As an outsider, breaking into an industry can often seem like an impossible challenge and so we reached out to some very generous folks who agreed to share their stories of how they broke into their respective industries.

Susan Grothe

In 2018 I took a huge leap of faith by launching a career in Permanent Makeup. This career reinvention was a radical departure from nearly 3 decades spent climbing the ladder in a very traditional Corporate setting. A common thread had always run through my thoughts at the end of a typically exhausting week: what (or whom) had I really impacted? I wanted to work with people and was motivated to provide a service that was personal in nature and could positively impact self-esteem. I took a giant leap and launched into training, continued on into an apprentice program and was licensed in 2019. It was wonderful to see how thrilled Clients were with newly defined features and not having to put on makeup. Read more>>

Shana Mccormick

The scaffolding company I was working for when the pandemic hit was apart of a larger group of companies of which, there was a Nonprofit arm. With the City being shut down, the industry I was in (construction – accounting – my job was the collect on open invoices and client relations) along with many others, came to a halt. A group of us from the various companies got together to form a task force, to brainstorm how we could tap into the many resources we had available to help fill gaps within our communities. Read more>>

Kedric Bowen

The journey started where most do. I hit an all time low. A long romantic relationship ended for me and I moved back home. When I did, I took my studies and my career very serious. I also made sure to take good care of my body so I got to the gym and lost 27 lbs and felt better about my appearance and myself in general. With this new found confidence, a month and a half after moving home, I set up a meeting with a dental lab owner to show me what they do and give me a your of their lab for 15 or so minutes. Read more>>