Almost every entrepreneur has had to decide whether to take the leap now or wait– perhaps they wanted to acquire more capital, experience or connections. Given how common this predicament is, we asked some successful business owners to reflect back on whether they wish they had started sooner or waited for a better time.

 Melissa Popovic-Iglesias

I think an entrepreneurial mindset took root early on while I was in college. I went to school for Interior Design and during those years I had the privilege of working for very talented designers in Boston, where I grew up. The jobs I had at the time played a pivotal role in shaping the person I am today. The skills I acquired during those early days provided the discipline and courage I needed to embark on the journey of starting my own business. Read more>>

Kayla Caldwell

I never thought about owning my own business. There was this thought in my family that you started your own business if you did not fit into the corporate world. Read more>>

Tariq Mangum

I started my first business in 2008-2009 in the middle of a recession. It was very difficult to learn during that time period due banks failing and hard raise capital. It turn out to be a successful business and help start my nonprofit idea up. I wish open it earlier because easy raise capital and find people in a less stressful environment. Also starting earlier I would have been more experienced to deal with the recession. Read more>>

Amanda Hays

I would have started much sooner. For about 10 years, I worked for a landscaping & tree service which took up most of my 20’s. Read more>>

Nicole Guess

Reflecting on my entrepreneurial journey, I can’t help but think about how I would have started my business sooner if I had known how and where to begin. My deep-seated passion for event planning has been a constant throughout my life, nurtured by the incredible example set by my mother. Read more>>

ABEL MARQUEZ jr

If I could go back in time I would have started my business a lot sooner I started my business September 28th 2020 but I’ve been engraving since I was 18 years old I don’t think I would change anything about it because throughout all the good and bad experience I’m here because of that. Read more>>

Audrey Hoover

There are parts of me that would have loved to have started my business sooner, allowing me to develop my skills and experience the joy of feeling so much passion for my work. But if I reflect on the years leading up to when I started my photography business I don’t think that starting earlier would have served me or my clients in the long run. Read more>>

Felicia Tisnado-Nykaza

I totally wish I had started earlier! The funny thing about this is I had this vision for “Ello Felicia” brand, but for some reason, it just sat on a back burner. Always justifying the need of a “normal job” or someone else’s social media gig in need. Read more>>

Morgan Bryant

In 2017 I was three years in working as a retail store manager feeling underappreciated, exhausted and honestly going through the motions day to day. Overall I was miserable in my career and naturally the negative energy projected into personal life. Read more>>

Hilary Anderson

I always believed in order to start and have a successful business that you had to begin young. For me this wasn’t going to happen because my first priority was raising my daughters. They were athletic so we were gone every weekend and starting my business at a younger age was not going to happen. read more>>

Princess Haynes

I feel like everything happens when it is supposed to happen so I don’t think about what would be different had I thought to go after my dreams sooner. I am in the business of being me and for a long time I felt I had to be always in the house for my children but they are older now so it is my time. Read more>>

Michael Robinson

Knowing how much insight is needed to run a successful business and produce excellence in my field, I wish I would have started sooner. My business, MR-AH Photography, became official in 2016. Prior to that time, my pastor asked me to help take pictures at church. Read more>>

Jessica Newsome

Honestly I feel like the Lord’s timing for my business was just right. He knew I longed for something creative in my life and His timing was perfect! Read more>>