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.

Paolina Goodson

I was a part time massage therapist. In 2015 I heard about a princess ball coming to my home town and I wanted to take my 2 year old. Weeks before the event, by some crazy luck, I met one of the girls that was going to be in the show and they said they were looking for some performers and asked if I wanted to be one of the princesses in the show. I agreed because I could get a free ticket for my daughter! I got casted as Cinderella and I fell in love with performing and the idea that I wanted to do this more. Read more>>

Patricia Cannon

I started out as a birth photographer. I loved capturing women at their absolute strongest. Witnessing them own their body and bring life into the world was amazing. Unfortunately, the unstructured time constraints did not work well for my type A family. I started doing other portrait photography (newborn, maternity, family) and I liked them well enough, non as much as birth. Then I, on a whim, booked a day of boudoir sessions. Read more>>

Steven Lee

Ever since I was a child, I’ve had an infatuation with watches. There was something captivating about trying to measure the incredible vastness of time. At that time, I was a huge fan of dinosaurs, and to me, the span of millions of years was so hard to understand. However, it made a little more sense when I learned about telling time on a watch. My dad wore a watch and he was my hero, so that made it even more interesting. Read more>>

Matthew Krul

I’ve always had a passion for all things Disney, and I found myself sitting with all this knowledge that I had accumulated as a Disney historian, fan, and former Cast Member. For the longest time I dreamed of starting a Disney fan podcast but felt that the space was perhaps too saturated with amazing content creators. One day I finally mustered up the courage to just create the show and publish my first episode, realizing that I didn’t need to be as successful as the well-established players, just good enough to provide valuable, entertaining content that I would feel proud to produce. Read more>>

Morgan Swank

Moonscar was the brainchild of myself and my creative partner Blair Allison way back in 2018. At first, it was a means for us to produce and release our own projects, but has since evolved to the creative production hub for all artists and creatives to pitch, workshop, and option their work without the bureaucracy of needing managers and agents to get the foot in the door. Read more>>

Leslie Crawford

I worked part-time as a substitute teacher during the 2019-2020 school year. There were a group of students whom I had known from the previous school year. On one particular day, this fifth-grade class had independent reading time. Everyone in the class was reading a book except for four girls. I asked them why weren’t they reading. Their response was, “We can’t relate to any of the books in this classroom. I don’t like these books. Read more>>

Tona Bell

I suffered burnout while running a fast-growing marketing company that specialized in high tech solutions for global companies. I got really sick, landed in the emergency room, couldn’t work for a while and had to decide if I was going to make a life change or not. I followed my heart, took the plunge and never looked back. Read more>>

Jasmine Baetzel

When I first started capturing weddings, I had no intention of shooting film because like everyone else, I am spoiled with the instant gratification of digital photography. However, I adore it and was always trying to find a way to give my work a ‘film’ look. During the lockdown in 2020, I had some free time to experiment with different film cameras and film stocks and fell completely in love with the process all over again. However, film takes a lot more work for very few photos and given how comfortable we are with the ability to capture thousands, I knew if I wanted to offer my clients film services I would have to find a way to emulate it digitally. Read more>>

Whitney Butler

I come from a family that knows the true meaning of hard work and helping others. My family is full of entrepreneurs, and watching them be the solution to people with a problem inspired me to open WhitneyLauren PR & Marketing! WhitneyLauren PR & Marketing was created to educate business owners on the power of marketing and public relations and use it to push their business to the next level. But as I continued to work, I noticed that majority of my clientele was black women! In our society, I feel that small, black women owned businesses get overlooked, some of that is because of lack of proper education on the marketing and pr end. Read more>>

Rashitia & Klive Bertrand

Amani & Co. Skincare Products LLC was originated in 2019. We specialize in natural bath products, skin care, and home fragrance essentials. All our products are handmade in small batches by Rashitia and Klive Bertrand. We’re proud to be a Certified Black Owned Business and Minority Owned. Amani & Co. is based out of Conyers, Ga. Our company consist of a husband-and-wife team. I consistently suffer from dry skin, rough patches, and eczema. I constantly struggled while coming up short when searching for a product that not only nourished my skin but was healthy for it as well. This is when I decided to get “in the lab” aka my kitchen and hand craft my own product. I believe beauty and health go hand in hand. Read more>>

