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.

Marissa Navarro

I started my business at the beginning of this year and it feels like the right time. At some point, I realized I had prepared myself for this moment my entire life. My designs and project management experience combined with processes I learned, allowed me to start my own business with confidence. I was ready to take control of my career and go out on my own. Read more>>

Dana Tufo

People probably think I wish I had started my business later given COVID-19 hit right after we signed our lease to get started, but I actually wish I had started my business sooner. I’ve met SO many amazing people not only in this great community but from all over Houston. Read more>>

Francess Kpaka

I started my business because I’ve always wanted to be a business owner especially being a black women it’s important to have diversity in the business world so that you can also be someone that people can relate to and they might be encouraged to start their own business. Read more>>

Jude Kamal

I don’t know what I would really do if I went back in time, I would have probably loved to start my business sooner, but I do believe that it happened at the perfect time and at the most unexpected time. Read more>>

Anjuli Garcia

I would’ve started my business within my early 20s. I went into event planning after college but I was burnt out and lost interest. I worked out so much that I missed out on family and friends. Read more>>

Beckie Rosenberg

I started my business about ten years ago, after working for many small businesses over my career and I was feeling unfulfilled and restless. I was being laid off from the company I was working for, and at that moment I had a friend that owned her own business approach me with a proposition to take over her company bookkeeping and provide some operations support, but very part-time. Read more>>

Alexa Natale

I first started brainstorming for my business Orion Sky in 2020 when I finally started to pursue my dream of being an artist/jewelry designer. Looking back on it now it’s interesting how all of the pieces fell into place exactly as they did. The changes that have occurred since then have been monumental to the growth of my business. Read more>>

Pachión R

Honestly, I wish I would’ve started my business early just because I would have a bit more knowledge about the fashion industry. I’m still learning as I go though, you learn something new every day. I started my business on May 10, 2021- The day I first became pregnant without even knowing. Read more>>

Catharine Montgomery

Better Together is my passion project, founded with the purpose of making a positive impact in the world. I believe that each of us has a role to play, no matter how small, in creating a better world for everyone. Through Better Together, I aim to help organizations move beyond lip service and take concrete steps toward social responsibility. Read more>>

CK Steele

I was a working actor by the time I was 19. Working professionally in theatres and on indie films around the Midwest. Sometimes, I wish I would’ve made it out to LA earlier. But I had some growing up to do first. I think I used my time in smaller markets to the best of my ability, so no regrets. Read more>>

Jessica Sonnenthal

I started painting when I was very young; around 11 years old. While I started my creative journey at a young age, I didn’t believe in my capabilites as an artist until much later in life. It was a constant battle. I would paint and then I would stop, sometimes for years at a time. Read more>>

Arion Grzelka

A question everyone asks; what do you want to be when you grow up? Easy, an artist. I knew from a very early age that I wanted to be an artist. But what did this really mean? I’ve always loved creating, doodling, drawing and painting. Read more>>

Maggie Gomez

I first started my bookish content creating and blogging journey in November of 2021. My husband had prompted me to start up a creative hobby for years but I always came up with excuses. In my defense, I had two children in under 2 years while we moved across the country. Read more>>

Laura Valkwitch

That’s a tough question. Of course, I would have loved to have been established as a working artist sooner. The joys I have had in just the last year alone – being part of the growing Buffalo art scene and getting my work noticed – have been life-altering. But my husband, Mark, and I started our family young. Read more>>

2DNK

I don’t regret the time that I chose to start. I say this because it took me a while to really tell myself to take the risk and go for it. I started freestyling back in middle school with one of my closest friends and back then I was being told to try and write songs and go for it but it just didn’t feel right. Read more>>

Matt Zimmerman

I think I’m taking the leap at the right time into a creative career, but it’s taken a lifetime to this point to develop the skills and experience necessary to risk everything on a career in the music industry. Music has always my passion, and I knew from a young age that being a songwriter and performer was my calling. Read more>>

Julian Young

I feel as if I have started at the exact right time! I have had the opportunity to wear many hats, witness many industries and professionals, and make many mistakes along the way. All these experiences and wrong turns have given me a more realistic and palpable vision for my craft. Read more>>

Monica Shulman

I was classically trained as an artist as a child but never really saw it as more than a hobby. When people asked me “what do you want to be when you grow up?” I truthfully don’t remember what I said but I do remember that I never felt happier than when I was in the art studio painting. Read more>>

Andy Hamilton

I think I started at the perfect time. I started at 27 years old. Looking back, I think if I would have started any earlier, I wouldn’t have had anything interesting to talk about! Comedy is about connecting with the audience and being relatable, so when you have some life experiences, it makes it a little easier. Read more>>