Are you thinking about starting a business? If so, we think you’ll enjoy reading about how these seasoned entrepreneurs thought about the question when they were in your shoes.

Bali Moore | Art Photographer & Creator

Honestly, I had no thought process whatsoever when I started. In fact, there was never a point in my life that I said, ‘I want to be a photographer’.
When I was a teenager, I grabbed our family camera and started clicking out of instinct, from very emotional and ancient places. In hindsight, I can tell that this was my way of being seen. So for me, this was no ‘business’ in the beginning. Read more>>

Jessica Guzikowski | Small Business Coach & Co-Owner of Frenchie Coffee Roasters

As a longtime entrepreneur, I’ve learned a lot of important (and hard) lessons along the way. Being able to combine my business knowledge with ten plus years of people management by supporting small business owners with coaching was an absolute no brainer. Small business ownership can be lonely and I love being able to remind people that they aren’t alone and that they should keep going. Read more>>

JEMS | Jessica Rotter, Emily Colombier, and Sarah Margaret Huff

J: we never started JEMS as a business. We are musicians. We are just trying to observe the world and share our thoughts and feelings through songs. SM: If you want to start a lucrative business, definitely don’t start a band or go on tour lol. Read more>>

Megan Evans | Founder of The MS Stage and The MS Stage Method

Well, I was a personal wardrobe stylist in New York and LA for over a decade, and I have been living with Multiple Sclerosis for 19 years now. I was diagnosed at only 24 years old. 5 years ago after having my worst MS episode ever, I was forced to take a year off of styling. I was truly working myself into the ground, and although I loved my work, it was becoming way too much for me physically. That break gave me the time to do some deep self-work at which point I discovered I had been resisting my MS diagnosis instead of fully embracing and accepting it on a deeper level for a long time. Read more>>

Marian Park-Ross | Owner Mungo & Jemima and GOOD Clothing, Cape Town

I studied clothing but had worked many years in the film industry. The hours and seasonality were a killer and I wanted to get out, I also wanted to be my own boss, so I was making some styles and selling them in somebody else’s consignment store and felt I could do it better. It was badly run, they lost track off stock and never paid on time, so I took a walk down Cape Town’s main shopping strip at the time, where I wanted to be, and asked shop owners if they were willing to sell their leases. Nobody was. I happened to know the landlord of one of the empty shops (it was actually a bit far down I thought – turned out to be just perfect and I was there for 12 years!) Read more>>

Megan V Green | Hair Activist, Artist and Educator.

I was afraid to start my business, I did not think I had what it took to be an entrepreneur. This is a constant battle for me even today, it is not easy or natural to me. We were all taught to seek comfort, stability and work for people. Gradually, over the years, I became more confident and open to the idea that I could do it and I was ready for this long journey of entrepreneurship. Read more>>

Barbara & Valeria Cerda | Co-Founders of La Revo Books

La Revo Books has been something we have been dreaming about for a long time. My sister and I, like other Milwaukeeans didn’t grow up reading literature written by and for brown people. We wanted to have a community space and didn’t really think about the business aspect part of our bookstore. It was when it was time to file paperwork that we were like, “OH, we are actual business owners.” Our family has always hustled, in the United States and in Mexico, and while we didn’t have any formal business training – it is something that has come naturally to us. Read more>>

Shengxiao Sole” Yu | Social Justice Educator

My business, Nectar, was born during the second year of the pandemic. I often think about author Arundhati Roy’s words that the pandemic is a portal, “a gateway between one world and the next.” These words were a grounding force to propel me through the portal and create Nectar – a space dedicated to our collective liberation. Read more>>

Kadian Hall | Creative Director & Director of Photography

At a young age, I knew that being my own boss was the direction that I was aiming for. I constantly found myself in positions of leadership, this especially came to a head in undergrad while studying Electro-mechanical Engineering at the university of Hartford. I was apart of multiple groups on campus, one being CAT (Campus Activities Team), my role at the time was head of student publicity where I would lead our creative teams. Read more>>

