Going from idea to execution isn’t easy. Part of the difficulty is that often there is no playbook to follow and while we can’t offer a playbook either, we wanted to create a space where aspiring entrepreneurs could read the stories of how some very smart, very thoughtful entrepreneurs form the community got started.

Berman Rivera

I returned to my hometown of Laredo, TX in 2011 after working on a masters in landscape architecture at UT Austin. As a botanist and landscape designer, Laredo’s extreme climate invited the opportunity to explore the limits and adaptabilities of various vegetation types for landscape applications along with developing a deeper sense for seasonality within my long held practice of gardening. Given that Laredo offered no professional outlets for landscape design, forging my own path was the only way to put my experience to practice. Read more>>

Zachary Zschernitz

In 2020, the pandemic arrived and I (Zach) was let go from my job while my wife, Sara, was working. We knew, despite there being a pandemic, people’s coffee addictions hadn’t disappeared, so we began laying the groundwork for Edina Coffee Roasters. In doing so, we decided to focus on sourcing and roasting delicious coffees- launching first with three foundational blends and later expanding to a mix of blends and single origin offerings. Launching with three main coffees and a decaf option helped keep our options simple and easy to discern from each other making it easy for decision-making. Read more>>

Shavannah Moore

It all started for me when I was laid off from my corporate job a few years ago. I had no money saved up, my husband and I were separated, I was facing severe depression & suicidal thoughts were racing through my mind. I remember sitting downstairs on my living room floor ready for it all to end. Then I heard a quiet still voice say, “Your Gift Will Make Room For You”. I had no idea what this meant, what it would look like, or where to even begin; It was at this moment that I had reached rock bottom. This is where my Entrepreneurial journey began. Read more>>

Denise Larell

Since I could remember I’ve always loved hair. I remember getting mannequins for Christmas and being stuck to the doll’s head like glue. It didn’t matter where I was when I had my mannequin’s head, my only focus was that. I still remember so vividly how I would talk in third person to her and sit her in the corner when I’m done her hair, then go back to get her out of the corner a week later to do her hair and talk to her again lol. I started doing hair when I was around 9-10years old. Growing up in poverty with a single mom of 4, we didn’t have the means to get my hair done. Although we were less fortunate, I didn’t want to look like it. Read more>>

Derek Mohr

The initial idea could technically be from 2016, if you count the original design I made. I always felt like it deserved to be printed, but never really knew how to go about it. One, ten, two hundred? Do I want to sell them? How was I going to sell them? This sounds tough, never mind. Earlier this year, I kind of reorganized my whole portfolio, and stumbled upon that old design. Read more>>

Gabriella Tanner.

I was on a road trip when I was inspired to start my business. I had a few hours of driving ahead and since I wasn’t the one driving I knew I didn’t want to waste anytime so I started jotting down name ideas, creating color stories, drafting potential logos, anything to keep my creative juices flowing. I read someone that there’s a short window of magic from when you first have an idea and actually acting on it, before the ” But I need this first” or the “ill do this when’s” start to kick in. if you wait too long the passion dwindles and you keep putting it on the back burner until you forget and repeat cycle. Read more>>

Kevin Freiberg

So I’ve been in the cosmetics industry for just over a decade now, and the journey to landing where I am now was a wild one! I landed a job at Sephora while I was still in college and working as a hairstylist, and this idea started to form for my own line of products. In 2017 I started to literally sketch out logos and I would research the key ingredients in all my favorite products I used from Sephora- and imagine how I could make them better. Read more>>

Anthony Sisson

At first I didn’t know where to start. My brother gave me one of his old cameras and I started to take pictures and shoot some small videos in high school of random classmates and some stuff for JROTC. After awhile I decided I wanted to pursue a career in the creative/entertainment industry. At first I started with photography, I ended up discovering my “niche” of doing automotive work when I attended my first Caffeine & Octane a monthly car show that’s hosted on the first Sunday of every month. Read more>>

