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.

Michelle LaBuwi.

When I was a bride-to-be, I was frustrated with the options for our wedding ceremony — the reason for the party! For a non-religious couple, we had two options. Hire a stranger or ask a loved one. We opted for the later, and were so excited my uncle agreed to do the honors. Until a Google search quickly helped me realize without some serious time and effort our ceremony would fall short of our hopes, dreams, needs, and expectations. Read more>>

Roslynn Fleming

The initial thought of starting my business was in my senior year of high school in 2017. Being one of many that wore their natural hair, I decided to do a big chop and my hair grew tremendously. People started to express interest in my hair journey on what products I use to manage and grow my hair. Read more>>

Emily Pitcher

I joined ACM Studio, UCLA’s game development club, in my third year of college. I loved narrative games but was unfamiliar with the process of making them. From learning Unity to writing branching dialogue, I quickly fell in love with the craft. Sondering Studio started as a name for me to release my games under. Read more>>

Lauren Lobo

It was a regular, sunny afternoon in the fall of 2017 when 18 year-old me was sitting in my bed when my mom came bursting into my room excited about this great, new idea she had. She says, “I found a website where you can buy lashes for super cheap, really cute styles, and they even have some that are magnetic.” I remember I was just about to go down for a nap at that time so of course, teenage me had a little attitude. Read more>>

Cetine Dale

RITVAL Candles began as a hobby pre-pandemic when i was without full time employment and had extra time to dabble and get creative. I honestly believe that candle making found me when I needed it most. I have always been obsessed with fantasy, fictional literature, video games, and magick and I needed an outlet that would serve all of these ideas. And after months and months of research and experimentation, I created what is now the RITVAL candle. Read more>>

Autumn Ryan.

My Dad asked me at 5 years old what I wanted to be when I grew up. I said, “a maid.” He said, “no, you want to own the company that cleans and has maids.” A week after I graduated from college, I could not find the right job that got me excited to wake up each morning and go to work. My mom said, “you like to clean! Start a cleaning company!” I started my own janitorial company, cleaning homes and commercial properties. Read more>>

Tamika Carlton

Relationships fuel us. I’ve always known it, but when I got into my fruitful and challenging relationship that made space for my growth, I looked into the data because I was interested. Data shows the impact of relationships on our lives. With only 14% of people in the U.S. that feel very happy, I knew that stat needed to change, and I would be the one, along with my husband, Logan, to build the momentum to do so through a relationship platform. Read more>>

Heather McCarthy.

I had spent 8 years in the Air Force, after that I fell into a career in group benefits. I spent 16 years in the insurance industry but had never felt fulfilled or fully happy with what I was doing. I was laid off in 2021 and knew I didn’t want to go back into it, it had been a LONG time coming. I had an amazing friend suggest I start my own company. I have ADHD and a learning disability, while the seed was planted I was really afraid to take the plunge and start my own LLC. Read more>>

Mrs. Tish Mrs. Angie

Mrs. Angie came up with the idea to open a daycare because she did not have anyone to watch her kids back in California. She was away from family and friend and did not know a lot of people in California. So she began watching neighbors kids along with her own and really came to love it! Mrs. Tish decided to open a daycare when she had her first child, Tylan. It was extremely difficult to find a quality childcare center., so she I said I would open my own! Read more>>

Kimberly Brown

This idea came about as a result of some health issues I was having. I broke out into hive and couldn’t figure out what was causing it. My doctor wanted me to start taking a closer look at the ingredients in the foods I was consuming. She suggested that I eat as clean as possible and make everything myself. I started reading the ingredients on everything, including my seasonings. Read more>>

Dayna Guinn

My husband and I got the beautiful opportunity to get station in Germany for two years. During that time, I started looking for crafty ideas to do with my free time. I ordered a tie dye kit from amazon to try with friend. I remember setting it all up in the sunroom with her. Laying down a sheet to prevent from making a mess. We were both excited to see what we could create. Not really knowing much about tie dye at all, we just went for it! Read more>>

Rachel DesRochers

I’ve built a lot of things in the 13 yeas of being an entrepreneur. Sometimes I stop and look back at all the things we’ve tried over the years- products, flavors, music festivals, podcasts. But Power to Pursue, it has felt different since the beginning. This idea, this vision of really creating space for women to be seen, heard & loved in. A space we can network but really a space where we can be our full selves and connect with other women who are doing the same. A space of marketing, events, story telling, and our big summit. Read more>>

Robert Harrington.

