Starting a business is a commitment and requires dedication, resources and sacrifice. We asked some of the rising stars in our community how they thought through the idea of starting their own businesses.

Pinkie Ranckey

Starting my own business wasn’t just about working for myself—it was about creating a space where artistry, collaboration, and practicality come together. I’ve always had a strong passion for visual storytelling, and while I could have continued as an individual photographer and filmmaker, I saw a bigger opportunity: to build a platform where creatives could work together to provide a seamless wedding experience. That’s how 628STUDIO was born. Read More>>

Kara Duffus

I started doing what I loved to do! If you start with what you love to do…you can never go wrong! Read More>>

Zadik Zadikian

From the age of five, art has been my world—a source of wonder and expression, not commerce. Even now, I see art as a process of joy, a creative journey that brings depth to life rather than just a business venture. Read More>>

Nadia Geller

Starting Nadia Geller Designs was a truly exciting and eye-opening experience. In 2003, I was immersed in various projects within the interior design field when an unexpected opportunity to submit a proposal for a large-scale project came my way—and I ended up landing the job.

At that point, I turned to dear friends and family who had started their own businesses to learn from their experiences and gather advice. The most crucial piece of advice I received was that if I was going to do this, I needed to lay a solid foundation and ensure the business was set up properly from the beginning. Read More>>

David Ballantine

I was working for a small produce distributor. During that experience I realized how valuable trucks and vans are that are refrigerated. So figured I would start a small scale refrigerated van service that could provide transport and distribution service on a smaller scale than the large distribution companies. Read More>>

Gerardo Gutierrez

Ever since I was little I’ve always wanted to own my own business. I saw business as a way to help other people and give people opportunities to make a good living. Anytime I was asked what I wanted to be when I grew up I would always think about it and have an actual answer which was be a police officer or work in SWAT or the FBI because of the movies that I would watch but then I would look at the end goal which was okay how do I want to live and the lifestyle I want I could get as a business owner sooner.  Read More>>

Cory Kingston

Its an interesting story actually that I didn’t plan out. I didn’t even start my career as an Interior Designer. I started as a consultant for Deloitte and Touche. That path then lead me to DIRECTV where I I was leading our Customer Payments team until I retired in 2015 to spend more time with my family and raise my kids who were 6 and 8 at the time. The first year was amazing and I like to say “The grass was greener and the sun was brighter.”, but then by the 2nd year I was feeling depressed and missed working.  Read More>>

Lawrence Longo

My father and grandfather were both entrepreneurs so I feel like its just in my DNA. I love the personalities that gravitate towards the food and hospitality industry so I knew it would be something in that world. Read More>>

Kim Johnson

Bringing neighbors together one neighborhood at a time. Building memories for the young kids throughout the city and surrounding communities. Giving them joy that comes with every holiday season. Read More>>

Dr. Jaclyn Tolentino

Edited Question: What was your thought process behind getting involved with Love.Life, a startup company in the health and wellness field?

As a doctor, it’s easy to feel like there’s only a few paths to go down, but after a cancer diagnosis in my early 30’s, I searched for the most aligned way to practice medicine, even if that meant doing things a bit differently. I joined Love.Life as a founding Lead Physician in El Segundo, CA before the place even had walls. It represents the future of healthcare—the kind of care I’ve always wanted to provide my patients but rarely had the space to fully deliver. Read More>>

Tessa Brand

I have always wanted to have a career where my work allows me the freedom to have a work/life balance. I wanted to choose only the projects that inspired me, and more importantly those that enabled me to work with kind and smart people. Entrepreneurship allows you to pick and choose where to focus your efforts and time. Read More>>

Elisa Rodriguez

Becoming an entrepreneur was never the goal! It was honestly fate how Elisa’s sweet surprise began to evolve again after taking a 4 year break from creating cakes. In June of 2020 I came back into the business, created an instagram just for my cakes and started posting, that same week I booked the entire month of July. I saw potential and I had a spark that no one was going to turn off. I didn’t know where I was going but I knew I wanted more! Read More>>

Megan Haskell

I didn’t start my career wanting to be an author. In fact, I have an undergraduate business degree from USC and was working at one of the major accounting firms when I first started writing fiction. It was simply a creative outlet during my Blue Line commute.

