Many books on startups and business talk about how there are right and wrong reasons for starting a business. So, we asked a handful of successful founders about their reasons and the thought-process behind starting their business.

Dr. Talin Yacoubian | CEO & Founder of Uplift Therapy Center

My initial motivation to start my own business was driven by the desire for autonomy. Initially, I had many ideas that were unable to be incorporated given the limitations of working for another company. Now, I am able to be more creative in my approach to treating children and have the tools to do so. For example, rather than having to follow a set of procedures for all children, we tailor each program to the child’s needs. Read more>>

Katie Cakes | Physical and Spiritual Fitness professional

I wanted to create something that I wasn’t seeing- a fitness brand geared toward women (inclusive of everyone that wants to be there too!) But focused on strengthening the body, with focus on the booty! (As it is the foundation of strength in our bodies.) But also incorporating the element of spiritual fitness consistently throughout. We focus on the 3 foundation layers of Mind, Booty, and Soul. I’ve always thought it was irresponsible to focus all that attention on the booty, without also doing the same work for the soul. Read more>>

Megan Schiller | Owner of The Art Pantry

As a creative, I’ve always had hobbies that would occasionally turn into side jobs. After college, my passion for video production and editing led to a few side gigs while I was starting a career as a preschool teacher. In the years that followed, my jewelry making hobby turned into a side business as well. I took time off of teaching preschool when I had my first daughter. When she was a toddler and it was time to go back to work, I wanted to pursue something that would allow me to stay home with her. Read more>>

Brady Glen | Magician & Mentalist

I started with magic as a hobby, that then turned into a passion. I started meeting some great magicians and my love for the art continued to grow. I didn’t intend on performing professionally at the beginning but as I grew as a performer so did my desire to do more. I started performing at small parties and restaurants and quickly realized I was making money doing my favorite thing. It really was not a conscious decision. I was doing the magic because I loved it, if I could make money doing it, well that was a no brainer. Read more>>

Erika Huezo | Destination Wedding & Elopement Photographer

When I first decided I wanted to start a business I was just about to finish my last year of college. I knew that photography was something I wanted to do and wanted to take more seriously. I have always been super passionate about photography. I wanted to make it a career rather than just a hobby. At the time I was second shooting a ton of weddings before I decided to start taking solo weddings. The biggest thing for me was being able to have a job/career that allowed me to have a flexible schedule and travel. Read more>>

Genna Weiner | Design Director & Founder

As an Interior Design Director, my job became more about the bottom line and less about creativity. I found myself looking for other ways to be creative and reignite my drive and passion. In a moment of clarity, I decided that it was time for me to explore my love for fashion in a real way. Read more>>

Nikky Bourbon | Artist/ Entrepreneur / Para La Cultura

I was free lancing as a song writer for a very long time and I was losing a lot of money by not being sharp on the entrepreneurial side of things. A combination of the desire to always do so, plus covid, plus my good friend Hala coaching me turned into the perfect storm for me to get my shit together. Read more>>

Sherri Johnson | Entrepreneur, Personal Trainer, Co-host of Vegan Cooking show Plant Based in the ‘Burbs”

I believe I was born with an entrepreneurial spirit. I became a personal trainer and worked in a women’s gym. My first company was called Risrap. The risrap was a denim wrist cuff made from recycled jeans, which had a hidden pocket to hold small jewelry or a locker key when exercising. It was challenging to find reliable manufacturers to produce the cuffs. Read more>>

Xian Ang | Creative Designer

I have always been interested in zine-making, books, and art merchandise. What began as a bedroom hobby of doing illustration and paper crafts, has transitioned into an interest that has left an impression on my friends. I started out by sharing my work in the form of small merchandise, with new people I meet. These serve as quirky gifts, not in their medium per se, but in their form and design combined. As time went along, many encouraged me to start a brand of my own, something that’s always been a natural transition for my creative journey. Read more>>

Kevin Newbury | Theatre, Opera & Film Director & Producer

At the height of the pandemic in 2020, I co-founded a new Artist Collective called Up Until Now. Committed to inclusive, accessible, and equitable working environments, Up Until Now develops and produces new interdisciplinary work that explores language, empathy, intimacy, and community, and seeks to challenge the status quo by building new structures for artistic creation. I have enjoyed a rewarding 20-year career directing opera, theatre and film and, at 44 years-old, I am interested in stretching myself, continuing to learn and using my experience and connections to help build collaborative new types of collaborative spaces. Read more>>

