Hardwork? Luck? Good habits? What would you say is behind your success? We’ve shared some thoughtful responses below.

Anna Robertson Karl Roberts | Owners of Mutts + Munch

It may sound cliché but the success of our brand is integrity. Right now our biggest seller is the training and it hinges on the reputation we’ve built up since arriving in 2019. We always offer a free consultation before taking on new clients and this isn’t a hook to get people through the door, it’s a genuine need to meet both the dog and the owners first so we can set realistic expectations. There have been times where within the consultation we’ve said, ‘Do you know what? Your dog doesn’t need training.’ and there have also been times when we’ve explained to the owner that board and train, the most costly option, isn’t the way to go. Read more>>

Leo Grifka | Hotelier, Real Estate Developer & Entrepreneur

I would attribute my success to hard work. My father has set a very high bar when it comes to working long hours and dedicating himself to his profession. I’ve learned from him that there is no substitute for hard work, and it has been invaluable to my professional career. Read more>>

Collin Michael | Marine, Actor, Model, Author

Success is based in the company that you surround yourself with most importantly because, you are a product of your environment and those who hold themselves to a higher standard that you’ve surrounded yourself with becomes a trait in your own professional and personal life. Read more>>

Federico Rolon | Real Estate Advisor- Luxury Homes & Investments

The most important factor behind my success in real estate has been passion. Passion is contagious and comes from a place of authenticity, warmth, and openness. People want to be in business with passionate people. Who doesn’t love doing business with someone who is excited and enthusiastic about what they are doing? Handling some of my clients’ biggest transactions, as an advisor, my clients want to feel they are working with someone confident, knowledgeable, and enthusiastic going into a transaction. I love the process of negotiating, finding the right homes for my clients, and being of service. Passion is contagious and brings great energy to carry a deal through. Read more>>

B Daht | Entertainer/Comedian/Host

The most important factor behind my success/the success of my brand is my faith ion God, & transparency with my audience. First off, God gets all the Glory. For without Him, I am nothing. We have all been given a “certain set of skills” from God and it is up to Us to use them for the Glory of His Kingdom; my skill is To Entertain. Read more>>

Jennifer Avanceña | Co-Owner and Baker of Calajo Catering

The most important factor behind our brand is leading with our WHY. Through Calajo Catering, we are able to share our WHY of culture, hospitality and community. I am a proud Ibaloi-Igorot-Filipinx American woman who is mission-driven to create community by sharing, acknowledging and celebrating different cultures. At Calajo Catering, we are of service to our community through supporting and uplifting BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ entrepreneurs, professionals and creatives. Read more>>

Nóra Trokán | Actress / Photographer

Success. It’s quite difficult to articulate what it means. It means different things to different people. When you feel successful professionally, perhaps when you become known, when you are part of a successful film or series or theatre production, or perhaps more importantly when you make a step forward in your own professional development, whether it is in an underground production in front of 30 people. I think the important thing is to have the belief in yourself, in what you want to achieve. Nobody else can represent that better than you. There are a lot of situations, especially as an actor, where you’re terribly vulnerable and you have nothing but your own self-respect. Read more>>

Lindsay Stokes Kennedy and Alexandra Cole | Co-Owner + Principal Designer

It took some time for us to realize that our most prized factor of success, personally and professionally, has always been authenticity. When we first started Kennedy Cole Interior Design our focus was the growth of our business and creating interiors that our community would love. We had just gotten our studio in Huntington Beach, so we focused our branding efforts on a more coastal identity, with a lot of white and blues and neutrals. Read more>>

Andy Wolff | Video Editor, Vintage Clothing Collector/Purveyor

I believe the most important factor behind my brand and my success as an individual has been authenticity. I am always true to myself and those around me. Whether it’s my side hustle, Momthrift, or my day job, video editing, I want to make sure the people I work with are getting what they pay for but moreover I value a strong creative collaboration and the only way to get that is through authentic connections. Read more>>

Wolfgang Brardt | Editor and chief

The most important factor behind the success behind 86’D Mag is that we’re authentically being original. Basically just brings ourselves and expressing that to the fullest. Being cool is really just being authentic and original to your own unique self. Read more>>

Erica Reid | Occupational Therapist, Myofascial Release and Holistic Pelvic Health Therapist

The most important factor behind my success…. LOVE. I love what I do. I bring love into my treatments. I love myself. That last one may sound a bit weird, right? But it makes perfect sense to me. I work with individuals to help facilitate their healing journey in their body. I use my hands, my ability to hold space, and dialoguing. But, most importantly I have found that the way to healing involves loving ourselves first. Read more>>

Kabeer Khurana | Storyteller and Filmmaker

I had a tumultuous, yet poetic childhood. While most kids my age planned their next sleepover, I was busy trying to make sense of the world, understand the complexities of human thought, and find a ‘so-called’ absolute truth. Perhaps this is what made it tumultuous — my mental health was in shambles, I was a lonely kid and completely socially awkward. But I was passionate about life. It was the perfect kind of upbringing for the making of an artist. Read more>>

Charlene Char” Baluyot | Creative and Energy Healer Entrepreneur”

