Starting a business or creative project is scary for many reasons, but one that is often overlooked is the anxiety related to whether this is really “the one.” To some, this isn’t a valid consideration while to others this is the only consideration. Some argue that what you work on, along with who you work with are the two most pivotal decisions you’ll make and so we’ve asked folks to tell us about how they came up with their ideas and how they knew this idea was the one.

Imani M-Glover

Imani M-Glover is the founder and CEO of The Lemonade Bar. She has always had an entrepreneurial spirit since she was a young girl. In high school, she wanted to afford things like playing basketball, cheerleading, and attending prom, so she came up with a plan to sell homemade popcorn balls. She would sell out every single popcorn ball by second period and deposit her earnings after school. Selling came naturally to Imani. Read more>>

Brianna Nam

Let me preface this by saying I am a proud Libra and a curious being who loves to create. This business was inspired by my love for Greek mythology, my values, my desire to try a new art medium, my passion for building community, and my interest in astrology. Read more>>

Tia Williams Vaughn

I have always loved art. Whether it’s painting on canvas, drawing, or creating a sculpture, there is something magical about how the final result went from idea to masterpiece. Read more>>

Leah & Rob Royall

My husband and I were taking an Uber from the airport to Disney World and were talking about how much we enjoyed traveling and how it would be so fun to plan trips for others, and the driver asked if I had heard of Cruise Planners. I told him that I had no clue what that was but that I was interested in travel beyond just cruising. He told me that his wife left her career teaching to purchase a franchise and become a travel advisor for Cruise Planners and that it wasn’t limited to cruises only. In fact, Cruise Planners is a preferred vendor for most land and sea companies that are reputable. He gave me her business card, and I said I would look into it. Read more>>

Michele Wilcox

In 2019, the pressures of being a elementary teacher, new mom, and wife began to smother me. I found myself disappointed with the life I was participating in, and saw little alternatives. I knew I was no longer living, yet existing and I wanted to live again. I made the decision to take a leave from work and embarked on my therapeutic journey of self-care. With the help of my therapist and strong spiritual foundation, I was able to identify the root of my depression as self-neglect. Then, I made the commitment to keep my hands adorn with fancy artistic nails, that were a physical, visual reminder of who I AM and to “take” care of myself. Read more>>

Kiara Richards

I came up with the idea of being an entrepreneur right after graduating high school. I knew it was more to me then working a regular job in something I had to do but knowing there was so much out there I wanted to be apart of. If I’m being very transparent I wasn’t really into a full face of makeup at the time but I was definitely into lip balms , mascara , lip liners and lipgloss . I always had them with me. I would always get compliments on my lip combinations and that’s when it all came to me that it was time I started my very own. Read more>>

Taylor Oxtoby

Event planning was something that has always been near to my heart, I just never realized it until my own wedding. My husband and I got engaged and married all in less than six months! Nobody was rushing us, we just knew exactly what we wanted and went for it! I planned our wedding from start to finish and literally enjoyed every second (thankfully, I did hire a day of coordinator for my own wedding day which made me able to enjoy that as well). Read more>>

Katelyn Ferschke

I have a background in marketing and had wanted to merge my love of photography with what I do. I’ve always stayed on top of trends from a business standpoint and have always had a love for a beautiful image.. Read more>>

Shana Merlin

I didn’t know it at the time, but I’ve had two instinctual guiding principles from the beginning: 1) listen to what customers are asking for and say yes, I can offer that and 2) grow lean–never pay for anything I can’t cover in income. Almost from my business’s inception, I’ve been listening to my customers and following their guidance (and demand.) I started by renting space hourly in the after hours at a casting studio in South Austin and offering drop in classes to improv students. Then a student asked if I could teach a musical improv class. So I offered a one day class in that. It filled up and those students asked if it could be a series. So I offered a six week version next. This is how I slowly turned from a business that teaches improv classes to an improv school. I also listened to my teachers, and generally when they suggest a class, we put it up on the website. Some flop and some flourish. We’ve followed demand and now offer three levels of stand up, storytelling, and musical improv, and six levels of improv comedy classes. We still rent by the hour, but at five different locations around town. The growth of my corporate training business using improv has followed a similar route. I used to just do team building workshops. And over the years clients have asked for training in presentation skills, thriving through change, storytelling, persuasive communication and more. These are now all core offerings. If one person or company wants it, there’s a good chance someone else does too. Read more>>

