Coming up with an idea for a business or creative project can feel exhilarating. Inspiration for a new idea can come from so many places and we’ve asked some great folks from the community to share their stories of how they came up with their ideas.

Ragon Ralston

Wildlings really came from a tension I couldn’t ignore. I entered education through a child development lens first, working with young children from birth to age three. That training was deeply rooted in how children actually grow and learn. It shaped how I see everything. Later, when I pursued my elementary certification and stepped into the classroom, I started to notice a disconnect. Read More>>

Brooke Bruce

This business didn’t start as a business at all. It started as a hobby and a lifestyle we genuinely loved. We were already living it day in and day out… raising animals, caring for them, learning as we went, and just enjoying the rhythm of farm life. It wasn’t about a business in the beginning. Read More>>

Vincent Lanci

When I was 21, I made the decision to not get in the car with someone drinking and driving. By taking the ‘safe route’ home, I was hit by a car that left a bar on my walk home. After waking from a coma and suffering from a Traumatic Brain Injury, I never looked back. Read More>>

Gwen Jarvis

I’ve been a book lover my entire life! From Nancy Drew and The Boxcar Children, to House of Night and Twilight, to J.R. Ward and Jane Austen, I’ve always know books would need to play a large part of my life. I completed an undergrad in Business, and started my career working in public libraries. Read More>>

Oli Cohen

Life Stories didn’t start as a business idea. It started as a feeling. When my sister passed away, I felt a deep sense of regret that I hadn’t captured her life story. She had been diagnosed with terminal cancer during the pandemic. At the time I was living in Los Angeles. Read More>>

Ann Nygard

Hauskaa didn’t begin as a business idea—it began as a deeply personal moment of stillness for me. In 2019, I was recovering from a serious accident, and for the first time in my life, everything slowed down. The usual pace, the constant movement—it all faded. Read More>>

Andrea Jenkins

In 2014, I decided I wanted to become a dog groomer, but I quickly realized there was no real pathway into the industry. No one wanted to train me, there were no mentorships, and there was no structured program for people who loved animals and wanted to build a career. I had to figure it out on my own. Read More>>

Wes Smith

The short version is I have had friends who were photographers for years, but it never really clicked with me so I never pursued it. Read More>>

Troya Denise

Undeniably That Girl came from me having a conversation with God. He is the reason this brand exists. One day after I had my 4th child I was really down on myself because as a woman I didn’t like what I saw in the mirror. I knew there were so many women out there that felt just as I did. Read More>>

Maricia Johns

I loved magazines, newspapers, anything that talked about women’s health, fashion, careers, and more. As I got older, the magazines stayed the same or became too old. They weren’t talking to me anymore. So I decided there were a lot of women like me who wanted to discuss things that pertained to us. Read More>>

Scooby Austin

I make beats so I decided on a name and came up with YoungAndGifted Records in 2023 and it stuck and my producer name is Scooby Austin it use to be ScoobySnackz but that name got hacked and no one has Scooby Austin and I love it been scooby austin since 2023 and will never change It because that’s what God choose Read More>>

Cecilia Findley

When I decided to step into the beauty industry, the desire was always rooted in helping people see how beautiful and powerful they already are. That part felt natural to me. What didn’t always feel clear was how to explain it in a way that made sense to others. Read More>>

Jana Devan

For years I watched smart, scrappy small businesses hemorrhage money on marketing that looked fine and did nothing. They’d have a designer who didn’t talk to the strategist, a strategist who didn’t talk to the writer, and a social media person operating on vibes and a content calendar. Everyone was executing. Nobody was connected. Read More>>

Isabel Anderson

I found myself taking an unplanned pause from a career I had spent over a decade in—film and episodic post-production. What initially felt uncertain quickly became an opportunity to reflect and reset. I started asking myself a simple question: What is the one thing that has consistently made me feel good? I kept coming back to Pilates. Read More>>

William Bourret

In high school, I wanted to be different from the stereotypical high school student who worked at fast food restaurants. The main thing that helped me come up with the idea was that I wanted to be unique. Like what would make me stand out from others? The high school that I went to was one of the early colleges. Read More>>

Brandon Johnson

I didn’t create this business—my life did. Basketball took me from college to chasing the NBA dream. I was on the path, doors opening, everything looking right from the outside. But at the same time, I made decisions that led me down the wrong road—and eventually, I found myself sitting in prison. That moment changed everything. Read More>>

Shauna Wekherlien

I came up with the idea for Tax Goddess because I saw a massive gap between what the tax code allows and what the average business owner actually receives from their accountant. My mother was a resolute business owner with an indomitable spirit, but like many entrepreneurs, she faced the bewildering world of tax jargon and complex financial puzzles every year. Read More>>

Aurora Azon

I started Fashion A-Fare Boutique because I wanted a space where my love of fashion, creativity, and storytelling could come to life. I have always been drawn to the process behind great style, from fashion forecasting and trend research to the way clothing can express who we are. Over time, that passion led me to discover my love for making jewelry. Read More>>

