Everyday we meet business owners, professionals, artists and creatives. Photographers, florists, realtors and more. They might come from different backgrounds, work in different industries, have varying personalities, and have vastly different income and educational profiles, but the one thing we’ve seen over and over again is that most people have a unique and special reason for why they do what they do. From a realtor helping families afford the first home he always wished for as a kid to a photographer using her skills to give a voice and face to victims who feel voiceless, we have been blown away by what happens when you just ask people a simple question – why do you do what you do?

Kimberly Revereza

We believe everyone is made to meditate and that the purpose of meditation is to know yourself better. Our mission is to educate people on those things – to bust the myths that meditation is for certain people, that the goal is to quiet the mind or stop the thoughts, or that the purpose is only for recovering from stress, etc. By definition, meditation us using your mind, body, and breath to deliberately change your state of consciousness. It’s in that practice that we find this space between ourselves and the running track of our thoughts and feelings, Read more>>

Joe Brandi

Around 2008, I went on a trip to Kenya with World Orphans, and that is when everything changed for me. The orphan became real to me – someone that had a name and whom I was hugging and serving. I experienced an overwhelming moment where I knew that I had to harness all of my energy, finances, and resources to do something meaningful with my life to help children who have been orphaned. Read more>>

Tiffany Hoeft

I got pregnant with my first daughter at 26, at the time I was working for a tech company in downtown Minneapolis. I knew raising my kids (we have 4 now) was important to me, so I went to my boss and told him I was planning to quit and be home full-time. That was in 2008, when remote-work was not a thing. My boss saw my work ethic and didn’t want to lose me, so he fought for me to be one of two employees in a 120+ employee company to get to work from home. That season was hard, learning to juggle working at home with my children, but to this day I am so grateful for that opportunity, and it has spurred in my heart the desire to give that opportunity back to other moms. Read more>>

Tara Ames

The story behind Restoration Marketing is a small town girl with big dreams! Read more>>

McCain Kennedy

Here at Set Fire Creative, we help small- to mid-size businesses grow through digital marketing. After having worked in marketing for several years, I noticed that most agencies want to work with big brands and tend to stay away from the smaller ones. While working at an agency a few years back, I started helping a small brand on the side with its marketing. I was helping run its online ads and improve its site’s conversion rate. I remember the day the business owner called me and told me he quit his day job that day because he could finally afford to make his side business his full-time gig. I was estatic. Read more>>

Niki Connor

I’m determined to make healthy plant-based food attainable and affordable through creating products and sharing recipes. Read more>>

Sakiya Lockett

My mission and goals are to be a Household Home Fragrance Brand across the world. I started this business looking to supplement my income as the pandemic hit. My son was a senior in High School about to leave for college and reality hit no longer would be he and I. With leaving one of my other jobs and needing to supplement my income I knew whatever I did had to be something I wanted and loved doing, not just something I had to do. Here we are 2 years later with Luxurious Essentials Candles and Oils, LLC. Read more>>

Lawtoinette DeWanna

The L’Aesthetic Enhancement Lab was created as an inclusive beauty boutique that provides transformative beauty services that allow clients to experience life the way they see themselves. It started with myself, I was my very first client. After facing self-esteem challenges in a society that constantly wanted to decide my look for me, I spent time with myself in the mirror creating looks that best suited me and it was definitely transformative. Shortly after that, friends and family began asking me for beauty and style advice. Read more>>

Brittany Hollis

In March 2020, we got the dreaded message from our Pastor that our church would not be open for in-person services due to COVID-19. Our Church leadership team sent out a message asking if anyone in the congregation would be interested in teaching a virtual Bible study lesson. I had taught several in-person Bible studies in the past, so I really felt led to sign up to teach a virtual lesson. The problem was that I had never done anything like this before. Read more>>