Seth Lunsford

Precious was a natural evolution of my personal freelance design practice. I realized that a lot of clients I was working with were looking to their competitors and people around them for where they should take their business rather than focusing on what makes them unique and different. Precious came from the idea that each person is valuable and their unique experiences, perspective and offerings are what will make them stand out in their industry and connect with customers on a deeper level. Read more>>

Kiya Knight

Depressed, overweight and uninspired, I took a job working at a gym. Riddled with anxiety, I wanted to learn how to be fit, happy and needed a vision for my life. Read more>>

Elizabeth Peavey

Basil and Honey Charcuterie started formulating when I was really little. I would often see my grandmother cutting up meats and cheeses for family events and I remember how she took so much time to place those simple ingredients neatly on a platter. The amount of care for something that was going to be devoured in seconds made me think about food in a new way. I was just a kid but those things often stick with you, those moments where you saw an adult selflessly serving your family. Food has always been an act of love, around me. A way to show people you care about them. I’ve done a lot of growing up since then. Including attending the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee for acting. After that I was an organic farmer in Eagle, WI for about 3 years. Those two things combine taught me that I was worthy of sharing my gifts with the world. I’ve been acting for most of my 29 years on this planet but being placed in an environment where I was able to safely be vulnerable around my peers, was powerful. It led me back to my roots and healed me in ways that made it possible to start farming. My family has been farming for decades and getting my feet in the dirt gave me a new understanding of how our our country grows and consumes food. I was able to make meals for my farm family with the ingredients we had harvested that day. Which was such an honest and thoughtful full-circle process. All this to say, I started my charcuterie business because I am a hyper creative person with a lot of outlets but I have always came back to food. Food is my love language and my favorite door into the human experience. Read more>>

Symone Lenard

Whenever I’m asked about the beginning of Journee Beeauty, I’m overwhelmed with gratitude. It was 2:30am, June 26,2021 and I was in my bathroom scrolling through my Instagram. I remembered thinking about how overwhelming the beauty community can be for us Black beauty influencers and wanted to create a lane specifically for us. I was absolutely nervous because I wasn’t sure if I’d be received by other influencers since the beauty world is extremely over saturated, but I kept thinking about the endless possibilities of creating a lane for all women to feel comfortable and beautiful while wearing makeup. The problem is many makeup brands aren’t catering to the needs of Black women and I wanted to dedicate my brand specifically to Black beauty influencers, such as myself, to feel like they have a place. Read more>>

Tiffany Keene

The idea for my business came to me in 2020 when I started my journey as a food blogger and social media influencer. As a parent, I always strived to make my son’s school lunches not only nutritious but also fun and exciting. I would put in extra effort to create yummy and creative meals for him, and to my surprise, my posts showcasing these lunches went viral on social media. Read more>>

Renae BOORSMA

My dad and mom had 8 (yes 8) children, and we were very poor growing up. When I started dating, they always told me to start saving my money because weddings were very expensive and they wouldn’t be able to afford a lot so I would have to pay for most of the wedding. I set a very strict budget for everything and $300 was all I had to spend on a wedding dress. I started my dress shopping journey and it was awful!! I got laughed at for my budget by sale consultants. I was put in gowns way over my budget, which caused me so much heartbreak. At other shops, sales consultants wouldnt give me the time of day and just sent me to the back of the store to a sales rack which had out dated, stained, and damaged gowns. I ended up buying a clearance gown that was way to big, and the alterations and customizations I made to it ended up costing me more than the dress itself. Read more>>

