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.

Donna Shannon

I started teaching people the art of job searching back in 2004. I had been working as an HR/recruiter for several years, and I was honestly tired of having to cut qualified applicants just because they didn’t understand how the hiring process worked. I continued to teach the classes and work with individual clients on the side for several years. In 2009, I realized that I was generating so much material for the class that I could easily turn it into a book. I took a real, hard look at my possible career paths: Either get very serious about my HR career or dive deeper into career coaching. Read more>>

Jules & Stacey Weldon & Pierce

Twenty-three years ago, Paul and Jerie Weldon (Jules’ parents) were sitting on the boardwalk of Bethany Beach, DE people watching at the end of the beach day. A single mom caught their attention as she was trying to pack up her three hot and tired little kiddos, and all their “stuff” – blankets, towels, shovels, pails, chairs – with lots of frustration. So, my Mom and Dad went back to their condo and napkin-sketched a 2in1 concept of a lounger and dolly. They got it patented but couldn’t figure out how to take it to market. Read more>>

Katie Waara

I started my event planning career in 2016, working for a small business doing corporate events. The company mainly worked with Fortune 500 companies to do networking gatherings, trade shows, national sales meetings and every year a televised event. I quickly learned it was rewarding to complete an event knowing I was the one to make it happen. It felt like I had a super power because I was creating events by using a lot of imagination while bringing in characteristics of what the client was expecting. Literally seeing something out of nothing! Read more>>

Christina Barrueta

Launching Write On Rubee, LLC was a natural progression as I shared my love for Arizona’s wonderful culinary and beverage. A Boston native, I moved to Phoenix in 2008 and within a month had attended my first “locavore” dinner at Tapino, a restaurant once owned by Chef James Porter (he now runs Terra Farm + Manor in Prescott). We were seated with local farmers, ranchers and winemakers and it was an eye-opening introduction to my new home state. That night, I also met Ronni and Josh Moffatt, who worked with my husband’s son selling Arizona vineyard land. Read more>>

Bryce Murphree

The idea for our business can best be described as an evolution. Having some time off between chef jobs, my idle hands needed to find something to do. Fortunately, someone ( for the life of me I can’t remember who) gifted me a do it yourself soy candle kit. You know, the kind with some tins, some wicks, some wax, some fragrance oil, etc. No imagination, pretty much just add water. So I made some candles. Pretty easy process, I thought. Pretty simple, pretty easy , and pretty boring. I thought however, that I could take the process to another level by making my own fragrance oils, thus solving my need for chefly creativity. Read more>>

Jose Ortiz

It all started back in middle school. I was very interested in art and found out while taking art classes that I had some talent. I continued with drawings and rendering using different media. After a couple years of just drawings and sketches I had this feeling that there was something more than just pencil and paper. It was Junior year in High school that I registered late for classes and when choosing an elective, fashion design was the only one left that had spots available. I was hesitant at first but decided to give it a try. Read more>>

Ashley Baier

Growing up I was heavily involved in athletics from a young age through college. In grade school and high school I played volleyball, basketball but my true passion was track and field, which would pay my way through college. Being such a dedicated athlete for twelve years of my life I lived in athletic apparel clothing. I felt most comfortable in workout attire but felt at the time I was really limited to only a few brands. In college I majored in fashion merchandising with the idea that I would one day create my very own athletic apparel brand that would offer functional-able and fashionable athletic lifestyle wear to though who aspire to live an healthy lifestyle. It was an a dream at the time with no real execution plan. Read more>>

Leticia Franklin

I was sitting @ home 1 day while Googling. A thought came across my mind. We all have been through alot during the pandemic. We all faced alot of challenges & Emotions. So how can we bring Laughter & Romance back into Homes starting with Couples & Loved ones with Special. Occasions we Love to Share. Read more>>

Malisha Shields

I know this will sound super cliche, but the infancy idea of styleMbellished was birth out of my love of fashion from my days as a young girl from dressing my Barbie doll and wanting her to be flyer than all of my friends’ dolls! LOL! As I continued to get older, my passion for fashion intensified to me at various points in life wanting to be a model and having my grandmother take me to a modeling agency, all the way to me attempting to learn to sew in high school thinking I would be the next hot runway designer. Read more>>

Leola Abondano

I am a lash artist and love doing eyelash extensions for many reasons but just last year I decided I wanted to launch apparel for lash artists like myself. Ever since I can remember I have always been a t-shirt kind of girl . There is something about being able to wake up in the morning and just throw on a t-shirt and go. I have many lash shirts I had bought from other lash brands that I would usually wear to work and one day, while going through all my lash shirts in my closet, I thought to myself “Why don’t I create lash apparel for lash artists?”. Read more>>

terrany johnson

Urban Artist Alliance was a company grown from the idea of no Black owned community based educational platform to educate, motivate and cultivate an environment of inclusion in a music scene that was seriously lacking in the ways of artist of color succeeding alongside their white counterparts. As an artist i knew that knowing the business of music form the core to the stage and beyond was very important for artist to establish sustainable careers. Read more>>

Marc Ferman

For a few years, I had been attending film festivals that were out-of-state. One thing I had noticed was that there were all these great independent genre films that were not getting any attention in Florida. At the time, VOD was still pretty young and there weren’t a million streaming services available. One of the great things about watching these films at a festival, was the shared experience with an audience. Horror can be great at home, but it is so much better in a large dark theater, There is also nothing like hearing a reaction from the audience. Read more>>