Olivia Bell | MUA & Brand Creator of L I V by Olivia Bell

My thought process behind starting my own business was simply to to follow my truest passion of makeup artistry. I followed my passion and the business organically followed. I remember providing makeup services (free of charge) back in the 90’s. I had no idea that 10 years later I would be introduced to a world renowed fashion photographer who would become my mentor and biggest cheerleader. Her guidance and support helped me grow and learn the business side of makeup artistry. In 2000, I became a brand and a business and i haven’t looked back! Read more>>

Jo-Ann Sundermeier | Principal Dancer/Ballet Master of New Orleans Ballet Theatre

Although I’m not the founder of New Orleans Ballet Theatre, I am an original Principal Dancer and Ballet Master for the organization. My husband and I were in the heights of our dance careers, dancing with Canada’s Royal Winnipeg Ballet, when we decided to make the move to New Orleans to help launch the first full season of New Orleans Ballet Theatre (NOBT). Originally, it had been a summer performing company for professional ballet dancers during their seasonal layoff, but in 2019, the company hired their first full-time contracted dancers, and established a resident professional ballet company. Read more>>

Natasha Ray | Hand & Foot Care Guru

I’ve always had an entrepreneurial mindset from a kid.. It’s always been important for me to do what I love and enjoy- I must be intentional in what I do in life. Read more>>

Leggy Langdon | Music Producer & Self Healing Authenticity Explorer

I have been in the music industry for 25 years. First as an artist and as a producer for the past 15. Ive always been a creative person, and music was always how I expressed my inner truth. Running along parallel to my music career I also struggled with alcohol and drug addiction and eventually got sober when I was 29. Since the pandemic my production career was heavily effected and so once we started coming back to work Id had a chance to reevaluate my purpose and how Id liek to express my truth. Read more>>

Stephanie Jones | Independent Yarn Dyer

My thought process has definitely shifted throughout this experience. At the start, dyeing yarn was to be a small hobby. It soon became something I can’t imagine living without. Not only do I thoroughly enjoy the process and the way I’m able to combine my creativity with something scientific in nature, but I thrive on the sense of community I now have as a side effect of running this business. Hearing stories and seeing customers’ creations – it gives me all the warm fuzzies, and I live for it. Read more>>

Skylar Wendel | Co-Founder PlantBasedCBD

We started this to help as many people as possible. I was using CBD as a means to manage my own pain and mental health and wanted to give the same benefits to those that also needed it. Read more>>

William Zakrajshek | CEO

The festival Out at the Fair was created first, then our streaming channel OutAt.TV so as our OutAt brands expanded over the pandemic our company was born. We created OutAt Inc with the mission to create safe spaces and include all members of the community to feel appreciated, accepted, and welcomed. OutAt puts the LGBTQ+ artists and family-friendly events as our main focus. Read more>>

Jesus Covarrubias | Small Business Expert & Consultant

I want to clarify that it has been and is a lifelong process. Looking at where our business is now, compared to where we were two years ago, It would feel like we are looking down from a 13 ft story building. When we started, it wasn’t us – it was just me. Read more>>

Daniela Rega | Creative Multidisciplinary Designer

Its funny because I grew up in an environment of entrepreneurs. My grandma owned a “lonchería” when my dad was a kid, she later set a quesadillas stand in the front of her house that did pretty good if I may say so. I loved being the waitress and would earn little to no money, but feeling part of it was great. My dad was his own boss since I can remember and my Mom was always looking for ways to make extra money. In school we were really pushed towards building our own company and being owners of our time, so that really stick with me as I was growing up. I moved to Los Angeles without a work visa, so while waiting for the paperwork to come I couldn’t apply for a regular 9 to 5 on my field. Read more>>

Simeon Den | Wellness Practitioner/Instructor & Multi-disciplinary Artist

I’m joyfully aware that everything that I’ve done in the past has prepared me for the now: I went to college in 1968 majoring in Art, unintentionally started studying dance, and two years later intentionally became professional dancer in NY doing concert dance performances and Broadway shows.
In 1983 I moved back to Hawaii to visit and decided to stay for a while so I started teaching dance. Read more>>

Samuele Zanni | SAMFIT Club founder

I think it all started since my experiences growing up. Sport has been a very big part of my life from a very young age. It was all I did pretty much and all I wanted to do. My life was center around my soccer trainings and competitions. In my twenties due to certain circumstances I decided to give priority to university studies and other experiences that took me abroad traveling around the globe. For the first time in my life I found myself without the routine that team sport always gave me and I felt pretty lost. Read more>>

Olga & Ketan & Tanya Based on a Story | Creative and Interactive Pop Up Store

Uniting communities and connecting people who share similar values and beliefs. With our Based on a Story series of Pop Ups, we want to bring the brands closer to their customers, share their unique brand stories, but also unite all these special and talented people that are showcasing their commitment and hard work. We wanted to involve the community by stepping outside of just selling brands, but experiences as well. Read more>>

