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.

Mariah Danielsen

My junior year of high school, I joined yearbook class because I thought it would be a fun and easy way to hang out with my friends and skip class to take photos, but it quickly turned into a love of designing layouts, choosing color palettes and playing with photos. From then on, I knew I wanted to go into graphic design. Read more>>

Christopher Tellison

I came up with 1Nation on the back porch with my pops and we were thing about the next generation and mine as well but we were thinking about how people are coming together and turnt to accept other cultures. The next generation will be so connected to each other through technology and social media because now they can have friends in other countries in places they have never been but only seen. Read more>>

Tyree York

As a former collegiate basketball player at Roosevelt University in Chicago IL, I always knew basketball was my true love and passion. Once I graduated from school in 2015, I had the potential to play at a professional level overseas but by that time I had became a bit burnout with basketball. At that point in time, I didn’t understand who I was without that orange round ball in my hands. Basketball was my world since I 8 or 9 years old. Graduating college gave me the needed separation from basketball that allowed me to discover myself outside of court. Read more>>

Tyler Carroll

Dead Reckoning is a land navigation term that describes finding yourself on a map based on a previously known location. In short, it means to know where you are from where you’ve been. That’s a physical process, though; we go through mental and emotional processes as well. I knew our stories, the narrative we tell ourselves, was the product in which we find ourselves in those capacities. Read more>>

Graham Hill

I worked at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, CO, as a GIS and policy analyst, where I became interested and fascinated with satellite data. From there, I started following the rise of drone light show technology as a means to capture my own data, rather than purchasing a license from satellite providers. Read more>>

Austin Adamson

The idea for Ballmer Peak Distillery came after a full day of drinking at various breweries around the Golden, Colorado area. Our last stop of the night was at Golden Moon Speakeasy– a distillery tasting room and that is where my business partner, Eric, and I had our eureka moment. We loved the craft beer scene in Colorado, but even in 2014 we recognized that the beer market was becoming over saturated. Read more>>

Shane Huffman

When my wife and I got married we had problems with our DJ at our wedding and we started talking and thinking how hard it is really to show up to a party bring the music, keep the evening going smooth, have a good time and get paid for it. The more we talked about it we said this cannot be that difficult, it could be fun, something that we can do together and ease the stress from the bride and groom or person responsible for the party. Read more>>

Myriam Moreno

since I was very young, I knew I wanted to have a business of my own but I never really had an Idea of what to do. I come from a medical background. I was a medical assistant and phlebotomist for several years before opening my esthetics shop. The idea came to me after my son was diagnosed with autism. He was diagnosed a couple of days before his third birthday. Read more>>

Tiffany Burks

There is 2 sides to my business Taj Enterprises, the travel agency specializing in group travel & destination event planning and also the newly added women’s conference. I was raised in the travel industry, my dad has always worked in the airline industry my entire life & my mom in the rental car industry, so I grew up well traveled. Read more>>

Mike DiCioccio

The idea for becoming a Full-Service Podcast agency came after I had launched the business as a Media & Marketing company. I was introduced to the Executive Director of a company that had rapport with one of my business partners at the time. We were working on building a separate business together and he had a podcast to support the brand. Read more>>

Anna Gouker

It all started in 2019 with a series of conversations I had with one of my dearest and oldest friends, Rachel. I was talking with her about the never-ending struggle to find and maintain good caregivers. I have a genetic condition that causes general muscle weakness throughout the body, which means I’ve relied on technology – like my super sophisticated motorized wheelchair – and caregivers my entire life.  Read more>>

Jennifer Arias

I was dealing with depression and anxiety, then both my dad and my boyfriend decided to come together to gift me a dog. My dog made such a huge difference in my life. I don’t know how I could have gotten through without him. Then I realized, other people must feel this same way about their own pets. I also started working at a Latino media company as a content creator. Read more>>

Legend Chea – Castillo

I wanted to build a business that would always support everyone’s needs, a one stop shop that allows the consumer to not have to go anywhere else. Throughout the creation of this entity, I also wanted to create a legacy that I’ll leave for my children and my family to inherit. Read more>>

Jamila Martin

I came up with the idea of owning an online boutique, specializing in plus size womenswear, because of the limited amount of boutiques that cater to the genre. I, myself, am a plus size woman of color. Going to the regular department stores, sometimes would be a hit and miss for trendy clothing. Read more>>

Corey & Amber McCool

My wife Amber and I have always been very interested in self-reliance and sustainable living. In the past few years alone, we’ve raised goats, chickens, ducks, pigs, and Tilapia, along with our ever-growing garden. With all of those animals, a fair amount of animal bedding and waste started to pile up. That is how we initially got into composting. Read more>>

