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.

Jameia Lesha

If I were starting over, one thing I would do to get to where I am faster would be, to take myself more seriously. I come from a family of hairstylists so doing hair is something I grew up knowing how to do. I began doing hair when I was 10 years old. Being that I have always done hair and started so young I didn’t look at it as a career and the last thing I thought was that I would become a self-employed hairstylist. Read more>>

Toni Glotter

I don’t know if I’d do anything differently. I believe we all make choices based on our personal experiences and hope we make the best decisions we can for who we are at that moment. Do I wish I could have been braver? Sure. Do I wish I had taken more chances, yes. I wish I had asked more questions. Read more>>

Whitney Brooks

If I were starting over in my entrepreneurial journey, there are certainly a few things I would do very differently that would lead to success more swiftly and efficiently. 1. I would collaborate with others to grow my brand and my revenue. So many people fail to understand that community sharing leads to profit sharing. Read more>>

Quamesha Johnson

The 1 thing I would do differently if I was to start over fresh would be… better educated on funding. I fund my entire business out of pocket so it would be a big relief if I had some education or tools to receive more funds throughout the month to help produce the sales I would love to have! Read more>>

Emry Wright

Starting any business completely from scratch is going to be difficult no matter what you may be trying to accomplish. There is a seemingly endless amount of detailing and planning that goes into building a business. The hardest part for me was trying to turn my passion into a functioning business without getting so caught up in the business aspect of things that I lost sight of why I was doing this in the first place. Read more>>

Jini Thornton

I would have been planning my exit (retirement) within my first 3-5 years of business. I would have intentionally created a passive source of income from the beginning. I would have identified and begun training our next leader within the first 5-7 years of business. Read more>>

Aureal Carlock

It’s pretty funny that this is one of the questions asked. I am currently in the process of starting over with Local Dynamics. I went through a period of lack of motivation, where to start with improving or doing things differently, should I close the business down, etc. Read more>>