Reynna Romo

Desert Rey’s Apothecary started with applying herbalism to a creative outlet. I made an infused oil with Sagebrush one day and made beeswax candles out of it on a whim. I shared the candles and the importance of burning non-toxic candles on social media and people started asking for them and showing interest in what I had to teach. I was immediately excited and eager to share other self taught and ancestral herbal practices with my community. Herbalism has been a seven year practice. It was time to share with others what I treat myself and my family with. We can only keep what we have by giving it away. Building has been a fun and challenging process. It probably took a few months to build a website because I would get frustrated trying to navigate and put it down to refocus. But I didn’t give up because people kept asking and I’m happy with the outcome. Reaching out to local markets for vending opportunities was intimidating at first, but it’s really nice to meet other people doing their own thing and showcasing it. The only way to get booked was to put myself out there! Read more>>

Ebony Scott

I came up with the idea to start blogging once I noticed that their wasn’t any major blogs posting about certain topics and celebrity news so one day I decided that it was time to make a blog site in report news on my own Read more>>

Ben Rowe

The story behind my creative services business idea is intertwined with my high school journey. Through my artistic endeavors, I overcame the challenge of being an unfamiliar face in my new district. I gained recognition among my classmates and discovered the potential to turn my pursuits into a thriving career. But let’s start at the beginning. Read more>>

Laura Hetland

Honey Huntress was born on the island of Maui while I was working as a private tour guide and beekeeper in 2015. Working with honeybees changed my life and I am committed to working for them as long as I live. I used the Japanese Venn diagram called Ikigai to map out my life’s purpose, which helped me create the Honey Huntress. I was also inspired by one of the world’s oldest cave paintings depicting some of the first honey hunters in Spain. In addition, I discovered an amazing woman named Eva Crane who traveled the world from the 1970s-90s working with beekeepers everywhere and writing some of the most important books ever written about bees and honey. Read more>>

Latondria Jones

How I came up with the idea for my business. Well, I actually wanted to start a Soul Food Restaurant with my mother and my aunt because I loved their food and felt like we could do well with a restaurant. Starting a business with my mom and her sister would have been awesome! I thought we could get the who family involved to a have great legacy to leave behind. I called the restaurant Aj’s Takeouts, I named if after my grandmother who raised me. That is how it started but, that is not what it is today. Those plans didn’t happen due to due to unforeseen issues. Aj’s Takeouts was put on ice for a while. That was in 2015. Fast forward to 2020, the pandemic hit, and we were all to stay inside. I turned to crafting, this was a great outlet for expression, stress and boredom relief. I began with customizing apparel and printing. I was able to make some sales from that, so I decided to make this a business. I called it Aj’s Handcrafted Creations. That is how I came up with the idea. Read more>>

Alec Jaffe

I’ve always loved ice cream — very much so that I taught myself how to make ice cream for a project in elementary school and brought it in to share with the class. I also grew up around family members who had significant involvement in the agroecology and sustainable agriculture movement. Both of these personal and family interests came to be life-defining and as I grew up, I realized there wasn’t an ice cream on the market that tasted good, was good or you, and was good for the environment, so in 2020 I decided to launch Alec’s Ice Cream to combine my life-long sweet tooth with my passion for sustainability. Alec’s Ice Cream is the first and only premium, regenerative-verified & USDA organic certified ice cream utilizing 100% A2 dairy — the original milk protein that has been known to lead to easier digestion, unlike A1 dairy, which accounts for the majority of dairy on the market. Read more>>

Jennifer Smith

I’ve always been a creative person at heart, and I knew that the career I would go into would be related to the arts. Prior to opening my Floral business, I worked as a zookeeper, which I absolutely loved, but there was still a part of me that knew that there was more to my story that needed to be fulfilled. While working at the zoo, I was also going to college, studying theater arts and design with a emphasis in costume design. I loved every second of it because getting my creative side out fulfills me. But still, there was a missing link, I couldn’t identify how my gifts could bring something greater to the world. My purpose didn’t feel like it was being fulfilled. Read more>>

Kelly Melton

I have been in the childcare industry for 10’years and I’ve been in business for myself for 5 years. During the pandemic, I was in an imposter syndrome. I felt that I needed to be doing more to feel successful. I went back to school and received my bachelor’s degree and I enrolled in the Masters degree program which I’m currently finishing. I wrote a children’s book because I don’t have biological children and I wanted to leave something behind that could not only remind loved ones of me, but be beneficial to families. I wrote a new book, but I decided to self publish a book that I wrote in high school first, to see the feedback I would get from the community and families. Did you say baby? Is a book that parents can read to their child/children if they are expecting a new kiddo. This book encourages conversations with families. Read more>>