My spirituality. Char and Roses was founded in 2017 while I was living in Brooklyn, NY. That’s also when my spirituality came full speed.
The healing and overall journey was uncomfortable, rough, messy and dark. Everything came at me unexpectedly while being in business school full time and working 3 jobs in NYC. Ironically, it was during those tough times that I unraveled my gifts and my true desires. I also learned self awareness and moral intelligence, which I think are essentials when it comes to going after the success you want for yourself. Read more>>

Carlos Reyes | Jewelry Designer and Graphic Artist

The most important factor behind any brand is to understand and be deliberate about the evolutionary process of growing it forward into the future. Being relevant in the market is important and location also plays a very key factor. Positioning your brand in the market is a proven method for reaching markets that are outside of your immediate geographical reach. Having the opportunity to create relevancy in a physical business location can prove to be a challenge for many creative people trying to lift a brand. Read more>>

Allison Carter | Celebration Expert & Business Coach

Taking risks, following my gut, and not being afraid of the “no” is the biggest factor behind my success. When I started my business, Allison Carter Celebrates, 5 years ago- I didn’t just have that confidence right out the gate. I had to find my footing and corner of the internet to claim as my own. I had to figure out what I wanted to share, the content that felt right to create and the people who I felt called to serve. But there also comes a point in your business where you gotta put yourself out there or nothing happens. Staying still is the death of a business- especially a creative online business like mine. Read more>>

Jeremy Taylor | Professional Dancer and Artist

When it comes to addressing a factor that led me to the position I am now for career, foundation has been the route to all my success as a dance artist. When I say foundation, there is a plethora of criteria that falls under this term. From the moral code and life lessons instilled into me from my parents to the physical aspect of residing from Chicago. Though only a few examples were given, all these things built a blueprint for life. Read more>>

Ana Flores | Defense Business Owner

Hi, my name is Ana Flores and I am the owner and creator of Safety Awareness Shop. I believe the most important factor behind my success has been my passion and drive to promote personal safety for all. Since launching SAS last year during March I set clear goals for this brand. I knew that despite SAS being a business my goal was to create a community to which now I refer to as our “SAS family.” My passion to protect others is rooted in my background growing up in an unstable household alongside working in the Security field. I’ve worked anywhere from event security, executive protection, loss prevention, and now at our Regional Trauma Center. Read more>>

Molly Mitchell-Hardt | Psychotherapist and Co-founder of The Sacred Journey of Motherhood

The most important factor behind my success is sourced from my own inner work, somatic practices, and trust in my intuition. My inner work began as it often does, when the symptoms became hard to ignore and my nervous system experienced a long term collapse. Many of us are so accustomed to overriding our nervous systems, that much of the initial work is coming back into relationship with the body. It wasn’t until I could clearly see the sociocultural milieu I was existing in and the impact on my nervous system that I could take up space and make choices that honored the inner little one who needed to be seen, acknowledged, and protected. Read more>>

Jammy Whammy | Twitch Streamer & School Counselor

The most important factor behind my success (aside from cracking up at puns and dad jokes 99% of the time) is that I’ve tried to maintain a positive attitude throughout my years of streaming. I am in no way saying that I am positive all the time because that would be tiring and false. I am a school counselor by trade and I remind my students as much as I remind myself that it’s ok not to be ok. I even make it a point to include that in my channel to remind my community of it as well. Read more>>

Nino Cutraro | Clothing Designer

The most important factors I attribute to the success of my brand are passion and consistency. My passion to design clothing became an obsession. I genuinly love to do it, and that feeling makes every project feel like a whole new creative journey. I stay consistent on pushing myself to create everyday, but I never have to force myself to work. My passion drives my work ethic, and no matter how much I create, it still feel like its never enough. Read more>>

Alejandro Gonzalez | Father, Clothing Designer and Bboy

The most crucial point for us is when the decision was made to pivot brand direction to a company with high quality items at a great affordable price. The vision remains the same only now with a more simplistic, modern, minimalistic feel to the art from top to bottom. I’ve made sure that details are added to each item and search the globe for some of the most unique and luxurious fabrics to ensure quality. This pivot has excited many of my customers who feel less sometimes speaks volumes and is expressive in its own right. Read more>>

Ananya Devarajan | Author

The most important factor behind my success as an author is my motivation to represent and empower Indian American teenagers with nothing more than a pen and a few (thousand) words. I realize how ambitious I might sound right now, but this mission of mine comes down to a single point—I always have and always will write for my younger self. In doing so, I’ve noticed that my writing comes from a place of vulnerability, and my stories, as a result, feel much less like a vehicle for change and more so like a conversation with a friend. It is my hope that this passion will allow me to showcase the very best that the Indian community has to offer, one novel at a time. Read more>>

Siwaraya Rochanahusdin | Writer & Poet

I’ve discovered that one of the most fundamental things I need as a creative is to have networks. I don’t mean in the business sense of ‘what can this person do for me so I can close a deal’ but rather how can we build together, support one another’s whole self, and all while working towards the best possible future for all of us. In the wild times of pandemic and social unrest, networks/community have kept me anchored. I have multiple writing circles that I am grateful for every single day. Read more>>