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.

Eliza Funk

As long as I can remember I’ve always loved to paint. I didn’t take my work too seriously until 2017 when I was going through a particularly rough time in my life. I was soon painting everyday and obsessing over my dog to take my mind off of difficult times. My family and friends were soon commissioning me to paint house and pet portraits. Painting really helped my mental health, and the enjoyment I get out of creating art for other people really drove me to keep going. I continued to paint for those around me, and worked a full time job. Read more>>

Kimberly Riddick

I’ve always been very artistic, I loved to draw and paint as a child and into my teen years. and I always loved all things beauty. My love for makeup stated early. I did my own makeup for prom. And even tweak my makeup for my wedding. On my wedding day I had a makeup artist come to do my makeup. While I loved the application, There were areas I wanted to make my own, Read more>>

Loren Taylor

How I came up with LDT Events. As a little girl I loved everything wedding related. I would sit for hours with bridal magazines and just dream of my own one day. I grew up, went to college and got my degree in Communications. After graduation I didn’t really know what I wanted to do. I started working at a rental company that handled decor for weddings/events. Read more>>

Damien Thompson

Well, it was a warm spring day and we were living in Chicago, and Sarah and I had just picked up our daughters from school. We started to walk towards home, and that’s when we noticed we were trapped. At the end of the block sat an ice cream truck, blocking our path and blaring it’s siren song. The girls wanted ice cream, and at this point so did we. Read more>>

Gary Leybman

Our mission is to serve the community, connecting our customers to what our local producers have to offer, and to serve tasty foods that elicit memories. Read more>>

Shermineh Ghane

Talāyee Fine Jewelry was born out of a few different experiences and factors that came together to give me the right push to jump into the world of small business ownership. During the process of collaborating with my now-husband on designing my engagement ring a few years ago, I learned so much about sustainable and ethical sourcing of precious metals and gemstones like diamonds, Read more>>

Linda Konde

I’ve worked in the travel industry for a couple of years, but even before entering it, I loved travelling and always knew it would be a big part of my life. I often thought about creating a product within that space, but I, more often than not, allowed my fear to get the best of me and focused on other ideas instead. Read more>>

Alexandra Christopher

I’ve always had an entrepreneurial spirit. I used to sell full blown cakes on the down low in school. I’ve done nails at lunch time. I even sold my own lunch to my classmates because they enjoyed my mom’s cooking more than the cafeteria food. So after graduating college in the winter of 2020, I decided that I wanted to open up my own business. I didn’t want to do a service business because I honestly was too scared to do so. Read more>>

Bernadette Albury

As a graduate student group assignment, I was asked to design a healthcare business, business plan, and structure type, spearheaded the project with taking parts of my journal and vision to produce the business in 2015, which became a reality in 2019. Read more>>

Loren McDaniel

The DYWork story begins with our founder, Loren McDaniel. There was a period where her dating/friendship life was in shambles. She lost her job and had to move out of her home; and her familial life was less than ideal. Desperate for a transformational life change, she called out to her aunt. Her aunt laughed understandingly and told her to “Do Your Work”. That phrase struck a chord with her. Read more>>

Melissa Michaud-Maltese

My mom had passed away after being sick for years. I always had encounters with spirit and struggled to find employment for my son who is on the Autism Spectrum. Things came to fruition when my mom passed. I decided to assist my son with employment and stop being afraid of spirit. It was time to change to a holistic way of life and to help others with the same. Read more>>

Patrice Hudson

Growing up, I had a hard life because I was in and out of foster care. Life started to get easier when I met my brother. We were so happy to have each other as siblings because he was in foster care before I was born and we did not know each other until my fifth foster home. After we met my social worker made sure that we stay together in the home. Growing up with a big brother was exciting. We shared a bedroom together, we played together and also he taught me how to draw. Read more>>

