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.

Andy B. Scheidemann | Content Creator & Influencer

I basically wanted to create something that would bring happiness and entertainment to people, when i started my channel it was all about fun, doing something that would make me happy and also make people forget what was going on in the world, because we were in the middle of covid times! Read more>>

Lorelei Marcell | Artist

Looking back, I did give this all a lot of thought, yet it was so ingrained in who I wanted to become and the goals I want to achieve for myself that it felt like a very easy decision to do this full time. Building the brand itself has been a work in progress! I feel like with each release I get closer and closer to the image I want to portray moving forward. The older I get the more it changes as well. Read more>>

Cynthia McConnell | Founder of Leafy Beans Coffee

I’ve been searching for quite sometime for something that inspires me and brings focus to my life. I travel often and would always have a cup of coffee in the morning to start off my day. One morning while having a cup of coffee, I thought that none of the coffees that I had on my travels really stood out to me. I also noticed that none of the coffees I had were from Mexico but rather from Columbia or other places. Read more>>

Anastacia Anastascio | Psychic Tarot Reader & Spiritual Coach

I started my business in 2020 during the pandemic when everything was shut down and I was holed up in my studio day in and day out. I was getting very antsy, and was craving something more. I spent the majority of my time on social media, as I’m assuming most others did too. I came across a witchy woman doing Pick-a-Card readings on Instagram, and I thought, “I could do that too.” Read more>>

Meredith Patterson | Broadway TV and Film actress, singer, dancer, writer, & producer

My Mom passed away in November 2022, and I realized something I had known forever, life is so precious and your time is something you don’t ever get back. I decided then and there I was not going to spend my time doing anything I don’t love and are passionate about. So, fearlessly, I launched my own production company, called Merie Productions, with that very ambitious mission in mind. Read more>>

EJ Smith | Founder, CEO of Famous PUDN

My intention wasn’t to start a PUDN business, it just evolved from coaching football, and we needed a fundraiser to raise money. It was only supposed to be for one week, but it ended up going all season long because everyone enjoyed it. We raised so much money to take care of equipment. A parent asked me to take a sample to his friends’ restaurant, they order a dozen. Read more>> 

Wayne D Burdette Jr | Award-Winning Screenplay Writer, Author, Producer, Director & Entrepreneur.

When I looked at starting my own business, I looked at things that I enjoyed doing in life and how I could bring them under one management company in order to effectively operate each one of them and continue to do things that I love to do. The saying that if you love what you do for your work then truly you will never work a day in your life. This was me and so I started Carolina Enterprises & Holdings and then Infinity Enterprises & Holdings to manage my scuba diving instructing business and medical with tactical training center. Read more>>

Michael Arnone | Also known as Big Mike — Abstract Geometric Painter

My whole life, I always knew that art would be be my final career. With a previous 20+ year advertising, design and marketing career behind me, I knew those skills would serve me well vaulting forward my art career and the opening of the largest Art Gallery in Palm Springs. With sound business skills, including, Social Media marketing, Web Building and Graphic Design, I have been able to focus that much more on the Art Creation journey that now propels me forward with terrific speed. Read more>>

Phil Lobel | Founder and President of Lobeline Communications

I liked the idea of being creatively in control and the final decision maker, so I could put my vision and stamp on the idea. So, I gave up the idea of becoming a newspaper editor because I didn’t want to share the three-way editorship. At the end of my freshman year at the University of Colorado, I decided I wanted to stick around and get in-state tuition. So many students graduated, and the person that was in charge of doing advertising was graduating and he saw that I was going to be sticking around. Read more>>

Devan Gregori | Founder & CEO of DEVAN GREGORI

Most people start a business with a problem statement, a need they see isn’t being fulfilled somewhere. From there, they create a solution hypothesis that they test, and improve over and over again until…they finally come up with their product that fits in their market. It’s logical, it’s tried and true, and most importantly, it works! Read more>>

Monica Madrid | CEO and Founder of Football Is Sexy

My passion has always been football! Growing up, my father would take me to Candlestick Park to watch his favorite team, the San Francisco 49ers, and it became everything to me. Once he passed of cancer in 2014, I realized just how many memories we had surrounding our team and the sport. I couldn’t fathom others going through life without sports, let alone football. I felt bad for all the people who didn’t have a clue what they were missing. Read more>>

Talita Maia | Actor, Director, writer

Having more control over my career. As an actor you’re waiting to get hired to play a role in a film/ TV or play. I got tired of waiting and decided to just create my own projects. Read more>>

Tsour Lee Adato | Product Photographer & Videographer

What was your thought process behind starting your own business? Well, it all started with a camera, a light, and a dream. I’ve always been fascinated by the way a simple photograph can tell a story, evoke emotions, and even influence purchasing decisions. I realized that there was a niche in the market for high-quality product photography, and I had the passion and skills to fill it. Read more>>

Abe Daniels | Breathe work, animal spirit guide, officiate, Director of stage & actor

Reconnecting with my Native American Heritage, I feel I have been called by the ancient ones to create a space that allows people to stop thinking, breathe and allow yourself to be. Read more>>

Maria Korcsmaros | Fitness Expert/Nonprofit Chair Shark Stewards

I wanted to help people stay fit & healthy into their old age. I also like the flexibility of making my own hours Read more>>