Shay Jaudon

Entrepreneurship has made me realize how I can literally work for myself and achieve all my life goals to become financially free I enjoy absolutely every moment of it but I wanted to take all the information I learned and wanted to help others create Generational Wealth, Financial Freedom & become Debit Free. I’m just so passionate when it comes to helping others & entrepreneurs as well. Read more>>

Nissa Smith

15 years ago I lost my mom by Suicide to Depression. She had struggled for quite sometime and her loss was life changing for me. After her loss it was sometime before I realized that the way she lost her life did not need to be “brushed under the rug” so to speak. I found the Out of Darkness walk through a friend and it was a complete eye opener for me. I realized I was not alone. Many others had gone through a similar loss. Suicide and Mental Health have such a stigma surrounding them that no one talks about it and to find this community was huge for me. Read more>>

Erika Renteria

I was an ambitious and adventurous woman. With many visions, dreams, and journals, I had a wardrobe full of beautiful things, but nothing great, and the depth of who I am I wasn’t happy I couldn’t figure out why on my camera roll of life and it looked great. I had a professional job where I achieve many goals. My social media account was full of pictures ,adventures ,family . friends would say Man you have it all oh, but only if they knew the truth, I had a crippling, low self-esteem, but yet looked so confident ? Read more>>

Jayson Wells

At Shoes Have Souls Foundation, we believe every person should experience that feeling of confidence and self-worth as they take steps in the quest of life. We are connecting the world through story. In our vision to provide 158 million pair of shoes worldwide is our rooted purpose of lovingly uniting the world as team. Read more>>

Katherin Rinaldi Fanaian

I seek to empower families in the process of pregnancy, birth and beyond. It is my goal to help mothers learn to trust in their beautiful, strong bodies and to trust in birth. The moment that a baby is born is joyous, magical, and wondrous, and it is my wish for mothers and their partners to experience the birth of their babies as fully as possible. Read more>>

Zenovia Morris

MISSION: To see more entertainment artists confident and in control of their iconic image. The story behind your mission MISSION: To see more entertainment artists confident and in control of their iconic image. I once was a very frightened, fearful and scared little girl. Almost afraid of my own shadow. After being told so many times to be quiet because I sang all the time. As a result of not understanding why, I created a world around me, hiding in silence. Read more>>

Craig Taylor

My organization is Solutions for Veterans. We specifically develop housing on Department of Veterans Affairs hospital and medical center campuses for homeless, disabled, near homeless and low income senior Veterans. This is usually done by renovating and adaptively reusing vacant buildings on these VA campuses. The result is cumulative. The VA no longer has to spend funds to maintain unusable buildings. Read more>>

Nakesa Barnhill

Amari was my eldest born son, he was murdered November of 2015. In the aftermath of his homicide I channeled the pain into purpose with my words and actions; forming a non profit organization and crafting two publications in his honor sharing my experience of Filicide and a bereaved mothers grief. Read more>>

GB Flame

The story behind my mission begins and ends with drive. Choosing to wake up everyday and invest in yourself. Putting your last coin behind quality over quantity. Music began as therapy, a free way to express myself. Now my mission is to touch the hearts of others going through the same struggle, and show them life is worth living another day. All the acknowledgment you want will come through your hard work. Read more>>

Shivani Kothari

With inflation and the vast increase in number of weddings coming these next few years, engaged couples continue to face new challenges like fitting everything into their budget and finding vendors that are available. Recognizing most couples are planning a wedding for the first time, our mission at Salud is to help people plan events on any budget through the power of connection, trust, and knowledge. Read more>>

JYA

My mission is really to make music that makes the listener feel good. I want to spread love with my art. Also, I want to be a reminder to others that it is okay to be different, to do things your own way. It’s so important to do what you love. This is ultimate my goal. Read more>>

Shadonis Covington

What I feel most lead to create and build are things that encourage, empower and inform. My Astrology jewelry line is unlike any other, focused on custom designs surrounding the planets that feel luxurious and also purposeful. You’re able to learn the glyphs that help read birth charts and also put intention into your wardrobe. Read more>>

