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.

Virgilio Cerda

The story of how I came up with the idea for my creative services business is a journey filled with passion, determination, and a deep desire to express myself through multimedia. Dreams alone are not enough. I knew that in order to turn my passion into a successful business, I needed to have a solid foundation of skills and knowledge. I dedicated countless hours to studying and practicing while also learning from mistakes. As my skills improved, so did my confidence. Read more>>

Rowan Stout

Growing up I always wanted to help others, I wasn’t sure in what way, but I just knew that helping others feel seen, heard & loved was something I was meant to do. So when I lost my childhood best friend to suicide & I saw firsthand how poorly everyone handled the situations leading up to her passing & how they handled it afterward, I knew there had to be a better way. Read more>>

Tobi Wright

From a very young age, I knew I wanted to be a graphic designer. What I didn’t know was that in my Junior year of college, at Parson’s School of Design, computers would turn my hands-on passion into a desk job. In my senoir year I’d choose to take an advertising class. The collaborative aspect of advertising seemed like it might balance the sitting-at-a-desk reality of graphic design. It would for a while, but when digital advertising (think banners) started to be all the rage, I knew advertising would follow a similar path that graphic design did. Read more>>

Heidi Dack

I came up with the idea to start my own business when my husband joined the Space force. I loved the ranch lifestyle but it was just not practical living on base, so I thought… how can I bring the ranch wherever I go? I always liked to dress up and wear different hats at the ranch so I thought I could bring a bit of that culture everywhere with my hats! I also wanted to prove that the West and ranch lifestyle can be for everyone! You can be a part of the Western culture and ranch life even if you didn’t grow up on one. Read more>>

Fiona Lucia Genadio-Allen

I’ve always been in love with food. My mom, an amazing & adventurous cook, made sure that I loved to sample culinary traditions from all over the world from day 1. It wasn’t until I was 24, traveling in Iceland, devouring food history just for the love of it, that I realized that I had to leave the world of visual art for its culinary counterpart. Read more>>

Rebecca Bridges

I started House of Drennan, a full-service design firm specializing in residential renovations + new construction projects, in 2018. LOTS of folks inquire about the name of my business, and the specific packages that I offer (each with a female name), and I am always eager to tell the story: it honors the three most influential women in my life; Read more>>

Alandria Lloyd

This business was birthed from total experience. I started my entrepreneurial journey a little over 13 years ago, and it has been a journey indeed. When I first began, I was so eager and excited to be my. own boss and call the shots. And that was cool, until I looked up one day and realized that I traded my 9-5 to work 5am until after 7pm. Read more>>

Charmaine Dantzler

The idea for Du Damage Apparel was born out of my personal experiences and observations as a black woman living in Chicago. I’ve always had a deep connection to my culture and a strong desire to see black people represented in a way that exudes power, confidence, and regality. As I walked the streets of Chicago, I noticed a lack of clothing brands that truly celebrated and embraced black empowerment. Read more>>

Melissa Kemp & Alana Stotts

We are both lifelong equestrians that had not ever owned our own horses, so coming from very similar backgrounds. Manhattan Riding Club was initially started by Melissa after living in London for a few years and belonging to an equestrian members club that offered her the opportunity to meet others sharing the same passion. Read more>>

Zoe Rusga

It took a pandemic to realise my unrealised dreams languishing in a corner in a cobweb-covered recess of my mind. Approximately 11 days after the first national lockdown in the UK, I found myself furloughed from my full-time job as a Brand Content Creator. One minute I had a secure job; the next, the rug had been pulled from under my feet. No job and no Plan B in place as the world held its breath. Read more>>

Marc Sharma

The word ‘Nation’ is loosly defined as a large body of people united by common descent, history or culture. It was this idea of being ‘united by culture’ that started my vision for Nation Athletic. I have trained in martial arts, specifically jiu Jitsu, for years now. Like many, I came for the training but stayed for the culture. Read more>>

GLADYS BOWIE-YOUNG

MY STORY I became fascinated with needles and thread before I was in first grade. My mother was a quilter, her maternal aunt was a dressmaker and my daddy’s youngest sister was a milliner (hat designer for ladies). At the age of eight I learned how to embroider at Vacation Bible School. Home economics was required in high school, and that is where I began to learn the techniques of sewing and creating my own wardrobe. Read more>>