Tony Shayne | Consultant, Producer & Designer

I love working in the nonprofit world, especially live dance. Dance companies struggle to raise money, and when they finally do every buck counts. I started my business in 2014 to help those who got their first big paycheck and wanted to maximize every cent of it. I knew that I could help them from the start, so they would be prepared for the inevitable last-minute costs that always arise as you get closer to opening night. My skills and suggestions were appreciated early on, and I gained some traction in the community. Read more>>

Bryan Nowak | Bryan is a writer of horror, mystery, and science fiction novels

Honestly, I am not sure there was a thought process as much as it was a natural outflow of where I was in life. For the longest time I was a creator and a writer. However, it is very true that often authors and creators forget that at the end of the day you have to run our creative pursuits as a business. Read more>>

Hannah Bae | Founder @ Halmi

Although Halmi launched in late 2021, our story goes back a couple of years. As a daughter of Korean immigrants growing up in Queens, NY, I spent most of my days with my grandma while my parents worked. She created a sense of belonging as I tried to understand what it meant being both Korean and American, through an abundance of the most comforting foods and beverages. Read more>>

Awona Love | Probation Officer, Author/Poet, Advocate, Life Coach

My nonprofit was started because I wanted to help the community to become more aware of the affects and the signs of child sexual abuse. By promoting awareness it will increase the success of rehabilitating more victims/ survivors through life coaching services that will help build self confidence. Being a two time survivor of child sexual abuse I can relate on many levels. Therefore, I have vowed to walk alongside victims and speak to those whom may not know where to turn. Read more>>

Nita Black | Business Strategist and Drone Innovation

I was working at a national bank when I turned 50, had a great job with super benefits, but was looking for something more. As a commercial lender, a small group of us were “asked” to obtain a Series 7 Registered Investment Advisor license so we could offer investment services to our existing and new loan customers. This was exciting but hard and something I had never done before during my 25 years in banking. I was up for it and began selling mutual funds and bonds to high net worth customers. Read more>>

Julie Cohn | Artist, College Art Instructor & Founder of Sustaining Arts, an In-Person & Online Gallery

I’m Julie Cohn, founder of Sustaining Arts. These two words, Sustaining and Arts, embody my philosophy toward life and my passion for art. For many years, I have embraced painting, and drawing as a vehicle for elevating and sustaining my spiritual awareness. During the beginning stages of the Covid pandemic I was feeling isolated, just like many of us. I spent time with only very few close family members and created a lot in my studio. Read more>>

Ranier Maningding | Founder and Chief Brand Officer at LLAG Media

In 2020, I created LLAG Media for the sole purpose of serving BIPOC creatives and progressives who’d been historically excluded from the marketing and branding industry. I wanted to create a branding agency that prioritized BIPOC brands, influencers, and non-profit organizations that dedicated their work to helping marginalized people. Read more>>

Elyce Kirchner | Media Coach + Strategist

I never intended to start a business. I worked as a tv investigative reporter, general assignment reporter, and anchor at NBC, CBS, and ABC stations across the county. Most recently, when I was a reporter at NBC in San Francisco, I suffered from sudden hearing loss and tinnitus due to a viral cold. It abruptly ended my nearly two decades career as a journalist in broadcast television. It was devasting, and I struggled to find a job outside of tv. Read more>>

Catherine Masi | Interior Design Stylist

I began with accessory design 15 years ago, but this veering into interior design a few years back was the direct result of my experience of how much more harmonious my life felt when I styled in a more harmonious flow in my home. Everything felt elevated and when I began working with clients in their homes, I would receive similar feedback from them. Read more>>

Tori Keeshin | Entrepreneur and CEO

I knew Vegnables had to be created and I couldn’t believe it hadn’t been done before. I felt like I had no choice but to start it myself. I didn’t really know where to begin but I just knew I had to start somewhere. I decided to create a Kickstarter and see what the response was. The support was amazing and it validated that people were waiting for a product like this. Read more>>