In our view, far too many ideas die at the imagination stage. It’s not because people are lazy, we think the primary reason is because many people don’t know where or how to start. So, we connected with some sharp and generous entrepreneurs who’ve agreed to share their stories of how they went from idea to execution.

Angela Moore

Before I started working with flowers I went to the Conservatory of Music in Kansas City, Missouri where I majored in vocal performance. I have two degrees in voice; a bachelor’s and master’s. I toured for a year with a children’s theatre before marrying my husband who was in medical school at the time. After returning home and starting our lives together I worked at a small business where I edited and put together music books. Even though I had a full-time job, I started playing around with flowers in 2013 but life got busy and my flower arranging was put on hold until I found out I was pregnant in 2016. Read more>>

Heidi Bent

My photography was doing great but wasn’t quite paying the bills and I wasn’t passionate about the fashion industry any longer, which is where I had spent the past few years focusing my talents. Although I continued to take photoshoots and perfect my craft, I was more focused on just enjoying it in the moment and bettering my skills, rather than building it to be any kind of business. Shortly after I married my wonderful husband, HEHphotography got revamped into Heidi Bent Photography and I started to focus on building an actual business and figuring out my niche. He’s always been one of my biggest cheerleaders and I’ve felt my craft flourish even further under his love and support. Read more>>

Veronica Green

The moment I realized that I wanted to use my writing as a vehicle for change and justice, it was like somebody pushed me into fast forward. I wrote like crazy and hated most of what I wrote, but I just kept writing draft after draft of my first children’s book. I spent a few months trying to figure out a kid-friendly way to convey such a heavy matter. People often underestimate how tricky writing a children’s book can be! Read more>>

Dr. Michael Burks Jr.

it is kind of a crazy story actually. In the beginning, I was doing some one-on-one coaching for some more beginner stage entrepreneurs when the opportunity first was presented to me. I can never forget I am at a conference in San Deigo and one of the presenters was on stage speaking on scaling companies and the challenges he and his partner were facing at the current time. Read more>>

Brittany and Deni Salazar and Banach

When Deni and Brittany met at another restaurant they became fast friends and talked about each others dreams and hopes for the future. Deni expressed to Brittany, how she would love to open her own coffee shop someday. Brittany instantly fell in love with the idea. So together they talked about what they would name it, how they would set it up, what fun drinks and offering they would have. Slowly starting to build the foundation, became their daily goal. Finally one day, Read more>>

Nurse Ebony Shene

My name is Nurse Ebony Shene’. I hae been a nurse for more than 20 years. Before I ever knew that I would go into the healthcare education business for myself, I played a very critical role as Licensed Nursing Home Administrator. Tasked with the day to day operations of a 248 bed nursing faciltiy, I was determined to change the climate and the culture of my facility. Read more>>

Tiara Crowley

I was in college at the time majoring in Dental Assisting. I also was helping my mom at her business for income. At that time I thought to myself what I would do next in my life just in case things didn’t work out. I had a talk with one of my good friends about life such as finance, relationship, self esteem, insecurity and just simply not
feeling good enough or beautiful in our own skin. I remember as a little girl I would overthink a lot. I wouldn’t wear certain clothes because of how little I was or how my hair was styled because kids were so cruel. And these insecurities sometimes follow you as an adult. I knew earlier on I wanted to help other young women Read more>>

Cathy Swanson

Some of the main steps that allowed me to launch my business? I was backed by some amazing business women. Samantha Toth and her team at Innerreactive Media, helped me narrow down my idea and really started turning my dream into a reality by developing a mood board and website concept and turn my thoughts into tangible objects. Jean Fero from the Small Business Development Center (SBDC) at Grand Valley State University helped me groom my business plan into perfection and gather all of the data I needed to give my salon short and long term goals on paper which would help guide it for years. Read more>>

Charna Wilson

In September of 2016 I got a call from a regional officer of one of my organizations telling me she needed a flier for an upcoming conference and wanted to know how much I would charge her to do it. I was a little flustered and unsure of myself because for all the work I’d been doing, no one had ever offered to pay me before. I came up with a silly, no real thought, low ball number and proceeded to create the flier for her. She loved it, paid me, and not long after that I began to see the graphic circulating on social media. Read more>>

Nina Fonte

Everyone starts with a dream. A vision of a happy life that you want to wake up everyday. I can say that my life is not the same vision I had before, but it’s a vision that changes from all the experiences happens to me. I know when I was young and still and school everyone’s dream is to have their own restaurant. From that dream, I know I have to work hard, learn all the techniques to be a great chef. Next thing that I need is to have money. I need a capital to be able to start a restaurant or investors to finance the business. After all working in different jobs and not saving enough money, that dream is kinda impossible for me to start right away. Read more>>

Adam Meskouri

I’ve always been enthralled by public speaking, but I never knew how to get started in the content creation / marketing space. Eventually, I decided to start offering my services for free–by building a network and making a name for myself, I was eventually able to use those references as a way to kickstart my brand’s credibility. Read more>>

