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. 

Dale T. Phillips

Learned writing from Stephen King in college. Began to sell stories while working on my first novel, and now have over a hundred published. Changed paths, going from agent to small press to independent author to publisher, Began to guide and teach other writers and write non-fiction help books for authors while building a personal career in fiction and more. Read More>>

Analise Rucker

My journey into photography started somewhat unexpectedly. In high school, I actually thought my future would be in video game development, design, or computer programming. I was fascinated by technology and spent a lot of time exploring those interests. At the same time, though, I found myself constantly taking photos on my phone—mostly nature, landscapes, and random moments that caught my attention. Read More>>

Dwight Thomas

Dwight Thomas is an author, entrepreneur, and community leader committed to making a lasting impact through education, safety awareness, and family support initiatives. As the founder of Thomas For Them Inc., he leads efforts focused on family reunification, child safety education, and community outreach programs designed to protect and empower vulnerable populations. Read More>>

Claudine Langlois

I started my journey as an occupational therapist and ecotherapist, deeply rooted in healing, nature, and human transformation. Then, I went through a near-death accident, the kind of experience that completely shifts the way you see life, health, and purpose. That moment opened me to alternative medicine and holistic healing in a much deeper way. This is what led me to start my first business. Read More>>

Tammy Clemons

High Cotton Closet started because I was the customer I was trying to serve. For years, I loved fashion, but as I got older, I found myself stuck between two extremes. Many boutiques seemed to cater to younger women, while other stores offered styles that felt much older than I felt. Read More>>

Brandy Hall

I grew up splitting my time between my dad, who lived in western North Carolina, and my mom and stepfather in Florida. Even as a young child, I understood the stark differences between those landscapes and ecosystems. In North Carolina, I spent my summers in the woods, drinking well water and becoming familiar with the native, useful, and medicinal plants that grew there. Read More>>

Victoria Dream

The idea for Victoria Dream Photography came from my desire to create family photos that feel honest, warm, and deeply personal. I always loved photography, but over time I realized that what moved me the most was not just a perfectly posed portrait. It was the real connection between people. The way a mother holds her child without thinking about the camera. Read More>>

Samia Kohler

I didn’t stumble into hospitality. I was born into it. My grandmother was a cook who taught me that feeding people was one of the most profound acts of care a human being could offer. Read More>>

Karrie Cable

EquiKare’s expansion from a mobile equine bodywork practice to an in-patient rehabilitation and transitional care facility wasn’t something that happened overnight. It grew from years of working directly with horses and their owners and seeing a gap in the continuum of care. Read More>>

Taylor Danos-Terry

Becoming a photographer wasn’t something I planned—it really fell into my lap. Growing up, I dreamed of becoming a historian. I loved learning about the past and sharing those stories with others. Looking back, I think that passion is actually what led me to photography. Read More>>

Lee Eddy

As a Bible teacher it is important to get the information to people. My wife told me, I love your teaching books, but if you want to get a teaching to someone, tell it in a story.’ that put me done the path of listening to God about how to get this across to people and what story to tell. Read More>>

Nicole Middendorf

August 4 of 2010 was the first time that the 911 phone call went through. My daughter was six months old. My son was 2. My ex-husband was arrested for domestic violence. From the outside of my life looked perfect Big house was hosting a radio show written my first book multiple cars, four wheelers boat, jet, skis, etc.. Read More>>

Jasmine Peterson

Beauty by A’meera was born from passion, purpose, and a love for helping others feel confident and beautiful. What started as a dream quickly became a vision—to create more than just beauty services and products, but an experience that empowers every woman to embrace her unique beauty. My journey began with a genuine love for makeup, beauty, and self-expression. Read More>>

Tangie Roseboro

The story behind my creative services is really a story of purpose, perseverance, and seeing beauty in places where others only saw brokenness. Long before I ever owned a camera, I was a storyteller. As a social worker, mental health professional, minister, mother, and community advocate, I spent years listening to people’s stories. Read More>>

Corey Spiegel

The idea for Light House was born from a question I found myself asking repeatedly throughout my professional career. For years, I reported to boards of directors, advisory councils, executive teams, and mentors. Whenever I faced a challenge in business, there was always a trusted group of people I could turn to for perspective, guidance, accountability, and honest feedback. Read More>>

