Coming up with an idea for a business or creative project can feel exhilarating. Inspiration for a new idea can come from so many places and we’ve asked some great folks from the community to share their stories of how they came up with their ideas.
Syd Marguleas
Like most potters, I started off making a lot of bowls that had no real consistency in terms of shape, size, or color, and I was gifting them to friends and family who were just happy to have a handmade piece. It quickly became apparent that I needed a theme to help me focus both personally and professionally, to ground myself and build toward a larger business idea and product that felt differentiated. Read More>>
Richard Scarbrough
Words have always been my escape. As a kid, I would lose myself in works such as Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island, Breaking Away by Joseph Howard, and S.E. Hinton’s The Outsiders. Some connected with my inner need for freedom, while others gave me that freedom in escapism fantasy. I spent my days sailing the seven seas, racing a bicycle downhill at breakneck speed, and fistfighting socs alongside greasers. Read More>>
Mama G & Rusty Blades
Mama G asked me, Rusty Blades (her adult offspring), to make a YouTube channel with her (she was retired and bored) I remember telling her with the thought that no one would ever follow us “Sure, I’ll make a channel with you”. Now let’s cut to our current situation, we have an AMAZING community of likeminded humans and for that I am forever grateful! I never would have dreamed that almost 4 years later we would still be at it. Read More>>
Shannon Talbot
My business idea came to life in the most unexpected way—when my phone fell into a lake during a family vacation in August 2020. For the first time in years, I was completely disconnected from the outside world and fully present with my husband and kids. It was an eye-opening experience. When we returned home, an ad popped up on my computer for a Health and Life Coaching program. I’d never heard of a Health Coach before, but I was intrigued. Read More>>
Dylan Asuncion
Side Pressed Studios was created purely on a whim and curiosity. As someone who is a self proclaimed DIYer, I started doing my own nails 3 years ago and that’s where the journey started for me. I tell everyone who starts doing their own nails that it’s a learning curve that you have to be willing to take if you want to create something you love. It took me a year and a half for me to really start enjoying the designs I was creating on my own nails and around this time, people were starting to gain real interest in them as well. Read More>>
Arionna Barrett
I started my lash journey when my mom told me I needed to have side hustle when I go off to college. Back then lashing was just coming into the picture 2016-2017 and I saw this young lady that located in my city where I stay in charlotte Nc where she was offering a class. The classes about 4 hours long and I instantly liked it and thought maybe I give it a shot when I go off to school, as I take to practice more and more and started taking clients i really started to enjoy it and making my clients feel good about them selves. Read More>>
Ray Deck Iii
I moved to Bellingham, Washington for work in a different field. I met my wife here, and we started to put down roots. It caused me to think about this place differently than the other cities where I had lived. It was home, and I took an interest in the health of the community in a way that I hadn’t before. Read More>>
Chrissy Amundson
My first memory of wanting to help was in the 6th grade when I saw homeless teenagers in my hometown of Las Vegas, NV and I wanted to provide for them. I was 11 years old and didn’t know how, but I wanted to provide care packages of essential items for them. I couldn’t imagine being hungry, not wearing socks, or not being able to brush my teeth – simple luxuries taken for granted. Read More>>
Son Lam
In 2016, I retired early as a Gunnery Sergeant from active duty, United States Marine Corps. During my time in, I deployed to Iraq in 2009 and Afghanistan in 2010. Since those years, my previous units have suffered dozens of suicides and/or deaths resulting from substance abuse. Read More>>
Jane Lee
I came up with the idea of being a bird guide as I was learning about birds. I realized there is a lot of potential to educate the public about how extraordinary birds are. I’m Canadian and as my partner and I were waiting for my work permit, we travelled around Colorado in our trailer. Read More>>
Markus Deas
I grew up in a small rural town in Western New York called Fredonia. Here, farming and patriotism run deep. Growing up around lots of farmers, I was taught from a young age the importance of the farmer and their crucial role in providing food for our nation. I also have been surrounded by proud members of the military and Veterans within the community. Read More>>