Shauna Jackson

Do It Vegan was created on the idea that many new vegans or transitioning vegans found it challenging to recreate their favorite dishes without any animal products. Our initial goal was to create a platform where anyone could go to find vegan friendly replacements for all recipes including alternatives for milk, butter, eggs, etc.. This idea led us to also create vegan deli meats and paninis to offer some delicious plant based foods at events. Read more>>

Nicki Turner

About two years ago I was searching for a craft to do with my daughter. I came across a ton of tutorials online to make donut charms from polymer clay and decided to take on the project. I’m not one to always follow instructions, I tend to watch what other people do and then figure it out on my own (which I have learned can be good and very bad). We bought supplies went to work and had adorable donut charms within an hour of making them. Through that project, I couldn’t believe how versatile Polymer clay was, so I started researching other ways that artists have used it. Read more>>

Karyn Scott

As a former juvenile prosecutor, I saw many kids in foster care coming through the system without adequate resources. I started a non-profit, Kids in a New Groove, to help provide free music lessons to youth in foster care. I also was frequently asked for music teacher referrals. Care2Rock was the next iteration of this idea; providing online music lessons to schools and students for a reasonable fee, but also providing free lessons to youth in foster care. Very few online music providers had a complete booking flow that was easy to manage, they did not provide instruments, and they did not have custom designed learning platforms. Care2Rock brought all these concepts together on one platform, with a very high quality selection of vetted teachers. Read more>>

Nidhi Shah

After getting Rejections in few 9-5 Jobs. I have started my business for survival. I have never thought to run it for longer time. My friends always loved my jewellry and Styling. They always asked me to get the Jewellry or Earrings i wear . So, i have started ordering for them in bulk. But slowly it became business. I started this very low scale. And my best USP was i was keeping my margin low in items so everyone can afford it. Thats how it started ARNI Fashion. Read more>>

Martika Jones

The idea came about on the edge of a failed start-up which was actually our first company. The root of what we did with that previous company also shares a root element of what we do in the new company we just thought we could do it better. We wanted to see if we could make it easier for a world coming out of the pandemic to network without fear of spreading germs. We also wanted people to be able to network more efficiently and sustainably. Read more>>

Ruth Teeple

I always knew I wanted to teach little ones and help them learn. I became a teacher but because I was bilingual, I decided to become a bilingual teacher but keep my focus on early childhood. Before my daughter was born, I made the decision to stay home with her and one year later the world shut down. I then decided to support those parents who pulled out their kids from school, those who had no idea how to help educate their kids and those who wanted to provide more support to them and needed help. Read more>>

Tara and Sandra Hardy

We started tARTbyTARA with the intention of creating handmade art that has healing properties. Tara has fought many illnesses became disabled which led to the metaphysical world. Through learning how to heal and adjusting to her new life, she found this specific type of art. Sandra soon feel in love with this concept and joined in the journey. Together we have run tARTbyTARA for over 5 years. We just expanded to a physical store where we sell our handmade items and offer classes for creating art. Read more>>

Areion Jones

I came up with my business idea pretty unexpectedly. I started out as a hair blogger and my page grew quickly. Areii’s Hair Products was initially created to help people who were scared to embrace their natural hair. My sophomore year of high school, I decided that I no longer wanted to damage my natural curls by using heat and extensions every chance I got. I became a hair blogger and quickly gained a major following from embracing my natural curls and trying new fun styles. Read more>>

Montia Goss

I always knew one day I would become my own boss! I’ve been getting my nails done since I was 14! Every time I went to the nail salon, I would always watch what they’re doing. I would be so interested in seeing how the whole process worked. The beginning of 2020, I randomly got this thought in my head that I wanted to do nails. I don’t know if I was inspired by looking on social media or what but I knew I wanted to try it out. I gave myself a few months to really think about it. I watched YouTube every single day! Literally! I studied what products people were using, Read more>>