Ray

It was a Friday night in the living room with the family and we were discussing something that was happening in the news, and that was when the idea came to light, YLSNE. There is a ton of information out there that people have absolutely no clue about, and it could help them in almost every aspect of their lives. That is where we come in. We are here to spread information that may seem boring at first, but when you really dig into the information, you can see how valuable it really is. Read more>>

Daniella Addison

Growing up in London, ON in the 90’s I was surrounded by young girls who did not look like me or have hair similar to mine. I was the only black girl! All I saw on TV were commercials of women with hair that blew effortlessly in the wind (or off-screen air blowers ha!). Entering my teen years I was introduced to hair relaxers that turned my afro hair straight. Read more>>

Cynthia Vele

In 2018 I decided it was time to leave my retail life and start a new adventure. I created a simple logo and had the idea for a small crafting business since I have created door wreaths, custom Christmas trees, cards or small projects for friends and family for many years. A close friend asked me to decorate for her daughter’s communion event. I knew how to create placards, centerpieces, etc. Read more>>

Crystal Webster

Honestly, the concept of Sharing Solace hit like a bolt of lightning. It hit so hard and so fast that the only way to explain it would be my daughter, Madelyn Elizabeth, was looking down on me saying ‘It’s about time Mom! I’ve been dead 5 years – quit feeling sorry for yourself and start healing already…and help others do the same too!’ It was then and there that I knew what my purpose in life was – and how to honor my daughter’s memory. Read more>>

Keila Sanchez

In 2014, our family went through a time of uncertainty. Our daughter Saila was diagnosed with 4 heart defects, the day after her birth. Within her first 2 years of life, she underwent 5 open heart surgeries, at the Heart Center at the University of Michigan. At that time, I was a high school Spanish and Art teacher. Read more>>

Sarah Clemens

Noble Rind started when I had a ton of ideas but I didn’t know what to do with them. My dream job didn’t exist. At least it didn’t exist where I lived in rural Wisconsin. Somewhere during the pandemic it struck me that life is short and I better quit messing around and get to it. I knew I wanted to dig deeper into my passion for cheese. I knew that I wanted our business to serve and build community. And I knew we wanted to dedicate our business to celebrating farmers who take great care in their animal husbandry and commitment to the earth. Read more>>

Elizabeth Caro

Elizabeth Caro was founded on the idea that jewelry is your luxury brand signature which represents the unique style of the owner and who proudly stands behind it. With elegance, shape, and grace. Read more>>

Sophonie Blanc

I always had the gift for marketing. Before I started my business in marketing I would always help small businesses promote, create content and assisted with what I eventually learned was SEO. I always have gotten great results and decided why not start this as a business. I donated a lot of my passion to help grow creatives and also applied it to my own music. Read more>>

Bisa Lewis

I developed WINGS Curriculum after nearly 10 years of training early educators on a variety of topics related to designing quality early learning environments, daily activity schedules, assessments, evaluations, and lesson plans for infants, toddlers and preschoolers. Read more>>

Stephanie Fritts

After being laid off from my remote position as an executive assistant, I did a quick internet search for “freelance executive assistant” and a local business called Admin Boutique was at the top of the results. I applied for a position and the founder reached out to me and said I was overqualified (they hired college students to run errands for local executives), that she was looking to sell the company, and asked if I knew anyone who might be interested. Read more>>

Ashlyn Greer

The idea for Fashivly wasn’t a singular “aha” moment- it was a combination of creating space, pulling from past experience, and a spark from a friend. I’d known for a while that I wanted to pursue starting my own business, but I didn’t know what exactly it was that I wanted to do. I’d always worked in fast paced, high intensity jobs and always gave 110% to whatever my role was. Read more>>

Kristine Baker

Back around 2010 the Craft Beer scene was really starting to take off, and I caught the bug and wanted to explore all the breweries I could. There was definitely an uncomfortableness being the only female customer at times. Brewery owners would even ask me how they could bring in more women into their establishments. Read more>>

Elizabeth Kurpanek

I think for as long as I can remember, I knew that I’d want to work in a creative capacity. I was always drawing, writing, taking pictures on disposable cameras, making costumes, and so on and so forth. When I got my first “real” camera at 16, I was sold! Within a year, I was charging for senior photos, I got to shoot my first weddings, and I came to the realization that I never wanted to go to college and I just wanted to keep pursuing creativity. Read more>>