Emma Pelicaric
Our family farm started as just that, a family farm that we lived on! When I was Senior in high school, my friends and I decided to have prom pictures out at my family farm. Parent’s that came for photos were telling my dad we should host events at our home! My dad was freshly retired from being a Superintendent, so he was really just focused on his horses at the time and didn’t think too much of it. Read More>>
Amber Wheeler-elis
The idea for Nekkid Essentials was born from a deeply personal journey—one of healing, reconnection, and a desire to give back in a way that felt truly meaningful. Read More>>
Jason Sobolewski
I fell in love with Escape Rooms about 12 years ago. The industry had just started ramping up and I loved the creativity involved with the puzzle solving. As soon as my kids were old enough, I started taking them to escape rooms and found we connected so much more than doing something like the movies or watching TV. I was able to create better bonds with them and watch them learn and succeed. Read More>>
Crystal Chetosky
I have always been interested in writing. English was my favorite subject in school and my grandma was a reporter for the Oakland Press. But I’ve never gotten around to doing anything with it. Until recently. Read More>>
Ashlie Smith
Let’s revisit September of 2023. I’m feeling unfulfilled in my corporate job, and feeling uneasy about my future. I was working out in my garage one day that fall, with this restless ideation of what I could do differently in my life. I thought, “the food market is so saturated….I can’t make a difference there. Is there some need that’s not being met?” Read More>>
Luci Carpenter
Most people change their career goals as they grow up. When I was eight, I dreamed of becoming a fashion designer. By thirteen, I wanted to be an interior designer. For a long time, I envisioned myself as a teacher, but I realized there wasn’t much room for creativity in traditional curriculums. Later, I set my sights on becoming a psychologist. Read More>>
Tiffany Featherstone
The idea for my business grew out of a personal need to cope with my stressful real estate career. Painting became my solace- a form of mediation that required intense focus due to the technicality of my method, allowing the world to melt away as I created. In my early career as an artist, I focused on pouring abstracts, but I found myself wanting more defined composition. Read More>>
Angel Soto
I went to a house party in the late 1980s with some friends. There was a DJ there who was really good. I was intrigued and watched him all night. Shortly after that, I started collecting records. In the early 1990s, a friend was having a house party and said, “We should hire a DJ.” I told him I could do it, and we pieced together a DJ system. That was my first gig. Going to the record store was my happy place. Read More>>
Carrie Maggard
I had owned a business with my husband for 17 years as interior painters. Our bodies had really taken a toll and at 38, my chiropractor (who I was seeing 3 times a week) told me my body was that of a 60 year old. This really hit me hard. He said I had to change something. My husband and I decided to try a 30 yoga challenge. After the first class, we knew this was going to change our lives. Read More>>
Mike Vahdat
Starting Ambiance Atlanta wasn’t something I planned in a traditional sense. It was more like a natural progression—a response to the experiences and lessons I had accumulated over the years. Read More>>
Dr. Tia Roper
I’ve been so very fortunate to achieve many goals in my life. One that remained was to curate my musical art on my own terms with complete freedom. Rhapsody in Ebony is a passion project of mine and I’m so excited to cultivate it and see it thrive! Read More>>
Raquel Ledesma
In 2019, my whole world was shaken to the core. I lost my sister suddenly. It was the worst time in my life, a punch to my stomach. My heart shattered. My sister and I shared the same love for young children. My sister’s death was and still is an incredible pain that cannot be described and that hurts deep. Read more>>
Monchaily Hendricks
The idea for my business came from a mix of personal experience, passion, and frustration with what I saw happening around me. I remember sitting at my desk, overwhelmed by everything I was managing—helping colleagues, supporting friends with their businesses—and realizing so many people struggled to get their ideas off the ground because they didn’t know where to start. Read More>>
Dane Delgado
In the summer of 2020, I had a favorite golf ball marker of mine that I used for every round. It was a shuttlecock from badminton — a birdie — and was made by another local Oregon company, Jones Sports Co. It had a great little double entendre behind the design, and was the perfect size. Not too thick, not so thin as to feel chintzy. I liked the high polish back and the theme behind it. Read More>>