Francesca Williams

I started modeling when I was 18 years old and by age 30, I wanted to retire. I was still interested in being in the entertainment industry, but didn’t have an idea of what I wanted to do. I always had an interest in doing photography, so I started going to different places and taking photos of buildings and scenery. I knew I specifically wanted to be a concert photographer, so I did a Google search on how to get into the industry. I read an article that said the best way to become a concert photographer was to be associated with a blog or news company. Read more>>

Sheridan Mears

My Sophomore year of college, the COVID – 19 pandemic took a toll on in person learning, our social lives, and work. I was going insane not working or being able to sit amongst my peers in class. Needless to say my Sophomore year was spent inside my apartment learning from my laptop screen. I was taking 15 hours in classes and two of those classes was News Gathering and Photography. I fell in love with both of them, which struck an idea in me. I bought a camera for the sake of my class, and to my surprise my creativity was much broader than I thought. I began my side hustle that is now known as “Huckleberry Hot Shots”. Read more>>

Ally (Aiken) Ross

When I started my business back in 2020, I was definitely not trying to start a business at the time. I had been water color painting for fun for a few years & had just started a new role doing graphic design work. My now husband, Campbell, was starting a new role in corporate finance after working in the golf industry for 9 months as an Assistant Golf Professional. He loved his time working in golf and was trying to think of creative ways to commemorate this special season of life between graduating college and starting his career in finance. Read more>>

Olivia Williams

Many Mumbling Mice started as just a cheap gift idea for my family. I wanted to be the “cool Aunt” and buy candles as gifts…until I realized I had to dish out a lot of money and the candles I wanted always gave me headaches when I burned them. I had loved candles so much, but my wallet and head were screaming “do it yourself!”. After being able to formulate a recipe that was safer for the environment and allowed for headache-free good times (which was very easy for me as I was a forensic science major and loved science), I was able to gift them to my friends and family. Read more>>

Shar Schmidt

I was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2017. Along with that diagnosis came a lot of unexpected health issues, which I wasn’t expecting. I thought I’d do the chemotherapy, the radiation, the surgeries & my life would just pick up where it left off. I’d go back to my job & everything would be as if I’d hit this “pause” button. That wasn’t the case at all. I developed other illnesses from cancer that meant I’d never be the same as I was before. Read more>>

Nicole Pinedo

I’m a Drugless Practitioner. I work with people on diet modification and stress management for health concerns. My goal is to try to get to the root cause of the issue to avoid unnecessary medications. Two specific groups that I tend to work with are teachers and parents with children who have neurological struggles. With teachers metabolic syndrome is on the rise. I understood this was partially contributed to a very busy schedule with little time left over to meal plan or prepare for mornings specifically. Read more>>

Myle Acevedo

My business idea was born during the time of confinement due to the pandemic, during that confinement I was pregnant and decided to do a specialization in digital marketing. Seeing that so many people were trying to migrate their businesses to digital platforms, undertaking and looking for a way to generate money through online sales. It occurred to me to share my knowledge, and I started to generate general educational content that would help these people. Due to the reception that this had, I began to design a business strategy that would allow me to personally help each person who required it, according to their interests and type of business, to develop unique strategies that would allow them to achieve their digital objectives. Read more>>

Max Paularena

I moved to Denver in 2018 to join The Wondering Woods, a band my friend from college was playing in and needed a guitarist. I did not know had such a high volume of artists! At this point I was already being very inspired by visual artist I would see online, that where making a living and, better yet, thriving doing art. Them sharing their lives and process with the public made it clear that they were not much different from me. Read more>>

Julie Wills

Occupied Home Staging is not a new concept to the Staging industry, but it was a new concept for me. After all, most of us watch HGTV and see big teams of people working on a home, followed by a large truck to unload all of the beautiful furnishings. This is not the reality for most people and it wasn’t for me either when my husband and I moved to Tennessee ten years ago. I did everything myself and I thoroughly enjoyed it! Read more>>