Shanobia Stovall

My idea to execution moment was ignited when I completed a project opening a brand new $177 million hospital (a 32-acre master-planned campus with over 81+ beds). As a lead healthcare IT project manager, I had the responsibility of managing a project with over forty department groups, which consisted of the information technology teams, clinical departments, business departments, third-party vendors and working with various construction project managers. Read more>>

Jarius Hightower

Launching my business was always apart of my plan. My passion for art started when I designed things as a do it yourself (diy) projects and just post them and people actually wanted to buy my work. The ideas in my head went off like a ticking time bomb. My next days were to start my business by any means necessary! You have to make sacrifices and risks to get what you want and need in life. From there I was interviewing other entreprenuers on how to start a business and the needs. Read more>>

Amina Allen

In 2015 I received my first henna tattoo, that was the catalyst that sparked my obsession and passion to create. I studied and researched the dangers and origins of henna and for a year before applying designs on individuals . I would charged as low as $5 on my tattoo designs . Word was getting around that I am a henna artist and how beautiful my designs were . It wasn’t until I started to get booked for college and corporate events and weddings out of state that I realized , I need to get insurance and get serious and start my business. Read more>>

Dr. Frances Ann Bailey

One of the first things I did to execute my vision was pick the vision back up. I wrote the vison down to have a track record of the things I was trying to pursue. For a while, I had started to procrastinate and doubt myself. I finally realized that I was only thing that was stopping me so I picked my vision back up with purpose to implement. Then I gained a coach/mentor to help maneuver me through the process. Having a coach/mentor gave me another level of wisdom and knowledge that was needed for my next level. My coach partnered with me to ensure my goals were met. Read more>>

Victor Green

Since I can remember I’ve always been into electronics whether it be TV, games, computers, cameras or even small gadgets. Around the age of 11 my older cousins and I would find joy in the day by finding any opportunity to be creative. Those opportunities involved taking photos, making/editing videos, and even recording and mixing songs. This passion for creativity has always been inside 0f me just growing over the years I just didn’t know exactly where to place it. Read more>>

Taylor Liberatore

I remember being unhappy and having the “fake it until I make it” attitude almost everyday. Crazy right? There would be nights when I would come home to my husband and explode in emotion because I had to hold everything in from working everyday with people who treated work as their personal time to act on their childhood traumas. It was a lot. I was never the type to be confrontational, especially at a place where I make a living so I let a lot slide, it just wasn’t important to me I always knew there was a bigger picture. I had to stay focused. I would always vent to my husband specifically about things like “I cannot wait to have my own space,” Read more>>

Ryan Barber

Bikini Bar Detroit, Thee über Chic Hair Removal Spot became a vision in 2011. Branded & trademarked in 2012. Officially open for business in 2015. The inspiration behind my desire to create a business as such ironically became of interest after having one of many “what’s my life purpose because I was so unfilled” talks with my best friend in 2011. Prior to launching Bikini Bar Detroit I had briefly owned an online shoe and handbag boutique before it I took a shot at starting a lingerie line. Read more>>

Jeris Johnson

The idea was first executed when I began selling fabric earrings on the side, which then turned into me creating press on nails, which led to graphic tees, then photography. The process has not been easy because I am gifted in different areas which caused me to feel like I had to choose. My parents have always encouraged me to do what I really love which is photography. I spoke to them about it so they began investing into equipment and not long after that my mentors purchased me my first camera which led to me practicing from my iPhone to a canon 70D. Read more>>

Saz Ross

I dipped my toes in the water of owning my business for three years before finally taking the plunge. My idea of being a full time artist took years of convincing because I had to leave the safe, tenured space of the public school system, my community, and the art classroom. The idea to finally ACT came from the traumatic loss of my mother. She passed away in front of me and it left me in so many pieces, my identity was lost. I spontaneously quit my job, almost lost my husband, and let impulsive decision making consume me-never thinking, just acting, and leaving those who cared for me astray in my tornado of recklessness. Read more>>

