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.

Dusty Wehmeyer

I wish I could say that I started Poppy Layne with a profound idea… but it started with one late-night “what if” moment that I couldn’t shake. I had been involved in building small businesses (for others) for so many years. I wanted it to be MY turn.

The very next day, I made a messy list of everything I’d need to figure out, from filing an LLC to finding where I needed to buy flowers and what type of florist I wanted to be. Within a few weeks, I had a name, a simple website, my first social media posts out in the world and really no idea what I was doing or getting myself into. Read more>>

Evan Wetmore Black

Nothing like getting laid off to jumpstart your entrepreneurial journey, am I right?! My Clarified Communications business partner and I had worked together at a local magazine for nine years; we had also been moonlighting as graphic-design and editorial consultants. Our side hustle was yielding about 10 hours of work per month, and we had discussed at length how cool it would be to eventually transition to full-time. Well, when the magazine folded last fall, we sensed our moment: It’s now or never. Read more>>

Hailey Pietraszewski

I was born with the gift of gab! One of my friends was talking to me about how it was important to have a creative outlet. I realized that although I had a full time job, I still craved to do something more with my spare time. While yapping to my friends, I jokingly suggested that I should just write down all my weekly updates and send it via an email. To my surprise, they loved the idea. At that moment it all clicked. I am the type of person that needs to go all in once I have decided on an idea. I was going to start a newsletter. Even if only my friends read it, I would be happy that I was giving my creative side time to shine. Read more>>

Jamar Saunders

I started Lost in the Sauce at home because I wanted a hot sauce that was healthier, lower in sodium but still packed with flavor. I went to the store looking for a brand like that and came up empty. So I made it myself.

I brought my first batch to work and kept it in the breakroom fridge. Pretty soon, I noticed people were borrowing it. When it ran out, folks started asking, “Who made that sauce in the bottle? It was good.” They wanted more and they even named the price themselves. Read more>>

Mackenzie Eschenbach

It all started as a simple idea in high school to use my passion for photography to capture the moments that mattered to my friends and family. I already loved shooting high school sports, and I spent weekends at equestrian competitions, honing my skills in action photography. I had a camera, a knack for composition, and a growing portfolio, but it was just a hobby. I knew I wanted more, but I had no idea what “more” looked like. Read more>>

Susan Ellis

The idea for becoming an etiquette coach came to me unexpectedly, over casual conversations with my husband’s daughter and her school friends. As we chatted, I found myself asking about their school subjects. “Do you learn anything about social skills or etiquette?” I asked. Their response: a collective and resounding “No.” Read more>>

JImin Lee

It wasn’t some lightning bolt of inspiration—it was something I had quietly used and loved for years.

I first came across a version of the product a few years back. Being in fashion, I knew how to source, so I found something similar just for myself—something that could hold my sunglasses without being bulky, and that I could clip onto any of my bags. It was convenient, functional, and actually kind of cute. I never thought much of it beyond that—it was just something I used, day in and day out. Read more>>

Natalie Miller

I am a very intuitive person when it comes to handling life. I am not logical or pragmatic in any way. I listen to how things make me feel. It’s actually taken me years to learn this about myself and to lean into it for my good.

As I was managing a small family owned business for someone else in my late 20s, I began to feel a little lost. I was in the health industry and doing something I loved- connecting with and getting to train people to reach their health goals but I couldn’t get away from a sense that I was missing something larger. Read more>>

Lindsay Scola

I was ambitious, high-achieving, and always exhausted—but I wore that exhaustion like a badge of honor. Hustle culture told me rest was weakness. I believed it. So I pushed through… until I couldn’t anymore.

After 19 years of unexplained fatigue, anxiety, and burnout, I was finally diagnosed with narcolepsy (a neurological disorder of the sleep-wake cycle that disrupts the brain’s ability to regulate when to be awake and when to sleep). Read more>>

Jessica Kelly

About a decade ago, I started a blog called It’s Pop Not Soda (I’m from Buffalo, where everyone calls it pop), reporting about the food, drink, and event scene in Western New York. My little blog ended up leading to experiences like judging cooking competitions, contributing to cookbooks, and snowballed into me writing about food for other local publications, then national publications, and beyond. Read more>>