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.

Mark Byrd

I’ve always wanted to make youtube videos growing up. I started at around 10. It was just a fun hobby and I grew out of it. Fast forward to my senior year in high school. I didn’t know exactly what I wanted to do after, but I had a few ideas in mind. Photography and videography were very far fetched at the time. That was until on a random night hanging with friends I pulled my phone out and took a picture. Read more>>

Janine Kroes

I am a self-taught seamstress and fashion designer. I started sewing when I was 16 years old, I always had a passion for fashion and often imagined my own designs when window-shopping. My grandma played an important role showing me sewing techniques when I was young. As a teen I began sewing for friends in the ’80s era, this developed into starting my own clothing line around 2005 called: “enina-J by Janine” (my name spelled backwards), I started sewing for customers other than friends and since then I haven’t looked back. Read more>>

Shawn Matesic-Dykes

From a young age, my mind was always open to the vast possibilities beyond the tangible world. Even as a child, I sensed a depth to our existence that transcended the visible and the palpable. My curiosity led me to explore new age and holistic practices during my pre-teen years, sparking a lifelong fascination. Read more>>

Mathew Rakers

I started The San Diego Music And Art Company in 2014 at the age of 27 to address a number of systemic issues in the music industry. At the time, I had been working for and managing other teaching studios in the area, and found that most studios were operating in such a way that was removed from the individuals that comprised their businesses. It was important to me to allow instructors to use the physical infrastructure of the business to build their own professional and creative careers. Read more>>

Emmanuelle Gabarda

I’m from the south of France and moved to Glasgow in 2017. Scottish people are so welcoming, this country instantly felt like home. I’m a professional singer, but I went back to studies in 2018 to become a publicist. Most people in Scotland are against Brexit, and when it happened, I was looking for a way to keep the connection alive between Scotland and France. Both countries have history in common – for example they formed the Auld Alliance. Read more>>

Lori Dreaden

The idea of my business came to me during a time in my life that was extremely difficult for me and my family. My youngest daughter was competing in a high school cheerleading competition and endured an injury to her neck and back of her head. Test results concluded that our Ella was actually born with a rare malformation involving the brain. Read more>>

Nancy Prado

The idea came to me during the pandemic. I started to knit more than usual to help me relax and manage stress. Before, I would do knitting for gifts to my loved ones. During the pandemic, my youngest daughter, Saby, suggested I could knit the hats, scarves, and headbands, etc to sell to the public. With her help, we took photos, she did the branding because she’s a graphic designer and she helped me open an etsy shop. Read more>>

Babs Ausherman

In late 1999, my husband and I moved to Northeastern Tennessee so that he could accept an exciting job opportunity. However, this meant that I gave up the best job I had ever had with the best boss and coworkers I had ever experienced. I found a job teaching at a local university (I have an MBA) and started developing hobbies in my spare time. These included picking knitting back up which I had done from a young age and learning to spin yarn from undyed yarn, Read more>>

Melissa Dusenberry

Many years ago in my role as a Creative Director for a private high jewelry club, I discovered two things about the jewelry industry. The first was how much of what we know of our collective ancient past comes to us through jewelry found in archeology. For our ancient ancestors jewelry was a reflection of what was of meaning and value to them – a very different connection we have with jewelry today. Read more>>

Jennifer Finger

During the pandemic, while I was social distancing and many businesses were closed, I spent a lot of time reading. I had already created two freelance businesses, one called KeenReader Inc. which provided editing services, and another called Pen and Pixel LLC, which provided creating writing, bookkeeping and clerical services to supplement KeenReader’s. KeenReader was losing business while Pen and Pixel was occasionally making money. Read more>>

LaTonia Gaston-Bell

Being an Accountant for over 30 years working for someone else I always had the desire to do more with My life. I wanted to Teach Children, Foster Children, Help Elderly People and just help out in my Community as much as I could. So I took a leap of faith… Read more>>

Emily Toungate

The story of Coastal Swim Academy…. I miss my baby girl, Mallory, every single day. Having to bury your child is absolutely the worst pain a parent can endure. I just hope my story brings awareness to drowning prevention and water safety to parents everywhere. On August 14, 2007, I was cooking dinner for my family, and my 5 year old, 3 year old and 14 month old twins were home with me. Read more>>

Manette McDermott

Two experiences around the same time led me to commit to the business we are building. First, I had severe sciatic pain in one of my legs for an extended period. I sought help from conventional medical professionals but didn’t find anyone who could relieve the condition. When one said to me, “It’s not unusual given that you’ve had 4 children. Periodic cortisone shots for the rest of your life is probably the way to go,” I knew I was in the wrong place to find a solution. Read more>>

Jerrica Stone

People always talk about that “lightbulb moment” they experience when they come up with their big idea. I didn’t have that. I just knew that I wanted to help people, and that I had skills that could help them. I spent years as a DOO in the nonprofit and profit sectors and saw first hand the repeating issues in almost every company. Read more>>