Eric Nwokocha

I first had an interest in photography when I was a senior in high school, because I was on the yearbook staff and got my first mini extra tiny taste of photojournalism. I had always been interested since then, but never put in enough effort to improve beyond taking pictures with my phone, until last year. Our church, the Faith Filled Church, was getting back into form post-pandemic, and one of the needs we had was new pictures of our pastors and services, which I took. From there, I had just been going to any local concert, show, or photo walk, and taking, editing, and delivering pictures of anyone and anything that was willing. Read more>>

Lien Nguyen

I’m an artist. I believe in the power of little things. They can bring joy to us just as much as grant things. When the pandemic started in 2020, many people suffered physically and mentally. I hurted me deeply to see that. I wanted to help out with the little talent I have. At first the idea wasn’t clear. Afterall, what can an artist do to contribute to a deadly pademic, right? It took me along time to develop the product and finding what works best. Read more>>

Elizabeth Dansby

Annét Chatoyer was founded after I (Elizabeth Dansby) sought the help of Ashley Gentry to start a business. This was the idea, to start a business. I decided I didn’t want to be a replaceable puzzle piece for someone else, but rather, after becoming a mother, I knew that my purpose in life was to be an irreplaceable piece for my own legacy. While finishing my Master’s of Business Administration degree, I was able to choose a topic for my thesis and I chose Kendra Scott. Her story intrigued me. Read more>>

Kimberly Burke

I came up with the idea of starting a professional coaching company when I worked in the banking industry. I was a manager at a retail branch in St. Louis, MO, and noticed so many people I encountered were unhappy with their job roles and felt stuck. As I listened to other young professionals in the community express regret about their careers or life choices, I was eager to help others identify what they want out of life and achieve it. Read more>>

Gracie Pfaff

I started Harvest107 when I was just 12 years old. It was the summer of 2013, and it all started with a book. I read The Good Garden: How One Family Went From Hunger To Having Enough. It is based on a true story in Honduras of how one teacher changed the fate of a failing family farm. I was so inspired by this story that I decided to dig a little deeper. Being the researcher I am, I spent hours on Google reading everything I possibly could about hunger, malnutrition, and small-scale farming. Read more>>

Christle Reed

I had one of the most amazing fathers a young girl could have. He was very intentional about making positive memories. Unfortunately, he was diagnosed with a rare lung disease in November of 1997. Even through his pain, even through his discomfort, he still put his role as a father first. He knew that he wasn’t going to be around much longer. In May of 1998, my father passed away. As you could imagine, this hurt me to my core. Read more>>

Heather White

Prior to SeaLab’s creation I co-founded a design and development services firm by the name of Balderdash LLC. Our little team catered to mostly eager entrepreneurs with a brilliant napkin idea, and goals to pitch to Silicon Valley for investment. While I loved the passion of all of our clients and the variety of projects we got to work on in such a short time, the shoe string budgets always left us trying to help cut costs at every possible corner. Read more>>

John Ferguson

I used to work internationally in the oil industry and was tired of being away from my family. Since gardening was a hobby I decided to start a landscape business. I went all over the Houston area and could not find good quality soils or mulches and no compost at all. In college I had a lot of soil science as part of my course work and I had been making compost since I was 8 years old. Hence, I dropped the landscaping idea and decided .to start a composting company and focus on high quality products. Read more>>

DJ Tootz

So when we were in High school (sophomore year) our older brother dj’d our sweet sixteen. We had such a good turnout, he said “y’all should start djing, it would be so live” We we’re only worried about playin tennis back then so we kept it pushing. Fast forward to college, and we circle back around to the idea. I (Big Tootz) knew this was going to work. I knew we would be big. I knew the picture was bigger than us and that we would inspire so many people. I (Lil tootz) wasent so sure. I just knew I didt want to waste any money on buying the wrong equipment lol. So we searched for a mentor. Read more>>

Desiree’ Johnson

In the midst of the pandemic in 2020, our local mall re-opened that summer. As I was running low on some of my favorite candles, I decided to attend Bath & Body Works for their semi annual sale. However, due to the semi annual sale it was a madhouse and an unpleasant shopping experience. As I was driving on the way home, I started to wonder “What would it take for me to learn how to make my own candles?”, since I love them so much. I was finishing up my last semester of graduate school and knew I would have plenty of free time for researching purposes. Read more>>