Perry Ann Hancock

My intention every time I have a camera in my hand is to document real smiles and sincere expressions, and I think of my images as the puzzle pieces of an unfolding story happening in front of me. They’re little moments that capture the honesty and pure emotion of a wedding day, focusing subtlety on candid and vivid feelings, with no shot list or preconceived notion of how it will look. Read more>>

Kameron Buckner

When people think of what defines a lawyer, they immediately think of what they see on tv shows. Generally, society says lawyers are conservative, always dressed in a suit, constantly in and out of the courthouse for trials, mostly men, working at law firms, barely sleeping, stressed, and making hundreds of thousands of dollars. Sure, there are a few doing some of that but that is not the majority. Read more>>

Gina Granert

First Coast Picnics began during the pandemic, a time when people preferred a safe, outdoor environment to celebrate events. It became our mission to provide an elegant yet affordable luxury picnic experience. Read more>>

Marien Lorenzo

My mission is simple: It is to keep pets out of shelters through the education of pet parents. During the 15 years I spent in the veterinary medical field I realized there was a huge disparity in the information that trickled down to your average pet parent. From behavior to nutrition to preventative medicine, there was so much I could help with if I made the jump from clinic technician to business owner. Read more>>

Hunter Hyatt

Our mission with The Country Pedaler is to bring authentic vintage home decor and upcycled treasures. We strive to upcycle and restore items that would otherwise be thrown away or given up on. Read more>>

Gary Lazard Jr.

In 2010, I was in Houston jobless and depressed because I had no idea what I was going to do with my life. My goal was to play college basketball and see where that was going to take. The only school that recruited me I didn’t have the grades to get accepted to the school. 4 months after that happen, I gave up on the dream of playing basketball. Once that happened, I felt that I was going down a hole and could not get out of. Once I felt like I was at the bottom I thought it was time to build my relationship with God so I got baptized December 5th, 2010. Read more>>

Rosario Moore

Three years ago, when I decided to start writing and illustrating, I felt the need to share, in my own words, stories that could reach the hearts of families but mainly children. Stories that help to understand, to strengthen the processes of change we face as a society. I also needed to connect through language with different cultures, motivating the child to get involved and learn from a new culture. Thanks to my books, I am passionate about ​​being a positive and helpful movement for new generations. Read more>>

Shania Love

The story behind my mission is my mother Shawn Bussey. I first started my business when my mother got sick with cancer 4 years ago. This was hard for me after hearing what cancer has done to all of those across the world. My mom began to loose her hair so I wanted to create something that could help her through such a tough time. I creaked Love Therapy which is an all natural hair growth oil. This oil has helped not only my mother but others as well. Read more>>

Jessie Svec

Our mission is provide an easy and affordable access point for people to disconnect from all the chaos of their everyday lives and take a nature reset. To be away from notifications, distractions and screens. To feel comfortable and confident eating, sleeping and exploring in places they have never been. To falling back into a natural rhythm, rising the sun and winding down when it sets. Read more>>

Tara Airhart

After spending several years in the real estate industry, I felt a calling placed upon my heart that it was time for a change. God pushed me to create a real estate brokerage rooted in serving the community well not – only through real estate, but in life as well. Dwell Real Estate Group was established to elevate the real estate experience from the first interaction, through the transaction, and beyond. Guiding someone through their home sale or purchase is much more than just a deal to us. Read more>>

Dwayne Williams

As a young bright eyed individual I wanted to try everything that struct my attention. The biggest problem was finances and locations. It was hard to find studios that weren’t charging me triple what I was making for the gig. This led to me wanting to create a company that provided a place for interested minds to work. When I created Out East Records, LLC. I implemented that way of thinking into everything we do. From performance to photo shoots it’s all set in stone to put us all as a people in uplifting positions. Hopefully giving them the opportunity to bless someone else. Read more>>

