan heritage woven into the fabric of who I am. Life isn’t always easy for those living in Northern Africa, especially for women. I’m proud that Calikesh works directly with a collective of women weavers and that I am able to contribute directly to their wellbeing and the preservation of Moroccan artisans who are threatened daily by mechanical manufacturing and middle men who gauge them for profit and sell their works to the highest bidders. Read more>>

Tabatha Hasselbrink | permanent makeup artist and trainer

The most important factor is I treat clients like they matter and I will go out of my way to make each one happy with the service I provide. Never get comfortable in this industry and continue your education. Read more>>

Alex Hahn | Artist, Composer, Educator

“Success” is a relative term that means different things to different people. There are three factors that have helped me pursue a career as an artist, composer, and educator. 1a. My parents. I feel incredibly fortunate that I have two parents who show unwavering support in my artistry. Both are my parents are musicians and music educators. My dad plays saxophone/clarinet and taught middle school for over 30 years. My mom is a classically trained pianist and was a music therapist at an all special ed school for over 30 years. Both are retired now and spend so much of their time traveling and attending my performances. Read more>>

Todd Rutherford | Producer . Songwriter . Multi-Instrumentalist

My feelings about what success means to me have greatly evolved over time.  In my previous band, Gram Rabbit, which lasted for 15 years, I might have said success was measured by the popularity we were able to achieve. I’m not sure we had another concrete goal beyond creatively pushing boundaries and making the best albums we could. Even within our creativity, and though there was profound depth to many or our songs, I feel like there wasn’t a unified vision to what our message was and what we stood for. We were a tough act for many people to wrap there heads around. And maybe that was the point of Gram Rabbit. It was a fun, experimental, and an “anything goes” period of my life, where I learned so much about the creative process, how to perform, and how the industry works. Read more>>

Chunxuan（kelvin） Yu | Senior UX designer

The most important factor behind my success has been a commitment to innovation through user-centered design that integrates seamlessly with advanced technology. My passion for creating intuitive, AI-driven solutions that genuinely enhance everyday experiences is at the heart of my approach. This human-centered philosophy ensures that technology is not only functional but also meaningful and accessible. Read more>>

Yinan (rebecca) Chen | Visual Digital Designer & Creative Director

I am the Visual Director of Stilllife Art Collective(@stilllife.stilllife) founded in New York in 2022, the most key factor is to choose the right team and work with people sharing the same vision and passion for the business / project. Stilllife is a next-generation hybrid art community bridging the East and West through blending a highly curated pop-up art show, a public-facing art market, a social hub, and an organic story-telling media service. We aim for community building across continents and between cultures, which has driven the team tighter as an entity to bring people together and set a clear goal for us to work on projects. Every member at Stilllife is on top of their jobs, which makes the small team so efficient and successful in our operations. Read more>>

Wendy Ashley | Therapist, Educator, JAEDI (Justice, Antiracism, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion) Training Facilitator, Author and Keynote Speaker

I believe the most important factor behind the success of my brand is my capacity to be direct, genuine and transparent, while maintaining a framework is that is consistently aligned with intersectionality, equity, inclusion and antiracism. Read more>>

Mat Chris | African Rapper, Singer & Stylist

GOD… i can talk about this too deep because first GOD created more things into me, by His Willing allowed me to know my talent like i am an artist, stylish, musician i can rap and sing..
He breathed on my artwork all the time i can see this way way back because ever since i started to drop even a cappella song people were dying for it no matter how few were but that keeps me believing i have gifted a big talent, it is the sign of victory to me.
But the most important things are i love music the music is into me, i love to listen music, rap and i love to create music too, and too many risk i took and i will take for my music. So i don’t want to let myself down, i don’t want to let GOD’S Creation down too. what HE made into me is blessings and gift. thats the big reasons i am grinding all days and all the ways. Read more>>

Jennifer Wertheimer | Family Photographer

The success of my business is rooted in trust—both in my ability to deliver quality and in the relationships I’ve built with clients. Taking the leap to create for other people came with a lot of self doubt and fears. Believing in myself has been the driving force behind taking bold steps, navigating challenges, and staying committed to my vision. This self-confidence has helped me persevere through tough times and continue to grow, ensuring that my business is not just successful but sustainable. Trust in myself and the value I provide has been the foundation of every achievement. Read more>>