Jonathan Kim

In the bustling town of Collin County, Texas, a chance encounter at a local dessert shop led to a journey of entrepreneurship and community impact. It all started when my fiance and I decided to visit our favorite dessert shop, known for its authentic Mexican treats. As we walked in, the owner recognized us and began chatting with us in Spanglish. Read more>>

Paige Muller

Boxed Bites was an incredible accident that was born during the pandemic. I was living in New York City and in March of 2020 the city shut down completely. My now fiancé, Kashawn, and I moved back home to Dallas where I grew up. The summer of 2020 was filled with uncertainty, confusion and loneliness for a lot of people. Read more>>

Maddy Petit

I stepped into the cosmetology world fresh out of high school old not really set on doing hair but to follow in my moms footsteps as an aesthetician until I could figure out what I wanted to do. well that plan changed quickly when I discovered my love for this creative expression. I quickly found my dream salon to engulf myself in and started assisting and working front desk so I could truly learn all the ins and outs of the industry. Read more>>

Marquita Harris Hall

When I was just a little girl, it was like an intuition that I knew what I wanted & would be when I got older. So much so, that I can still remember as far back as my Kindergarten graduation when I proudly made my big announcement. That’s right, I sat listening to the kiddos that went before me. Some inspired to be teachers, doctors, firefighters, etc. Read more>>

Jessica Wheeler

The idea for my business came during the time of the pandemic. Being that my daughter was the only child I had to come up with a clever ways to keep her entertained during the isolation that it would be fine to buy a projector. I have a movie night in the house , using the projector, It turned out to be a big hit with my daughter. Read more>>

Maggie Marsh

I got engaged in December of 2021 and I immediately dove straight into wedding planning. I went into the planning process a little nervous and apprehensive because up to that point, all I had heard from friends & social media was how overwhelming & stressful wedding planning could be. We even see this in movies where the engaged girls have breakdowns from the stress of wedding planning (LOL). Read more>>

Joy Somerville

I’ve had many “great ideas”, mostly hobbies that didn’t amount to much. One day I was listening to Gary Vaynerchuk’s podcast. He said something about selling leaves. I’m an avid gardener so it stuck in my mind. A few months later while on my way to Santa Barbara with my daughter Megan, I mentioned it to her. She quickly started googling the things I grew in my garden. She encouraged me to try selling them on Etsy. Read more>>

Chelsea Hansen

We are Sasse Lake Farms, a.k.a SLF Angus Beef. We are two (cousin) farm families in southern Minnesota raising black angus beef for direct to consumer sales. What does that mean? It means our beef is raised on our family farm, processed locally and then sold directly to families in our community and/or shipped across the nation to your doorstep. Read more>>

Jaliyah Nobles

I have always wanted to start my own business. The idea to launch my own cosmetics business repeatedly appeared to me in a dream. I visualized helping thousands of women feel comfortable and beautiful in their skin, while keeping their lips healthy at the same time. I knew Juiced by Jaliyah would be a worthwhile endeavor because I could feel it in my spirit; I was called to help other women. Read more>>

Nicole Spooner

Orlando has always been known as a destination filled with amusement parks and national chain restaurants up until about 10 years ago when local restauranteurs were opening up all over Central Florida and James Beard nominations were awarded. I have always been passionate about food and family and understood the importance of supporting locally owned businesses. Read more>>

Erika Morse

From an early age I was creating stories. I have written poetry, novels, and children’s books. I have always been a very vivid dreamer. One night I had such a vivid dream that I had to write about it. Thus, my novel, The Road to Fall, was created. It took me two weeks to write the story. I wrote for a year to develop the characters and story line. Read more>>

Joanna & Matt Pace

I am an elementary school teacher, and I am always looking for quality songs and videos to include as part of my teaching. It was 2017, and I had been teaching for about 4-5 years. I was teaching 2nd grade at the time. I found a lot out there, a LOT, and some of it was great but a lot of it was painful to listen to or incorrect educationally. It was as if you had a choice: pick something quality OR educational OR fun to listen to. Read more>>

Carl Norloff

The idea has it’s roots in the original S&H Green Stamps rewards program. It all began in 1896 when Thomas Sperry of Cranford NJ and Shelley Byron Hutchinson of Ypsilanti MI, founded the Sperry and Hutchison Co. They made money by selling the S&H Green Stamps to retailers who would then give them to their customers. Read more>>

Pamela Peterson

My business is started from a Word God released to me to make something with my hands and name it Honey. My first name Pamela means ‘honey and all sweetness’. I prayed about direction and was led to conduct research on candle making. I joined various Facebook groups to learn and see if this was a profitable and attainable business. Read more>>