Starting a business or creative project is scary for many reasons, but one that is often overlooked is the anxiety related to whether this is really “the one.” To some, this isn’t a valid consideration while to others this is the only consideration. Some argue that what you work on, along with who you work with are the two most pivotal decisions you’ll make and so we’ve asked folks to tell us about how they came up with their ideas and how they knew this idea was the one.

Hua Ye

It might be cliche to say but the pandemic deepened my understanding of what I can do as an illustrator who mainly focuses on editorial and advertising illustration. Read more>>

Nicole Cuervo

I came up with the idea for Springrose after spending a lot of time with my grandmother Rosa (i.e. Rose). I was living at home for a college internship and spending more time with my grandmother, who had moved into an apartment a few blocks away from my mom’s house. Read more>>

Dr. Thelá Thatch

Based on my two decades of experience as an HR professional, working in various organizations such as Fox Television and Cablevision, I observed a gap in sharing comprehensive HR knowledge due to organizational structures, politics, and shareholder influence. Feeling the need to address this, I initiated a blog named Ask Mrs. HR. The blog aimed to serve as a platform for the community to ask HR-related questions, similar to a “Dear Abby” column. Read more>>

Chamonix Diamond

I knew from a very young age that I wanted to be apart of something meaningful to the world and I wanted to create something special that would mean a lot to me and other people. I loved the idea of curating unique and stylish clothing and accessories for people in my community. The idea of my boutique had been floating around in my mind for years, and one day, I decided it was time to turn my dream into reality. Read more>>

Chrissy Guiriba

Non-profit is about filling gaps. After rekindling my love for the outdoors and combining that with my passion for youth mentorship, I was volunteering at another summer camp for trans youth when I recognized the mental health focus missing from this particular program. Because trans and non-binary (TGNB) youth are so marginalized, most programs are created with the goal of “letting kids be kids” which is also important. Read more>>

Cherie Brooks

In April 2015, Baltimore was engulfed in violent riots following the death of Freddie Gray while in police custody. In the aftermath I felt compelled to make a positive impact on the community where I had served through my family church my entire life. I had several conversations with friends and family expressing the urgency to contribute to Baltimore’s welfare. Read more>>

Evette Jackson

The inspiration for Jada Gems originated in a heartfelt moment. When my daughter Jada desired a bracelet for her 13th birthday, my desire to gift her something special led to crafting a handmade piece. The joy she expressed, thinking it was purchased, sparked the idea. Read more>>

McQuetta Williams

Can you imagine disadvantaged women never having a hope of living successful lives? I can, and became impassioned to form EnVision Proven Success, a non-profit organization and publication anchor under the same name that provides a forum to share their struggles, successes, and to strengthen the resources that help women realize their importance. Read more>>

Rachel Hall Danes

Creating a feeling in another person with design is my motivation. Whether it is confidence, calm, beauty, or comfort, I find that Read more>>

Maddy Rabalais

One of the greatest joys in life, in my opinion, is taking that first bite of a truly amazing dish. When I make plans, the question is not what we are doing so much as where we are eating. Over four years ago, on a whim, I created an Instagram account to share some of the food and cocktails that I enjoyed. Today, my husband and I are building a platform that supports small businesses and inspires our community. Read more>>

Lance Soares

Opening a martial arts studio has been a lifelong dream for me, dating back to my early teenage years. The inspiration struck during my high school years, where I found myself daydreaming about the prospect of owning my own studio—the colors, the logo, and the overall ambiance. While I had a brief stint with a small club in the 1990s, life took me in a different direction as I joined the military. Read more>>

Raphnee Manning

The vision of Reliant Management is to help EVERYONE reclaim patient care. What that means for us is that we empower others with healthcare reimbursement knowledge to alleviate the pressures associated with payment of your care. For providers, we provide revenue cycle management services so the focus can be on actual patient care. For individuals, we provide health insurance consulting to minimize the desire to avoid care in fear of extensive medical bills. Read more>>

Teresa Pope

I came up with my business Bellas Butterflies because I wanted to turn my pain into a purpose. Bellas Butterflies is founded on the loss of my daughter Isabella Jeanie Odom whom passed away Jan 1st 2023 from SIDS. She lived for 2 months and 15 days, coming a month early from her due date causing her to be in the NICU for almost 2 weeks. Read more>>

Jessica Quiroz

Our idea of having the PERFECT wedding day at our Estate stemmed from planning our own wedding. A year and a half of planning everything ourselves. From flowers to colors to overall theme. We dotted every “i” and crossed every “t”. We learned the venue we had used significantly limited us on what we truly wanted to have as a wedding experience. Read more>>

