Finding the key partners to work with can make or break your venture. After thousands of conversations with aspiring entrepreneurs, it’s one of the most common obstacles and risks holding folks back from pursuing their idea. So – we asked some of the smartest, most resourceful entrepreneurs in the community to share their lessons and insights to help inspire and educate the next great set of entrepreneurs.

Sammi Katz

Finding a person or people you trust when embarking on a new venture is one of the most important things. My creative partner, Olivia McGiff, is my rock. We met in college when we were in the same theater troupe, so our working relationship and friendship was built through collaboration and problem-solving. A few years after graduating, when Olivia and I both decided that our careers were not in theater, we wanted to find a way to continue to work together. Read more>>

Jen Ferone

Finding the right co-manufacturer is not an easy undertaking. For brands like ours, there are basically a couple of choices when you scale, either start your own facility or utilize a co-manufacturer. The philosophy behind our decision to opt for co-manufacturing was two-fold. We didn’t have the capital at the time to lease a space, hire staff and do all of the things required for our own. Read more>>

Japri Anderson

The story of Litty Wellness Spa Lounge is a long lourney and its just the beginning of how were going to blossom! How it all came together to be able to produce our plant based oils started locally, right here in Jackson Michigan. My mission is to heal our world naturally and cut down the numbers of mental health barriers, but I knew I couldn’t do this alone. Facebook my friends, that’s how I found my distributors for my oils. Read more>>

Lataysha Harley

When I first started selling hair I found my vendor on AliExpress. The hair was okay it wasn’t nothing extraordinary but it was selling like crazy because it was affordable. So I started doing my research and came across a video on YouTube about Alibaba.com, it completely changed my life. When you go on alibaba you type in the type of vendor you want with the location you want it to come from. When you find a vendor you want you send a inquiry and ask them for the MOQ, their catalog and WhatsApp info. Read more>>

Kasey Darlene

Our main vendor here at Believe Ballet and Barre is Redemption Dance Showcase. We love them and what they are able to offer us in our dance and recital themed apparel, professional photos, performance program books and spirit ads, and so much more! And the way we started working together is super special. The family who owns Redemption used to own a dance studio in the Dallas, Texas area and I was their ballet teacher years ago! Read more>>