Laura Elizabeth

Almost two decades ago, my family and I traveled to a tiny island off the coast of Hilton Head, SC. We later described this as our YOLO trip as we were supposed to be traveling someplace else, across the country and some unexpected challenges made us reroute our plans. Read More>>

Dak Daily

Fitness—specifically weightlifting—has been a constant in my life for over 15 years. I was first drawn to it as a teenager, and what started as a physical outlet quickly became something much deeper. It gave me confidence at a time when I needed it most, and that confidence carried over into every area of my life—sports, school, my professional career, and even my relationships. Read More>>

Anthony Drews (Chi-noodin) Drews

My lifelong dedication to raising awareness of Native culture and language began during what should have been one of the proudest moments of my childhood. I was given my Ojibwe name, Chi-Noodin (Big Wind), in ceremony by my grandmother’s cousin. She told me it was also the name of her grandmother, my great-great-grandmother, and shared stories that filled me with pride and connection. Read More>>

Kimberly Caceres (Artist Name: Tali Lama)

I came into this work during a moment of uncertainty. I was at a crossroads where I was deciding whether art was something I would fully step into or something I would keep as a passion on the side. Then, a well-respected birth worker reached out to me. That moment alone felt significant. This was someone I deeply admired. Read More>>

Una Lo

The core of my practice was born from observing the starkly different ways we navigate the end of life across cultures. Growing up in Hong Kong and later moving to the UK, I became fascinated by our collective impressions of death. In many Asian traditions, there is a deep, ritualistic connection to ancestors, yet a lingering taboo around the physical reality of passing. Read More>>

Dennise Ruiz

Since I was young, I’ve been drawn to all forms of creative expression—art, music, dance, and especially anything visual. I danced like no one was watching and painted every chance I got throughout high school. I went to college with a clear plan: major in biology, with minor in some type of art form. Read More>>

Nicole Czysz

I didn’t actually set out to start a business doing this work—it found me long before I was ready to claim it. When I was younger, I would visit psychics who would tell me that one day, I would be doing this myself. At the time, I didn’t believe them. Read More>>

LaShonda Hopkins

When I created Passports Matter (Travel by PM), it didn’t start as a business idea, it started as a feeling. I just wanted to see the world. I wanted to experience different cultures, understand how people lived outside of what I knew, and do it alongside the people I loved. Read More>>

Justin Maness

The idea for Buddha Bee grew out of two things colliding — my love for bees and a conversation I kept having over and over with people. Everywhere I went, folks were genuinely curious about beekeeping. Read More>>

Jeanette Tostenson

Qwiznibet began with something small—just a spark of creativity. Years ago, my husband and co-owner Daniel Tostenson wrote a poem while sitting in a Carl’s Jr. What started as a simple moment of inspiration became the seed for our very first children’s picture book. As we continued building on that story, new ideas naturally unfolded. Characters emerged, each with their own personality and charm. Read More>>

Angelina & Desi Butler

The idea for PRYDE DESIGNS did not come from a business plan. It came from a feeling we could not ignore. Before PRYDE DESIGNS existed, we were both working in corporate environments. The work itself was fine, but over time we both felt a growing disconnect between what we were doing every day and what we knew we were capable of.  Read More>>

Lyndsey Ariel Pozo

Honestly, it kind of found me. I was in college at the time, studying fashion design, marketing, and merchandising, and I had a friend who was showcasing two collections in a Latino designers fashion showcase. I had always been really into makeup – trying new products, playing with color — but just on myself, and definitely nothing professional. Read More>>

Wendy Herman

I’ve spent over 30 years in intimates, scaling iconic brands and working on the launch of Calvin Klein Underwear for Women. I understand the product, the customer, and how this business works. But the moment that changed everything for me wasn’t in the industry. It was with my daughter. I was shopping for bras with her, and it was confusing, frustrating, and honestly disappointing. Read More>>

Kori Kelley

I’ve had an awareness since I was a child that I was a little different. I was more sensitive to the emotions of others, and often aware that even though I was alone in a room, I wasn’t really alone. Read More>>

Kalen Perez

We were in Sint Martin for my husbands 50th Birthday trip with 16 other friends. We hopped on a ferry one day and went over to the island of Anguilla where we all jumped on 4 different colorful MOKES. We had never heard of them or seen them before. Read More>>

Hitman Benny

Honestly, things just gradually fell into place over time until it finally made sense. It was kind of a full circle moment really. I started doing street photography out of boredom and a need to be creative again. Read More>>

deborah pisaro

For years I did it inside the structures everyone does it inside. Big brokerages. Brand names. The machine. And the machine works. For some people. For certain goals. But somewhere in year fifteen, maybe year eighteen, I started feeling a friction I couldn’t shake. Read More>>