Alexis Mason

The idea actually came suddenly to me. For years on end I had prayed and asked God what is my purpose? Having millions of ideas of what I could do but I wanted to know what would bring me the most fulfillment, joy and purpose. Knowing I love to help others just wasn’t enough. Read more>>

Kimberly Tipton

Simply put, my business partner Shanequa Alexander and I were attending an anime convention in 2021 and we attended a panel focused on anime businesses. By the end of the panel, we were super inspired to “just try”, as one of the panelists had suggested. We kinda looked at each other and had this aha! moment and decided we’d create a business that 1) we were both passionate about and 2) where we saw a gap in the anime merch market. Read more>>

James Hastings

I’ve always been into comedy as a fan. The way that I made my way onto the ‘comedy club’ scene was back in 2019. I was shooting a film for my production company, Fokus Firm, and I needed a restaurant for one of the scenes. Read more>>

Laura Velasquez

I have always considered myself an amateur photographer. Ever since I was little, I enjoyed taking photos and was fascinated by the developing process. During my university years, some classes prepared me to pursue this craft. Read more>>

Liam Paez

Coming with the Idea of the Podcast, The Matcha Talk Podcast, when I was going through a Hardship in life. My Mother had passed away and I was newly diagnosed with HIV. Net, whom was my close best friend, she would lend me time and day to hear my venting. In the middle of that hardship, we realize that how much people could be suffering in silence. Read more>>

Daniela Velasquez

Womankind Creative is my act of resistance against the silent narratives I once allowed to define me. As a first-generation immigrant and third-culture kid, not fitting into the ‘mainstream’ mold not only shaped my self-concept but trapped me into shrinking myself for societal validation. When I I chose to break out of the ‘good girl’ ideals and striving to uphold standards that required self-abandonment and self-loathing, in the search for “perfection,” the rage that fueled my dissent wasn’t just personal—it was universal. Read more>>

Evence (Vintage) Eliassaint

I founded Stop Cappin Entertainment with one mission in mind: to change the world. Read more>>

Tracey Totten

The inspiration for Sassaries struck during an immersive reading experience with “Girl, Make Your Money Grow” by Gail Perry-Mason and Glinda Bridgforth. The insights gained from the book ignited a passion for financial empowerment and wealth building. Recognizing the transformative potential, I embarked on a two-week journey dedicated to delving into the world of entrepreneurship. Read more>>

Ana Valdez

Since I was little, I was aware that there were discrepancies between what I heard and what the reality was. I was born and raised in Mexico City, and when I saw how Mexicans were portrayed in media vs. what I saw around me, things didn’t make sense. I felt frustrated as I saw the consequences of the perception that people had of Mexicans based only on stereotypes and not in reality. Read more>>

Dan Bartolucci

I bought the company’s LLC a year before officially kicking off operations. After a decade at a desk, I decided to start building our brand. Then came the exciting opportunity to work as the VFX Supervisor for “NOS4A2” in Rhode Island, which meant a big move for my whole family. Read more>>

Ray Ryan

During the years of 2014-2016, I was stationed in Belgium serving NATO as a U.S. Army Officer. While there, I lived in the area where I first began to learn the dances of Salsa, Bachata, and Kizomba. When the Army relocated me back to home, the small town I lived in only had 1 Salsa teacher. His Name was Antonio Medina. He was about to retire from the military and relocate to the state capital where he could grow as a dance teacher with are larger pool of students. Read more>>

Lucretia Berry

Brownicity /broun nisədē/ Read more>>

Michelle Moreira Mia Lage

We believe that every woman should be able to express her unique style, and Wish Fine Jewelry is the perfect way to do that. We offer a wide range of styles, from classic to contemporary. Our pieces are crafted with high quality gemstones and metals. Whether you’re looking for a statement piece or an everyday accessory, we have something you will love. Read more>>

Beeta Hashempour

In December of 2010, one of my best friends was studying abroad in Paris and invited me to visit her on our winter break. At the time, I wasn’t a Francophile and in love with France like I am today. I just had Paris on my bucket list of places I wanted to travel to and thought it was the perfect opportunity to see a city I wanted to visit, hang out with a best friend, and do it all on a college budget (since I didn’t have to pay for a hotel or anywhere to stay). Read more>>

Brian, Alex Greene, Skrzypczyk

The idea for our business came out of being stuck at home during the pandemic in 2020. As classically trained chefs, we were both used to working long hours in a kitchen and we suddenly found ourselves with more time than we knew what do do with, so we spent our time at home doing what we do best – cooking. Read more>>