Marchell Sade

After over 10 years + and continuing of much success in the Real Estate industry, from helping people into their dreams homes, improving communities through renovations and investing to providing housing. My mom Real Estate broker since 1999 introduced me into the Real Estate industry while attending North Atlanta high school of preforming arts, where I discovered my passion for acting and dance. I didn’t want to struggle financially while working my way into the Hollywood film industry, Read more>>

Thomas Bui

Thomas Bui Lifestyle is a full service wedding and event design company based in San Diego, CA. With 22 years of experience we have designed and produced weddings across The United States, Mexico and Europe. Thomas works closely with every couple, and produces 12-15 events per year. Every design, vision starts with an extensive description, photos, lay-out and the right vendors for us to execute everything event successfully. Our design deck is between 20-30 pages as we start the lay out process in order for the clients to understand everything we conceptualize. Read more>>

Daniel Medellin

We had an idea of providing a premium screen printing service for folks who wanted to stand out from the standard “simple T-shirt” crowd. We wanted to take the customers experience to the next level. Artist’ out there work hard on projects and put a lot of work into their designs and we wanted that to be known. We developed ways to make prints outlast washes and normal wear n tear. Read more>>

Mark Galindo

I’ve always had the vision since I was young but never the drive or mindset to do so. In March of 2021 my son was born and I became a stay at home dad, with a newborn in the middle of a pandemic, I had lots of time. That time also came with a ton of self reflection and determination to want to be successful for not just myself but for my family.
I remember starting with a basic google search “how to start a business?” I knew I needed merchandise but how was I going to sell, what platform should I use? Read more>>

Keiva Cheney

Soon after receiving a type one diabetes diagnosis, I started developing my brand. When I tell people that I switched my major from computer science to public health, they still break their necks in shock. I have no regrets about that choice to this day. When I discovered that I would have to live the rest of my life with this chronic condition, I became immediately intrigued. The best approach to embrace this, in my opinion, was to study more about it, conduct more research, get more involved, and connect with others who have the same condition as myself. Read more>>

Megan Ragland

I started by applying for cosmetology school in 2016. I dropped out of college because it wasn’t what my passion. I remember telling my friends I wanted to be my own boss and start a career as a hairstylist. So while I was preparing to attend hair school, I was looking into becoming a hair distributor as well. I use google to research the pros & cons, how to find a vendor, the process, etc. My goal was to become a one stop shop hairstylist. Read more>>

Patty Myers

I first had an idea. I saw a need in our community. Building Pathways Foundation (BP) – I saw a need for more life, social, and job skills training for our teens and adults with disabilities. Some were in school not doing much. Some were out of school not doing much. They weren’t working or living on their own. Read more>>

Lauren Roseberry

I have always been interested in creating in anyway, I love art and being a creative. I love space and nature and my nickname for myself is lulu so that’s how I got the artist name spacedoutlulu . I wake up everyday excited and eager to create . Read more>>

Siobhan Armstrong

In 2018, I began practicing yoga. After being diagnosed with Gastritis in 2015, I knew I needed something life changing. After studying the importance of yoga and applying it to my daily routine, I knew this was something I wanted to share with the world. They say if your dreams don’t scare you, they’re not big enough. Let’s just say I was scared and excited all in the same breath. I knew I would wake up every day and be in pure bliss doing this line of work, but struggled with execution. Read more>>

Ashley Izquierdo

Before I could get booking wedding clients I knew I would need wedding photos to show. I reached out to local planners and asked to collaborate on a styled wedding shoot. I mentioned that I was brand new to wedding photography and that I am just now wanting to dip my toes in this market. After a lot of no thank you’s, or just no responses one planner said YES! A very small shoot consisting of local models, a friends huge mansion-like home, we made magic happen. Looking back at this experience now, it’ was just the beginning for my business, the foundation. Read more>>

Lindy Stark

Starting a business is like trying to put together a puzzle- except you also are doing a scavenger hunt for the pieces. In this scenario, you think you know what the final picture looks like, but getting there is the hard part. When I first took the leap to launch my business, Lindy Stark Designs, full time, I had already been creating and selling some handmade home decor products on the side while I worked a corporate 9-5 design job. Read more>>

C. NaTasha Richburg

How did you start – what was the process of going from idea to execution – walk us through some of the main steps that allowed you to launch your business. Tell it to us as a story – you had the idea, then what happened? What did the next day, hour, month, or feel year like to you? What did you have to figure out, look into, set up, etc., to move beyond the idea phase and launch? Read more>>

Matt Gulliver

I started by putting my ideas on paper. I think many of us have so many ideas in our head but we’re paralyzed by the fear of failure or we’re worried about what others think. I started by journaling to help sort my ideas out and I went into this with no expectations – knowing that it wasn’t going to be perfect. I think a big step for me was vocalizing my vision to friends, family, and clients. Taking this simple step made it real and it made me want to hold myself accountable. Read more>>

