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.

Sabrina Rowe Holdsworth

The concept for NTRL by Sabs emerged from a longstanding dream of mine, spanning nearly two decades, to establish a unique beauty brand. With over 20 years of experience as a hair and makeup artist, and a lineage of hairstylists in my family, it felt as though the beauty industry was in my DNA. Throughout my career, I’ve had the opportunity to work with a wide variety of products on diverse clientele, which has allowed me to refine my vision for my brand. Read more>>

Corva Rose

For about 25 years, I ran a service business in the trades – doing aesthetic pruning and restoration of shrubs, trees, and vines for homeowners here in Albuquerque, NM. I had a great crew of folks working for/with me, and we were successful and having a good time. But over those 25 years I was also watching the climate crisis deepen, and witnessing how the plants and landscapes I was working with were being affected by the increased heat, erratic freezes, and worsening drought. I could also see that the people I was working with, including myself, were becoming increasingly anxious and scared about the future. Read more>>

Harvest Leasure

I grew up working summers with my dad who was a custom, alternitave homebuilder specializing in straw bale, passive solar, and cord wood houses. This out of the box construction experience was something that intrigued and excited me. so when 22 years ago, working on a home in Kauai, Hawaii, the homeowner asked if I wanted to help him cast concrete counters in his kitchen it was a hell yes! My experience in concrete to that point was floors and walls. Read more>>

 Mina Elias

I am an MMA fighter and my background is in chemical engineering. I started a supplement brand out of passion, but it getting it in stores was very challenging. Gyms denied me and I sold my product at sports events. I had a small booth and passed out samples. People would ask me how they could purchase it online, so I said it’d be on Amazon next week, even tho that was a lie, and I had NO idea how to get my product on Amazon. So after that event, I went to work and called Amazon seller central and did everything I could to get my product on Amazon. Read more>>

Valerie Jane

Back around 2018 I was obsessed with making fast money and I ended up with a state to state “delivery job” (trapping) with some friends. Thinking we were self-employed geniuses, the fast money started coming in and life leveled itself out. After a couple years of trapping and maintaining I started to get this feeling in the back of my mind. “Get out before it’s too late!” A couple of days later we were about to head out for another job and I decided to sit this one out. Read more>>

Sidney and Tory “The Nakid Gardeners” Holland

We both lost our mothers and found therapy in the garden. Our passion for gardening kept expanding because we shared a passion as foodies. We have been health-conscious people & share a distrust of the commercialized food system & spent a year as vegans prior to obtaining our own property to grow our own meat & produce sustainably. Our name “The Nakid Gardeners” Read more>>

Alyssa Benson

My parents were small business owners, and I watched as they worked hard to build their business. There were always services they knew would help them grow, but was just out of their budget and as a small business, they would lose out on customers they knew they could help but just weren’t able to reach. I started in photography as a hobby, then was presented with an opportunity to work in real estate media. Read more>>

Edward Johnson

Well, I didn’t come up with the idea for our business or even planned on having a business! Me & my business partner, Gabriel met back in 07 at a church conference and became friends because we were both musicians. We eventually started playing music together along with a couple other musicians (Timothy Smalls & Tristan Cills) around Charleston, SC surrounding areas and got a gig playing for the Chamber of Commerce. Read more>>

Hamed / Karrar Mudher / Hashem

Hamid and Karrar started coming up with the idea of Lune back in their University of Washington days. Because of their Arabic culture and background, they were constantly searching for a non alcoholic late night hang out spot. Looking for this kind of place for years soon made them realize it was something the city of Seattle was missing. They knew making Lune a reality would be worthwhile for every cultural generation to follow them; creating a space they never had the opportunity to experience themselves. Read more>>

Brian Hirata

Prior to this project, I was a culinary instructor for twelve years at our local college here on the Big Island of Hawai`i. In the fall semester I taught intermediate cookery and a food costing course, and during the spring semester, I taught all the advanced cooking courses for the same cohort of students from the previous fall semester. Usually by the second day of class in the fall, I begin to gauge my students knowledge base. Read more>>

Mercedes Reilly

The idea for my business came up just after my husband and I got married in early April 2020, which was at the beginning of the Covid lockdown. At this point, I had been working full-time as an Administrative Assistant for a college for over 4 years and I loved my job and everyone that I worked with. When my job temporarily transitioned to remote work during the lockdown, I got a taste of what “working from home” would look like and I loved it. I also had been trying to start selling my art but I wasn’t quite sure what I wanted to sell until my husband and I got our first two dogs. Read more>>