Bee Bleu

Pretty Girl Cup was born during one of the most difficult seasons of my life. After becoming a mother, I struggled with postpartum depression and found myself feeling lost, overwhelmed, and disconnected from the person I used to be. I was spending so much time caring for everyone else that I had forgotten what it felt like to do something for myself. Read More>>

Juwan Pitter

After Covid happened I recently graduated from UNIVERSITY of CENTRAL FLORIDA, and could not find a job or position related to the two degrees that I own. One degree in computer science, the other for political science. I had a technician enter my home and helped fix my washer, he offered a position getting training and work directly under Samsung. Read More>>

Andre Harris

Dads Against Crime wasn’t born out of a business plan. It was born out of pain, experience, and a desire to solve a problem that I felt nobody was talking about. Before I started Dads Against Crime, I lived a completely different life. Read More>>

Carli Rasschaert

In August of 2023 I was laid off from my job. I had left my job at an interior design firm to ‘switch to the dark side’ as we usually say in the A&D (architecture & design) industry for anyone that has moved over to sales. Read More>>

Yung Sam Chea

When my previous business fell through, I found myself in a really tight spot. I was unemployed, with a wife, a one-year-old at home, and another baby on the way. So, I did something that looked completely crazy to everyone else. An opportunity came up to lease a small space, and with literally the last $8,000 left in my bank account, I started Lemur Cafe. Read More>>

Saif Mahdi

My approach bridges the gap between technical AI capabilities and deep-rooted marketing strategy. I recognized that many businesses fail to integrate AI effectively because they lack the necessary strategic oversight. My unique value proposition is leveraging my experience as a Creative Director and Brand Strategist to direct AI automation. This ensures that technology serves the brand narrative instead of diluting its impact. Read More>>

Bello Eze

The idea for iNTRPT came from a single moment I think about almost every day. It was 2022. I was at a fashion show at the University of Michigan. The room was full of beautiful women, confident men, music, conversations happening everywhere. Read More>>

Nafees Norris

I grew up not always seeing science presented in a way that felt exciting, relatable, or made for people like me. I was always curious, but a lot of STEM spaces felt intimidating, expensive, or disconnected from real life. Read More>>

Dora Toma

This business was born out of my own life, not a business plan. My journey into this work started in one of the hardest seasons I’ve walked through, I was trying to grow my family and experienced loss. I kept hearing ‘everything looks fine, just relax,’ but nothing felt fine, and no one seemed curious about the why. Read More>>

Adebambo Osinaga

Honestly, this is going to surprise some people, but I never wanted to own a business. At all. I always saw myself as a corporate girly — climbing the ladder, building a career inside a company, that structured path. Owning my own thing was never the plan. I didn’t wake up one day with a business idea I was chasing. There was no whiteboard moment. Read More>>

Natalie Feinberg

The idea for my business came from a very simple but uncomfortable place: I realized I was unhappy working for other people. At the time, I was in roles where I was doing the work, delivering results, and building real relationships, but I didn’t feel a sense of ownership over any of it. Read More>>

Sujitra Chubthaisong

Growing up in Thailand, food was always at the center of family, community, and culture. Some of my earliest memories are of watching meals being prepared with fresh ingredients, bold flavors, and recipes passed down through generations. Those experiences inspired my love for cooking and eventually led me to pursue a career as a chef. Read More>>

Joe Huisman

Second Chance Comedy wasn’t something I set out to create. It evolved naturally from my own experience with standup. About three years ago, I took a standup comedy class. At the end of the six-week course, we performed in a showcase, and I was hooked. I started attending open mics, meeting people in the comedy scene, and eventually getting booked on shows around Colorado. Read More>>

Siavash Fashi

I was born in Iran in 1980. It was a time of war. I was surrounded by pain. There was no escaping it. To make things worse, I was getting bullied at school. Everywhere I looked, there was struggle. One day, while playing soccer in the dirt with my friends, a friend showed me a picture of Arnold Schwarzenegger. I was in awe. Read More>>

Denise Garza

Photography has always been something I’ve loved. As a kid, I was always taking pictures and capturing little moments. In college, I took photography classes to learn more and refine my skills, but for a long time it stayed a hobby. Everything changed when I was on maternity leave with my son. Read More>>