Steven Sampieri & Daniel Hammac
We originally started talking about the idea on a camping trip. The discussion started as just a hobby. It was something to do in the very little bit of spare time that we had. With Steven, already owning his own business and working for himself, and Daniel working for the railroad, the idea of being able to make a few custom gifts for our friends and family seemed liked a fun idea. Read More>>
Jenna Avery
One thing that makes my business different from other virtual assistant companies is that instead of monthly retainers, I do a one-day retainer where my clients received a one-on-one VIP experience in four or eight hour installments. We work together to tackle their to-do list. Read More>>
Brian Lofrumento
I guess “the” idea really started all the way back when I started my first business when I was 19 years old. It was the summer after freshman year of college, and I definitely used that fact to my advantage. Rather than guessing when it came to marketing and growth strategies and tactics, I was emailing all of my “competitors” and asking them for advice and hopping on Skype (this was 2008, after all!) to learn from them. Read More>>
Gina Knox
I came up with the idea for my business as I had been working at Quickbooks and realized how much people wanted to know and were asking me for advice in finances. I had been lucky to learn a lot from my dad as well about what it looked like to really know your finances and be unbothered by them. I wanted to share this with others. Here I was a newer mom, with my baby strapped to my chest working to create this business and share more about finances. Read More>>
Lorena Greer
From a young age, I always knew I was meant to be an artist. Although I went to college to study architecture, I never actually worked in the field. Life took me in a different direction, and when I moved to Florida, I began working as a full-time artist. However, my dream of becoming a live painter was always there—I just didn’t have the courage to put myself out there in front of an audience. Read More>>
Heydi Zunzunegui
The idea for my creative services business didn’t emerge in a flash of inspiration; rather, it unfolded like a tapestry, woven from threads of experiences, observations, and a deep-seated passion for storytelling and design. Read More>>
Jessica Sloan
First Take started as a spark after nearly two decades of working with actors at every stage of their careers. I saw so many talented people with incredible passion but no clear roadmap for navigating the business side of acting. They had the drive but often felt lost when it came to understanding how the industry really worked. Read More>>
Yalian Liang
For me, dumplings have always been about love and family. Growing up in China, I learned to make dumplings from my mother, and it became my way of showing care. When I moved to the U.S., I worked as a chef and saw how much people loved authentic, handmade dumplings. Read More>>
Alison Tomlinson
Ten years ago, my husband Nic and I found ourselves lounging by a resort pool, dreaming big. In that moment, we envisioned owning a home in a vacation town—a place where others could create lasting memories just like we were. That spark ignited what would become an incredible journey. Read More>>
Xiaoli Mei
Often time we ask young kids what they want to do or become when they grow up. A few people are lucky to know their passion or purpose at that age, the majority people might have to go through life experience to find their answers to this question. I remember when I asked my son when he was 3 years old what he wanted to become, of course as a boy, he said he wanted to become a superman or police, now he just graduated from PhD in bio physics. Read More>>
Prachi Bhise
After years of working in the diamond jewelry industry—first in Mumbai, where I honed my skills and leadership at Rosy Blue, and then designing gemstone jewelry for a home shopping network in the U.S.—I found myself at a crossroads. I had always dreamed of starting my own jewelry line, but the timing never felt quite right. Read More>>
Sheryl Joyce
Through my active social media presence, I discovered an existing ecosystem whereby animal lovers are sharing dogs & cats at shelters that are destined or already on a ‘euthanasia’ list. Read More>>
Cielitha Ruffin
The idea for Adventures of Our Imaginations really began with a heartfelt and relatable conversation between my business partner Nikki Golden, and me—two moms trying to navigate the challenges of raising kids in a tech-driven world. Read More>>
Luci Carpenter