The idea for Bella Media stemmed from a love of media, and production. I had been in the AV business as an employee and as an owner, but I wanted to capture people’s voices and stories on a more personal level. My wife and I got our first personal camera and started shooting weddings on the weekends. Which led to us getting larger job opportunities and deciding to go all in on Bella Media. In the past 19+ years, we’ve been able to build a team of amazing creatives with the same values and goals. Read more>>

Lisabeth Sewell

The idea for Sparkle Stories came to me 12 years ago, when David Sewell McCann and I lived in Vermont with our young boys. We were a low-media household at the time. I felt strongly about raising our kids with as few screens as possible, and at the same time wanted to catch breaks as a mom, which I knew screens offered! There was a day when both boys were home sick, and I found myself frustrated, looking for quality audio stories online, desperate for something screen-free that could entertain them for a moment so I could rest. Read more>>

Alex Vazquez

How did we come up with the idea for Urban Simple? Hmmm, that’s a great question! OK, in 2013, we (my brother Demian and I) decided to take a look at the commercial cleaning space. We were looking for an incredibly practical industry to get into. One that was super unsexy but that every business could either use or needed. Read more>>

Christi Pratte.

They say from the hardest falls come the greatest rises. And I guess you could say that’s what started the writing career I’m blessed to have today. In 2018 I encountered one of the most challenging years of my life and I knew I had two options– stand or stay. I chose to stand and face the road ahead and use the circumstances to grow. Read more>>

Rick Crawford

Reading “Let My People Go Surfing” by Patagonia founder Yvon Chouinard, and learning to fly fish for trout while living in Wyoming is how I initially came up with the idea of marrying fly fishing and sustainability. “Let My People Go Surfing” is about Patagonia using their business to solve environmental problems, which really resonated with me, and learning to fly fish teaches you about systems-thinking. So, the seed was planted to somehow figure out how to marry fly fishing and sustainability, but I knew I had to get some experience first. Read more>>

Evelyn Lemourt

A few years ago, I purchased an adhesive bra, at a major department store, for a white backless dress. The only color available was a nude/flesh tone. I loved the bra except there was one problem…the nude color against my dark was too light and it would show through my dress. I asked the salesperson if the adhesive bra came in darker tones and she replied, “no”. Read more>>

Jennette Powell

I came up with the name of my business 15 years ago. I wanted to leave an legacy behind for my girls . I’ve been doing hair 5 years prior to coming up with the name . One Sunday afternoon I was taking my girls to the park they were about 4, and 6 years of age . While they were playing I was writing in my journal looking at my girls . I said to myself I wanted to included them somehow . So I came up with there abbreviations of their name and I put it together . Ti’tianna and Amaya;name I came up with Ti’ Maya Naturals. Read more>>

Soraya Soobhany-Chohan

I got married in 2014 at the age of 35. In our community I may as well have been on an old folks’ home shuffling around on a walker by that age. Our communities like their women to marry young in their 20s. But I really had tried but had 15 years of fruitless first dates, blind dates, set ups, online searching, bad dates you name it. The oneday after a particularly bad experience with a guy I realised that enough was enough and I needed help. Read more>>

Kim Golden

I’ve always enjoyed baking but when I was younger, I wasn’t aware of any programs that were just for pastries/baking. They were all full culinary programs – which meant raw chicken & raw fish…Gross! So that was out of the question for me. I pursued a career in education and continued to bake as a hobby. As life went on, the unexpected hit my family when my late husband was diagnosed with a brain tumor. Read more>>

Tracina Dilligard.

So my business WW.A.V.E (Wig & Wedding Artistry Visually Enticing) the original concept came to me a few years ago from a close industry friend, when I expressed I wanted to start my own business. I had always known from a really young age that whatever career I pursued that I would want to be my own boss and have full creative control over how I wanted to things. Read more>>

Melissa Calles .

Since I can remember, I have always had an interest in entertainment. Whether that was through dance/musical performances, hosting talent shows, or participating in my school’s daily news show, being able to create art that people enjoy is something I’ve always found joy in. I always knew I wanted to create something that people would find entertaining, but also something that could be a medium for information and something people could relate to. I just was never sure what that would be. Read more>>

Terri B Jones

Whether we want to acknowledge it or not, the pandemic has changed the way we do church. It was the second week in December 2021. The kids were set with their parts in the annual Christmas play until…there was a game. After teaching in the youth ministry for over 40 years, I had never imagined that I would be in competition with youth sports organizations. As a creative, enthusiastic and exploratory teacher, the kids have no idea of what they will be doing from week to week when they come to my Sunday School class. Read more>>

Brittany Jeatter.