Okechukwu Onugbolu

Actually I got the base part of the idea from my older brother. I had been working a summer just will one my uncles it’s (If can call him that), and my brother was just getting to know about SEO and Facebook ads and at the time online shopping was just starting out so we decided to try the Facebook ads on a business and we used Ankara prints because we had a Big supplier ( my uncle was big in the business) and then I just built it up from there Read more>>

Cherylynn Spence

My intention as a professional Yoga Instructor is to help students listen to their inner selves and find the courage to step out of their comfort zone. A lot of times many yogis of color are interested in yoga but do not know where to start and there isn’t many public spaces that are accompanied by yogis of color. So representation is everything when trying something new and seeing the potential one can possess by seeing others doing the same. Read more>>

Hannah Kearney

When I retired from my athletic career as an Olympic skier, I still found myself still going to the gym everyday because I loved training. Although I did not want to put ski boots on to coach on the mountain, I thought I could take my love of training and help coach athletes to become stronger and more confident in the gym. I got my personal trainer certification while working at a corporate gym and began working one on one with young skiing athletes. Read more>>

 Cindy Souverain

As long as I can remember, one of my core values has always been helping people. If there was an opportunity to help someone, I would. My first job out of college was an in-home social worker providing developmental resources to underserved children. This allowed me to meet all kinds of people from diverse backgrounds. It brought me joy to see the life changing impact I was able to deliver. As I participated in networking events, I learned a lot of people were employees and business owners. Read more>>

Jessica Allowski

I asked myself, “Why would anyone choose to hire me when there are so many fantastic freelance editors out there who are more experienced and business savvy than I am?” I knew I needed a niche, but my editing experience was all over the place. Read more>>

Rebecca Jean Pierre

It’s quite a funny story, When I was in high school, I came up with the idea to sell cupcakes to my classmates. To be quite honest with you, I’m still not entirely sure till this day where that even came from, but I did it for 3 Years, Sophomore through Senior. It was a hit, my classmates loved them and rarely a few of my teachers also got some. Read more>>

Lindsay Shortway

Coming up with the idea for the business really began years ago in the early years of marriage to my husband, Matt. We often talked about what our future might look like and set goals both big and small of things we would like to achieve along the way. I remember countless conversations about different types of small businesses we thought might work for us, but those ideas would come and go. Read more>>

Bonnie Low-Kramen

In 1986, I took a job working at a small theatre company in Montclair, New Jersey called the Whole Theatre. It was run by a woman in her 50’s named Olympia Dukakis who later won an Oscar for the film Moonstruck. However, in 1986, no one knew Olympia Dukakis’ name except the New York theatre community. There, she had made a name for herself. My title at the theatre was Public Relations Director. Read more>>

Natalie Wenger

I am a 33 ½ year old wife, daughter, and mom of 2. I am an authorized nuclear pharmacist and PharmD (sounds MUCH fancier than it is, I promise you!) 8am-4:30pm M-F. BUT, my true passions include event design, planning and execution (of anything!), themed-ANYTHING—you-name-it, and giving pretty much everything in my life a WOW-factor. I am diligent in making sure that anything with my name attached to it has some oomph! Read more>>

Carmela Cox

It all started with me receiving a deck of angel oracle cards. To this day I can’t remember how I even got these cards. I don’t remember if I bought them or if I received them as a gift, but these cards started my wonderful journey of connecting with my angels! I just loved how these cards offered gentle messages along with having beautiful artwork of the angels. So I began my deep dive of learning all about them. Read more>>

Johanna Murillo

As an immigrant on a quest for opportunities and entrepreneurial growth, I embarked on a journey that shaped the creation of The WOW PWR. I intimately understood the struggles faced by multicultural individuals, including the challenges of building a personal brand in a dynamic, diverse landscape. Read more>>

JOYCE HASKINS

We have been manufacturing and marketing an adjustable lap table for the needlework industry since 2013. The idea for the tablet holder came from our customers. Many of them told us they were using their Lap App for their tablets. Read more>>

 Stephanie Stroud

Before the Pandemic, I was working for a Personal Training company that went in-home and on-site to work with clients. This approach gave us a chance to work with a population that couldn’t get to the gym, weren’t as comfortable there, or maybe didn’t have the time. We were able to meet the clients in their own personal space and teach them how to use it to maximize movement. Read more>>