Most people change their career goals as they grow up. When I was eight, I dreamed of becoming a fashion designer. By thirteen, I wanted to be an interior designer. For a long time, I envisioned myself as a teacher, but I realized there wasn’t much room for creativity in traditional curriculums. Later, I set my sights on becoming a psychologist. Now, I am an event planner, content creator, marketer, author, and graphic designer. Read more>>
Tiffany Featherstone
The idea for my business grew out of a personal need to cope with my stressful real estate career. Painting became my solace- a form of mediation that required intense focus due to the technicality of my method, allowing the world to melt away as I created. In my early career as an artist, I focused on pouring abstracts, but I found myself wanting more defined composition. This led me to experiment with tape creating focal points, which eventually evolved into the signature technique I use today. Read more>>
Angel Soto
I went to a house party in the late 1980s with some friends. There was a DJ there who was really good. I was intrigued and watched him all night. Shortly after that, I started collecting records. In the early 1990s, a friend was having a house party and said, “We should hire a DJ.” I told him I could do it, and we pieced together a DJ system. That was my first gig. Going to the record store was my happy place. Digging for records and finding rare gems was exhilarating. So in the early 2000’s I decided to open my own record store: Benton Records. Read more>>
Carrie Maggard
I had owned a business with my husband for 17 years as interior painters. Our bodies had really taken a toll and at 38, my chiropractor (who I was seeing 3 times a week) told me my body was that of a 60 year old. This really hit me hard. He said I had to change something. My husband and I decided to try a 30 yoga challenge. After the first class, we knew this was going to change our lives. We successfully made it thorough the challenge and continued to do yoga almost every day. Read more>>
Mike Vahdat
Starting Ambiance Atlanta wasn’t something I planned in a traditional sense. It was more like a natural progression—a response to the experiences and lessons I had accumulated over the years. Read more>>
Dr. Tia Roper
I’ve been so very fortunate to achieve many goals in my life. One that remained was to curate my musical art on my own terms with complete freedom. Rhapsody in Ebony is a passion project of mine and I’m so excited to cultivate it and see it thrive! Read more>>
Raquel Ledesma
In 2019, my whole world was shaken to the core. I lost my sister suddenly. It was the worst time in my life, a punch to my stomach. My heart shattered. My sister and I shared the same love for young children. My sister’s death was and still is an incredible pain that cannot be described and that hurts deep. I went to a dark place. A place I’ve never been before, nor ever want to go back to. Read more>>
Monchaily Hendricks
The idea for my business came from a mix of personal experience, passion, and frustration with what I saw happening around me. I remember sitting at my desk, overwhelmed by everything I was managing—helping colleagues, supporting friends with their businesses—and realizing so many people struggled to get their ideas off the ground because they didn’t know where to start. They were juggling multiple tools, overwhelmed, or didn’t have the confidence to move forward. I thought, Why isn’t there one place that can make this easier? Read more>>
Dane Delgado
In the summer of 2020, I had a favorite golf ball marker of mine that I used for every round. It was a shuttlecock from badminton — a birdie — and was made by another local Oregon company, Jones Sports Co. It had a great little double entendre behind the design, and was the perfect size. Not too thick, not so thin as to feel chintzy. I liked the high polish back and the theme behind it. Read more>>
Steven Sampieri & Daniel Hammac
We originally started talking about the idea on a camping trip. The discussion started as just a hobby. It was something to do in the very little bit of spare time that we had. With Steven, already owning his own business and working for himself, and Daniel working for the railroad, the idea of being able to make a few custom gifts for our friends and family seemed liked a fun idea. Maybe we could just sell stuff every now and then…a cutting board, tumbler, or an ornament here and there. Our wives thought we were crazy for getting into an expensive “hobby.” Read more>>
Jenna Avery
One thing that makes my business different from other virtual assistant companies is that instead of monthly retainers, I do a one-day retainer where my clients received a one-on-one VIP experience in four or eight hour installments. We work together to tackle their to-do list. Since I specialize in websites and SEO, that means I can revamp their digital presence in less time it takes to binge a Netflix show season. It’s a really powerful experience and I love it! Read more>>