Kesha Coniglio

The idea to be in the wedding industry has been on my heart for 20 years. The creativeness in me is immediate meaning I like to create something with having a final outcome with in a short window. This works perfect for events as usually you have a day to create a space. After years of dreaming about venue ownership we decided to focus on the direction of what exactly we wanted overall. All venues are beautiful but we really needed to determine the look, location, vibe, time to possibly build, available grants, ideal customers and size are just a few considerations in determining what venue ownership would look like. Read more>>

Daniela Diaz

It all started with my husband saying “you are so creative, you can make money.” I was always the creative one in my family who had an idea for something or always wanted to decorate a family’s birthday party or wanted to make a dessert for the holidays. You are probably saying “well why didn’t you get into party planning.” Party planning wasn’t something I was fully passionate about. It was more like a hobby. Read more>>

Preston Sain

Year 2020 will forever be a historic year Nationally. From the covid pandemic to quarantine, to the racial unrest of the tragedies of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor etc made the perfect crisis yet opportunity. For the first time in many of our adult lives we had time to reflect,and most importantly learn History of our country and ancestors that we may not have known. Read more>>

Brittny Hardrick

So I have been a licensed cosmetologist for about 12 years now, but actually being a business owner!! I’ve been for 6 years. I knew and had the idea since beauty school, and the route I wanted to take, but u know the route is never the way we want to go. So here we go. I knew well before I got a license and started beauty school that I wanted to be a salon owner, but having a entire product line and retail?! Wasn’t in the cards. SO I worked in many many salons before having my own salon suite, Read more>>

Unykhe Edwards

At an early age I knew that I wanted to become my own boss – the idea of working under someone else’s management was not my ideal future, but I had to start somewhere. I used my resources from my 9-5 jobs to not only fund my business but to educate myself. From working as a sales representative I gained the knowledge of how to effectively communicate with customers and solve problems quickly and accurately; to working as a bank teller learning about the financial side of things. Although corporate America was not unbearable I knew that this was only temporary. Read more>>

Cosette DeMille

The idea for DeMille Beauty came to me when I was very young and I knew that I had to share my passion and purpose with the world. DeMille Beauty will be a place for healers to share their voice and promote their healing services with the world and with the people who need them. I am an artist, herbalist, graphic designer, marketer, editor, videographer, crypto consultant and investor, web 3 developer, and a 3x published author. Read more>>

Theresa Mucelli

The vision for a sustainable fashion boutique popped into my head after I had signed the lease on a commercial space. I knew I wanted to provide products with a mission, but I wasn’t quite sure what that mission was. I have always been a champion for environmental causes. Sustainable fashion had been on my radar of causes that I was happy to champion in the form of a local retail shop. From there, I began to look for sustainable clothing brands to bring into the shop all while preparing the physical space. Read more>>

Iria Abram

Becoming Dr. Iria Loraine Abram, your “Purpose and Success Coach” has been an extraordinary journey. One that began to gain momentum while I was still a teenager making a courageous move across the country. I thought it was just for college. I had no idea what God had in store. The energy in Atlanta, Georgia in 1999 was electric! I had just arrived from South Central Los Angeles, California to attend Spelman College, and it felt like I walked into a gold rush on unchartered territory. Read more>>

Makenzie Beaver

I was 18 and truly had no idea what I was doing in my life. Joelynn Rathmann, who, in the livestock world is the absolute queen of photography, invited me to picture the Brazoria County Fair with her, and the rest is history. Having never picked up a camera, I don’t know what she saw in me, but I am so grateful for that invitation, because it changed the course of my life. After that week, I picked up my mom’s camera and watched every photography video on Youtube, began shooting nonstop + begged my friends to model for me. Read more>>

Ashriel Walker

For me, it was the only option I had. I had developed severe carpal tunnel, so my career for the second time has been compromised as an efficient Chef. Having said that, I had to go back to the drawing board of the things that burdened me the most: the trauma that people endure, but complacent with the effect it has on them because it is just that – comfort. Read more>>

