Establishing your own firm or practice is an incredibly daunting task. From myriad of legal and regulatory hurdles to the financial and career related risks, professionals who choose to start their own firm have

to overcome so much and so we wanted to reach out to those who’ve done it successfully for advice, insight and stories. 

Sarah Beller

I see my story as having two levels: the outer and the inner journey of starting my venture. Diving into the outer journey, in the space of three months in 2018, I started training as a coach, left my job and my nonprofit career, took a self-funded sabbatical, and launched Realize Change, my coaching and community-building practice. Read More>>

Edwin Mata

Starting Brickken was less about launching a company and more about acting on a conviction that private markets would eventually become digital. My background is in law and M&A, and during that time I saw how much friction existed around ownership, fundraising, transfers, and asset management. Transactions involving millions of euros often relied on fragmented processes, disconnected systems, and significant manual work. Read More>>

Dr. Bryan Sackey

I started Mental Keys after repeatedly seeing the same gap in mental healthcare: many people need support long before they reach a therapist, psychiatrist, or crisis point. As a Mental Health Coach and psychopharmacologist, I have worked with individuals facing depression, anxiety, trauma, bipolar disorder, and other serious challenges. Read More>>

Ashleah Walker

I’ve spent over 20 years in the hair salon industry, and ten years in energy medicine and healing. When I discovered energy healing, it was a profound spiritual experience, and made sense for me to intertwine it within my beauty business. I created a holistic healing salon, and I was reinvigorated in my craft behind-the-chair. Read More>>

Michelle Riley

At 24 years old, after years of working as a personal trainer and group fitness instructor in big-box gyms, I realized there was something missing. While I loved helping women improve their health and fitness, my heart was pulling me toward something bigger. I wanted to create a space where women could feel empowered, build confidence, gain strength, and truly connect with one another. Read More>>

Tiffany Hamilton

When I first decided to start my own practice, it came from wanting more control over the way I served clients and built my work. I already had experience in the field, but I felt limited by existing systems, so I chose to create something of my own, and wanted to bring awareness to the deaf hoh community. Read More>>

Dani Margeaux

Starting out my business, I was a complete novice. I had never taken a business course, marketing course, or anything about website creation. I didn’t even know how to open a business banking account. I taught myself everything, from researching the best working websites to just replicating the platforms my mentors used, I took everything step by step. Read More>>

Luce Hicks

Honestly, After Birth didn’t start with a business plan. It started with a feeling. After having my son, I found myself struggling in ways I couldn’t even put words to. I didn’t know what I needed, I just knew something was missing.  Read More>>

Kara Welke

I was actually teaching in an OTA program when a student came to me looking for a fieldwork site. The site she mentioned was a non-medical home care company, and I told her that I did not think they had OT services. However, I reached out to the company just in case. Read More>>

shayna Hiller

I decided to start my health coaching practice in 2008. It was a challenging yet inspiring undertaking, as I was in my early 20s and had never worked for myself. I don’t come from a family of entrepreneurs, so I had no choice but to learn through trial and error, as well as several business trainings. Read More>>