Risk is a topic that comes up a lot in our conversations with entrepreneurs and creatives, but a related topic is investments. Investments come in many forms – investing your time, money, heart and soul, etc. So, with that broad definition of investment in mind, we asked rising stars in the community to tell us the stories of the best or worst investments they’ve made.

Skai Hye

I’ve made LOTS of investments in my career but time is always the most rewarding to spend in my opinion. Investing time into yourself to grow, to be challenged, is kind of what life’s all about. When you have a big dream it’s so easy to become overwhelmed when trying to decide what needs to be focused on and if you’re not careful it can hold you hostage. For me it was excuses like I don’t feel like it, I have other things to do, I’m tired, or I don’t have time but I quickly realized those excuses weren’t getting me any closer to where I wanted to be. Read more>>

Saren Quinn

Cliche as it is, the best investment I have made thus far in terms of both time and money, was myself. Trying to win the validation of my parents has done far more harm to my self-confidence than I ever should have let it. So when I left community college after seven years, now old enough to apply for educational aid without my parents’ income affecting my chances, I chose a for-profit art school. Read more>>

Edward Gusts

I’m going to tell you about a trend of bad investments I’ve made, because it seems that the lesson only sticks for a few years before I get tempted to make it again. Happily, I now catch myself earlier; but I still do it far too often. My bad investment choice is found in shortcuts. Every once in a while, I find myself making consistent progress. However; the progress is not as fast as I like. (I make films, they take time to make.) Read more>>

Theodoor Gabriella Grimes

When I think about my greatest investment, two different situations come to mind. When I was beginning my art career back in 2019, I applied for a $1000 grant for women and non-binary people. I won the grant, and the first thing I did was purchase a website for the first time in my life. Up until that point, I sold prints of my work on depop or directly through DMs. The website cost 1/3 of the grant money I received, and it felt like an enormous investment for me at the time when I had a long list of supplies and necessities to purchase.  Read more>>

Jasara Ponton

First of all, this is a wonderful question! I have so many answers about making not so great investments in my business. One investment I made that truly sticks out to me at this very moment is with supplies. My favorite color is lavender however I bought a great deal of items that were purple. Initially when I was starting my business, I wanted all of my containers, jars, bottles, etc. to be purple so I purchased some, not a whole lot just some. Read more>>

Eujay Doe

In the early days of my journey, I often heard the advice to “invest in your skill sets,” but I didn’t fully grasp its importance. At the time, I was passionate about photography and content creation, but I wasn’t making the most out of my potential. I was using free resources and tools, thinking that passion alone would carry me to success. Read more>>

JP Rabusa

The best investment I’ve ever made has been the time spent getting to know myself. Growing up an American-born son in a family of Filipino immigrants, I spent years assimilating to a culture in the United States that I never quite resonated with. As a sort of social survival tactic, I tried to wear the same clothes, speak the same way, and like the same things as all the other kids, stripping my personality to fit in. Read more>>

Caleb Jerome Morales

From an early age, I learned that the Divine comes in trilogies. Mind, body, and soul. Rhythm, melody, and harmony. Work, fitness, and passion. Each day offers an opportunity to invest into each of the latter trilogy: your Work, your Fitness, and your Passion. Imagine three jars each labeled as follows: your Work, your Fitness, and your Passion. Each hour you spend on your education or profession — your Work — adds one bean to its jar.  Read more>>