Reggie Carter

Going from idea to execution was where hard work first came into play. An idea without execution is just an idea, and without hard work and discipline you will never accomplish your goals. Taking an idea and turning it into a business takes self motivation, dedication and a strong team. Early mornings, late nights, being laser focused and working around the clock is what it takes to be an entrepreneur. I never take for granite a solid team and Must be Ruff wouldn’t be where it is without every member that’s involved. Read more>>

Anita Washington

I remember like yesterday during the pandemic and I came up with the name Match My Chic. Originally, I was going to sell woman’s clothing, but it wasn’t until I had a daughter that changed my mind to an online baby boutique. I received horrible news back in November 2021 and I turned that pain around to focus on myself. I did a lot of research studying other baby clothing companies and wrote pros/cons on how would like to run my company. Read more>>

Kim Easley Williams

I have always loved “glitz, glam, and all things fashion” and indirectly have always had my hand in it from embellishing clothing, refurbishing vintage pieces for myself, to providing styling tips. My first quest of entrepreneurship was a children’s boutique (girls to be specific) that was opened from 2020 to 2021 one year. I specifically catered to little girls because I felt that providing “all the frills” of little girl clothing was my niche. I closed it because, it didn’t perform as well as I would have liked it to and honestly, COVID19 played a part in that as well as I didn’t do enough research to combat the lows, I experienced to sustain the business. Read more>>

Jenna Morrow

In 2016, my husband and I purchased our first home and we decided to DIY most of the renovations. I shared before and after content online which gained the attention of family and friends. One friend in particular reached out to me when they bought their condo in DC and said “I want you to decorate it. Let me know your price and let’s do it.” I was excited but nervous because I only had experience with my home and I didn’t know the first thing about design rates. Nonetheless, I figured it out and spent my weekends working on decorating the condo only to quickly realize it wasn’t something I could do while working full-time in corporate America. Read more>>

Ashley Walling

In 2017, I started my small business in Nashville, TN in honor of my grandmother. I had a few mason jars and wanted to do something in her memory. I painted a few of the jars and realized how much I liked creating and working on projects. By 2018, I had my first vendor booth at Bits & Pieces Antique Boutique in Nashville, TN. My first stand started with painted mason jars, vintage, western clothing & jewelry. I also began to grow my business in craft fairs & festivals as well. Read more>>

Sophie Jo

My business, SJ PERCEPTIONS, began as my hobby, turned into my “side-hustle” and evolved into my career. In 2020, like many others, I was wondering what to do with my extra time, while working a corporate job and yearning for that so-called passion and fulfillment many have described. I enrolled in Graphic Design courses and began teaching myself the basics – I quickly realized I had the “eye” for it. Read more>>

Kelly Martinez

My family of five has stayed in quite a few vacation rentals, and they have always been a wonderful alternative to traditional hotels. I often thought that owning and operating one would be a great business and, more importantly, that it would be an excellent fit for my personality. This idea germinated in my mind for years, but it wasn’t until my kids got older and I had time to focus on new endeavors that it started to grow into a business plan. Read more>>

Jessica Lewis

Ideas come from dreams. I fully agree that if you can dream it, you can achieve it. Here are Mobu Enterprises Steps to success Vision into a plan 1. I have visions and I wrote these visions very clearly via a business plan. Many people would say writing a business plan before starting business is unwise. I say if you don’t plan, you plan to fail. How will you know you can proceed if you haven’t understood your market, industry, or customer? Read more>>

JC Quintana

Oddly enough the origins of what today we call DialoguePrime sparked amid a layoff. My job was part of 4,500 positions eliminated six months into the Covid-19 pandemic. Only a few months earlier the company had launched a global communications campaign telling employees how important they were to the company. Now we were being asked to leave in an effort to eliminate $700 million in expenses (which ironically included expenditure on the “we love employees” campaign). Two years prior to the layoff I wrote a book entitled “Serious Relationships” which focused on the psychology of business relationships. Read more>>

Jared Gotcher

I became a photographer sort of by accident. I had been practicing visual arts basically my whole life, but I went to school for language arts, focusing most intently on writing poetry. I did, however, take as many fine art classes as I could in university: classes in drawing, painting, and design. My senior year, I took a digital arts class, and friend of mine (a photography major) lent me his camera for the class and spent an afternoon showing me how to use it and explaining the exposure triangle. Read more>>