Christina Henderson

My thought process was to utilize my professional experience to support families of special needs children while bringing awareness to the community. By profession, I have been an educator for over 15 years. During this time, I challenged myself to learn and grow as I encountered students with disabilities, specifically autism. Autism is a term used to describe an array of neurodevelopmental disorders that affect a person’s social, behavior and communication skills. What I learned is that many families are not knowledgeable and/or misinformed about the disability. Read more>>

Elisabeth Varondi

I grew up believing that everything you do with love has a positive impact on generations to come. Mandazi is that special treat that will always remind me of the best memories of my childhood After my grandmother passed, I realized that I inherited the best treasure which is Mandazi’s recipe, We would all sit around her while she worked her magic with the dough, anticipating the moment when she would begin frying her dough, and ah, that wonderful aroma would fill the air with its promise of the most wonderful Beignets we could imagine. Read more>>

Chandler Hutson

A friend of mine actually came up with the idea for me to start a food Instagram page. We always talk about recipes I enjoy making, easy dinner ideas, cocktails, etc. she thought it would be a great idea to share all of my recipes in one place. When we discussed what the name of the Instagram should be, she said “what’s the first name that comes to mind?” And I instantly answered, The Blonde Food God. I started the page in November ‘21 and it’s been so much fun. I am so thankful for the friends and family who pushed me to step out of my comfort zone. Read more>>

Elloheim Clark

The idea of BeSpecial came about in high school when I struggled to make the varsity basketball team my freshman year. When my friends with whom I’ve been playing basketball with since middle school made the varsity team, I was a little discouraged. I came home after basketball tryouts with a sad look on my face and my father sits me down and tells me that I have to “BeSpecial”. I have to put in the extra work to get to that level of play whether it’s extra reps in the weight room, extra laps on the track, or even extra shots in the gym after practice. Read more>>

Sydnie Long

Sydnie Social is truly the brain/love child of all the hard realizations I went through in 2021 and nudges of those closest to me. Over the course of 4.5 years of working in U.S. Senate, I’d grown in my ability to network, in my know-how on connecting people to the right “others,” and it so, being a “social butterfly” was something that I really thrived in. While it was not easy acting on behalf of a conservative politician as a black woman in America (that’s an entirely different conversation), I learned so much from my time in the Senate – skills that I can take with me anywhere I go. Read more>>

Mike McKenna

Listening to the customer is great advice, especially when you have customers. However, when there are no customers to start with or a customer struggles to articulate what they need or why, a modified strategy is needed. One of the best tools for an entrepreneur or small business owner is situational awareness. By listening and watching for clues about our prospective business, service, or product, we can make a more informed decision about market fit, viability, etc. Read more>>

Nina Taylor

The idea of The Suite Faith initially started when I decided I was not working for someone else by the time I turned 40. The concept really was about taking my knowledge of over 20 years experience in the short term housing Industry and assisting faith-based organizations with their temporary housing throughout the US. Once the business got going I stayed focused because I realized the potential it had with the market that I was targeting along with the connections that I still maintained in New York so I knew it would grow into something really special and I’m so happy to say that I was right! Read more>>

Catherine Mattice

I was the Director of HR for a nonprofit organization, and during that time I experienced workplace bullying – defined by academic researchers as psychological abuse at work. In addition to being bullied myself, as the Director of HR I also dealt with the organizational damage bullies cause (i.e., turnover, wasted time, counseling others who were hurt, trying to convince the President to put a stop to the behavior, etc.). Read more>>

Cindy Shepard

My desire to bring arts to my community has been with me for a very long time. I believe so fervently in the power of being creative and the joy it can bring to our lives. After spending many years involved with the arts through various arts organizations, teaching workshops, authoring and co-authoring books on creative arts and working alongside other artists I decided to put all of those ideas to work by opening a space devoted to showcasing the work of artists/makers and other creatives, hosting a place for them to gather, collaborate, interact and connect through art. Read more>>

Tricia Schmorde

I have always loved dogs. Since I was a young girl I have followed around different Veterinarians and was fortunate enough to have a very special Veterinarian who also raised and trained gun dogs. I learned a lot from him about the ins and outs of breeding and what to look for and how to be a stand-out breeder from the rest. When I first decided to breed and raise dogs I knew I had a true passion for dogs and by the time I decided to become a breeder a wealth of knowledge about breeding and genetics. Read more>>

Manuel T. Ferrero III

The idea for ISPS was born from a tragedy. My brother was killed in Iraq in 2007. After months of grieving I had to do something to honor and remember him. So between some friends and family we started a 6 team slow pitch league on sunday nights at Chapman Field in Miami. After much success it grew all around Florida as Florida Adult Softball, and in 2011 we hosted an event in Puerto Rico and we decided to change our name to ISPS, International Slow Pitch Softball. But we still honor and remember PFC Marius L. Ferrero everyday. Read more>>

Kyrah Page

Keepin’ It Kultured was born out of pain I turned into passion. I created KIK as an outlet for the things I was going through as a young black girl in America. Amongst the many issues I have faced, the biggest one was colorism. Since I entered school in pre-K I was immediately bullied for how I looked. It escalated from verbal to cyber to physical bullying. At the time I didn’t understand why I was getting picked on and for a while I let the words of the people that bullied me affect my life in more ways than one. I started doing poorly in school, low self esteem, and I even went through an identity crisis. Read more>>

Danielle O’Kane

I was at a music festival one year and saw all these amazing food trucks and trucks serving drinks, but my eye kept searching for a business offering makeup or face painting or hair services which I just did not seem to find, all of a sudden there was a fire in my belly to creat the perfect makeup space that could be mobile and be anywhere and everywhere you needed. Alas, the Blush Bus was born- a mobile makeup studio! Read more>>