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.

Troy Stokes

Going from idea to execution can be quite a daunting and long process. To be perfectly honest, I am still constantly in cycles of ideation and execution, trying to deliver up the perfect “secret sauce” for success. I started my business officially when a lot of businesses were battling the risk and uncertainty of Covid. For many, it was a very tough environment, but for me the Covid environment brought with it one of the largest opportunities and resources, which I had not had in quite some time; that resource was TIME. Read more>>

Jean Carlos Cruz

I moved from Puerto Rico to Miami, Florida with the main idea of ​​expanding my business. In the search, I carefully studied the beauty industry especially for men, coming to the conclusion that men needed a specific place where they could receive the greatest amount of services without the need to visit several places. From there, came Òleo Men’s Salon, a concept dedicated to the personal care of gentlemen from a more complete perspective. Read more>>

Matthew Alfaro

I was born & raised in a small town called Laredo, Texas. It’s located down south bordering Mexico. Growing up, I’ve always had two passions, Business & Fitness. While I was playing college baseball for Laredo College back in 2018 I got my first opportunity to work as a personal trainer where I then developed the skills necessary to excel in the industry. Read more>>

Pam Kryger

I decided that I wanted to learn to decorate cookies because my daughter needed some help in her business. Mandy wrote an amazing cookbook and was doing events/book signings all over the state. One of the recipes in her book was for cut out, decorated cookies and she would bake batches of them and take them to events to give out. Read more>>

Abby Eytchison

Photography was something that I was always interested in. It first started in, I’d say 2011, in my neighborhood just messing around with my cousin. We would get all dressed up and take photos in our backyards, in the road, on my dad’s old Ford, really just anywhere we thought would make what we thought was a great photo! After a few years, we got older.. school and sports became our priorities. After I graduated high school in 2019, I started modeling with a local photographer. Read more>>

Jermany Coney

I’ve never been one to avoid attention. I’ve always loved taking pictures. But, when I first started my instagram page I had no idea I’d be able to monetize it into a career. I originally started my page as a way to connect with family and friends. After having my page for a couple of years people would randomly reach out to me asking me to promote their local businesses. Read more>>

Mike Fahy

This business started from my passion for homebrewing, a hobby turned obsession that started for me in 2010. I started with kits, ventured into extract brewing and eventually wanted more control over the recipes so I went to all-grain brewing. I met a lot of people in the industry through craft beer festivals and just visiting breweries, distilleries and wineries. Read more>>

Beverly Riley

I’ve always loved creating. In my home, there was no such thing as something you couldn’t do, just something you didn’t know how to do yet. My parents are the definition of DIY, they built their own house from the ground up, learning along the way. Read more>>

Jesson Bradshaw

I was fortunate to get into the energy industry fairly early as it was opening up at the federal, and then, at the state level in Texas. A lot of what we decided to build at Energy Ogre came from solving problems people experience. In many businesses that move us forward as a society, the real changers are about becoming more efficient or solving a big problem. Read more>>

Zonya Maraet Robinson

Being in ministry and in the film industry is honestly the best combination a Believer can operate in. That’s just my opinion. As a Believer, our lives are to emulate Christ. We are made in the image of God our Creator, and His likeness. So, it’s only natural, for me, as a creator to maneuver in that lane. I’m an actress, author, producer, director, and writer. Read more>>

Brenda Phillips

My idea started with my heart. Knowing that I had the ability to transform someone else’s life through my work gave me the strength to keep placing one foot in front of the other. Being an entrepreneur was never a dream of mine, but saving our youth was. I didnt choose entrepreneurship, it chose me. I was just a 24yr girl working in the medical field pushing buttons on a computer moving paperwork. Read more>>

Ghost Town

How I started in mural work, and just freelance work in general, was kind of an accident. It started with a few friends/local business owners that liked my art that I was doing in my free time. Once I was able to get a few projects up on a wall, I was hooked. Read more>>

Nick Aja

Where does one even start? A business and it’s processes are not built overnight. These come through much trial and error, with eventual success as the result. The idea to open a short-term rental right outside of the Bishop Arts District began around 2018 or so. Read more>>