Melissa Wright

I wish I had started my journey under the name I use now. My current business emerged from the perspective of a maturing artist. In my younger days, my focus was on rebellion and the desire to become a rockstar in my field. However, I failed to grasp that true rockstars devote their entire being to becoming the best at what they do. As I entered my thirties, my perspective shifted. I yearned to delve deeper into the essence of my clients and reveal their most vibrant and beautiful selves. It was no longer about me; I took a step back to redefine what I wanted to offer. Read more>>

Ariel Bruckner and Gary Bruckner

Gary and Ariel (husband and wife) dreamt up Wash and Wik while poolside on a mini vacation. Ariel said she wanted to start a hobby. We eventually found an article on soap and candle making. Super intrigued by this, it consumed the rest of the vacation and 72 hours later, Gary created a logo and filed to start a company. Wash and Wik was born. Read more>>

Jocelyn Leaf

After working for a small business I learned the ends and outs of what it is like to run a business and it gave me the idea of creating my own space. I knew that I loved working with seniors, but what is a problem that they have that I can help fix? Well, God gave me the answer during the Covid-19 shutdown. The older adult population were not allowed to leave their communities & those whom lived alone were isolated inside their homes. At the time of the shutdown I was working at a senior living community and I saw the toll that it was taking on the geriatric population by being isolated from friends and family. Some of my residents became depressed, their quality of life decreased, & the became less likely to participate in fitness activities. Read more>>

Lotunja Wright

In 2018 I experienced pregnancy loss…for the second time. It was during that time that I told God, “If I don’t get busy for you, I’m not going to be good for anything.” Read more>>

Kate Donovan

I started my coaching business because I spent a lot of years feeling LOST in life, and I didn’t know what to do about it! I love being a wife and momma, but it felt like something was MISSING. I struggled when I realized that being a full-time stay-at-home mom wasn’t for me, and wanted to find another layer of purpose in my life, and something new to work towards. Read more>>

Carol Marte

In July 2019, I was let go due to a merger at my company. I worked there for 20+ years and this put me in a tailspin. What do I do now, I thought. While waiting for the dreaded day, I decided to take some of my savings and invest in a Cricut machine. I taught myself all the things I needed to start crafting. I created my website and started to create a presence on social media. In March 2020, I found Chalk Couture and then Covid hit. I knew that it was time to pivot. I taught myself how to create custom masks and sell them. Covid was also a time where people were looking for something to do.at home. I thought I could combine Chalk Couture with my handmade crafts to create DIY kits for people to do at home. The combination of DIY home Decor and my handmade crafts turned out to be a great idea. Read more>>

Alima KOITE

As part of an associative project, my friends and I have decided to support the socio-cultural development of our home country, Mali, a West African country rich in history and traditions. Witnessing the challenging situation of Malian artisans, particularly traditional bogolan dyers, we took action to showcase their talent to the world. Read more>>

Cody Richenberg

I was introduced to the EDM scene in 2012, my passion for it started as a DJ and around 2014 I started producing my own music, I make Dubstep and Hip-hop[for fun] EDM has been more then just a genre of music for me it has changed and saved my life in a way I could not explain over a text interview, around 2018 I started to dive deeper into the scene starting my own record label at the time the label was called Wargodz Records, The label was a success to me in what I was trying to do with no budget, A little back story about me is a suffer from some health issues that have caused me not to be able to maintain a normal job and finding a good work from home job has been hard, so money has always been a struggle for me, around 9 months ago a few artist friends reached out to me in order to guide them with their brands, I started a brand called AllThings140 this brand is a multi purpose brand, It started as a Podcast/interview brand where I interview people over a call and we both record our videos and I put together the footage to make a podcast. Now AllThings140 is that, a record label, a talent agency, and I am currently writing a comic book that is themed around the music my company focuses on. I currently manage 16 artists under allthings140 and work with a few artists in the company Tchaikovsky – Bad Wolf ENT. I now spend my days and nights building all of these things up while also focusing on my main artist brand Ebmarah [myself] I am still very new in my journey with all mentioned above but I am hungry to grow this into something long lasting. Read more>>

