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.

Augusto Bertinat Gonnet

To begin with I would like to tell you about what we do today: We help influencers, like athletes, content creators, and celebrities, as well as companies, to create and promote travel experiences with their communities. Read more>>

Racheal Graham

When I first started helping business owners with their websites and marketing, my approach looked quite different than it does today. Read more>>

David Sledge

After a 33-year career in the U.S. Navy, I decided to retire last year and settle with my family here in California. Throughout my career, I always placed a high priority on professionalism, technical expertise, setting goals, and challenging my Sailors and myself to be the best at whatever assignment the Navy had for us. Read more>>

Ellen Birkett Morris

I was in the car on a road trip with my husband in 2014 when we heard a story about children with past life memories on National Public Radio. Read more>>

Brenda Gilliam-Miller

Losing a loved one is an indescribable pain, and the desire to honor their memory often leads to remarkable endeavors. My story of creating a Scholarship Fund in memory of my daughter, Destiny, is truly inspiring. Let me paint the picture for you: Read more>>

David Alam

It was summer of 2022, David just ended his first year of college and knew that it was not for him, Elie was also 99% sure after highschool he was going to pursue something rather than college, both of us sat and brainstormed on something we could build together. Read more>>

Alaster Sampson

As I transitioned from moving from Atlanta, Ga., to Washington, DC, I knew I needed extra income in order to survive living in Washington, DC. I became very creative and decided to experiment with bartending and hosting events for fun. Read more>>

Dr. Tierra Price

As a veterinary student, I often felt isolated from my classmates and colleagues in the profession of veterinary medicine. n the process of looking for mentors and colleagues I could relate to, I started an instagram page @blackdvmnetwork to find and highlight Black veterinarians and veterinary students. Read more>>

Tettieara Coleman

My name is Tettieara Coleman and I am the owner of Tidy Up With Tee. Tidy Up With Tee is a professional cleaning service. I provide a number of services that include cleaning residential, commercial, and Airbnb properties as well. Read more>>

Ciarra F. Wimbley

The world can be a cruel place full of critical people telling you why you aren’t good enough to “belong”. Saint Clair was created to do the exact opposite. Read more>>

Randall and Paola Hollis

R+P Handcrafted’s main focus is making toys for children. It started with making toys as gifts for our nieces, nephews, and the children of our friends. Read more>>

Penny Scallan

Surfboard Soks was born out of a simple observation and a passion for surfing. It all began when I noticed a gap in the market. Read more>>

Alicia Schrader and Kaylin Ingram

The story of Hang Ten Creative Agency began when two passionate Florida gal creatives, Kaylin Ingram and Alicia Schrader, were introduced by a mutual business connection, Madison Thayer. Read more>>

Sally Jane Brown

I have always created–drawings, self-portraits, writing. My recent series of artwork using my body as paintbrush was initially inspired by seeing artist Yves Klein’s Anthropometries (1960), a series of events he conducted nude women to stamp their body onto wall canvases. Read more>>

Rebecca Wildbear

Teaching and practicing yoga in nature in Costa Rica opened me and others to incredible experiences. We could attune to our bodies and hearts and the songs of insects and animals, Read more>>

Jason Wasner

When I started working at Acclaim 13 years ago, the owner at the time, Jeffrey, had been dealing with a substantial amount of turnover which led to a shaky situation for the agency and its clients. Read more>>

Jane Cueto

Our journey with The Organized Mind Track Out Camp began when our family relocated from Miami to North Carolina in 2016, Read more>>

Padriana Grace

Before JCCML was ever a business/brand, JCCML began originally as solely my blog in 2016; I was a sophomore at Clark Atlanta University. Read more>>

Alysse Bryson

Growing up in a small town in the Pacific Northwest, my teenage sanctuary was a collage of magazine pages and stacks of books, a testament to my love for content, storytelling, and pop culture rooted in the 80s and 90s. Read more>>

Henry Woodman

Forty years ago, in the early 80s, after graduating from the University of Arizona, I moved to LA with dreams of directing and producing movies – cue scratching record. Read more>>

Shakira Johnson

Hello, I am Shakira Johnson, Owner of Symphony Early Learning Center and the Founder of “Our Cozy Reading Corner”. Read more>>

Christine Meyer

In the fall of 2020 I had surgery to remove a tumor from my leg. As I awaited the results, I was going stir crazy! I needed something to do that would distract me but also not require a lot of sitting. Read more>>

Federico Serrano

I’ve been a little strange my whole live and even more so as a kid. One day in middle school I thought it was funny how my little brother said the word: Read more>>

Monifa and David Coaxum

We love to share the story of Dave’s Body Butter. It all started when our daughter Rayna was a toddler and began experiencing skin dry patches. Read more>>

Jua’Quen Perry

I grew up with a huge imagination. It’s been 23 years now and I’m still imagining things and dreaming big dreams. I was bullied a lot in elementary school and that led to my shyness and not seeing my worth. Read more>>

Dané Gare

My goal was not to start a non-profit. It just happened. I wanted to host low cost camping events, but couldn’t afford the camping gear and a local organization rented gear to non profits. I sat with what I was trying to achieve and realized that a non-profit made sense for me. Read more>>

Krys Purcell

Being immersed in the artist scene here in Detroit (and an artist myself) I saw that the need for merch and prints was necessary. In some instances, it could be costly. Read more>>

Scot MacTaggart

Crusher Deluxe began, really, when I realized that creators are creators, no matter their discipline. I’ve spent my career — sales rep, marketer, manager, consultant, entrepreneur — building support for novel ideas. Read more>>

Evancia Baron

My biggest setback in life was when I moved to GA to be with my fiancé in 2013. I had resigned from my job as a Branch Manager of a major bank without securing another job and moved to a whole new state so we could start our life together. Read more>>

Hayley Serna

When I was younger, I always enjoyed making jewelry. I would make gifts for my friends and family and always thought about turning this passion into a business. Read more>>