Dakeas Wright

The thought process of building my brand around my life experiences. As a young basketball player pursing to grow and someday be a professional at my craft, it took a lot of work but understanding how to overcome adversity. Read More>>

Irene Rodriguez Manieri

The idea for Veg on Board really came from a combination of my creative side and always wanting to build something of my own. I wanted the freedom to create and build something that reflected my love of art and my values.of compassion for animals and inclusivity. Read More>>

Crystal Williams

I worked as a paralegal for over 20 years, but I’ve always had an interest in personal finance. Even when I wasn’t always great at managing my own money, I was fascinated by the topic. Over the years, I read books, listened to podcasts, and learned everything I could about budgeting, debt payoff, saving, and building a stronger financial future. Read More>>

Takora Burton

The inspiration for most of my artwork came from my love for mythology, magic and nature. Aphrodite Rises became my creative destiny because of a vision I had of the Goddess Aphrodite rising out of the sea telling me to make jewelry out of seashells to make all beings feel beautiful and able to radiate the beauty of oceanic energy within themselves. Read More>>

Jurgita Fumo

The idea for Celebrating One wasn’t born from a business plan or a carefully researched strategy. It came from years of interacting with people and realizing that what they often needed most wasn’t a product or a service—it was someone willing to truly listen. Before founding the nonprofit, I owned a business in the service industry. Read More>>

Porshia Ward

Saintly Naturals started while I was in college as a way to earn extra income. What began as a side hustle eventually grew into a business, but over time I found myself being unfulfilled. What’s interesting is that even though the business looked very different back then, the name Saintly Naturals always carried a deeper meaning for me. Read More>>

Brittany Pastor

The idea for Wednesday Run Club really started back in 2010 when I joined the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Team in Training program. At the time, I simply wanted to learn how to run. The program’s model was unique: participants raised money to support blood cancer patients, and in return they received coaching and training for endurance events. Read More>>

David Johnson

Team K2 Karate opened in 1998, I wanted the name to be unique since the style of martial arts that we offer is a mixed style of American Karate, Sport Karate, and BJJ so the name K2 was established. Read More>>

Wade Julian

Houston Diesels started in 2015 by three friends. Jhett Young, Forrest Rushing, and Wade Julian. What it is today, is never what it was supposed to be. Back in the beginning, the three of us where apart of a bunch of different Facebook diesel groups. A lot of the guys on the pages where meeting up periodically to hang out. Read More>>

Katrina Wright

Right before moving to to my Aunt and uncles house. I was helping out on a farm that had some alpacas. Per normal I spent more time with the alpacas then the people. The lady decided they needed to leave her farm. She was over it and they needed to be gone. Read More>>

Tammi Rogers

I didn’t create my business idea alone. Much of the inspiration came from my business partner, Director Dexter Brains of Brains Concept Studios. When we met in January 2024, Dexter was searching for a casting director and film crew members to help bring his 30-plus scripts to life. Read More>>

Malachi Israel

Twelve Vision wasn’t originally supposed to be a photography business. My first passion was music production. I spent years creating music and developing my creative skills, but I quickly realized that music alone wasn’t generating income. To support my music projects, I started learning videography so I could create my own visuals and promotional content. Read More>>

Annette Czech

The idea for the Miso Mice in a way, was actually born many, many years ago as I was growing up, although I may not have fully realized it until recently. As a child, I wrote and produced plays with my neighborhood elementary school friends using garages as theaters and charging 5 cents for admission (popcorn was free).  Read More>>

Onye Sample

Well, after reversing my own reproductive challenges naturally, I deeply felt that more women should have access to the information that took me over a decade to learn. I always felt like women should have a choice, not forced to deal with something simply because they may not fit into a system. Read More>>

Sarah Washburn

The idea for The Washburn Agency came about in a way I never could have predicted. In my mid twenties, I was working as a nanny for a high-profile family in Los Angeles. I also had a background in hotel management, but I knew hospitality wasn’t something I wanted to pursue long term. Read More>>

Chantee Lackey-Williams

I did not come up with the idea for my creative services business in a perfect office, with a clean desk, a business plan, and everything figured out. It started years ago, in a much more ordinary and difficult season of my life. At the time, I was a college student studying social work. That was the path I thought I was on. Read More>>

