Helping more people thrive doing what they love or are passionate about means helping more folks learn from those who came before them and so we asked successful entrepreneurs, artists and creatives to tell us what they would do differently, knowing what they know now, if they were starting over.

Jessica Freeman

As a business owner, I’ve had the opportunity to witness the ebb and flow of the entrepreneurial journey firsthand. Looking back at the last ten years, one of the most significant changes I would make would be to focus on a niche much sooner. When I first started my business, I was eager to take on any project that came my way. I wanted to prove to myself and others that I was capable of handling any design project, no matter the industry or type of project. While this approach allowed me to gain experience and hone my skills, it wasn’t until I narrowed down my offers and targeted a specific audience that I saw real growth and profitability. Read more>>

Sarah and Darren Hendry

We started out in wedding photography with the notion that we had to conform to a certain way of shooting because it was a couple’s special day and they needed photography that was traditional and fit the usual standards. But boy were we so wrong! We wasted time shooting like that and completely cheated on ourselves and the overall quirky style started out with in other aspects of photography (non-weddings). Read more>>

Lacey Wadhwani

When we started our first version of our business we went for a full spa, including skincare. We didn’t have a lot of experience in esthetics but it seemed pretty obvious that in order to call ourselves a full spa we would need facials and some sort of wax/sugaring hair removal. My business partner is a licensed chiropractor so she knew how to manage and promote massage and infrared sauna services. But we were both new to adding skincare and didn’t have any formal training in it. Read more>>