Dr, Lavinia B. Masters

I came up with the business idea of More Than an Act; Lavinia Speaks from the processes of being requested to come and share my story of overcoming sexual violence which led to HB 8: The Lavinia Masters Act of 2019. The backstory of having a law named after me was that at the age of 13 years old, I was violently sexually assaulted by a stranger that broke into our home, I had no idea who this person was but after we notified the police and completed the rape-kit exam at the hospital we were under the impression that the justice system was doing their due diligence to find the assailant. The twist of my story was that as I grew older and became married I started my healing processes after sexual trauma and even though I had no answers about my cold case I had begun to speak and share my story as a way to empower others to speak out. Finally, in 2006, my husband had taken out a personal loan to finance my first self-published book entitled, Breathe Again, which offered other survivors the written words of my journey of healing. This book was solely created to get my voice out globally to empower all survivors but my only personal desire was to close the book out with me finding out who my assailant was. Read more>>

Brittany Wohlfeil

I started decorating cakes when I made my oldest daughter’s first birthday cake. It was a disaster. The frosting melted off the side. I cried twice. But it tasted great and I mostly had a lot of fun doing it. Friends started asking me for cakes. Then friends of friends. Then COVID hit and I found myself at home with extra time to bake and practice decorating. I was teaching at Marquette in the school of nursing at the time and our classes moved online so I was home more. It all kind of snowballed from there. My sister is also a baker and was running a home based macaron business. We decided to look for a small space we could use to make the jump to a licensed bakery. We outgrew that very quickly and are now in the process of expanding. Both my sister and I have experience teaching baking classes, so we decided we wanted to create a space that can host classes. Our new shop will have the retail bakery as well as a teaching kitchen for 18 students. I think anything that brings people together for a shared experience in our “post COVID” world is going to be popular. People want that connection and I think they understand how important those connections are in a way that maybe we had forgotten. We want to create that space for both instructors and students to come together in a way that is fun and innovative. Read more>>

Shantel Patt

I decided to write a book because I had a story to tell. A story about all the secrets they don’t tell you when you choose a career path as a teacher. A story about the stuff I wish I would have learned and was taught when I attended undergraduate school for 4 years. I wrote this book for anyone who has ever wanted to know what being a teacher is really about, in my book I share the truth! “Class is in session – The Expectant Teacher Survival Handbook” Provides an in – depth look into my journey as a teacher. It’s funny, it’s witty, and it’s all True with a little twist. Read more>>

Carina Goransson

I was working as a nurse in Sweden . I worked with healthcare and helped people with stress and their health. One morning at the doctors office I felt like a hammer hit my head . I was so tired so I walked into my doctors office and asked to go home . This wasn’t me , the waiting room was full of clients and I should never leave my doctor to take care of everything by himself . I thought just a couple of days then I am fine again but I never came back again . Read more>>

 Jezarely Miguel

The idea of Matiz was not so much an epiphany as it was a realization, a calling that seemed to grow louder and more insistent in such short time. Although I was born and raised in Portland, Oregon, my roots are grounded in Oaxaca, a place deeply rich in culture, enamored by the magic of its crafts, colors, textures, and the unrivaled beauty of its handmade textiles. Read more>>

Audrey Lau

I started off drawing on Procreate during the pandemic as a way to mentally distract myself from getting sucked into the depths of social media – especially during this time when there was no physical escape. I remember chatting with my friend about this new hobby when he suddenly asked me to draw his dog who had passed. I remember telling him it wasn’t going to be any good because the last time I drew any animal was when I was probably in elementary school. And at the time, I didn’t know what my style was or how to properly use this digital medium. Regardless, I gave it my best shot and when I sent him the final drawing, he loved it so much that he ended up using it as his phone wallpaper. Because of that response, I felt a *smidge* of pride and decided to post it on my IG art account that had about 10 followers at the time (and is now @thejuseclub). Suddenly I had friends asking me to draw their pets! I was so thrilled – not only had I finally found something that I genuinely enjoyed doing, but I was able to bring happiness to so many people through my art and that meant a lot to me. Read more>>