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.

Zara Jones

Back in 2017 when I was a freshman in high school. I was a student-athlete during that time. I played basketball in and out of school, all year round, and trained up to 3-4 hours a day. Read more>>

Ty Williams

My business is and always has been morphing into more and more of what I envision since I began in 2018. Back then I was just finishing esthetician school and opening my mind past retail sales and expanding more into the service side of things. Read more>> 

Nicole Nemiroff

To start off, I grew up obsessed with looking good. I gained a love for makeup, skin, and nails. I began putting lashes on some of my classmates in High School. Then I was able to do the makeup of the girls going to Homecoming and Prom. Read more>>

David Clapper

I had spent over 20 years in the music business. From working with artists on the label side, to programming and marketing local radio stations across the country. Read more>>

Andrea Dahr.

When I found myself in a high-risk twin pregnancy back 2014, I became determined to eliminate additional health risks by switching to safe beauty, baby, and household products. Read more>>

Tatyanna Dames

I’ve always loved fashion, putting together looks, online shopping, and the thought of owning my own business. When I was a child, I always knew that I would have my own business and be an entrepreneur. Read more>>

Akellia Stewart

It came very natural for me due to the need and want for it. So I already have a company called CustomsByAk which is a custom shoe company. Saving Soles came about from me just simply giving back to kids within my company. Read more>>

April Monterrosa

I have been a business owner for over 12 years. My first business was owning a spa, which Covid forced me to close. While I owned my spa, I became a travel writer as a side hustle and my niche was highlighting small Texas towns which gave me the idea to start a blog highlighting my Southside San Antonio community. Read more>>

Jasmine McKinney

The idea of SKYNN came into inception on April 22, 2018 when I was planning my birthday trip to Cancun. I wanted all of my friends and I to wear flesh tone colored swimsuits, and needless to say the pickings were SLIM. Read more>>

Kevin Petersen

I was 43 years old and 16 years sober and I hated my job. I had done sales my entire life and was successful but it didnt feed my soul. I knew I had to make a change and it was now or never, so I quit my secure six figure gig and went back to school to become a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist. Read more>>

Saudia Moore

After earning my degree, I produced my own style and fashion event sponsored by 3 of my favorite retailers and moved into a lot of behind-the-scenes work with various other DFW fashion shows and live productions from styling on set, to media relations, to covering events. Around that time, I had also begun work as a Visual Stylist for Nordstrom. Read more>>

Mona Dixon

I was always a person who enjoyed sending and receiving nice note cards and greeting cards! When the pandemic started, I realized that while being quarantined, a lot of people were losing out on personal contact and communication. Read more>>

Bruce Wettstein

I have been a swimming pool builder since 1995, starting at Mission Pools in Escondido. We did not have a pool growing up, but I always wanted one, so when I got the chance to work for Mission Pools, I jumped at it (I had had various construction jobs before this so I was used to building stuff, just not swimming pools). Read more>>

Sheetal Bahirat

I was doing my Master’s in culinary arts and science, when I had to make guacamole for my entire class. After peeling and pitting a whole case of avocado seeds, I had a small bowl of guac and a huge bowl of seeds and peels that were supposed to be thrown away. Read more>>

A.B.O.B. Music Andrew & Nick Gaines

We had no intention of ever recording music, let alone together. I, being Andrew — was in film school in Tampa while listening to a number of my friend’s record. This then inspired me and my brother to make music. Read more>>

Carol Farabee

I have always been a writer. I saw an ad from a publishing company to attend a free, 3-day event that would teach you to be a publisher. I attended the event and obtained a lot of good information. Read more>>

Dwight Mathis

I came up with The McSenses in the back of my History lecture class in 2007. The idea started from a doodle of a large nose with a small body accompanied by his counterpart, a large eyeball with blonde hair, lip stick and bottle shaped body. Read more>>

Jacob Phillips

I have always had an entrepreneur’s mind from since I can remember. Aside, from a few “real” jobs through my teens, I had almost always had better luck making money from other avenues. Read more>>

Dominick Daly

So in 2017 one afternoon when I was in my sophomore year of college at Delaware State University my cousin called me while walking back to my room. He instantly said “man I think we should start a clothing line” and when he said it he had so much excitement in his voice. Read more>>

N’Kia Williams

I’ve always had a passion for drawing and painting every since I was younger! I also had an older brother whom loved to draw. He passed away in 2005 from cancer at the age of 17. Read more>>

Meet Elizabeth Frame Ellison

Kitchen 66, a kickstart incubator for food entrepreneurs, and its sister development Mother Road Market, a nonprofit food hall on Route 66, were born from my own experience opening a food business. Read more>>

Melodie Stewart

My business started based on the fact that I don’t wear makeup. But even before I even knew what blogging was, I was a huge fan of eyewear. I thought they made people look so cool and smart. So fast forward to when I jumped on the blogging bandwagon back in 2014. Read more>>

Mo Cisse

Growing up as the youngest of seven kids, with a major age gap between my siblings and I, I was always surrounded by people older than me. As a shy kid, dressing the part became my easiest way to demand respect and the right type of attention in any room without saying a word. Read more>>

Kimberly Morris

Scrub Soaps etc. is our home-based health and wellness company. My husband and I started this business back in March of 2020, soon after the quarantine began, making hand sanitizers with the CDC recommended alcohol content. Read more>>

Noel Daniels.