However, in 2012 a few key things changed: the development of Amazon Kindle (and the growing opportunity to easily self-publish books and make money doing it) and my desire to start a family. Read More>>

Amy And Emily

We’re Amy & Emily, experienced wardrobe stylists who saw the potential for a color analysis business in the LA area and beyond. We’ve both attended so many events and conferences that feature talented creatives offering their services as added “perks” and thought that color consulting would add such an awesome element to these kinds of events.

We love community and supporting local businesses — so have been recently collaborating with other local businesses’ pop-up events, where customers can receive a color analysis on-the-go. We also offer private and corporate experiences. Read More>>

Dr. Adán Fernández

Both of my parents are immigrants—my mom from Mexico and my dad from Bolivia. My dad was incredibly entrepreneurial and my mom was hardworking as a secretary. After saving money from working in an electronics store, my dad started his own business in Los Angeles. Although we had to close the business following the Rodney King riots in the 90s, I was deeply inspired by my dad’s ambition and my mom’s perseverance, especially as immigrants navigating such challenges. Read More>>

Johna

The story of our business began serendipitously. We, four mothers, met at our children’s school in the heart of LA’s Mt. Washington neighborhood. Our children were in the same grades, and we quickly connected through playdates and social gatherings. Lawren and I, for instance, met in the valet line and, while we didn’t immediately click, we’re now the closest of friends. Read More>>

Gloria Gutierrez

For over 25 years, I worked in a corporate setting across various industries including banking, entertainment, and real estate investment. But the 9-to-5 burnout was real, and I had grown tired of the corporate grind. I longed for a job that would provide me with a better work-life balance. One day while scrolling through LinkedIn in search of new opportunities, I stumbled upon Woofie’s – a pet care franchise offering pet sitting, dog walking, and mobile pet spa services. That’s when I had a lightbulb moment: I thought hey, maybe it’s time for a change. I loved the idea of working with pets, specifically dogs, and paired with my years of corporate experience, I thought maybe I can be “my own boss”. Read More>>

Karine Poghosyan

Growing up, I was always captivated by the way my mom carried herself even for a simple walk around the neighborhood. She would take her time getting ready and ensuring her hair was just right. It wasn’t about impressing anyone, it was about how it made her feel. She radiated confidence and to me, that was beautiful. That’s when my journey into the world of beauty began. I pursued my passion for makeup and hairstyling using my skills and learning how to enhance the natural beauty. For me make-up was never been about covering up, it’s about amplifying what makes each individual uniquely beautiful. Read More>>

Doug Organ

I’ve been entirely self-employed since my late teens, so in a sense I started my own business a couple decades ago! It’s really appealing to me to work long hours for myself vs. normal hours for someone else. This also allows me a huge variety in the kinds of work I do – today I’m a performing keyboardist, tomorrow I’m producing an artist’s album, the day after I’m composing for TV or film or teaching music & production. I’ve been extremely fortunate that there’s a market for my skills and interests, and I’d take the freedom that comes with it over the relative financial certainty of a more traditional career any day. Read More>>

Jat Watson

There really wasn’t much of a thought process it was more so like I’d finally figured out a career choice that I’m okay with spending my life pursuing or participating in. Read More>>

Ikumi Makino

The most important lesson is learning together.

Teaching dance to students is my job, but at the same time, I also learn a lot from my students.

Students, especially the little ones, are very honest. If they don’t enjoy the class, they simply won’t participate. They don’t do things just because others are doing them, they don’t worry about what others think at all. Read More>>

Brian Bistagne

My family has been in the auto industry for almost 80 years. Bistagne Bros. Body Shop was established in 1946, one of the longest lasting family owned businesses still standing in Glendale, CA.