Fai Chan

Ideas come and go… not every idea yields profitable results. To ground the idea with practicability and be realistic, I do pop up in farmer’s market or vendor events to study the market and consumer behavior. It is the insights that give further development…. and to add precision to predicting a future outcome. I like to go shopping for observing how others behave and learning from others to improve my competency. Reading and discussing with others are also helpful in generating and refining ideas to executing the plans. Read more>>

Theodorian Tharpe

I started “ChefTheeGrizzley’s Quality Over Quantity Catering Fine Cuisines LLC” during the pandemic. At the time I was working 2 jobs. I was an assistant kitchen manager & worked at a fast food restaurant. I was already thinking about what can I do to take myself to the next level because I was tired to being overworked and underpaid. I wanted to have more of a presence online. I focused on building my social media platform as well as locally expanding my clientele. Read more>>

Donell Nelson

I am a creative writer so I write often. I started with a simple story that evolved into this superhero origin story. I instantly fell in love with where the story could go and knew I had to figure out a path that allowed me to steer it to its destination. I was guided to the world of comic books and graphic novels through contemplation and casual mentoring. Read more>>

Brianna Knodel

My photography started as a hobby, and it stayed a hobby for a decade. Once I realized that I wanted my hobby to become more, I started doing research to see what I would need to do make my dream a reality. I stayed in the research phase for about a year then I just pulled the trigger and started my sole proprietorship business. I had to figure out taxes, a lot of google hours went into that. Read more>>

Emma Clark

I started the company Moss & Maeve Event Planning & Styling in 2018, after working as an assistant wedding planner for years. It started as this huge dream that seemed completely unreachable until I finally took a leap of faith and decided to make the Moss & Maeve a reality. Read more>>

Erin Dragoo

Prior to Lunch Money, I was always the one behind the scenes. I was working with other small businesses to create their logos, build their brands, and help them tell their stories through social media. On top of that, I was also selling jewelry and helping my mother-in-law create and maintain the shop of her dreams. I would find myself up at all hours of the night updating her inventory, reworking her displays, and creating her social media content. Read more>>

Janelle Gray

In 2020, I moved into my first 1 bedroom apartment. I had never had the freedom, or money frankly, to decorate a space that was truly all my own. This also happened to be my first apartment in New York after moving from San Francisco. I moved into a pre-war building, and while the unit was refinished nicely, the landlord had no intention of helping me track down a floor plan. Read more>>

Kellie Block

A few years ago, friend of mine suggested that I showcase my home on social media. As an Interior Designer, I create new spaces and vignettes in my home every day, so why not let the world see my design ideas through my eyes on social media. One post at a time, I started gaining likes, comments, and followers. Then my photos were noticed by major brands… Read more>>

Terra McNutt

Once I decided to start my own business, the first task, and probably one of the harder ones, was deciding what to name the business. There were a lot of things to consider! I wanted to keep it simple so it would be easy to remember yet not too specific so it didn’t limit my business to just one aspect of the industry. For example, I knew I didn’t want to include just the word “interiors” as it would imply that is the only type of design I do. Read more>>

Syreeta Dawkins

It’s funny because it was never my idea or desire to own a business or to start one. I actually was content with working for a business, in which was successful, easy and offered as much flexibility as I wanted. Teachable Moments was birthed as an opportunity to give a Resident Clinician an opportunity to forge her learning in an environment that she was passionate about. Teaching occurs all the time, which is congruent to learning. Read more>>

Hasani Vibez – Comer

I Art has been my first love since I was a child, drawing on desks, counters, and even my schoolwork. Over the years, I have developed my own technique called Penting. This technique was developed after learning the “empty the pen” method in college with my mentor and professor at Andrew College, Chris Johnson. It was later embraced when I enrolled at Morehouse College with my Art Teacher/Mentor, Hope Hilton. Read more>>

Stacey Franke

Before 2020 hit, I had a vision of owning my own photography business. With being a stay at home mama, I knew there had to be more to what I was supposed to be doing. Of course thoughts came to my mind like “There’s so many photographers, how will I be different from them?” Well, in August of 2020 I decided to step out in faith and purchase a camera. I told my husband what my vision was and he told me he was there to support me 100%. I’ve been very blessed, over the last 3 years it’s been all word of mouth referrals and my business has grown tremendously. Read more>>

