We’ve been fortunate to connect with so many brilliant artists, business owners and leaders over the years and so we reached out to some of these talented folks to discuss what it takes to be successful.

Darcy Cudmore

In my journey building RepuLinks, I’ve come to believe that success is earned—not handed out—and it’s built on three simple but powerful principles:
– Put in the time. There’s no shortcut. You have to consistently show up, do the work, and prove to the universe that you’re serious.
– Treat people the right way. Success comes through others—through relationships, referrals, and trust. That only happens when you lead with respect and integrity. Read more>>

Payal Bansal

What does it take to be successful? For me, it’s never been about luck, timing, or even talent alone. It’s about resilience—the ability to keep going when everything around you says stop. It’s about belief—the kind that starts as a quiet whisper in your soul and grows louder every time you refuse to give up. And most of all, it’s about reinvention—the courage to rewrite your story when life doesn’t go as planned. Read more>>

Goodie & Natalie Audette & Hansen

Success can be found all around us, the hard part is allowing ourselves to see it, feel it, and enjoy it. We are strong driven women and our to do list is always long. We always have our next project queued up to help support our clients and staff. The moments in between when we get to sit down for our weekly owner meeting, and our you and me monthly check-ins with our employees is when we see the success. As owners we feel the success in the systems, expectations, and communication we have created. We see the success in our systems by watching our employees grow their client base, knowledge, and income all while supporting a balanced life with boundaries. This was our goal all along! Do great hair, build amazing community with clients, and care for our employees in ways we thought our industry had overlooked. Read more>>

Ben Miller

The first step towards being successful is defining what “success” means to you. Is that financial success? Position or rank at your company? Having a bunch of kids and sustaining a large family? Or is success simply measured by the incremental achievements that help you reach your full human potential? Read more>>

Jon Mitchell

In the Film & TV industry I think there are 3 big keys to success: 1. Work for “Free” Everyone has to start somewhere. When I started freelancing as an on-set film worker, I functionally had no resume. Sure I had worked some full time jobs in post-production with reputable companies, but it wasn’t relevant experience. So what did I do? I was a production assistant (PA) for free. Why? Because beggars can’t be choosers! I found 3 student films that needed help and volunteered to work on those projects. Doing this gave me two things: (1) a resume with relevant experience and (2) a network of filmmakers who were appreciative of my hard work. Read more>>

Kristen Griego

Success isn’t a one-size-fits-all concept—it’s deeply personal, shaped by our values, goals, and the impact we hope to make. But regardless of the path, true success requires a combination of vision, discipline, resilience, and integrity. Read more>>

Katrina Peaks

In relation to my business as a Cake Artist, I think the following things have helped me be successful:
1. Precision & Creativity
2. Customer Connection
3. Adaptability & Strategy
4. Community & Collaboration
5. Resilience & Passion  Read more>>

Vanessa Bucceri

I think success is about ownership. Not just of your work, but of your choices, your energy, and your mindset. Leaving my corporate job to start my web design studio was a major turning point. As a self-taught designer, I had worked relentlessly to get there, completing three coding and design boot camps, taking on projects for friends to build a portfolio, and creating a clear exit plan from my full-time job. For the first time in years, I felt truly in control of my life. I didn’t have a backup plan, but I was excited. I had finally figured out what I wanted to do with my career, and I was ready to go all in. Read more>>

Amber Thomas

To me, success is the result of consistent effort, adaptability, and clarity of purpose. It’s not a single moment or milestone—it’s a pattern of behavior over time. It’s built day by day, through small, intentional choices and a commitment to keep moving forward, even when things are unclear or difficult. Read more>>

Samantha Hensel

Throughout my life (work and not) I think this question of reaching successfulness, or how success should feel has taken up a lot of space in my mind and life. I’m a grade A people pleaser in a sort of recovery, one could say. Being successful always meant doing the most for the most people and being in those people’s good graces – which has been a huge mountain to climb within my work practice. Saying ‘yes’ too everyone and hustling as hard as I can to make others happy has always made me feel successful, up until recently, as that is just not realistic and unsustainable – even if I wish it was! Read more>>