I wanted to create my own lane within the industry, and offer services of automotive protection using materials that my family has yet to explore among all the decades they’ve been in business. The goal was to offer my services and installs at the highest level of standards, and relate to the automotive community by backing it with a last name that has been at the foundation for almost a century. Read More>>

Abigail Van Hoak

I have always been a very business orientated person and started several small businesses pervious to this. Additionally growing up I was very involved in theater so when I started off working for another princess company it was the perfect job for me. However, I soon realized that I was quite limited being just a performer and felt that I had what it takes to start my own. I felt that I had something to bring to the table seeing as I am a young entrepreneur. My previous experience helped me when it came to designing my website, logo, social media, and promotion. Of course there was definitely a learning curve as there were many new components I had to learn as well but it was all worth it and I had so much fun building it. Read More>>

Miracle Valenzuela Everett

I wanted to start ENBY Productions because I am passionate about film and media that highlights the stories of those who are transgender, non-binary, people of color and disabled. I started working in the film industry in 2020, and began working on other folks projects in 2021. As I was in the process of creating my first short film “A Wedding to Diego” I found the best way to create the representation I wanted to see, was to do it myself. ENBY Productions produces film, media and events in Portland, Oregon, and soon Los Angeles and New York City.  Read More>>

Kelly Walker

I am creative that wanted flexibility, room for me to express myself freely, and I was intrigued by the idea of not having a ceiling relative to the money I could generate. Read More>>

Svetlana Uchuvatova

Honestly, I think I’ve had an entrepreneurial mindset since I was a kid—I’ve always liked being in charge (some might call it bossy, but I own it). The idea of working for myself just made sense. Living in LA is humbling, and I quickly realized that a 9-to-5 wasn’t going to cut it for me.

I’ve always loved pasta and fashion. At the time, I was modeling and noticed that celebrities like Bella Hadid, Hailey Bieber, and Kendall Jenner were always being photographed eating pasta. Everyone loves pasta, but there was no cool merch around it. I saw a gap and thought, Why hasn’t anyone made pasta…fashionable? So I went for it. What started as fun merch turned into something way bigger—Pasta Confidential became a brand, a community, and a whole vibe. Read More>>

Regan Wojick

Starting my own business was a risk and something I never thought I could ever do. While I was unemployed for a short period of time in 2024, I thought about what I was really passionate about and landed on Casting which I’ve been doing since 2022. I looked for jobs, but nothing piqued my interest and I was always thinking about what it might be like to be my own boss, which ultimately led me to start Pulp Casting. I thought about how fulfilled I would feel to take the leap of starting my own casting company. The idea that I could build something that was completely mine excited me and pushed me to pursue it. Read More>>

Alexandria Vargas

Art has been a passion of mine since I was a kid. My sketchbook was my little world—where I’d draw whatever caught my eye, from the items around my room to anything else I happened to stumble upon. I never thought about turning art into a business, though. It was always more of a personal escape, a way to release and process whatever emotions I was going through. And honestly, that emotional release is still at the core of why I create today. Read More>>

Maxwell James

Building things up from the start has always been my thing. Most of my adult life was spent working as a music producer, so branding, marketing, graphic design etc. all came with the territory.

I never would have thought I’d be working in weddings! I didn’t go to very many growing up. It wasn’t until my wife and I got married in 2019 that I realized how special weddings really are and I decided that I wanted to become a wedding photographer. Read More>>

Delilah Doom

I started watching wrestling when I was about ten. I fell in love with the theatrics and athleticism of the sport. Ever since, I wanted to be a professional wrestler. I never knew that when I started training to be a professional wrestler it would essentially be the start of my own brand, my own business. Read More>>

