Almost every entrepreneur has had to decide whether to take the leap now or wait– perhaps they wanted to acquire more capital, experience or connections. Given how common this predicament is, we asked some successful business owners to reflect back on whether they wish they had started sooner or waited for a better time. Shelby Smith …

Deviating from industry norms is one of the most common characteristics we’ve seen among highly successful brands and professionals and so we’ve asked some brilliant folks to give us real life examples of how they do things differently from the industry standard. Joelle Scholl Oh I love this question. In my opinion, the bridal industry has…

  When businesses are covered in the media, often there is a lot of focus on the initial idea, the genesis moment. Then they almost brush over the middle part – the scaling up part – and arrive at how big and awesome the business is today. It makes for a fun read or in the…

Overwhelmingly, media coverage of team building, hiring, training, etc. is often geared towards the issues faced by HR at Fortune 500 sized companies. Even when it’s positioned as advice for small business owners it is often coming from an executive or consultant working primarily with giant corporations. We think it’s far more relevant to hear…

Have you ever had a friend look at a business and randomly throw out numbers that made it seem like that business owner must be making serious bank? We’ve experienced that many times, and know from conversations with operators and owners in those industries that their real profitability is often far, far less. The reason…

One of the most important things an aspiring entrepreneur can do is validate their idea by finding a client. For first time entrepreneurs, this can often feel intimidating and so we’re hoping that by sharing stories of how others before them have found their first client we can make it feel less daunting. Below, you’ll…

We asked some brilliant entrepreneurs, artists and creatives to reflect on lessons they’ve learned at prior jobs. We’ve shared highlights below. Alexandra Kharazi One of the most important lessons I’ve learned came from a patient who wasn’t expected to survive. He was in cardiogenic shock, meaning his heart had failed and was not pumping blood to…

We asked some very talented folks to talk to us about success and what it takes to be successful. We’ve shared their responses below. Lonnie Mintz Being a successful Realtor in the highly competitive Los Angeles market takes more than just a license and a smile—it takes relentless drive, constant communication, and a true passion for…

We believe that success can mean different things to different people – not everyone wants the same thing, what drives happiness and fulfillment for one person doesn’t necessarily predict what will for another. That said – if we simply think of success as being effective at achieving one’s goal – whatever those goals might be…