Lara Carter

After 10 years in business as a family photographer, I’ve learned that being successful comes from more than just taking beautiful images. You need to truly love it and have a passion for serving others. It requires setting clear goals to guide growth, creating boundaries to protect both your creative energy as well as creating a work-life balance. It’s a lot of work because you wear all the hats. I personally am very customer service driven and I think if you take care of your clients from the start of that inquiry, it guides your path to success! I always think of what I would want from a session and try to instill that into my business. So grateful to all my clients for trusting me to capture their family adventures! Read more>>

Mila Freeman

Success means different things to different people. A lot of people see success as a destination, but I see it as an ongoing pursuit. I think it starts with having a clear vision and a solution to a problem. It takes courage firstly because to achieve success you can’t be afraid of failure which most of the time will inevitably happen. Secondly, it takes resilience and determination because when you do fail, you have to pick up and try again and again until you get the results you want. Success also takes passion because I would hope that whatever you are wanting to succeed at, is something that lights a fire inside you and something you will always be learning about. Read more>>

Tyler Chartier

Never stop learning and allowing yourself to evolve. Nurture your childlike sense of wonder. Curiosity is magic pixie dust that makes everything work better. Work on your craft.

Thing strategically, work hard, take time off and invest in yourself:

When it matters, leave it all on the field – work your ass off, do what ever it takes to deliver your best work, on time and on budget. And don’t do this all the time, it’s a recipe for burnout. Take advantage of the ebb and flow of projects to spend time with the ones you love most. Invest time and money in your mental and physical health: you are the resource and this is a marathon. Read more>>

Chris Ettrick

I’ve found in my career(s!) That my success comes from being 100% myself. Not in the “I’m so great of course I’m bound for success,” way, but in the “I share the good, the bad and the ugly,” of who I am. I was first licensed in hair in 2007, and from the start you were always told to “make it about the client.” Don’t talk politics, don’t talk religion, don’t talk about yourself. Which has some merit, but the issue with that is you’ll never make a personal connection with them. It wasn’t until 2013 when I stopped working for corporate salons, that I learned sharing your life and asking meaningful questions was the formula the most booked, the highest earning and genuinely happiest stylists were doing. It was my first day at my new salon, and I distinctly remember the women next to me (shout out Melanie!) asked her client about a date he went on. Read more>>

𝕵𝖎𝖒𝖒𝖞 𝕵𝖆𝖒

I think what it takes to be successful is courage, determination, and a dream that YOU make true. Growing up in the party scene and looking at music festivals and people and enjoy and smile. I always wondered how I spread that love the world a little by little I can my way in Coachella and spreading the above and everything and production. I now have a part of major camps at burning man as a chef. I also host a lot of smaller events, and spreading my love has brought me, and the people who have followed me throughout the years my success. I will say be true to who you are being an honest worker spread love and good things will come your way and you will be successful. Read more>>

Lauryn Schalk

When I was in high school taking all the “what career suits you best” tests that were supposedly meant to spit out a track for your future, I knew in my bones that I needed to do something creative. Art class was my favorite. Colors made my heart sing and teaching myself Photoshop was what I did after school for fun. So when it came time for me to pick a major and a college, Photography was what I wanted to do. But, my parents were die-hard business people. And art? That wasn’t something you went to college for. On the flip side of my creative brain, I knew I wanted to be “successful.” At 16, success to me was making 6 figures, a house with a white picket fence and a husband by 25. You know, the classic American dream. To a high-schooler in the early 2000’s, that’s all I wanted. Read more>>

Jocelyn Bishop

It takes a lot of work and dedication to be successful in any area of life. Looking back on my life and where I am right now. I couldnt even imagine how successful my life would have been. Growing up in the rough neighborhood of Baltimore City. To going into foster care at a young age, to aging out of the foster care system. Then having hopes and dreams of becoming a Nurse to not pursuing my dream because of fear. To writing my first book called She found Strength. Then landing a job in the school system as a Janitor of 15yrs. Based on statics I’m not suppose to be where I am right now. But God has graced my life and can’t wait to see how much more my life will blossom. Not giving up is the key to success. Read more>>

Isha Kesarwani

As someone who came to New York from another country, I’ve learned that carving out space for yourself in an industry like fashion isn’t just about talent or drive — it’s about showing up again and again, even when no one is watching. Everyone here is fighting for the same dream, and when you’re not from here, you’re not just chasing the dream — you’re building the ground you stand on while chasing it. Read more>>