Kyle Dorrell

The name I chose for my company is Weighed Sailor. I meet plenty of people that ask me if I know how to sail or what branch of the military I’m in. The truth of the matter is it had nothing to do with either. At Weighed Sailor our slogan is make it home safe. One thing rings true is a sailors main goal no matter the reason for the trip is to make it home safe. As artist we all have something we call home. For example when I’m on stage I feel at home, when I’m behind the camera I feel at home, at the studio, buried in my sketch book, in my headphones the list goes on and on. Read more>>

Anthony Campopiano

These three angles would all work well: the story behind our mission, customer success / testimonial, and what’s different about us and the industry standard would all be relevant and easy to answer. Read more>>

Mickey Factz

As the Dean of Students at the very first school for lyricism, I can not express what it means to be in a space to uplift, curate and encourage emcee’s to be better writers, conveyers of language and overall more personable human beings. The opportunity to expand this curriculum into higher levels of academia is the main goal as we proceed into the 50th year of Hip Hop. Read more>>

Victoria Conigliari

Originally from Long Island, I started my photography journey when I was in high school. Always taking photos with my friends when ever we hung out. I even took a photography class in high school and learned the basics. It wasn’t until about 2 years ago I wanted to jump into photography seriously and started to capture landscape photos. From there I got involved with the photography community that had me fall into creative portraits. I have since continued to grow as a creative portrait photographer. Read more>>

DeWayne Wright

My story starts from a setting I like to call South Memphis. This area is one of the most poverty affected areas in Memphis at the time, from when I was a young boy, and certainly as I am a man today. I remember one thing I noticed about the homes, and that they had sheets that were on the windows that we in the neighborhood used for blinds. Don’t get me wrong sheets added character to the homes in my opinion! Lol. Read more>>

Orisha Bowers

Orixa Healing Arts Wellness and Spiritual Centre is a healing and wellness practice that provides education and creative Interdisciplinary tools to businesses, nonprofit organizations, faith institutions, and individuals. Orixa creates safe and healthy spaces that promote healing through the expressive arts. Our proven techniques increase wellness indicators for persons experiencing various forms of chronic illness, traumatic experiences, stress management issues, and burnout. As a form of alternative medicine, healing is encouraged through the use of the expressive arts and movement. ​At Orixa, healing is accessible to all. Read more>>

Annette Johnson

The story behind my mission is recognizing that so many people get a certain age and feel stuck and not able to accomplish their goals and fulfill their dreams. Although my coaching, speaking and training sessions include men and women, I realize that there are so many women that after the age of 40 become very discouraged. They feel stuck in a routine that they don’t know how to get out of. Their lives become work and family centered and they tend to lose themselves. Read more>>

Seth Holland

The story behind my mission starts with growing up in a family where a self-owned business was key. Growing up with a father who owns a small business Advanced Pipe Repair, has been a blessing in many ways. The first way this has impacted my life in a positive way is by learning the basics of running your own business. Some of the things I have learned from my Dad in the business industry are very important and without such information, I do not think I would be where I am today. Read more>>

Lauren Wells

I fell in love with fitness after my type 1 diabetes diagnosis in high school. I was diagnosed at age 15 and the transition was not easy. I found an outlet and way to take care of my health through fitness and fell in love with it! I’ve seen such a transformation with my own health and want to help others overcome and reach their health goals. This led to me pursuing a personal training certification this year and I’m currently growing my business! Read more>>

“Cesar Torres”

Like many others, the pandemic gave us a lot of free time and challenged our creativity. Steve Garcia Junior, cofounder and president of the foundation, decided to start a podcast known as the Emo Brown Podcast. Initially it served to provide a platform for local business owners and leaders in the community, while shining a light on their accomplishments. It was also a therapeutic way for us to keep in contact with our friends about what was going on and how we were holding up. Read more>>