In our view, far too many ideas die at the imagination stage. It’s not because people are lazy, we think the primary reason is because many people don’t know where or how to start. So, we connected with some sharp and generous entrepreneurs who’ve agreed to share their stories of how they went from idea to execution.

Shaun Fabos

Fab Factory Studios started with a vision—me and my dad, Steve Fabos, didn’t want to build “just another studio.” We wanted a space that felt different, one that would actually inspire people. But the space we found? Total wreck. People came through and told us we were crazy, that we’d lose everything. But I could see it. Read more>>

Kayla Branstetter

I suffered a miscarriage on Valentine’s Day 2016, and I found this experience cruel, eyeopening, and painful. I discovered that a miscarriage was the oddest form of grief, because I endured this loss, but the individuals in my life couldn’t relate to me. I had a one year old at the time, and I struggled to get pregnant. In other words, I took this pregnancy loss hard. I eventually welcomed my second daughter in August of 2019, and her arrival taught me the consequences of being a working mother of two young children. Our society is not family friendly. This reality struck me during COVID. In some ways, I am grateful for the COVID pandemic. I had the privilege of staying home with my children. Read more>>

Jan O’Shaughnessy

When I became a mom, I found myself searching for ways my kids could get involved in something meaningful at a young age—something that would teach them about giving back, community service, and just being good humans. Of course, these values start at home, but I wanted something outside the home too.  Read more>>

Keila Brintley

My podcast is much about healing from the inside out. It is designed to help you transform your life and live out the purpose you were created for. I sincerely believe that we were all created to help someone else. Many of us do not reach that potential for many reasons. I have licensed therapist, doctors, pastors, and people who are able to share their real life experiences with the listeners on my show. I am always encouraged when I get emails that tell me how much the show have helped them. I feel like I’m doing my part in the earth. Read more>>

Shala Ford

That is a good question! Well, I always loved taking pictures of people – like family and friends with my phone. One year, I purchased a camera for things like family holiday photos. During the fall, I remember taking pictures of my cousin’s children. She posted them on social media and other people asked could I take pictures of them. At this point, photography was more like a fun hobby. Jan 2021, I went through a breakup (fun right), and I needed to be surrounded by positivity to keep me going. I prayed and I felt like God was telling me to pick up my camera. I decided to take a risk and filed for an LLC. Read more>>

Ellie Maureen

It took me years to be ready to publish. The idea for my first book coming to me just before I turned sixteen, I had a lot to learn and a long ways to go before I would be done. Every year I’d tell myself it would be the year I finished and published and would get so down on myself when I didn’t. I had this rather obsessed dream of being a teen author. But I would be twenty one before I published my debut novel Forbidden. Read more>>

Amy Ramsey

I had my own staging and design business and was working several different jobs after my youngest son died from brain cancer in 2020. He has five years old. I had been a stay at home mom taking care of our three sons… but when our youngest went to heaven I knew I needed to be busy so went back to work. I had about an eight jobs before I started Jett&Rose. A home decor and gift shop named after my beloved little boy and my grandma is Rose. The owner of the shop prior to mine had called me and said “I’m closing my shop and I think you should take over the spot”. I didn’t know how to open a shop? I didn’t know if I had the money to open a shop. However, I knew it had to right. It was what I had been waiting for. I quickly found the money, went to market, found a POS system and opened my little shop. Read more>>

Tracey S. Phillips

Music and creativity has always been part of my life. Mu mother was an artist, and my grandmother a well known pianist and music teacher in the Indianapolis area. I started playing the piano at the age of 3. I went to school at Berklee College of Music where I majored in Music Production and Engineering. I owned a recording studio for several years. Now, much later in life, I’m proud to call myself an independent author and I’m publishing my own books and audiobooks. I made this difficult decision last year, after a decade of tumultuous industry related challenges. This is the story of how all my creative talents are finally coming together in my books. Read more>>

Sean Birdsong

The foundation of my company was built from the lessons that I learned coming up as a young man into adulthood.

I had on the job training from my mother Candace who was an educator, and my father Otis who was an NBA player. I brought education and sports together to create my business, and to give back to the next generation. Read more>>

Dara Rahill

My journey into matchmaking started long before I officially launched my company. My background as a psychologist gave me deep insight into human connection, and as I transitioned into matchmaking, I worked my way up to becoming the Head of Matchmaking Partnerships for the largest matchmaking company in the U.S. Meanwhile, as a passion project, I was building a thriving community of singles in Philadelphia, organizing events, and seeing firsthand the gaps in the dating landscape. That’s when I realized—Philadelphia needed a local matchmaking service that truly understood its people. Read more>>

Soli Cayetano

I started my real estate journey during a time of complete uncertainty – spring quarter of my senior year in college when the 2020 pandemic hit. One day I was juggling a packed schedule – working full-time as a commercial real estate broker while taking a full course load – and the next day everything came to a screeching halt. Campus shut down, and suddenly no one wanted to lease office space when the entire world was working from home. My commission-based income dried up almost overnight, and that financial instability lit a fire in me to find something more sustainable. Read more>>

Aika Taguchi

When approaching my photography or any creative work, I always begin with a period of thoughtful brainstorming. I ask myself what I want to express and determine a theme or concept to center my project around. Once that core idea is established, I move on to considering how I can effectively bring it to life. A method I often use during this phase is the bubble map technique. In this method, the main theme sits at the center of the page as the primary bubble. From there, I expand outward by adding surrounding bubbles containing words and phrases that are inspired by the central idea. I repeat this process for each sub-bubble, allowing the web of thoughts to grow until I get the idea of the visual I want to create. I usually do this by hand with pen and paper, though sometimes I work digitally on my iPad. Read more>>