In the midst of the pandemic, I decided to resign from my job. I was a healthcare worker who had recently relocated to NY and being a healthcare worker at that time was overwhelming. With constant covid updates on the news, mandated social distancing and the feeling of everyone being on edge—I decided to focus on creating a brand that promoted health, wellness and relaxation with products that were “sassy”. Read more>>

Maurus Alexander-DeJournett

The concept for my company began before I knew it had begun, and to some, maybe from an unlikely source; Tupac Shakur. I’ve listened to 2pac, as an artist & person, since a youth. Recall at one of his performances he spoke that he’d do more shows the more the community comes together on the issues of crime. There was another event to where Tupac & DeathRow Records participated in the Brotherhood Crusade Rally to campaign against Proposition 209 in California, on August 15, 1996. Read more>>

Leslie Forde

I completely burned out after returning to work when my second child was born. I was trying to navigate an expanded role, while I was sleeping in one hour increments, caring for a newborn and a toddler. It was miserable and I felt like I was going to die. I just couldn’t figure out what other parents were doing to make it work. I knew that I didn’t want my career to stall or stop, I wanted to grow. But I also needed to be able to care for myself and my well-being to maintain my energy and creative problem solving skills. Read more>>

James Boggs

The idea of JB Addo Clothiers was born out of necessity. I started a non-profit Veteran Service Organization called TEAM ADDO back in 2014. Our main goal and mission is to Suit Up as many transitioning service members as we can. The challenges we faced doing this was to provide high quality American made products at an affordable price. Read more>>

Mark Stepanishen

I’ve been out of the Army for about 7 years, and have been back from Afghanistan for about 10. Through that time, I’ve gone through a long and winding evolution reflecting upon my time at war and how I felt about the things I saw and experienced. In short, from dismissive, harsh and in-denial to empathetic and thoughtful. Along the way, I’ve been the benefactor of an incredibly strong support system (family, work, living situation, faith) that has allowed me to integrate into the civilian world relatively seamlessly and without significant difficulty. Read more>>

Carmen Corsi

I have always been thrift minded. Even as a child, I learned to love bargain shopping and was happiest when I knew I was getting a deal. I started thrifting over 30 years ago and never looked back. But thrifting wasn’t cool back then. I wanted to tell everyone that I paid $1 for my new dress, but I was afraid they’d think I was cheap or wore garbage. Thrift stores were few and far between back then, and going to the mall was the popular thing to do. Read more>>

Christie Duffy.

I grew up on an island in Lake Erie, called Put-in-Bay and am a fifth generation Island Girl. My great-grandmother, whom I’m named after, also lived on the island and raised her 12 children there. She made a medicinal salve, that we simply referred to as “Gramma’s Salve.” We didn’t have fancy Neosporin for cuts and scrapes, but instead, we had the salve. It was gooey and had such a distinct medicinal scent and anytime I scraped my knee or wrecked on my bike, this bottle of salve would come out of the medicine cabinet. It always made me feel better and healed all our family’s ailments. Read more>>

Drew Jarvis

Back in 2019, my business partner, Cindy Belardo, and I were introduced to one another through a product engineering firm. Coincidentally, we learned that we were both working toward the same goal: creating a better alternative to traditional period care products. We decided to join forces and build the groundwork for the Sunny + Applicator, the first menstrual cup that inserts like a tampon. Read more>>

Yasmin Santana

DESIRE TO ENTREPRENEURSHIP: THIS IS HOW JAZZ COSMETICS WAS BORN The desire to undertake! a young Latina Mother in the USA. Yasmin Santana Since she was a child, she dreamed and wanted to create her own line of beauty cosmetics, a line for all ages. Jazz Cosmetics was born in the USA, Pennsylvania in 2020 in the covid 2019 quarantine.  Read more>>

Mary Esposito.

When I was 13 I was hospitalized for an eating disorder. In the hospital I couldnt do much. We werent allowed to exercise and didnt go on many outings. Many of the girls were knitting to pass the time and they taught me as well. I fell in love with knitting and spent hours every day with my needles and yarn. Once I was discharged I realized how much knitting helped with my mindfulness and recovery so I decided to continue. Read more>>

Bebe Davis

I definitely give the credit to my mother- she was the one who gave me the idea of expanding on my own and starting a business. At the time, I was leaving a lash studio and going back to doing men’s hair. I had already fell in love with eyelash extensions, so I was expressing to my mother how I miss doing lashes. At first I started doing house calls and going to my few clients that I had. Eventually the driving was taking up a lot of time, so my mother gave me the idea of renting a small space and working out of there. Read more>>