Jeremy Davis

By The founder of our organization, Jeremy Davis, has carried an unyielding passion for assisting the less fortunate from the tender age of 4. His journey of compassion was ignited by the influence of his grandmother, Dr. Carol Highsmith, a shining beacon in the Pender County community. Guided by her example, Jeremy found himself ministering to inmates, distributing food to families in need, visiting nursing homes, and gifting toys to underprivileged children every Christmas. Read more>>

Chelsea Edmonds

In 2019, Sadie James Hat Co. was started with a hobby and a dream. I’ve always been in love with accessorizing and trying bold things ever since I was a little girl. Read more>>

Cynthia Coutu

A few days before my 50th birthday, I was informed that my position managing the website of an international organisation in Paris was going to be cut. It took me a few weeks to recover from the shock of the news, but I soon realised it was a blessing. Not even in disguise. I had been struggling with the values and culture of the organisation for several years. Like most working mothers, especially single working mothers, I was also trying to balance work and family obligations. Read more>>

Nina Barango

My journey with SoPlugged began with a genuine passion for supporting small businesses, especially Black-owned ones. In 2020, I made an intentional decision to start #buyingblack, but there was one problem – it wasn’t easy to find Black-owned businesses. Read more>>

Ashley Zamora

My favorite musicians inspired me at 13 years of age by copying lyrics on paper to recite the words and make them my own. Shortly after this, I started experimenting with writing my lyrics and songs from the heart and mind from the ages of 14-16. Then, at 18, I started to do venues all over and perform live. Read more>>

Tikeya James

Cheerleading has been an integral part of my life since I was six years old. Over the years, it became more than just a hobby; it was a source of joy, an outlet for my emotions, and a platform that taught me invaluable life lessons. I aspired to pass on these lessons to others through coaching. Read more>>

Helena M. Noel

Since a little girl I’ve always been a creative and a person who just loved helping people. My mother raised my sisters and I alone for a very long time. Even in the face of adversity I watched a woman turn a-lot of pain into positivity. She’s always been the kind of person to help someone despite the trials in our lives. Always leading with love! Read more>>

Simone Reynolds

Great question! The idea actually came to me when I was writing my personal statement for my application to graduate school. They asked me what short-term goals I wanted to pursue. At the time, I didn’t have many nanny friends nor did I know of many people who looked like me in the industry. I craved connection, community, and relatability. Read more>>

Amber Folasade Ogunsola

My business Meshed Earth first started off in the direction of a DIY wellness brand. We initially sold products such as shea butter, castor oil, rose water, cocoa butter, aloe vera, charcoal powder, etc with the intention to teach people how to create daily household products from all-natural ingredients. Our products were 100% raw and natural. So with this direction we wanted our customers to be able to custom-craft bodycare, skincare and personal care products that were made with them in mind and their specifically tailored wellness needs. Read more>>

Josh Young

Atrium was created really out of necessity. My business partner and I had a recording studio in Pasadena, and were mentoring so many bands coming through the studios. We listened to what the artist wanted to do, what they didn’t know and paired that with me working in television knowing what kind of music I was looking for on TV shows and films. We wanted to create a business that changed what the music business was doing, and how they were doing it. Read more>>

Erin Avery

I have always loved to bake. I baked a loy as a kid with my mom. I remember having slumber parties and my mom would set up cookie dough stations with fillings and sprinkles etc so that we could create our own cookies. Read more>>

Sophie & Francisco

To be honest it all started with the sauce. We had the habanero base and a burger just paired so well with it. We decided that we needed to share what we had, so we moved to LA and ran with it. Read more>>

BJ Hill

The genesis of JibblyBitz was as serendipitous as it was a moment of clarity. As an indie author, I’m deeply immersed in the vibrant world of literary conferences and multi-author signing events. Swag has always been a hot topic among attendees and authors alike. As a researcher by nature, I embarked on a mission at one of these events to discover the various swag authors were giving away, planning for future signing tables of my own. Read more>>

Tiffanie Graham

We were mid Covid-19. I had been laid off from my job with the hopes of returning after covid allowed everyone to go back to work. I then received word that my job was already back working….without me. I was devastated. I was depressed for a couple of months. I found myself having a glass of wine (or 2) mid day more then I’d like to admit. Read more>>

Lihi Orbach Forney

I officially launched my business in February 2021, but the development started in 2019 from a deep desire to create more meaning in my life. I worked in a completely different field for over 20 years – post production sound mixer – and felt that i wanted to express more of who i was becoming. I was searching within myself for the next thing—the thing that would spark my creativity and passion. Read more>>