Giovanna Alvarez

Rose Spa began as a dream long before it became a business. I have always been drawn to beauty, wellness, flowers, herbs, botanicals, and the healing feeling that comes from being surrounded by nature. Roses, in particular, have always represented beauty, softness, and care to me. Read More>>

PETER JESSICA NEBIOW

In Nigeria where I reside, white collar jobs a few and the competition is massive. I have always known that I would love to be creative and have control of my life. Then I saw an need for healthy snacks, especially for people on diet, either trying to lose weight due to health restrictions and I decided to be the solution Read More>>

Shaneka Boucher

So I was a first-generation college student. And I got in. I did the work, I got there. But once I was actually on campus, I realized pretty quickly that getting in and being prepared were two completely different things. There were all these things everyone else seemed to just… know. How to talk to a professor during office hours. Read More>>

Manish Chandwani

The idea came from seeing how much unnecessary admin exists behind an artist’s work. From the outside, people mostly see the finished artwork, exhibitions, collectors, and social media posts. But behind that, artists are managing inventory, pricing, images, certificates, invoices, collectors, content, follow-ups, and a lot of small operational work. Read More>>

Desirée Rega

I kept seeing the same thing and I couldn’t unsee it. Read More>>

Anthony Marinello

For more than 45 years, I have worked in aviation, law enforcement and emergency response, and throughout that time I saw the same problem over and over again: when people experience a medical emergency in remote locations, time is often the biggest obstacle to survival. While operating Tropic Air Charters, I spent significant time throughout the Bahamas and surrounding waters. Read More>>

Shawna Chase

My career was in product and technology leadership — I led teams, built systems, and shipped platforms, and I loved the work of finding a problem and designing my way out of it. I also studied music and theatre production, and I still lean on the arts to stay well. Livin’in started as a pattern I kept noticing in our modern lifestyle. Read More>>

Paul Millet

I had been managing two separate career paths for over two decades, editing the HGTV show House Hunters and also frequently taking on independent projects, ranging from sizzle reels for other organizations to editing independent films and series. I have a post-production suite in my home so all the work has been out of my home office since the Covid-19 pandemic. Read More>>

Lakischia Smith

The idea for WHO DAT Cares Foundation was birthed inside WHO DAT BarberShop. As a business owner, that is not a barber, we served many children in the barber shop every week. Like many business owners, I was always looking for ways to keep children occupied while they waited for their haircuts. At first, I tried simple solutions. Read More>>

Rene Smith

The idea for my business came from a very real situation that forced me to see a gap I couldn’t ignore. In 2017, I was medically retired from the Army, early in sobriety, fostering dogs, and trying to rebuild a sense of direction. Read More>>

Veronica Pelayo

I have always been attracted to nature. Always dreamed of having a cabin or a house in the middle of the woods overseeing a river or lake. And I started this project to offer that dream to people with the same desire. Read More>>

Matt Svetlak

Hi everyone! I’m Matt Svetlak, Product Director of iScanner at BP Mobile (AIBY Group). Last year, iScanner celebrated its 10-year anniversary. This product started as a convenient tool for scanning documents on a phone and became an award-winning platform for scanning and managing documents. Read More>>

Kate Medley

THE MEDLEY METHOD So, the honest answer is that this didn’t start as a business idea. It started as a realization. I had been running PilateZENergy in Point Loma for over a decade. And I loved it – genuinely loved it. Read More>>

Kevin Eugee Wilson

The idea for Sylver Lining Media Group didn’t come from a single moment. It came from years of working behind the scenes on television productions, live events, branded content, and cultural experiences, and noticing a recurring gap in the industry. Throughout my career, I had the opportunity to work with some incredible brands, networks, and productions. Read More>>

Lee Green

Over the past 14 years, I have traveled and lived in more than 40 countries across the globe. In the early days of my journey, I taught English abroad and it was through this experience that I discovered something profound: English language proficiency is directly tied to economic advancement. In many societies, fluency signals status, opportunity, and upward mobility. Read More>>

Taya Partin

Created For This Doula Services was born from a combination of my personal experiences, my heart for serving others, and my professional background in education. For over 13 years, I have worked with children and families as an educator. Throughout that time, I saw firsthand how important support systems are during life’s biggest transitions. Read More>>