As a kid, I took dance lessons; ballet and tap dance. I have always had a passion for dance and entertaining. In high school, I was a band dancer. We performed at all of the basketball and football games, parades around town and many other functions. Read more>>

Adrion Bradley

So when I got pregnant with my first son back in 2012/2013 I left Louisiana from living with my grandmam in college to live back with my mother. We started a cake business/decorating service. Read more>> 

Carlena Davis

In 2017, I started my food blog Spilling the Sweet Tea. As a Southern girl born raised in Kinston, North Carolina, I wanted to “spill the sweet tea” on traditional Southern dishes and share quick and easy recipes for busy moms. Up until the pandemic, I just took pictures of my food and shared my recipes on my website and social media. Read more>>

Amy Turner

The backstory of how Goldfish originated in Colorado came from a phone conversation with my mom. I called my mom, who lives in Michigan where the franchise was founded, and complained about the quality of swim lessons from a local recreation center. Read more>>

Kat McDermott

Previously, I was just a crazy cat lady who surrounded herself with all things cat — it didn’t matter what it was. If there were cats on it, I had to have it! But unfortunately, there weren’t a lot of things that looked like my cat, Linus, and that was a real bummer. Read more>>

Tennisha Bryan

Being an entrepreneur can be very stressful and exhausting at times. When I was younger, I was more of a night owl and I used that time to draw and envision stuff. Now, I Google research, draw a plan; Read more>>

Brittany Martel

Opening my business was an extremely emotional journey for me….. and that was it…. Just Me! I can be my hardest critic at times but with the support of my family, my clients I had built up in my beginning hair journey, and my passion I decided this is definitely what I wanted to Pursue. Read more>> 

Eliza Harper

I came up with the idea for my business while thinking of ways I could earn income outside of my day job. A business that would operate mainly during the evenings and weekends. Read more>>

Rodnia Attiq

More than 20 years ago, my mom Rosario came with the idea to sell lamb tacos in San Diego, there were NO lamb tacos at all at that time, she thought it would become a business. Read more>>

RO Gonzalez

7 years ago I was on top of South Mountain about to pull the trigger on ending my life because I thought I couldn’t handle my situation anymore and life in general. Read more>> 

Veronica & Vanessa Castillo

My sister Vanessa and I worked in the Food industry for many years before we decided to open our own business. We always had the desire to have something of our own specially something we could do together. Read more>> 

Alana Kaufman

Born and raised in Colorado, I wanted to focus my blog primarily on the food and restaurants I was regularly eating at around the state. I wanted to showcase my hometown and the place I plan to live for the rest of my life. Read more>>

Danny Gavin

I can thank my wife and a late-night brainstorming session for this one. I really wanted to bridge the gap between businesses and their customer, and optimize those relationships. Read more>>

Kelsey Reust

The Scenic Route is a path that is not the fastest way but that is beautiful. I have a goal to visit all the National Parks, so I’m frequently trying to find the Scenic Route. When I’m at a park, I gravitate to the more remote and scenic places instead of the busier highlights or visitor’s centers. Read more>> 

Priscilla “Prissy” Phillips

The name of my company is Ethereal Skin Aesthetics. Before I was in skincare I was just a part-time makeup artist and an optician full-time and my then business name was Glomakeup by Prissy. Read more>>

Sevarrest Allen

Kitchen Savior Inc is the name of the business. I came up with that name with the help of my wife. She wanted our initials represented (Kim & Sevarrest) So I took the K & used the word Kitchen then it took FOREVER to come up with something suitable for the S. Read more>>

LaPria Davis

This is a great question. The name behind my company in which is Davis Dynasty Resources comes simply from my last name. I wanted to make sure that I use my name as my brand/platform and also to create a legacy with my name through my business. Read more>>

Samantha Hernandez

Honestly it was super easy to come up with my name. I was born and raised in Houston, Tx. Which gave me the first part of my name. Then I started thinking of what could come after Houston that would sound right but match what type of services I provided. Read more>> 

Caroline Heeren

On the surface, Caroline Heeren Creative is pretty self explanatory. However, I chose the word “creative” for a specific reason. I’ve always considered myself as a creative. Even as a child, I have always been looking for creative outlets to express myself. Read more>> 

Ernesto Munguia

MRE Recruiting which stands for Major Recruiting Exposure and started in 2018 as a recruiting service and later a athlete recruiting showcase to help athletes reach their dreams of playing at the next level. Read more>>

Maddie Sheffer

Hey, I’m Maddie! I am a Zillennial sex therapist and the creator of Zillennial Therapy. What’s a Zillennial? Too young to be considered a Millennial and too old to be a Gen-Zer. I like many others my age feel stuck in between generations. Read more>>

Luis Sayrols

I decided to call it Santte, which means Health in French with only one t. The idea from our first product, has been to deliver a healthy option “good for you” to the public. Read more>>

Maggie Norris

This was difficult! There is A LOT going on in this candy and I wanted a name to reflect that. I came up with Bark Bombs pretty early, but I wasn’t 100% sold on it. Read more>>

Carline Smothers

My brand, Bèl Fanm® which means (Beautiful Woman) in Kreyól name came about while I was at work on my lunch break. When I think of Bèl Fanm® I see and feel strength, confidence, and beauty. Read more>>

Karen Bennett

15 years ago I was asked by a fashion showroom to build a trade show to host in many locations. I just had left my current employer which was a large trade show in New York City and was considering a change in careers. Read more>>

Maruša Furlan

I love houseplants, I collect rare ones. One evening I was scrolling through plantlover’s FB page and saw a post that one lady posted-beautiful caladium plant. I was just holding brush and I painted this plant. I shared the painting in the comments. Read more>>