Jess Norman

lil gremmies was born out of an idea I had while on maternity leave with our second son. I was trying to order clothes for both of my boys online and I just couldn’t find anything that I liked. There are so many cute options for little girls clothes but boys really have no good options and I got tired of buying black/white/grey. Read more>>

Jazmine Fenderson

I was an avid reader as a kid and it grew with me into my adult years. I can read just about any genre. I started to believe that I could create stories of my own so I would read my younger siblings bedtime stories that I created. over the years my sister has always encouraged me to write my books because of the way I would tell a story. Read more>>

Kate Barker Sternberg

The Zen Donkey story began circa 2016 when my (now husband) Andy and I encountered a group of friendly donkeys while traveling in France. With 20 years of equine assisted therapy volunteer work under my belt at the time, I was immediately drawn to the healing qualities and zen-like presence of the donkeys. We were fascinated by their unique personalities and mesmerized by their therapeutic presence, and needed to learn more. Read more>>

Heidi Gerlitz

I think self-discovery and living a life that let me be immersed in what I valued ultimately led me to my business idea. I grew up pretty counter-culture, in the mountains in northern California, in a small town of creative people who valued health, living a down-to-earth life, art, and nature. I grew up around a lot of women who were amazing seamstresses, did pottery, baked, made their body products, and gardened, it ended up influencing me a lot. Read more>>

Steve Serrano

In 2013, I became interested in photography for the first time. There was no consideration for money, recognition, or anything else. I was inspired by the art and how a camera can take such beautiful photographs. It took me a long time and a great deal of experience to be able to produce high-quality photographs. It was important that I became better at it by any means possible. Read more>>

Hala Maroc

In 2016, After 5+ years in the not-so-glamorous, but ever so stressful entertainment industry, I woke up one day and was let go from what I thought to be my DREAM JOB. At that point I had associated so much of who I was with what I did. I had given it my all, and was left with nothing. It was time to find myself & I couldn’t find the tribe, resources, or safe space to do. So I created it… BADASS BOOTCAMP; Read more>>

Melodie Midwood

Our business idea came about as a happy accident! The early days of the pandemic slowed down all things; but not for long & not for everyone. For my family, like many others, the hours got longer, the grind became grittier & finding down, or family-time, seemed impossible in the city, in our condos. Remember, in the earliest days of the pandemic, the advice was not to go into other homes. Read more>>

Ernest Ramirez

I started drawing at an early age. I can still remember sitting with my dad on the front porch learning how to see and draw all of the details of the tree in the front yard. He then showed me how to draw figures using comics. My maternal grandfather was a commercial artist, and we have a few talented people in the family that have his artistic ability. Read more>>

Cassidy Sutton

I always wanted to be a writer since I was little, but I thought that only lucky people were able to achieve such greatness. Instead, I opted for being a music teacher. The job was practical, had steady income, and would allow me to pursue something meaningful while checking off my “life to-do” list. You know the usual stuff- buy a house, get married, have kids, etc. I had it all planned out Read more>>

Seun Kazeem

Hmmm…. I exhale… Firstly, the time in my life in I asked myself in 2020 what’s the purpose of my life in this world, that question got me thinking of what I can do to add more value to myself because am a graphics artist but I don’t feel more about it… That’s when I began to look for opportunities so that I could find solutions to it and began my company from there… Read more>>

Brittany Anderson

“This is what food is supposed to be like.” These are the words I felt reverberate through my body the first time I stepped into the farmer’s market with my mom at the ripe age of 19. I was in the early stages of my journey with food and wellbeing; shifting from processed products to more home cooked meals, slowly learning about the importance of opting into local and organic where I could. Read more>>

Kaylee Trostle

When I was younger, I had done graphic design as a hobby, a lot of the DIY projects I enjoyed the most was designing my own invitations and stationery, scrapbooking, and even taking art classes Little did I know, for the coming years , I had already done early market viability testing for my stationery business I would create later! The story on how Cactuslily came about: Read more>>

Ornella Fugazza

I have always been passionate about travel aimed at discovering new places, customs and ways of life. What has always fascinated me is the idea of following itineraries that are different from those usually offered by tour operators.Over time, I realized that there is a demand for personalized travel and that the supply is lower than the demand. Often, what is proposed does not always reflect the customer’s wishes and expectations. Read more>>

Maria Fernanda (Mafe) Briceno

Being a good doer is part of my nature, it is something I can devote uncountable hours without even noticing, so my husband brought the idea of creating my own nonprofit so many times, but my response was always the same: I am passionate about supporting various causes, making it challenging to pinpoint a single mission. Read more>>

Halie West

While I was in college, a class mate of mine asked me to photograph her wedding. At the time I was photographing for the school newspaper, but had never shot a wedding before. I was excited to give it a try! Before their ceremony in San Diego, we headed down towards the beach to take some photos of just the two of them. As they stood before the ocean they spontaneously pulled out their rings, shared vows, and out the rings on one another’s fingers. Read more>>