Jerri Reid

Before Naked Buttah, I sold makeup and genuinely enjoyed helping people feel confident. Later, I attended medical school and learned more about the skin, including how certain products and ingredients can impact the skin barrier over time. That experience changed my perspective. I realized I no longer wanted to focus on covering the skin. Instead, I wanted to focus on caring for it. Read More>>

Tyler Spiegel

I’ve always been a music lover. I love listening to records in my room. I love squeezing into a packed house show with fifty other people. A few years ago, I joined an art collective that organized DIY shows, and I eventually took on the role of booking. Read More>>

Tatiana Boland

I have always had very dry skin. No matter the climate I lived in, my skin was tight and often itchy it was so dry. As a young person I used increasingly higher quality lotions and skin care, but they never provided lasting relief. Lotions and face cream would deliver temporary relief but did not last the length of the day, leaving me frustrated. Read More>>

Katona Payne

I came up with the idea for my company, The Scaling Department Co after spending years inside scaling startups and seeing firsthand what actually breaks a company as it grows. So I have been both the traditional consultant and the executor. I have been the manager, the director, the CMO, the COO, and anything in between that was needed to move a company forward. Read More>>

Ge Holla

It all started by watching the world of popularity and fame from the inside out. I found myself navigating circles with people who had major platforms, status, and influence. But instead of just being a spectator to the glitz, I was fascinated by its raw energy—and, more importantly, by the universal human desire to share those experiences with the world. Read More>>

Tara Fontana

Over 20 years ago, I was working behind the chair at a salon in Malibu. While I loved doing hair, my favorite days were always prom season and wedding season. There was something magical about helping someone get ready for one of the most important days of their life. Read More>>

Christina Carraha-Ortiz

For many years, I had wanted to start a business, but I never knew how to pick the ‘right’ one. I had plenty of ideas, but I couldn’t clearly see the path from concept to reality. Meanwhile, music has always been a huge part of my life. Over the years, friends kept encouraging me to pursue music seriously. Read More>>

Pamela Foster

I am a Registered Nurse by profession and an advocate and helper by nature. The idea for my business emerged after I was unexpectedly separated from a corporate position in 2019, ending a 25-year career with one company. At 53 years old, I found myself at a crossroads, reevaluating what I wanted the next chapter of my life to look like. Read More>>

Jennifer Flynn

The Balance Maven wasn’t born from a business plan. It was born from exhaustion. For most of my life, I was the person everyone could count on. I was ambitious, driven, capable, and fiercely committed. I was the one who figured things out, carried the load, solved the problems, and got things done—often at my own expense. Read More>>

Ashe Higgs

The idea for my work came from an experience that changed me in ways you couldn’t immediately see. When I started training in I Liq Chuan, nothing about it looked dramatic from the outside. But internally, everything was shifting. I was developing a kind of steadiness I didn’t have before—a sense of direction, and a mindset that didn’t get shaken easily. Read More>>

Drew Scogg

The seed for Scogg Construction was really planted back in 2016. At the time, I had recently graduated with my business degree and was living out in Los Angeles. While I was working out on the West Coast, I found myself constantly feeling the pull back to my roots in West Michigan. Read More>>

Brandon Ahmad

Hey! I’m Brandon Ahmad. My company, The Love Yourself Network, was started to combat the negative messages being sent out through social media! The world is changing…. And a lot of that change isn’t for the best! Social media has been slowly becoming less about being social and more about time hoarding! Read More>>

Dan Baghdasarian

The idea for The New Dan Plan came during a season where, on paper, life looked great. I had built a successful career in storytelling through Big Dreams Media, had an incredible family, and was fortunate to be doing work I loved. But deep down, I felt something was missing. Read More>>

Devin Acar

From a young age, Trinity ( co-founder) and I grew up in environments where mentoring and tutoring were standard practices. Teaching became a natural extension of our daily routines. In school, teachers selected us to tutor peers in our strongest subjects. Helping classmates after school exposed a systemic issue: quality academic support was a luxury, remaining expensive and inaccessible for lower-income families.  Read More>>

