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.

Domino Aurora | Magazine Editor, Creative Director & Photographer

I saw incongruences in the way that the magazine industry worked, and I thought I could rethink those processes and the relationship that magazines had with their readers. Look around you. Everything in this world was thought and made by some person that may not even be around anymore. We need to question everything we come in contact with, every system. Only this way we can find their flaws, make them better or rebuild them if necessary. Read more>>

Lauren Thomas | Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist

Throughout my education as a Graduate student, I was dead set on a becoming a couple’s therapist specializing in sex issues and intimacy. It was right around my second year, during my Diversity course (ironically) that I realized this field isn’t built for Clinicians of Color nor is it built for Clients of Color. Read more>>

Candice Collison | CEO & Mother of three

I was working in tech when I had my first baby, and while I was enjoying my job I felt a calling to follow a career that tied into my motherhood experience and my passion for conscious fashion. After welcoming my second baby in February 2020, I felt lost in the transition into the postpartum and newborn mother stage. Breastfeeding was difficult and painful this time around. Read more>>

Brian Yuran | Producer, Writer, Director

JoRo Productions was founded with the purpose of telling narrative stories based around true events and the real plights of average Americans. Through these topics, we hope to inspire and educate people to become informed, aware, and the best versions of themselves. Read more>>

Luca Buzas | Celebrity Stylist & Makeup Artist

The motivation behind starting my own business was originally my passion to create interesting content and media. I had the drive to help models and actors look their best in front of the camera, boosting their confidence in their professions. I love to collaborate with other like minded creatives and business owners to make their visions come to life. Read more>>

Fabio Lai | Chef Owner

Well, we have established Fabios basically at the pick of the pandemic, so our thought process was to create a concept almost non existent in USA. We thought that creating a Pasta shop that is fast casual, affordable and in which the pastas are homemade in the house.and cooked from scratch, would enable us to fill a gap in todays market. Read more>>

Carlee Tatum | Mud slinger & Photographer

I wish I could say there was an extensive thought process but unfortunately, my brain just doesn’t work that way. I tend to roll with the punches and if the feeling is strong enough. Im talking deep in your gut strong then I do it without question. 
My business originally started as a wedding photography career that I ran for about 5-6 years. And then as we all know, good ol covid hit, and weddings were postponed, leaving me endless time to create. Read more>>

Martina Albertazzi | Photographer

I have been passionate about visual arts since I was a teenager. After a master’s degree in journalism and a couple of internships for different publications I knew that I wanted to work with photography. Working on my own made the most sense to me because it gave me the freedom to explore different types of photography and start some collaborations that I still have today. Read more>>

Shiri Morgan | Dietitian turned cookie artist!

Cookies and crafts have always been a hobby of mine. I tend to be a restless person and found working on something creative served as a way to calm myself. During the height of the Covid pandemic, when my family and I were all working and schooling from home, I needed something to keep me occupied. Although I have been making decorated sugar cookies since my kids were small, I dove head first into learning and perfecting my skills. Read more>> 

Rafael Parra | Founder of @theboysoftomorrow

Soon after moving to LA, I attended a fundraiser organized by a non-profit and left very inspired. The event was raising funds for the Transformation Project, an LGBTQ+ org focused on Trans issues, and I spent quite a bit of time talking to the parents of a trans teen, learning their issues firsthand. I then also learned that the “gayla” I was in happened once a year, but there are so many other amazing but underfunded orgs across the US. Thus I decided to start my own hoping to do similar work. Read more>>

jordan Siudy | Videographer, photographer, content creator, Sales consultant

I think when it comes to starting your own business the first question you need to ask yourself is “Do I have the skills needed to grow my business?” For myself I had already been working in sales getting paid commission so the first thing that I focused on was high activity. I could already make a good video and that skill set was growing. So it Just came down to how many people can I talk too. Read more>>

Danilo Batson | Founder & Executive Director

The thought process was to help facilitate an opportunity to create impact for everyone who had a desire to help the Black community. I felt there were many people who have seen the injustices and wanted to help and didn’t know how. Sometimes it is hard to figure out where to start and I felt we had a plan to use their willing service for good. Read more>>

Amanda Stinger | Real Estate Agent

Real Estate has always been an interest of mine. From a young age I remember my mother and I driving around admiring houses and neighborhoods for fun. After college I started my career in Property Management. After a decade of assisting people finding places to live, I thought “I want to Go Bigger with this, I want to not only help people find a home, I want to help them invest in one.” Read more>>

Alex Segrest | Owner of The Coyote Cone and Desert Dog Coffee Co.

The thought process behind starting my own business, after a 25 year career in Healthcare, began in 2020, during Covid. I started thinking about what was important to me and the stand outs were home, community and happiness. Then the fun part started, deciding what type of business was needed in Morongo Valley that would bring joy to the community. Read more>>