Rachel Wagenborg

I took a huge leap of faith in 2020. Due to the pandemic, majority of the population was unemployed including myself. Losing my only job was unexpected but it turned out to be a blessing in disguise. While unemployed, I had time to analyze my life, I knew that I wanted to start a business, but I was undecided on exactly what I wanted to do. During the pandemic, my go-to beauty stores were closed or the products I needed was sold out. Read more>>

Andrea Ray

Every great business begin with a idea. I came up with the cosmetic and makeup artistry business from seeing a need in my mothers beauty salon. The goal was to service the clients that patronized the salon all in one stop. There are several steps you need to take when building business . First you want to discovered the need and conduct your research about your business . Then you want to write out a business plan. Read more>>

Cathlyn Davis

During the years I have worked in the interior design industry, I always wanted my end goal to be starting my own design business, I just didn’t know when the best timing would be to do it. I figured I would wait until I started my own family or had more experience under my belt, but at the end of the day I came to realize there’s never a perfect time to take a risk. I had felt the urge to go ahead and take a leap of Faith and start my business for about six months before I made any efforts to launch. Read more>>

Mercedes Brown

I actually started my business from writing everything down physically in my journal & then bringing it to life. It was months before I actually executed my plan. I’ve always known how to do makeup on myself, but it’s very different from doing it on other people. There are so many different things you have to know & factor in. I took 2 classes & became a Licensed Makeup Artist after that I really had to put faith in myself to trust that the more clients face I do, Read more>>

Austin Waldo

The Austin School of Furniture was started through the creation of a woodworking club. In 2015, when I moved to Austin I was disappointed with the lack of community around the craft of woodworking. With a few other woodworking friends I started the Woodworking Social Club. As the name implies, it is focused on creating community, making connections, and drinking great beer while discussing woodworking. Read more>>

Rick Martinez

After starting, growing, and then selling a company with over 600 employees, I knew the next business venture I would start would be less complex. I was ready for simplicity and, at the same time, ready to put my passion for writing to work. No pun intended. It was then that I realized I was about to become a full-time writer. Read more>>

Wendy Barnes

Listening to others’ encouragement was key from the start. I drew a few pictures for our newborn daughter’s nursery in 2012 and nearly every visitor commented: make more, do art shows and sell them. So, after a little while, I did. However, I quickly learned the challenges and competitiveness of selling fine art at local craft shows. Also, with a new-found motherly love for all living things, I wanted my art to go further and actually make a difference in protecting endangered species and beyond. Read more>>

Belen De la CruZ

Once moved to Atlanta I felt the need of opening my own business. And I had 2 different options to explore one related with food and the other one with design. I didn’t know which one would give me the opportunity. I was cooking at home a lot by that time for my kids and friends and always recieved lots of compliments about it! Read more>>

Anya Pinkney

I knew I wanted to self brand but could never figure out with what exactly, what product would fit me? One day I was cleaning my room and it hit me. I wanted to do a clothing line, I took out some paper and I sketched what I wanted it to look like. I knew I wanted it to be simple! I struggled with a name for weeks! I had so many ideas but doing research many of them were already taken. My logo is “Aa” which are my initials. Read more>>

Kimberley Freeman

Tell us the story of how you came up with the idea for your business? This business developed as a crazy zig-zag with a combination of fate stepping in at just the right time. The kernel of the idea began in 2004. I’d come to Atlanta from NYC as an ad agency copywriter. On my way to work one day, I heard a story on NPR about a woman who was a K9 cop who tracked missing persons. She told the story of how one day, she lost her K9 and had to use a friend’s tracking dog to find HER tracking dog! Read more>>

Autumn Bailey-Ford

I wasn’t born into the business, nor did my career jump off overnight. Where I’m from, I didn’t have many examples of how to become a producer or the knowledge to know what all the role entails. However, I knew early on that I wanted to be a producer. Still, I would watch movies as a child, and I would think to myself, I wanted to do that, and to be clear, I was never intrigued by being an actress; however, I had a knowing that I wanted to be the one who puts everything together. So, I started going to libraries and researching the art of filmmaking. Read more>>

Anthony Outlaw

I developed my Outlaw Smoke BBQ Rubs to complement the smoked meats and sides that I prepared for family and friends. I tried many other brands at first, and while they were good, they didn’t complement my dishes enough to bring out the full flavor of my cooking. So, I set out on a mission to create MSG-free rubs with an umami punch. I was introduced to a variety of herbs and spices in the early 2000’s while on a food and spice tour, with my wife Lisa, in Charleston, South Carolina, which launched me on my quest to create blends that were not only tasty and complementary, but also natural and sustainable. Read more>>

D’Authentic Purpose

I’ve always wanted to do something better with my life and help make a difference in the world. I just didn’t know where to start at the time. It was the beginning of 2018 and at the time I was dealing with stress and depression because of a life changing situation that I had just gotten out of. I knew if I wanted to make a difference I had to start figuring it out. So I bought a 3 ring binder, along with notebook paper, and some clear sheet protectors. I started to research a lot of different things, from how to start a t-shirt business, to becoming a motivational speaker, to how to start a nonprofit. Day in and day out. Read more>>