Stephanie Biesenbach

The idea for me was more of a slow bloom. It felt like there were these pieces of my life that meant so much to me and I was not sure how to use them. I am a full service interior designer and I serve families that live with multiple generations under one roof. Families that have to consider how to address a space for their young kids, teenage kids, their aging parent or parents, and their own needs. It can feel overwhelming trying to accommodate so many people with different needs and that is where I come in. Read more>>

Joshua and Giselle Sanford

It all started with me (Giselle) trying CBD for the very first time… I had terrible anxiety and was looking for a solution other than having to take medications. After trying a few products that weren’t up to par we ran into someone from out of state that was vending and told me to give their product a try. When I say it changed everything for me I mean it whole heartedly! So we had discussions on it and realized that it’s something we thought we could definitely do…. Read more>>

Mikayla Cohen

During the beginning of the lockdown in 2020, I was sent home from my last semester of college. On top of the global pandemic, I was also going through life-altering changes in my personal life. So, not being able to graduate, see my friends, and of course the overall panic of the pandemic left me with a void in my heart that I knew I needed to fill. Read more>>

Tami Norris

I have been crafting for many many years. I tried several different mediums from crochet and knitting , to Jewelry, and soaps. while they may work for others the medium that worked best for me, was in fact Resin art. I went through several failed projects was on the verge of giving up then found the process that worked for me! I made one good piece someone bought it. I was thrilled then several more pieces were made, those all sold and here we are! The start of Tami Norris Designs. Read more>>

Jeffries Moore

I decided to start my own gallery as a response to the rejection of my work being accepted into a gallery while I was living in New York. I love art and romanticized about the idea of having an exhibition in arguably one of the worlds greatest art cities. However, I was told many things- I didn’t look like an artist (I dressed too nicely; Read more>>

Kheayr Blackman

The idea for my business started off as a hobby when I was 14 years old. I witnessed how damaging and negatively impactful eczema had become in the daily life of my younger cousin. I knew that there had to be a more natural way to change the course of my cousin’s skin. I enthusiastically began my mission to create the perfect soap recipe for her skin disorder. I started making my products right in my kitchen. I had no idea I would not only help my loved one but also fall in love with process, becoming one of the first entrepreneurs in my high school. I have helped hundreds of people have access to quality, affordable skincare. Read more>>

Tabitha Frazier

I wanted a certain type of necklace for an event and could not find exactly what I was looking for at the time. So, I found the elements I wanted, ordered them, and taught myself how to assemble a necklace. It was so fun and fulfilling to me that I ended up making several of them, and my friends actually wanted to buy them from me! My designs at that time used all vintage elements, so they were very unique and all one-of-a-kind. I had never found myself to be particularly “crafty” or “artsy,” Read more>>

Chelsea Hillbrand

Yuki and I had worked together in a school district for many years. We gravitated towards each other because of our common drive and passion for creating spaces for individuals with disabilities to make meaningful behavioral, academic and social progress. Throughout our years together we have had many highs and lows, all of which have made us stronger; in our personal bond and dedication to advocacy. Read more>>

Kristen Trinh

I went to Culinary School and Graduated back in 2007 with the idea that I wanted to be a private chef. To me it’s not just making good food for people to enjoy but educating people what they are putting in their bodies. I started during Culinary school gaining clients that I cook in home for and did catering events. Read more>>

Thomas Biebers

I started my film career in front of the camera, but as I got older I wanted to do more behind the camera. So in 2017 I was hired by a Las Vegas based production company to work as a producer and content developer. It was during this time, that I came up with a concept for a new documentary series. Read more>>

Michele Tompkins

My bohemian approach to food has always been my view to help bridge the gap of racism. Since the beginning of time food has always brought individuals together as a way to fellowship. I pride my work in the kitchen to bring various cultures together knocking down racial barriers in society. Applying traditional ingredients from one culture to the next demonstrates synergy of flavors bringing cultures together…. Read more>>

Millie Perez

I came up with the idea of my first book during my first year of motherhood. There are so many long nights and repetitive actions, that my brain needed a little escape in order to stay awake. So I started piecing together a story in my mind, and once I had a clear view of who these characters were, I decided to take a chance, and put pen to paper. I released my first book “You Never Forget Your First” on November 15, 2022 and my second book, “You Never Forget Your Worst” will be released on August 3, 2023. Read more>>