One of the challenges we’ve seen to true equality of opportunity is that schools and books often can’t (or choose not) offer access to one of the most equalizing resources – first hand stories of how successful entrepreneurs made their ideas a reality. If you grew up in a family or community that had many successful entrepreneurs you may have been lucky to hear many conversations and stories about starting and executing on an idea, but there are millions of people across the country who haven’t had the same advantage and so our hope here is to create a space where those stories can be told in a more public forum for the benefit of any and every aspiring entrepreneur.

Tae’Lor Landa

My cousin and I were in the process of planning to do another podcast one weekend and I remember driving around and thinking to myself, “What if I started a podcast about what my life was really like as someone who lost their mom?” I knew that my grief was a journey but because I was telling my story, I came up with the name ‘The Grief Journal: The Unwritten Pages of My Grief Journey.’ Read more>>

Beth Wiese

One day while I was folding a load of laundry, I got to the bottom of the laundry basket and I felt a sinking feeling knowing I still had to put all those dang lose bra pads back into their garments, which we can all agree is the worst part about doing laundry. Read more>>

Hailey Smith

In high school, all of my friends were creatives. Some were into fashion, and art but most of my circle was rappers. I always loved their music but I felt like they were worth more. At ages 15 and 16 none of us had the money or knowledge to actually boost our music careers and take it seriously. Read more>>

Cuatro Tolson

During Covid, a group of us found ourselves with a serious urge to get out of the house and gel out of the city just to be outside/outdoors. Of course with each trip, we ventured a bit further and further until we found a few nice rental property getaways on the Llano River only 1.5 hours from Austin. Read more>>

Natasha & Silesia Moss

I have been baking since I was a little girl. I remember spending weekends with my maternal grandmother, Ruby, and learning how to bake. As I grew older, for some reason, the desire to bake started to fade. Then one day, a coworker asked me to bake a cake for our unit holiday party. Read more>>

Kenneth Bryant

My name is Kenneth Bryant with Catapulting Change Academy. I have been a business owner for over 10 years, contractor for 25 years, and an entrepreneur for 26 years. I was born raised in Baltimore and at the very young age of 11became an entrepreneur. During that time of my life I wasn’t doing the right thing.  Read more>>

Steph Orosco

Four years after getting my Healthcare Administration degree, which I pursued because I knew I wanted to help people but had no idea HOW that looked, I got a job as an Office Assistant in the mental health field that paid $30k/year ($6k more than I was making at the time). I felt like I hit the jackpot. Read more>>

Andrew Hill

One of my earliest memories is sitting in front of my father’s turntable, his adult-sized pair of headphones dwarfing my tiny head. Alan Parsons sang to me about mind-reading and invisible magical beings, transfixing me and transporting me to a place beyond time and space. I was four. And I was mesmerized. Read more>>

Brianna Jones

So the idea behind BBRAND was just to simply provide people with the best hair that they could use over and over again (without it shedding, tangling,etc.) within a 1-3 year span. Something that would make people feel beautiful and confident. While going to school for cosmetology I started to learn how to make wigs in class. Read more>>

Jessica Sullivan

Synnfox photography started out as a hobby in January of 2019 after getting my camera for Christmas just the month before. The only photography experience I had up until that point was darkroom development with 35mm film, so I spent the first few months of 2019 following Sydewynder to every practice and show they played. In those months, I had been asked several times from other bands on the bill if I would take their pictures as well, even offering to pay me. Read more>>

Briana Brown

I had a dream and a vision. I have always had a passion for design, color schemes and of course decor! However, I started the process of launching my event design business in 2020. Prior to my launch I started by doing tons of research. I spent a good four to five months just researching and learning the event industry! The ups and downs and the pros and cons. Read more>>

Dana Hicks

The idea for this tiny flower farm came out of thin air on a very cold day in January 2019. I was in a pretty rough place emotionally and wasn’t working; as a former high school teacher who loved and lived for my job, I wasn’t doing well home alone, in a new town, with very little support. I had searched my soul high and low for my next move. Read more>>