Sydney Carstens

I have always loved everything fashion since I was a little girl. Growing up I would always love to play dress up with my sister and dress my barbies. I always knew I wanted to have my own clothing business but wanted to complete college since I was so busy with school. After I graduated, I moved to AZ and had some free time on my hands. Read more>>

Liz Felgate

I have always loved to bake. I began baking with my Mum as a child in England. I would love to help her bake all the family favorites, including scones, rock cakes, and the classic Victoria sandwich cake. Read more>>

Rennee Hubb Johnson

Inspiring 2 Live started as a hashtag and was officially birthed in 2020 when I lost (4 family members within 40 days). During that period, I took a break from everything. I was looking for healing and trying to find out how to adjust to my new normal. After praying, I begin to write inspiring messages to help others heal and gain an understanding that it’s okay to grieve. Read more>>

Susana Rea

I started Julianna’s Dessert Bar in June 2020. Surprisingly, not because of the pandemic but because of my two kids. My son was born in April 2020 and my oldest daughter, Julianna, received hip surgery in June 2020. I had a newborn and a child in cast from her hip to ankles. So, that meant I had a lot of Dr. Appointments! I went down to working part time in my 9-5 and that meant my income will also go down. I have always loved baking. I even went to college for Culinary Arts. Read more>>

TIFFANY ROBERTSON

Sometimes, the idea finds you and it feels like and becomes more than just an idea. It’s you walking into your divine purpose with your eyes wide closed. It’s the intersection of fear and faith. That’s the orgin story of Touchy Topics Tuesday. Personal. Prolific. Passionate. Purposeful. Read more>>

Karla Lino

For as long as I could remember being in the kitchen was something I really enjoyed. Watching cooking and baking shows, I always admired how chefs would create dishes with ingredients that were so simple. As I got older though I realized that if I wanted to pursue a career in the restaurant business, I first needed to understand how business worked in general. I graduated college with a business degree and headed off to culinary school. Read more>>

Daniella Medina

After becoming disabled from Vascular Ehlers Danlos Syndrome, I realized how many businesses aren’t accessible for dynamic disabilities and how many jobs underestimate or don’t bother to become educated on a disabled individual. Having half a million followers across social media platforms gave me the opportunity to “rate” Read more>>

Kara Johnson recently

Diane, Crystal and I were long-time instructors at a well-known gym in our town. Unfortunately, a few factors during the height of the pandemic cause our gym to have to close its doors permanently in December of 2020. We suddenly found ourselves without a place to teach group fitness, and realized there was also a large group in our community now displaced, without a way to come together for workouts, accountability and encouragement. Read more>>

Zakia Jones

My sunglasses business started by my love for wearing them. One day I just thought why not share this with other woman, that love fashionable and affordable eyewear as well. I did not first vendor event and the ladies love what I had to offer. Every pair picked with love and passion, now we have my esthetician business. My baby Honey Beez Esthetics where I specialize in teen skin. Read more>>

Esther Loopstra

I had been working as a commercial illustrator and designer for 8 years as well as teaching budding artists in higher education but I was feeling like something was missing. I was burnt out, and sensing that I wanted to create art that was more of a reflection of my own authenticity but I didn’t know where to start. Read more>>

Johanlee Perez

I started as a self taught makeup artist on the side. always had a love for beauty growing up but instead pursued what I thought at the moment was a more reliable career which was nursing. I was always known for the eyebrows whenever it came to the makeup application and I truly always looked forward to that part of the makeup application. I was working for 3 years as a registered nurse and found myself to be burned out from the stress of the hospital setting. Read more>>

Adison Evans

The pandemic was a pivotal moment for me, as it was for many. As a professional musician with a 6-month long canceled tour in Asia, I spent much time meditating and reflecting on what I planned to do next. The idea of a compost pickup service came to me in a meditation. It aligned with what I was already passionate about: community and supporting our planet’s health. Read more>>