Steve Maggiora | Songwriter, Session and Touring Musician

I have always been very much a creative. I’ve been living and breathing music from a young age, and there was never anything else for me. Though I had worked for people early in my career, it became apparent in my 20s that I wanted to move faster, do more, and be more prolific than some of those avenues were allowing. Read more>>

Brent Kappes | Owner at Bamtech

The decision to start my own business was driven by a strong desire to create something meaningful and impactful. I wanted to address the challenges I had personally faced and provide innovative solutions. Starting Bamtech was a natural progression from my own experiences, particularly during my time serving in the Navy. Read more>>

Francesca Cruz | Founder of Bathing Muse Soul Bars/Spiritual & Wellness Muse

I started Bathing Muse Soul Bars at the start of the COVID pandemic. It was a serendipitous process. I wanted to eventually make soaps out of herb baths I would often gift to friends when they felt “energetically stuck”. I just never thought I would have the time to do it. When COVID shut the world as we knew it, down. Read more>>

 Ashley Aquilo | Founder and Creator of A Visual Theory

A Visual Theory started as an escape from my life at the time. I grew up dancing and eventually went to college for dance where all I did was train, rehearse, and audition. I felt like I was stuck in the same routine, doing the same thing, over and over again. It was a never-ending cycle of taking countless dance classes and standing in line waiting to be seen for an audition.  Read more>>

Madison Paul | Licensed Esthetician and Founder of Face Fuel

Before starting Face Fuel I dreamed of creating a business of my own. After attending FIDM and studying Beauty Marketing & Product Development I truly became attached to the idea of creating products as well one day.. As I was working at my old job I started to drive by an old, closed off gas station. After a few times passing by an idea came to my mind. I began to think of a facial studio that was inside of a retro gas station. That’s how I came up with the name “Face Fuel.” Come in and we will fuel your skin and face! Read more>>

Elliott Caine | Optometrist/Musician – trumpeter, bandleader, composer.

I had worked as an optometrist for various private optometrist/ophthalmologist offices throughout my career, as well as for a community health center for 18 years, leading up to my decision to open my own office. Particularly regarding my health center experience, I had to deal with a self serving bureaucracy, which made it uncomfortable, regarding working. Read more>>

Delilah Bisase | Registered Dietitian & Energy Heale

Funny thing is, I was never the kid (or adult) who had the dream of “I want to be a business owner one day”. Owning my own business presented itself as an essential element for me to be able to live out my purpose, and I just had to accept that. I’m a very against the grain kind of person, very innovative, and I don’t follow norms. We all enter this world with beautiful gifts to share, and as I progressed further into adulthood it became increasingly clear to me that there’s no way I’ll be able to share my gifts if I follow societal norms and do what everyone else is doing. Read more>>

Brenda King -Macias | Entrepreneur

I have always had an entrepreneur mindset. I started my first business at the age of 21yrs old. Which is totally different from my current business venture. I always had the passion to grow and establish businesses. My thought process behind HotBox Burgers has always been if I don’t try it, I will never know if it will work out. So I take risk and listen to my intuition. Read more>>

Khriston Hawkins | Founder

The idea behind SamplesalegirlLA, often known as SSGLA, was to give my customers the ease of remote shopping to all of LA’s finest designer sample sales. I consider it a great privilege to have been invited to previews of the top designer sample sales, and I want to give my customers the same indulgences. Long line delays, a lack of requests for or holds on items, and lengthy shipment times are all characteristics of sample sales. I discovered a solution to all these problems with SSGLA, which also offers a seamless client experience for Live virtual shopping. Read more>>

Chaimae Bouzagaoui | Published author, poetess, spoken word artist, and Forensic Science alumna

I’ve had a passion for art and creative writing since I was a kid. I specifically got into poetry when I was about sixteen. That’s when I discovered that poetry was the best writing medium for me personally to express myself in. After that, I created my Instagram account @memoirsofamoroccan to share my poems with the world, and I published my debut poetry collection, ‘Cherry Blossom Season’, in March 2021. Read more>>

TruVinChi | Musical Artist / Clothing Designer

What made me start my business because I felt like brands in the modern area aren’t creative like how they used to be. Everyone is copying off one another with little to no difference. I grew up into fashion & watched how brands slowly started became less creative with the things they make, to the point I wanted to show how brands can still exist & grab attention. Read more>>

Rosa Fortys | Artist and Owner of Lupe Coyote

When I started Lupe Coyote, I wanted to be a source for artist that couldn’t afford expensive prints. being an artist myself, I hated having to order prints and not knowing if I would like the quality. sometimes it was right, most times it was not. So I started with a printer, and when a friend complimented my prints and asked where had I gotten them, I simply responded “I printed them”. Read more>>

Simon Capponi | THE CHALK SHOW – CREATOR

The Chalk Show was created over 2 years ago to showcase young up and coming artist on my social media platforms. With my experience in music, I was exposed to so many talented people who just wanted their music to be heard. I have seen alot of these artist fall away as their efforts were overlooked. I wanted to give these artists the opportunity to promote themselves via my social media presence that I had built up over these years.  Read more>>

Michael Buch | Gelato chef + owner

I’ve always struggled with authority figures, so I knew I wanted to be my own boss. I wasn’t always sure what I wanted to do but I knew I wanted to control my destiny and manage by my values, not anyone else’s. I love interacting with my customers and others in the food industry. I enjoy the hard work but wouldn’t change a thing about it. Read more>>