Dimestate Don

Like most creatives ideas are generated by the millisecond. I had seen women and men with strong voices lead our choirs in the church. Fellowshipping and spreading their energy, love, and message, showed me exactly what I was meant to do. I began first freestyle rapping and singing to public beats or simple beats I’d made. That evolved to me finding friends who wanted to help craft a new sound and feeling. My brother & local dj Jared Hall (Dmndstr), a producer from NYC, WowJust7n, and my cousin, Alvin Malone helped me craft a lot of the production for my music. Read more>>

Tameka Irby

I actually started my business after I graduated college in 2015. When I finished High School I would always try to wonder what I wanna to do after school. It’s took a long and hard year after graduating high school to find my passion. One day while my mom was making Dinner she asked me and my twin sister to help out with cooking. Read more>>

Ladine Cage

All my life I always had mini businesses, if that is what you could call it. Starting from a very young age of a wanting a lemonade stand to painting on jeans for classmates. I would come up with a name, write down my prices and start taking orders. It just came so natural to me to be in charge of my ideas, new visions and see it come to life. Read more>>

Alejandra Vega-Rivera

I’ve always wanted to write a book, but I struggled with impostor syndrome: Are my texts good enough? Am I good enough? Where do I start? All of those insecurities sent me back to procrastinating my ideas and not executing them. Through reading self-help books and actually applying their advice, I started to focus on progress instead of perfection and managed to put together my first book, submit my pitch to a book fair, get contacted by a publishing company and now you may find “Shoelace Hug,” a children’s book about teen eating disorders, on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and other platforms! Read more>>

Ingrid Campbell

I’ve always been involved in the beauty industry for over 20 + years. While working my full-time professional career, I enrolled in the Connecticut School of Design in the evenings and received my cosmetology degree. As a child growing up, my mother always taught my sisters and I to always have a backup plan. Cosmetology was my back up plan. I thought about managing my own salon but instead I leaned towards the makeup artistry side of the spectrum. Read more>>

Roslynn McKenzie

I got started as a life coach because I naturally enjoyed helping people walk through their journey. In the beginning, people would come to me sharing their story or what they were currently facing in their lives. I did not know why people felt so comfortable opening up to me and at times, pouring out their hearts. Read more>>

Sydney + Shea Hinckley

Once we committed to taking our idea to the next level, we reached out to family and friends to learn what it would take to start a business. We learned that a business is a bunch of individual working parts that come together to become a well-oiled machine, and that’s how we had to think of it in order to get here. Our first step was designing a brand. Once we had our brand, we then created our website and added our products to it. Read more>>

Andrea Ward

A few years ago I got into the art of acting and writing that I grew a define passion for the art I started writing my very own screenplays. I began to to direct and produce my own film projects from short films to feature films to becoming award winning projects in different countries. First organize your ideas into screenplays or concepts through screenplay software, then copyright the intellectual property. Read more>>

CATHY HOGAN-SMITH

Years ago, as a real estate agent, I would attend closings, and noticed that other agents were bringing small gifts to thank their clients….I thought that was a very nice gesture, and considered that I should try doing something similar, (except much nicer!) I’ve always been a creative/artistic person, so I figured that I could create my own designs. I approached the builders that I was representing about the idea, and they told me to run with it! Read more>>

Anjanette Miller

I became the Executive Director of Audacity Labs, a youth entrepreneurship club in Durham, NC, in early 2021. That summer, we hosted summer enrichment camps, and on Tuesdays we lunched at a coworking space in downtown: Provident 1898, which was housed in the historic NC Mutual Life building. In the lobby there stands an artistic journalism sculpture featuring the story of the impact of the NC Mutual Life Insurance company and Black Wall Street in Durham. Read more>>

Captain Monju

I’m often asked the question, ‘how did you launch this brand’. Hopefully, my answer will inspire others to look inward, & then move forward with the confidence & courage of their convictions. Monju Spirits launched in the Spring of 2021, but the dream began in the Summer of 2016. I had spent my 15 year career in advertising sales, working for some of the biggest print media properties on the planet. Suffice it to say, I wasn’t born to live behind a desk working for someone else. So the story of ‘America’s 1st Pre-Prohibition Spanish Spirits Brand’ begins… Read more>>