Heather Arena | Wedding Planner and Coordinator

I have a background in music and performing arts and as such, I am used to seeing the big picture production and making sure all the pieces to come together. When I was selling skincare and cosmetics, I started to see the vision for an event planning business with my sisters; I could do sales and bookings, the second sister, Brittney, has a background in communication, admin and business and she could do contracts and timelines, and the third sister, Courtney, was training as a supermarket florist. It felt like a perfect fit! Read more>>

Angela Cisneros | Jewelry Designer & Graduate Gemologist

Over the 20 plus years in traditional retail, there were some things that were barriers to helping my clients get the jewelry of their dreams. I found that people were overwhelmed and had decision fatigue when it came to picking jewelry out for themselves or a loved one. Instead of giving people ideas about what they wanted, having so much inventory made it difficult to make a decision. Another thing was that people want guidance, and when a store had spent a million dollars plus on inventory, they would rather sell what they have already invested their money in as opposed to creating or sourcing what the client really wants. Read more>>

Francis Santos | Embroidery Artist

I have been working in the entertainment industry, building costumes for actors and dancers for a long time so sewing, specially hand sewing, was always something that I took dear to my heart. I learned to sew when I was 15 y-o and my first big inspiration and crush was Thierry Mugler. Fast forward 20 something years, I found myself working for Cirque Du Soleil and, as although the job was easy for me and I worked with wonderful people, it wasn’t fuelling my creativity and I was bored. Read more>>

Joani Groenewald | Jewellery Designer and C0-Owner of Okusha Jewellery

Okusha was established in 2021 when owners Amy Kropman and Joani Groenewald envisioned the development of a unique, bold yet sophisticated jewellery brand that is socially and environmentally conscious. These views align with the current global recognition for a society that is inclusive just and fair, such cultural concerns are starting to infiltrate all aspects of society. As such Okusha recognizes the need for the development of a brand that stands for social inclusivity and empowerment, Read more>>

Mary McBain | Writer, Producer & Actress

I’d wanted to run my own business for quite a while. However, it was following the filming of my short film Spaghetti: Silence Is Not Consent that I was finally able to make that dream a reality. I opened MMCB Productions in 2019 and it’s certainly been a learning curve. Before starting the Production Company, I’d worked in various different capacities: Fundraising Co-Ordinator for a UK Cancer charity, Read more>>

Philipp Schaedler | Realtor – Digital Marketer – Social Media

For about 8 years of my professional life I have worked as an employee. The rest of the time and still to this day, I have always been an independent contractor. For roughly 23 years I had my own business with about 14 employees. While it was a great experience with lots of ups and downs, thinking back to that time, we had great fun working as a highly trained and professional team and we all shared and enjoyed different levels of success throughout that time. Read more>>

James Williams III | Writer/Director

As a black man surviving the 1980-90’s crack epidemic in Maryland and Washington, D.C., I expected that no one was going to fund the stories that I wanted to tell, so I understood that in order to become a legit filmmaker I needed to be educated, to become an expert in my craft, savor life’s experiences, live around the world, and practice with like minded people. Read more>>

Yuri Marmerstein | Teacher, Performer, Actor, Stunt man

Once I was shown it was possible to work for yourself and start a business doing something you enjoy, I knew I wanted to do it. I have always been an independent person, so the idea of working for other people did not appeal much to me. There was a time when I thought this was something everyone “had” to do, but once I saw there were other options I was very interested in doing my own thing. Read more>>

Winter Williams | Rapper and Nurse

I have a lot of business experience prior to starting my own, so when it was time to open my own business, I was so excited to finally give my knowledge and time to my personal brand. My thought process included Making sure my business provided value to my starving crowd. I Aimed to provide quality service with integrity to as many people as possible. Being a “Jill of all trades” made that a detailed task as each of my talents require me to approach each business differently Read more>>

Josh Feinkind | Entrepreneur

I’ve been entrepreneurial from a young age starting a snow and leaf removal business at 12 to a student book & ride exchange web site in college (pre-Facebook). When I moved in with a girlfriend who had a cat, I recognized the potential for cat furniture that looked great in the home while serving the cats needs to climb and perch. Midway through business school I was faced with two career paths; start at the bottom of a large corporation or be at the top of my own. I chose the latter. Read more>>

Alicia The Bagchaser | Creative Director

I would say the thought process that came before starting my business was that I wanted to create something of my own. I believe it’s important to be your own boss in a sense and put yourself in control. Although I haven’t reached the point where I can quit my 9-5 and provide for myself solely off my clothing brand I know I’m well on my way and all I have to do is keep my vision clear and I can go as far as I want. Read more>>