Steven Leveille

While Serving in the U.S. Army I was promoted to Sergeant. I was always known as one of Sergeants that always wanted to see my soldiers succeed in all aspects of their lives. Whenever a soldier within the squad would fail a physical fitness test, I would encourage them by telling them that I will do everything possible to get them ready for the make up test. Watching them pass the makeup test and the expression on their faces would bring me satisfaction. Read more>>

Areona Carter

Most people are eager to get a dog in hopes of finding a forever companionship. When making this decision most do not realize that pets are a long-term commitment and investment. Dogs come with behavioral issues, emotional trauma, and much more. These are typically things dogs are surrendered for because people are just not equipped to deal with these behaviors. Before starting my business I was always involved with dogs. I loved rescuing and fostering dogs that needed a temporary home. Read more>>

Zack and Ali Frostic

We both have a deep passion for cooking and love experimenting with different flavor combinations in the kitchen. Zack created a great peach mango wing sauce recipe that we loved. This recipe sparked the idea to turn our passion for cooking and hot sauce into a business. We believed that Pepper Crusaders could offer something different, something that would appeal to people who were looking for unique and flavorful hot sauces. We began experimenting with different flavor combinations, using only the freshest and highest quality ingredients. Read more>>

Antoinette Lisena

After working in healthcare for almost a decade, I decided I needed to change when I had my daughter. I have always known I wanted to do some thing for myself, and make my own business, but I have so many interests that I could never decide on what kind of business I wanted to pursue. I knew I wanted to be a small business but since I couldn’t decide on what kind I I asked myself how can I dabble in all of them and came up with the idea for a shopsmallbizli.com . Read more>>

Iesha Huggins

I wanted to improve people’s daily Lifetyle with Non-Toxic Home Essentials. It’s no secret that many household items like candles contain many harmful toxins. The Lux Brand is committed to being part of the solution, not the problem. Our home essentials are designed to elevate your daily routine without compromising your health. We strive to be more than just a brand, but a lifestyle choice that prioritizes your well-being. Read more>>

Rogike Britton

In 2010, a friend of mine had a fragrance oil business of many years in St. Louis. I reached out to him and expressed my interest in fragrance body oils and the rest is history. No one but the favor of GOD opened that door for me. God told me that I will be able to use this business to become debt free. I started Britton Oils & Aromas in 2010. At that time I was only selling body oils, air fresheners & scented crystal potpourri. When I first started it was more of a hustle and no expectations of it growing as it has. Read more>>

Becky Thomas

I have always had ideas in my mind about possibilities and potential things to create. Ten years ago, I came up with an idea about hand-painting custom signs which birthed Love My Town signs. It was all because of a desire to purchase a sign with my town’s name in a boutique store in our sweet, little town of Arlington, TN. I couldn’t afford it at the time and thought one day I’ll come back to purchase the sign, but that’s when God said, “Becky Read more>>

Andrea Matteucci

I love Italy, my country, I have a passion for Italian food and wines and I wanted to invest in US to spread our culture and give my kids the opportunity to grow with both cultures, Italian and American. Loveria is a dialect word from my hometown Ravenna and means something irresistible to eat, something “yummy”. Read more>>

Lawrence Bullard

I used my upbringing and obstacles to form what is known now as Bullard Academy Inc. Growing up in poverty, a single parent household in an area surrounded by drugs and alcohol will make you rethink a lot. So my mind set in building our nonprofit was just to be an active member in the community and assist our youth in creating a safe outlet for them to be kids. Be there for them as a male figure and extend my genuine love and support. Read more>>

Alycia Brewer

5 years after my abuse I felt that it was time for closure. I had always wanted to revisit the locations I remember being raped. Teddy bears represent innocence and childhood – two things that were taken from me in those very locations. It felt eerie revisiting these places of trauma – like a somber pilgrimage. Yet there was so much power in placing a bear down and walking away. Read more>>

Meghan Decker

I started this nonprofit after my brother was diagnosed with ALS at just 26 years old. I never had the intention of starting a nonprofit but after seeing how much you have to advocate for yourself as a patient and how 90 percent of costs are not covered by insurance I knew I needed to start this. The mission of our nonprofit is to fund research for the cure for ALS and to assist ALS families with the cost of the disease. I knew this would work because my family lives this battle every day. Read more>>