Amber Zimmitt

So it’s kinda funny how I started, so as a teenager I got myself into trouble with the law and I got a background that continued into my adulthood , as a teen mom it never hit me until I started trying to get my life in order and started applying for jobs. Baby when I say after having a background it was sooo hard finding a job it was the hardest thing ever! Imagine maturing into your adult self and everything job you apply to denies you of employment. Read more>>

Toni Miller

After walking away from my marketing career and feeling a bit disillusioned with the world, I sought comfort in a property I bought and developed. Characterized by abundant natural spaces, the property became my personal escape from the complexities of life. Little did I know it would soon transform into the foundation for a unique and fulfilling business venture. Read more>>

Joie LaFrentz

While spending the majority of the last 16 years at home as a stay at home mom to 4 boys, I soon realized that what I chose to wear each day impacted how I felt throughout the day. Bright colors I enjoyed made me feel better as did taking the time to get out of sweats and pajamas. Read more>>

Dee Harris

I actually came up with the idea quite organically. I have always had a love for interior design and and beautifying spaces in general. For years, I would often get compliments whenever friends or family would visit my personal homes. I would be encouraged to do it professionally, but back then, I never saw interior design as a career choice. It was always something that I enjoyed and it just came quite naturally to me. Read more>>

Lauren Anderson

Teaching at a Science and Math school, I was always looking for engaging topics for high school students to authentically explore the world around them through the lens of science. But the one that would change my zip code, profession, and lifestyle, flew into my inbox one spring. Read more>>

Maria Ortiz

My photography business specializes in catering to high school seniors, placing a strong emphasis on a client-centered approach. This means meticulously tailoring the entire luxury client experience, starting from the initial inquiry through the delivery of their final products. Read more>>

Terra Tominelli

I owned a private school for over 20 years, but I became burnt out and wanted to reinvent myself. I was searching for a creative outlet when COVID hit, and I decided to sell the school. I have always had a passion for fashion and a talent for styling outfits for my friends and family. In 2019, I started an online boutique and a pop-up store located at The Bazaar on Apricot and Lime, where I am still operating. Read more>>

Manny Peralta

Over the last 6 years I’ve primarily been running a wedding photo and video business with my wife Ashley. In 2022 we saw major growth in our business, breaking 6 Figures in a year and since then expanding it into an Associate Team, allowing Ashley and I to be at home more with our daughter, and carving out the time to grow as individuals and together as a family unit. We did this by gaining an understanding of non-visual branding. Read more>>

Trecia Ayers

I came up the with idea of creating She’s More Society, formerly F.I.T. Divas Society, out of the want to change the narrative about women and friendships. Often times we hear, from both women and men, that females can’t get along, they’re “catty”. We hear stories from women discussing their past bad experiences with female friends, or how they got along better with males rather than females. Read more>>

Anton Negroni

The idea for gummybear Foundation began the first time I stepped out of the idea of just working a job and did a side business that I called Gummiebear Basketball. This all started while I was teaching at a preschool that I just started at two years right before Covid appeared. I was working with preschoolers for over 14 year but this was the first time I worked with a preschool that had more than enough money in the budget. Read more>>

Ashlie Sutton

I did hair professionally for 14 years and heard the same version of complaints from the majority of my mom clients. Haircuts were inconvenient, it was tricky to fit them in to an already busy schedule, they were expensive, and all around not a good experience. As a mom of 4 I totally understood and related to what they were saying. Read more>>

Andreas Sellindis

It all started in the summer of 2004 in Greece on a crisp sunny day when my older sister told me that she would be getting married and she needed a photographer. The air was filled with happy images, laughter echoed around me, and the vivid colors of paintings and sculptures captivated the crowd. It was the first opportunity to showcase my work. Read more>>

Nailah Starks

I always knew that I wanted to help the children of incarcerated parents because my mother was incarcerated. As the eldest of four siblings, I had to mature quickly. Thus, my childhood went from being about me to advocating for and supporting my siblings. Of course, I did this because I wanted to and felt a sense of obligation to. Read more>>

Brandy Carr

I learned how to cook at a very young age when I used to take care of her younger siblings at times when my mom was severely sick with asthma. That is where i found my passion. My love of cooking and caring for others led to a long career in nursing facilities as a Dietary Director. As my love for cooking grew, E.A.T. LLC was born. which stands for Excellence Acquired Taste Named after my son (it is his named spelled backwards), TAE when he was younger I would call him down to the dinner table by saying “TAAAAAEEEE come E.A.T.” Read more>>

Maria

I am a former elementary school teacher, so finding fun things to incorporate into my lessons was really important to me! Once I had my oldest, that feeling naturally melded into my motherhood journey. I want to do fun things with my kids, but I also wanted to make sure it was affordable and simple. I now have 4 kids, so the need for fun, but simple ideas is a MUST! Read more>>