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.

Shauna Wardlaw

I’m not sure there is a right time or wrong time to do something. For sure you may not get the outcome that you were looking for, but there was a lesson there that needed to be learned that is helping you towards that “right” thing. I think the right time is generally now. Stepping out from fear; fear of failure, of the unknown, of vunerability. Fletcher’s Florals started as a 5 year plan conversation with my husband. Read more>>

Lauren Golden

I wish I would have started my business earlier; of course, life doesn’t work that way! I often look at my childless female peers with envy about how fast they’re able to move, how hard they’re able to push, and the time and energy they are able to put into their marketing and offer creation. Then, I snap back to reality and remind myself that motherhood is what turned me into an entrepreneur in the first place! Read more>>

Lionel Deluy

I always dream since I can remember to be a photographer. I was born in a small town in the south of France without any access to a photographer or someone who could help me to try to start my career.. at the times the 80 we didn’t have any iPhone or Internet my only way to be connected to my dream was to buy a magazine every month. French Photo magazine was all my inspiration. Read more>>

Alli Powell

I definitely wish it was something I would have started sooner. I worked in sales and marketing in the IT industry for 10 years. It compensated me well but was never easy. I spent long hours away from my kids working for bosses I didn’t like. The stress continually affected me psychically and I was always getting sick with viruses like bronchitis and walking pneumonia. Read more>>

Janine Dennis

My mantra for life is everything happens in its own divine time. Nonetheless, I can see how starting my business even just a bit sooner could have been beneficial. When I started my business, I was three years into working for Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) and a mother to a Kindergartener and one-year-old. When I took the job at BNL, I had hoped it was a place where I could continue to hone my skills and be comfortable for a while. Read more>>

Brandon L.

If I could go back in time to when I started my business, I wouldn’t change when I set it up. Creating a business of my own had always been a dream, but it wasn’t until I was laid off from my mortgage job in early 2022 that I decided to take real steps to make that dream a reality. Read more>>

Drew Freels

I definitely wish I would’ve started designing and putting my work out sooner. I think that idea of putting something that you create out into the world for others to judge and have their opinions on can be so intimidating for a lot of people. It definitely way for me. I think it takes a lot of courage to break past that barrier and just kind of do it. I was in a long period of really wanting to start an Instagram page to put my work out there and try to develop clientele, experience growth, etc. but it came with doubt in myself so I put it off for a while. Read more>>

Mollie Anderson

Hi! I am Mollie Jay a singer, songwriter and rapper living in Los Angeles. Being in the music industry has certainly been a wild ride. I started writing songs since I could talk, and I started performing on stage around 14 years old. I recorded my first songs in high school. I went to college and majored in popular music/ vocal emphasis. Read more>>

Zach Pike

If I could go back in time I would not start my business any sooner or later than I did. Read more>>

Travis Reigh

I do wish I would have started my music business sooner. I absolutely LOVE what I do but I needed to put my time in, own my voice, and learn the ropes with performing and the business side. I started playing music at very young age of 13 and started singing on stage at the age of twenty. Back then it was cover music and learning how to perform to the best of my abilities. Read more>>

Yoselyne Zepeda

If I could go back in time, I do initially wish I would’ve started my business sooner. I held off due to fear because it was unknown. I also held off due to other personal reasons. It was always a goal, but life pushed me in that moment to just do it. Read more>>

Andreya Bishop

Sometimes, I’d like to think that I had wish I started sooner knowing what ai know now. But there is also a big part of me that always insists that I am exactly where I need to be and and everything will fall into place with the right dedication and discipline. I officially launched my nail business at the end 2021 in October. I had basically started to prepare that whole year with teaching myself from youtube videos and Instagram reels and investing in products and materials needed. Read more>>

Pernille Kjeldsen

I believe that with everything in life, it happens when the time is right. The same goes with my business. I worked as a PR Director for an artist but had the dream about starting my own agency one day, I just didn’t have the guts to actually make the move. When COVID hit, I was laid off and that turned out to be the push I needed. I spent the rest of the day making a business plan and then things took off from there. Read more>>