We love contrarians. We love hearing unique view points and so one of our favorite things to ask folks is for them to tell us something they believe that most people in their industry disagree with. Check out some of those responses below.

Jon Thorsen

The price of wine is not necessarily an indication of its quality. Study after study has shown that when tasting blind, people are terrible at picking out the more expensive wine (even wine judges). People are also very influenced by prices and can actually derive more pleasure consuming an item simply by thinking it is more expensive than it is. Our goal at Reverse Wine Snob is to help people break themselves of the false belief that the more expensive a wine is the better it will taste. So we do something that most people in the wine industry do not (even though the average price of a bottle sold is under $10) – we celebrate inexpensive wines and help people find the absolute best wines at the lowest prices. Read more>>

Sarah Bast

Collaboration is greater than competition.
Face painting is the largest part of my art business. When I started, I was so excited about this art form, I wanted to talk to anyone and everyone in the industry and adjacent industries, like balloon twisting and henna. Anytime I’d see another face painter, I’d come right up and try to make friends! Read more>>

Laura Dadap

When I was crafting my elevator pitch, I knew innovation and value proposition were key. Six years later, after meeting countless entrepreneurs in the food space and beyond, I’ve realized we’ve been asking the wrong questions.

Why are we all rushing to slap “the first” or “the best” in front of our products? How does that actually impact our industry? Read more>>

Kelly Pfeiffer

People have a lot of opinions about this topic, but I wanted to talk about how I landed my BIGGEST CLIENT by doing a couple things for free:
1) I said YES to speaking at a blogger/brand panel 9 years ago FOR FREE. I met a bunch of people, one that mattered most, though I didn’t know it at the time. Read more>>

Latia Nelson

The wedding industry is tough. Anyone will tell you that. For that reason you’d think we’d all have a little more grace with each other in this industry. A lot of what I see especially in smaller wedding eco-systems is a weird hierarchy system that discourages newer vendors coming into the industry or vendors of color. You see this a lot in smaller cities with a lot of market saturation. If these systems change it would not only bring in a lot of revenue to these local markets, but weddings would be less stressful if there was more community and trust between vendors. The market would become stronger also. Read more>>

Gianna Russo

I believe that an artist does NOT need to create work constantly to be successful in this industry. There is a strong divide between my fine artwork and then the work that I create as a photographer/videographer that sustains my business. It is common for us to be told as artists that we must constantly be creating something new and we are to be posting our work in high-frequency online to gain an audience. Although I do find some aspects of this to be true, I think that the constant pressure to create and to be creative can become too great a pressure for artists and potentially lead to burnout. I guess overall life moves quickly as is, and I would rather create work when I feel most inspired and never force myself to create when I am not passionate about the work I am producing. Read more>>

Nicole Ivelevitch

The kindest thing that anyone has ever done for me was forcing me into treatment for my eating disorder.

I first started struggling with bulimia at around age 13, and by my senior year of high school my disorder had shifted and developed into full-blown anorexia nervosa. Of course, I didn’t realize how sick I was at first; I will never forget receiving my diagnosis and being completely in disbelief, saying “That can’t be right, it’s not like I don’t eat at all.” Read more>>

Lara Prawat

I experienced a couple kind moments that had a very big impact on the path I took with my business and the success I experience today.

In my mid twenties, I had an industrial sewing machine, I had made a few custom wedding dresses since graduating from college, and I knew I loved doing it. I worked a full time retail management job, and had my custom gown business as a side hustle. Since I did everything out of my apartment, I picked out an indie bridal show that fit my personal aesthetic, and had a booth to offer my custom gown creation services. Read more>>

Dre Lamonte

When I first started working on one of my businesses, it was nothing more than an idea. One day, eager to get out of the house, I decided to visit a friend who had just launched their own business at their parents’ flower shop. Since I didn’t have a car at the time, I walked seven miles to get there, feeling an undeniable pull to go, though I wasn’t sure why. Read more>>

Nia Griffin

The kindest thing anyone has ever done for me was when my boyfriend gifted me a full DJ set and even booked my first DJ gig! 2024 was quite the year for me. I was working a job I hated while attending a church that was taking up the majority of my free time. It got to a point where I was so unhappy in life and what I was doing. I lost my creative spark for a while. In May, I decided to leave the church I was attending; then August came around, and I lost my job. My unhappy reality was suddenly shifting. With so much free time, I could start exploring hobbies again. Music has always been my outlet for expressing and exploring my many personalities. I’m constantly in search of new vibes and drawing inspiration from a wide range of genres. Read more>>

Aleathia Brown

I was down to counting coins in jars, coat pockets in My apartment in Riverdale not quite age 30 and I am boo-hoo cryin’ in a tissue full of tears questioning “am I an Artist” pondering getting a “REAL JOB” as what folks say at the height of Artists struggle. I headed down the steps convincing Myself that this would be the “responsible Adult” thing to do. My intentions were to get a newspaper and start looking for the proverbial “real job”. Passing a neighbor in the lobby I asked if the mail had arrived? He looked at His watch said it was a little early, but You never know, go ahead and check, He said “You never know”… My feet were literally cemented to the floor as I tried walking. I was able to pivot then head to the mailbox area. I opened My mailbox, a yellow envelope drops downwards, tears return to gushing, running up the 1 flight of stairs, I unlock the door. Read more>>