Jessica Lostetter

I’ve always been a systems thinker. I didn’t know that’s what it was called for a long time — I just knew that when things were chaotic, my brain automatically started building the map that would make it make sense. In my corporate career, I’d walk into a mess of scattered files and disconnected processes and just… see the path through. Read More>>

George Gallego

The idea did not come to me in a boardroom. It came from living the problem. In 1992, I became paralyzed after a fall that changed my life forever. Read More>>

Michael Jackson

I was in church at the age of 19 years old. I never thought God truly cared or would speak to me the way he did that day. I was going to church but I truly did not have a relationship with God. I don’t remember that exact day but I do remember the details of that day. Read More>>

Brittany Rogelstad

The idea for Isla & Saige was born out of an experience my daughter and I lived every day. Before starting our brand, we owned an online clothing boutique where we purchased clothing wholesale and sold it online and at events. Like many small retailers, most of the products we sourced were manufactured overseas, primarily in China. Read More>>

Tammy Tran

Honestly, it started with frustration. I’d gotten into riding and I wanted lights for my wheels. Tron-style, glowing, the kind of thing that turns heads and makes you visible at night. In my head it was the coolest concept imaginable, and I was certain someone had already built it. Tron came out over a decade ago. Surely this was a thing by now. Read More>>

Corrine Satalaya

Glamcuterie was inspired by a charcuterie franchise I came across in Atlanta. I loved the experience it created and began researching the industry, but I wanted to put my own spin on it. Read More>>

Gregory Cabbell

The way I came up with my clothing brand is my brother Samuel Cabbell, one of best artist/designers I know. He gave me the inspiration and advice to do this he is unfortunately incarcerated right now so while he is in there I’m keeping the dream alive. Read More>>

Alice Partridge

I had been working as a Nanny for about ten years, from the age of 18 to 28, caring for children in many different families. Around that same time, I was also on a very personal journey of recovery and self-discovery. I had been in 12-step recovery for several years, working with a therapist, and doing a lot of inner work. Read More>>

Tamika Marshall

In 2015, I was diagnosed with uterine cancer. Walking through that experience showed me how overwhelming the journey can be for patients and their families. I also saw how much the smallest acts of kindness—a meal, encouraging words, or a simple reminder that someone cares—can make a difference. After surviving cancer, I knew I wanted to turn my experience into purpose. Read More>>

Zaidra James

I came up with the idea for my business in college, right before COVID. I’ve always been a creative person who was constantly thinking of new ways to create, innovate, and make money. My first idea was selling food on campus because my friends were always telling me how much they loved my cooking. Read More>>

Kait Sukiennik

I never knew exactly what I wanted to be when I grew up. I would have these grand ideas, like, ‘Im going to be an interior designer’ or ‘Im going to be a ceramic artist’ but when the time came to actually do any of it, I lacked a lot of the confidence to make it happen. Read More>>

Evangeline Garreau

Every time I hear someone say, “Wow, I didn’t know that was a job,” I always feel a little bit like, *record scratch* I bet you’re wondering how I got here. Read More>>

Alison Masson

I came up with the idea of Metal Babe Mayhem by combining my two biggest passions: music and fashion. The idea behind Metal Babe Mayhem is that anyone can be a Metal Babe, regardless of age, race, sex, size, or even musical preference. You don’t even have to like Metal to be a Metal Babe! I truly believe that music is t he universal language. Read More>>

Lindsay Rust

Madeleine, Lizzy, and I all met when we attended a high school music festival at Brigham Young University in 2017. A few years later, we met our cellist, Mandy, when we were all college students at BYU pursuing music degrees. We collaborated casually on a few occasions and were recruited to play a few weddings in the area. Read More>>

Dr. Chad D. McKinney

At the time this came to me, I was working as a professor of psychology teaching a college-prep course to high school seniors. On paper, everything looked perfect. I had built businesses, given a TED talk, written a book you could buy in airports across the country. And still, in my heart, I felt lost. Read More>>

Dario Ariza Barrios

The idea for Sound of Self did not begin as a business concept. It began as a personal journey. I am originally from Colombia, and throughout my life music has been much more than entertainment. Music became the way I processed experiences, challenges, uncertainty, and personal growth. Long before I started developing educational programs, I was using music to understand myself. Read More>>