Beth Beacham

I was working a 9-5 job when I had the idea to start my business. I realized that I had already spent a good portion of my youth slaving away for other companies. It didn’t really make much sense to me to work so hard to make someone else rich. It was when my father passed away when it all clicked into place that I didn’t want to waste anymore time. Around the same time I was also reading “Just Jump In: Even if You Don’t Know How to Swim” by my idol Mark Burnett. All these things combined was enough for me to just jump in and start my business. My thought process was that I didn’t think too much about. I just knew I wanted to build my own brand. Read More>>

Vicky Brown

I was actually pushed into it by the President at my last corporate position. When that company closed, he suggested I start my own HR consulting company……and I said ‘absolutely not’. You see, to my mind I was an excellent #2 – the Chief HR Officer, sitting on the CEO’s shoulder, listening to their challenges (because in my role, I was a safe space), asking them ‘did you think about this’ or ‘what about that’ as they were making decisions. Read More>>

Agustina Bianculli

I wanted to offer fresh organic raw juice delivery in our area using glass bottles instead of plastic, providing a more sustainable and premium option for customers. I also thought it would be really convenient to partner with yoga and fitness studios, creating a one-stop shop where people could grab a refreshing, healthy green juice on their way out after a workout. Read More>>

Brittney Tarae

Though I wasn’t the one who initially started the band, Neighborhood Soul Music quickly became a platform I deeply resonate with. I was brought into the fold by one of the co-founders, JD Bailey, and from the moment I joined, I could feel the power and purpose behind the project. It was clear to me that this wasn’t just a band—it was a community-building movement, one that uses music to bridge emotional gaps and offer people the chance to feel seen and understood. Read More>>

Ashley Leahy

I felt there was a gap in the market for something colorful and fun, with a European vibe, as I couldn’t find many places to shop for my own home after moving here from NYC…especially for framed art and vintage rugs. I had 10 years of NYC merchandising experience and a year of LA interior design experience, and it seemed logical to combine the 2 into a new concept. The shop, if done right aesthetically, would ideally bring design clients to me and fund its expansion… Read More>>

Laura Lee

Founding LL Consulting was a decision rooted in a deep need to shape my career, impact ans life on my own terms. As a woman in tech, I’d spent years navigating a corporate world that often felt like it wasn’t built for me, where work-life balance was a constant tug-of-war and my voice as a minority sometimes struggled to be heard. I wanted to own my destiny, to shape a path that reflected my vision rather than fit into someone else’s framework. Read More>>

Prince Riley

I wanted to capture the warmth and deep sense of belonging I felt every time I visited my family in the South. Inspired by both my mother and my daughter, this restaurant is my way of honoring my family’s history while also ensuring that its legacy is passed down for generations to come. I believe that an extraordinary dining experience has the power to transform lives, bringing people together and creating memories that last a lifetime. Owning this restaurant is more than just a business—it’s a way to share that feeling of connection, tradition, and hospitality with others. Read More>>

Marti Elliott

Having my own business was the main step into be able to stay at home with my kids, but still have a source of income. Read More>>

Jason Rosenbaum

Honestly, starting Actual Veggies was really personal for me. It wasn’t just about launching a business—it was about creating something I actually wanted and needed in my own life. I had cut out meat for health reasons and was looking for a clean, restaurant-quality veggie burger that wasn’t trying to mimic meat or loaded with processed ingredients. But I couldn’t find one. Everything on the market was either highly processed or just didn’t taste great. Read More>>

Elise Stevens

Our business is a unique business model and one that takes a lot of faith. We are a pay what you can restaurant. We have absolutely no prices on our menu. We are funded solely by our social media income and blessings from others. When I first opened my restaurant, I had prices on my menu, but after just three weeks of running like a regular restaurant, a child came into my restaurant who had no money but was hungry so I chose to feed him. That night I went home and I prayed on what to do.  Read More>>

Megan Kelley

Honestly, it started as a creative spark and a necessity. I’ve always had an entrepreneurial spirit, even before I had the language for it. Photography was a passion long before it was a paycheck—but the moment someone handed me a check for my work, I realized I needed to make it official. I opened a business account and never looked back. Read More>>