Brian Simmons

At TIP Goalkeeping, we’re very focused on adding as much value to our goalkeepers and their parents as possible. Playing this position requires a higher degree of dedication than others in the world of soccer, so we want to make the possibility for success and excellence as achievable as possible. So in addition to in-person training, I’ve recently released an online education program called Keeper College – The Fundamentals. This program was built to help goalkeepers, their parents, and their coaches learn more about goalkeeping so they know the when, how, and why of goalkeeper fundamentals. Read more>>

Rene Uribe

Soon after our daughter’s passing in 2019, my wife and I wanted to establish a non profit organization that would project our daughter’s character and ideals. We began the process by first submitting our application to receive status as a 501 (c)(3) organization to the IRS. That process involved several steps from establishing articles of incorporation to opening business accounts in the organizations name. The entire process took just about one year to complete. Read more>>

Neca Gonzalez

My first introduction into the wedding industry was such a fun experience and is what led me into being the owner of a bridal hair and makeup team. I had never done makeup professionally before, but a friend asked me to be the makeup artist for a family member’s wedding. I made sure I was prepared ahead of time and did the whole bridal party plus the bride all by myself. It was so cool to see them so happy celebrating and here I was getting to be apart of their special day. I knew afterwards that I definitely wanted to do makeup especially for weddings. Read more>>

Carl White III

I decided to start Movespot based on an in person experience. One day I was working out in Planet Fitness & recognized that everyone in the gym was using their phones instead of exercising, which instantly gave me a spark for an interesting idea. Later on that day when I got back home I immediately started on a powerpoint brainstorming different ideas and features. After doing the proper research and figuring out how development worked I started searching for my first investor and that’s how things began. Read more>>

Brianna Anderson

Being a small business owner, of photography no less, is definitely not a new idea. Neither is specializing in maternity photography. A quick Google search or Instagram search could probably pull up thousands! But I knew that maternity was definitely my niche. I had a passion for it, which translated into a fresh vision for it, I just needed to translate THAT into a brand. If art inspires art, then I was definitely inspired by fashion ads and whimsical editorials. Read more>>

Wendy Newman

Wendy began the Mandala/Kaleidoscope Project in 2015 as an exploration of the deconstruction and reimagining of select photographic images. Each unique creation is the product of hours of precise analysis and manipulation, with multiple image layers, instructed always by the caprice of inspiration. After I finished the first mandala, a friend said, “that would make a gorgeous scarf”, and so it began. It took 5 months to find the high quality printers. Read more>>

Selena Ramos

Going from idea to execution incurred several processes for Mission Publishers, LLC. Mostly, I had to work out issues integral to myself and my faith. I knew my mission was to publish extraordinary stories by ordinary people for God’s glory. There are a lot of book publishers in my demographic! I worked in an Indie publishing house many years ago where I was responsible for managing the editorial content. Read more>>

Deandre “Dee” Jones

Growing up I always felt like I was going to be rich I always knew I was going to start my own business or company i just didn’t know where to start and where it was going to start. in 2018 I was working at a faith based non-profit called Steepletown Neighborhood Services they do lawn care & shoveling for our senior citizens. I enjoyed the work because I enjoy giving back to our community eventually you get older and disabilities and different things stop you from being able to do different things so it helped me gain a better sense of humility than I already had over my years of community work and volunteering. Read more>>

Sher’ril & Samantha Knox

Ten years ago, when Sher’ril was turning 14 and Samantha, 10, we had our first performance of “The Great Snuggie Escape” in our parents’ living room. We had strung Christmas lights along the floor and laid out red and blue toy lightsabers for accent lighting. Sher’ril was wrapped in a Snuggie and bound with as many scarves and belts as we could find. At that point, we weren’t really considering a career in anything. We were just two sisters having fun being kids and showing off a new “talent” that we’d acquired. Read more>>