Kaylan Simmons

I’ve been modeling for some years now and it has brought me great opportunities. Throughout my journey I’ve seen others wanting to break into modeling, but they didn’t know where to start. I have a true passion for helping others especially when it comes to pushing people towards their dreams. I did go to college and received my master’s degree in social work, Read more>>

Dailyrapupcrew

In 2017, we all worked at the same job. So throughout the day, we would have conference calls and talk about different subjects. Could vary from current events, relationships to sports and community. We would be on the phone for hours conversing and laughing. Then Eli said “we be having some interesting conversations, I wonder if people would find them entertaining”. Read more>>

Gia Adams Wheeler

Two years before my sister Riki and I set out to create our homeware label, our world was in a pandemic. I noticed the impact that widespread interruption was having on small businesses and our environment. Read more>>

Abi Schlesinger

Charcuterie has been a tradition in my family for the past few years, and it was something that we all enjoyed doing together, since we all live in different states and only see each other a few times a year! As we continued to build more boards for family trips, I had friends suggest turning it into a business after seeing the boards we had made on my own personal Instagram account! Read more>>

Jonny Demon

Originally my business partner Alexei had been talking about wanting to start making some beard care as a more affordable way to take care of himself, and I mentioned a casual interest in it as well since I was tired of paying high prices for quality product. A couple weeks later, he had come up with an oil and balm in two scents, Read more>>

Jasper M

Jaiko Magazine was established to provide a safe space for incoming brands to present themselves to the industry. What set us apart is that Jaiko Magazine is a platform for NEW public figures from aspects of fashion and beauty. Read more>>

Megan Herlocker

Prior to owning my own business I was working in the not for profit sector for a child advocacy center locally as a their Director of Philanthropy and was in charge of raising fund for our cause and event planning. During the pandemic, my co-workers and I were sent to work from home like so many others and forced to work under a different set of circumstances we weren’t used to. As an extremely social person, who loves to plan events and be around people, and do my job, this was a very hard time for myself and my team. Read more>>

Roger Palomino

Depression-/ traveled to Meenakshi Temple in Tamil Nadu Sought to understand energy Began a journey of discovery Read more>>

Angeline Spencer

I always had a knack and joy for making jewelry pieces for myself or as gifts for friends. I ended up working for a clothing boutique that also sold jewelry-making supplies. This really piqued my interest, as I began to interact more with customers who would ask about the jewelry pieces I was wearing and where I got them. The owner of the boutique then asked if I would be interested in selling some of my creations in the store. Read more>>

Philip Stewart

The idea was a combination of my passion to cook and also to be more personal with my clients Read more>>

Juliet (Juliemango) Bodley

I was always doing ContentCreating My own mental health struggles and overcoming them led me to be a mental health advocate Read more>>

Amanda Stubbs

WildLife Nature Experience is a business started by me and my sister in 2019. She is a master naturalist and I am a state certified teacher. We both have a love for the outdoors and working with children, which is where the idea for WNE started, a totally unique program in our area. Read more>>

Jessica Morris

I wouldn’t say I came up with the idea. My story is that I went through a phase of self development. I was depressed; not knowing what my purpose was I really did not want to be another pretty face. That will eventually fade. I needed to have something that could not be taken away from me, I needed to know my purpose. Upon my depression changing from a thought to actual self harm which was only just for 1 day back in 2018. Read more>>

Ainka J. Fulani

When I started BreakThrough Coaching in 2008 as I was working in Career Services at a business school, supporting full-time, part-time and executive MBAs in the area of professional development and advising. Increasingly, students were raising concerns around things in their life that impacted, yet were not narrowly defined as, “the job search.” Read more>>

Wendy & Trevon Brehm/Williams

One day, Wendy had a commercially-produced candle lit while she was doing homework (back in the college days), and her hair caught on fire even though she was not sitting anywhere near the candle. This was the first thing that prompted us to think about what goes into the items we have in our home. We had some free time on our hands so we decided to experiment with making candles. Read more>>