Brian Lofrumento
I guess “the” idea really started all the way back when I started my first business when I was 19 years old. It was the summer after freshman year of college, and I definitely used that fact to my advantage. Rather than guessing when it came to marketing and growth strategies and tactics, I was emailing all of my “competitors” and asking them for advice and hopping on Skype (this was 2008, after all!) to learn from them. What I found was that all of these amazing business owners were so generous in sharing their advice, strategies, experiences, tools, and wisdom with me, and that accelerated my own growth and journey. Read more>>
Gina Knox
I came up with the idea for my business as I had been working at Quickbooks and realized how much people wanted to know and were asking me for advice in finances. I had been lucky to learn a lot from my dad as well about what it looked like to really know your finances and be unbothered by them. I wanted to share this with others. Here I was a newer mom, with my baby strapped to my chest working to create this business and share more about finances. Read more>>
Lorena Greer
From a young age, I always knew I was meant to be an artist. Although I went to college to study architecture, I never actually worked in the field. Life took me in a different direction, and when I moved to Florida, I began working as a full-time artist. However, my dream of becoming a live painter was always there—I just didn’t have the courage to put myself out there in front of an audience. Read more>>
Heydi Zunzunegui
The idea for my creative services business didn’t emerge in a flash of inspiration; rather, it unfolded like a tapestry, woven from threads of experiences, observations, and a deep-seated passion for storytelling and design. Read more>>
Jessica Sloan
First Take started as a spark after nearly two decades of working with actors at every stage of their careers. I saw so many talented people with incredible passion but no clear roadmap for navigating the business side of acting. They had the drive but often felt lost when it came to understanding how the industry really worked. Read more>>
Yalian Liang
For me, dumplings have always been about love and family. Growing up in China, I learned to make dumplings from my mother, and it became my way of showing care. When I moved to the U.S., I worked as a chef and saw how much people loved authentic, handmade dumplings. Read more>>
Alison Tomlinson
Ten years ago, my husband Nic and I found ourselves lounging by a resort pool, dreaming big. In that moment, we envisioned owning a home in a vacation town—a place where others could create lasting memories just like we were. That spark ignited what would become an incredible journey. Read more>>
Xiaoli Mei
Often time we ask young kids what they want to do or become when they grow up. A few people are lucky to know their passion or purpose at that age, the majority people might have to go through life experience to find their answers to this question. I remember when I asked my son when he was 3 years old what he wanted to become, of course as a boy, he said he wanted to become a superman or police, now he just graduated from PhD in bio physics. As for me, I don’t remember what I told my parents in my childhood, but I certainly wanted to become journalist in high school when deciding my major in college. well, growing up in a traditional Asian family with typical Asian tiger parents, I was told journalist didn’t make a lot of money, I should study to become a lawyer or doctor or CPA like other Asian kids. Since Match is not my strength, I got frustrated with numbers and excel sheets. Being a doctor is such an honorable career to save people’s lives, but somehow, I will faint when I see blood. apparently, it didn’t leave me many choices. I chose the law degree for my college. I did very well in law school and became the No.1 top student, but I also realized it was not my passion. I landed a great job as a paralegal but quit the job in 6 months because I didn’t enjoy it at all. I couldn’t see myself to be a lawyer for the rest of my life. I began to search for my next goal in my career. I love doing business and travelling, so I decided to pursue an MBA degree to become a corporate executive travelling around the world doing business. I worked for four different fortune 500 companies in various positions. My roles in marketing, corporate hiring, training, and recruiting allowed me to hone my understanding of people and interpersonal dynamics. However, despite my good job with good pay, I still felt unfilled and empty inside. Something was missing, meanwhile my personal life suffered, I went through divorce twice struggling to figure out how to find happiness while balancing a career. I would say that was my darkest moment in life, confused and miserable. Read more>>