Danariya Pubien

Growing up I’ve always wanted to my own boss . I realized working for someone is not something I look forward to all my life . I am very creative so I have had quite a few business ideas but I didn’t want to make a page for every single one of them . Most times it was because I didn’t feel motivated enough to fall through with my ideas but i eventually found time and started seeing it through. . My family , friends and even strangers was rooting for me . So I came up with “RoyaltyCreations” to combine all my creative ideas together . I was so excited that I didn’t even give it a second thought . Read more>>

Debra Zinn

I was hosting my mother’s eightieth birthday party in Cape Cod and set out to find the most beautiful flowers, food, and decor to celebrate such an important milestone. I was disappointed with the rental options for table settings and linens. Without access to my own collections, the idea for The Curated Table was born. When I saw a void in the market, I thought my experience as an interior designer and love of details could be a good resource. Read more>>

Lashanna Ingraham Lintamo

As a tradeswoman, and a woman of color, I fight for equality every day. But why should we harden our fight by not having the right clothing to suit our bodies as we work hard not only to take care of our families but to be counted equal to our male coworkers? For years women have been searching the thrift store racks scrambling through the isles of clothing stores to find the right fit of clothing that fits their trade only to find themselves settling for a men’s pair of pants and that oversize shirt that always gets in the way. Read more>>

Cameron London

During high school, I was coaxed into a last-minute talent show performance. I had never explored music all that much but I enjoyed poetry. After that performance, I began researching how the music industry worked, and on the day of my dual high school/college graduation (May 24th, 2013) my debut album was released. The original name for the record label I created for myself was “London Entertainment Music Group” but over the years it evolved into its current iteration “1033 Records”. Read more>>

Tra-C Pierce

I entered a 30 day vegan challenge and just fell in love with vegan food. I have always had a passion for baking. While baking some chocolate shop cookies, I decided to make them vegan. I had to tweak the dough several times. It was ok. So I asked my friend and family to try the cookies and give me feedback. They were all really impressed. So I decided to start a business. Business has always been a passion of my . My father was a bakery owner. I decided to enroll into a baking class. It really help me improve my baking skills. I took a class with Udemy, and it was so amazing. Read more>>

Cathy Cardenas

My daughter Hope and I wanted to bring together our love of inspirational messages and our love of giving back to the community. We decided to create a clothing line with fun, inspirational messages, and to partner with some amazing charities to not only support financially, but that we can also help to support by raising awareness for them. Naming the brand Hope Wear was two fold; after my daughter’s name and by having the company provide additional hope and support to a few choice charity organizations. Read more>>

Erica Hickman

I became a professional travel consultant/planner in 2020, one of the most challenging times to make that decision, in the midst of Covid. I had no doubt that eventually travel would resume. It was the perfect time to start training while business had slowed down tremendously. For years I have worked as an unpaid travel agent. I am the friend or relative that seemed to always put all the trips together. I have always loved to travel and putting trips together was a pleasure for me. Read more>>

Juliet Agocha

Thank you so much for having me on the show, CanvasRebel. I truly appreciate this amazing opportunity. Often, we focus on brand names, and few people think about the small businesses with limited budgets. During the pandemic, so many people were laid off, companies were closed, businesses were shut down due to lack of funding, especially small businesses. Right there, I saw a huge problem that needed immediate attention – while some of the big organizations were able to bounce back from the pandemic, small businesses are still struggling with their online presence. Read more>>

Tashia Stafford

Charmed Visions was originally born out of my passion for creating vision boards. The problem was that I’d spend hours making a vision board, but it wasn’t practical to keep with me as a motivator and constant reminder of my goals (which is the whole point of having such a tool).  I’d look at my vision board for a few minutes a day and then it would simply remain leaning against a wall collecting dust. Read more>>

Cidney Grady

My passion for Music has always been present since before I could walk! I was belting Alicia Keys, and Destiny’s Child at just 5 years old. I sang in my Church Choir a few years as well as in talent shows, and Musicals in High School. What started out as just a love of singing, and wanting to perform gradually morphed into me yearning to go deeper into the business side of things once it came time to choose a College. Read more>>

Ruqaiya Asad

After many years teaching, I was looking for a new professional path. Teaching had been a fulfilling and rewarding career, but I was looking for something creative I could do with my hands as well as having my own business. Cooking for others was not just an option that met this criteria; it was the option. I have been cooking since I was five years old. My mother had a very hands on kitchen when I was little. I was permitted to use knives and utensils and cook on the stove. Read more>>