Jami-lyn Fehr

I came up with MODISTE in 2018 after an internship at a luxury publication startup didn’t quite work out. MODISTE, in my head, was originally an online publication focused on fashion and beauty that had a subscription-based model with exclusive content. Read more>>

Sharon Fisher

It starts with a sturdy journal. Mine was one my husband picked up at a conference for free. I brainstormed all of my ideas for Nurtured Well- the boutique women’s mental health practice I founded in Towson, Maryland- on pages one and two. Page three was for my professional goals. Read more>>

William Jackson

I was a Business Management major in college, and my professor kept asking me what type of business did I want to own, and I never knew the answer to that question. I couldn’t imagine at the time what type of business I would want to own, how I would run it, or what products/services I would offer. Read more>>

John & Natasha Ford

Our Story is so powerful and quite unique. You see, I will write this from the perspective of being in business with my husband. Together, my husband and I have launched a very successful catering company – Fluent N’ Food Catering and Wedding Venue – Chandelier Event Venue in Cary, NC. Read more>>

Brandy Walker

I have been in the credit and financial business for almost 6 years. I can honestly say you never stop having ideas that you can execute. Being a business owner is like your brain having multiple computer tabs open at any given point in time. The latest idea I have had was of a mutual desire to assist people with home ownership. Read more>>

Breanna Turmon

The process of producing “Women Who Shine” took several years. It started out as me going to church one Sunday morning and hearing the pastors message, I was inspired to plan a brunch for women to attend and connect with other women. I wanted women to have a space to become inspired and network with other like minded individuals. Read more>>

Taylor Westbrooks

Starting a business is never an easy walk in the park , but you will never know if you never start. I decided to come up with the idea to create my business friend with a lifelong friend whom had a passion in main interest as i was which was creative design and passion for beauty. Read more>>

Roniesha Seaton

When I published “The Blossoming of Me.” Which is my story, written by myself, is about how my hardships led me to victory. I had a vision to one day turn my publication into a curriculum for middle and high school-age ladies. Not sure how to implement my full vision, I started with the resources available to me. I knew individuals that worked in education, and I would ask numerous questions to get an idea of how to design my curriculum. Read more>>

Kyliah Baird

The idea to opening my own boutique was something that was just that, simply a thought, until I decided to take a chance on myself. As an already established business owner, I wanted to add my true passion to my entrepreneurial resume with starting an online clothing boutique. The vision I had to provide a luxury clothing brand to the everyday woman who likes to give luxe vibes while maintaining her every day life. Read more>>

Catherine Lundoff

I started writing and getting published in my midthirties, right after I had to close my small indie bookstore because I ran out of cash. I’ve always loved books and the idea of helping people discover books was entrancing so closing up shop was a difficult decision. Read more>>

Dana Felt

As I look down at the ground, smirk and shake my head, all I can think of is what a difficult yet rewarding road it has been. Ramble James launched exactly two weeks before Covid shut the world down. Read more>>

Darnell Jackson Jr.

I always had side hustles since I was like 21 so over the last few years I just chose to elevate from being a hustle to being a business owner so the first thing I did was getting a mentor and getting a education. This made it possible for me to properly setup my business and really start taking things serious. Read more>>

Danielle Norwitz

I didn’t always love cooking. I started very late (in college) and was used to cooking simple dinners. I decided to become vegan a few years out of college and I’ve never looked back. From there, I started getting creative in the kitchen! I had a dream that I would make a food Instagram, and the day after, I made it a reality. Read more>>

June Herman

“I’ve got a business idea for us. Can you meet me at 4:30 on Thursday afternoon?” And, just like that what would become Skip to My Lou, LLC and our bestselling book Goodnight St. Louis, was born. The next few weeks and months of 2012 were very quietly spent setting up our business and researching and writing our book. Read more>>