We’ve always tried to ask the questions that matter but that are too awkward for people to ask their friends, family and coworkers without seeming dramatic. One of those questions is about mission and purpose – when’s the last time you asked a friend what their mission was? Too often we don’t talk about our own missions and don’t ask those close to us about theirs with the result being that our missions remain secret. Are you just a doctor or are you a doctor who wants to be there for patients in the way you wished your father’s doctor had been? People have incredible and meaningful missions, and we hope our conversations asking folks about their mission can inspire more such conversations in your life.

Starting a business or creative project is scary for many reasons, but one that is often overlooked is the anxiety related to whether this is really “the one.” To some, this isn’t a valid consideration while to others this is the only consideration. Some argue that what you work on, along with who you work with are the two most pivotal decisions you’ll make and so we’ve asked folks to tell us about how they came up with their ideas and how they knew this idea was the one.

Rosella Papale

The backstory of my entrepreneurial journey is an immigration story with wins and losses, but overall a happy one. I decided to come to the United States in 2014, looking for opportunities, and the way I made this possible was by opening a business. I bought a franchise in the sign and printing industry. Honestly, I am formally trained as an Anesthesiologist MD. I didn’t know anything about having a business or signs and printing, but I liked the fact that it was a creative and dynamic business. Read more>>

Ilana Karcinski

The idea for our company came to us while working for Hilton Hotels in Tampa, Florida. We saw a need in the wedding industry that spoke to us; couples wanted to include their pets in their special day but quickly became overwhelmed. Our pets are our family and we couldn’t imagine them missing out on such a special day. Everyone you normally trust to watch your pets is unavailable… and are you really going to ask someone you didn’t invite? Read more>>

Bobbi Rivers

Aumour Kiddie Boutique was started in 2019 after I gave birth to my daughter Aumouri. I remember being a stay-at-home mom and always looking for cute little outfits and fun things to do with her. I was obsessed with dressing her up and taking pictures with her. I would be online shopping for different items and felt like it was a STRUGGLE finding what I was looking for. I wanted her to have access to clothing that was cute and casual, with a little pop to it. I thought to myself, how many other moms strive to find their kids the perfect outfit for every event, that’s comfortable and breathable. Read more>>

Wendi Blanton

I spent the majority of my 40s trapped in bed as I fought my way through multiple surgeries, resulting in now having metal in several parts of my body. When your mind is sharp, but your body is weak, it’s hard to stay positive at times. I was scrolling through channels out of boredom and stumbled across Cesar Millan’s Dog Whisperer TV show. At first, it was entertaining to see how he worked so well with so many different dogs, but quickly I became completely intrigued. Read more>>

Chrishon Lampley

It was Christmas morning in 2012 when I got the call. A freak flood in the building of the Chicago art gallery and wine bar that I had co-founded just several years prior had destroyed everything. When an insurance loophole didn’t cover the damages, I was forced to shudder the business that I had worked so hard to build. Finding myself back at ground zero, I was in a very dark place; however, I had no choice but to pick myself up and figure out what was next. Read more>>

Donovan & Elesha Grace

Growing With Grace Tutoring started with the passion of a teacher and the mind of a Financial Analyst. As a teacher, I (Elesha) would frequently tell Donovan (Financial Analyst) the stories of things that happened in my classroom. I noticed that many children were struggling and needed additional help outside of what time was allowed during the school day. I guess my constant storytelling (and sometimes complaining) intrigued Donovan because soon after he decided he wanted to start tutoring. Read more>>

Lady Carrington Craig

n December of 2012, I was four years old. My Aunt was having Christmas dinner with my family and me when she suddenly became sick. When my Mother and I went to the hospital to visit my Aunt, I saw a child being brought in from an ambulance. I asked my Mom whether Santa Clause delivered toys to children in the hospital. My Mom informed me that parents were more concerned with the gift of good health and the children may or may not receive Christmas toys. I asked my Mom if she could get the young boy a few toys (certainly not mine. Read more>>

Hilary Bateman

For over 50 years, my family has owned property in the USD/Fashion Valley neighborhood. I have always been curious about the little house on the corner of Via Las Cumbres and Friars Road. The location resembles a Victorian house with an old shake roof- almost like something straight out of a fairy tale. The little house has always operated as a flower shop, however; most of the previous owners would only open sporadically or a few times a year for the larger holidays. So, the poor little house was in disrepair and empty most of the time. With my background in real estate, a passion for restoring old homes, and, of course, a love of flowers; I knew that this little house and I were a perfect match. Read more>>

Doc List

I’ve been a photographer for most of my life. Certainly for all of my adult life. In recent times (like 15 years or so) I’ve pursued it more avidly, as a profession, and with an intent to learn and create. In order to continue to raise the level of my skills, I create projects for myself. It began with the Austin Bodies Project, moved into the Austin Dance Project, continued into the Hexagon Project, and then created Winged Beings. Read more>>

Adriana Robinson

Reina Skincare is a skincare brand that I started in order to fulfill my own needs. I have always struggled with acne since the time I got into high school and it only got worse as an adult. I would roam the aisles of retail beauty counters searching for anything to help me with my acne and acne scars. Everything that I used would just make it worse and I got more and more self conscious. My self esteem was completely affected. Read more>>

Gianni Moore

I remember this day vividly. The news had just broke about COVID-19 and it spreading rapidly. I sat on the couch in my student apartment living room with my laptop open. I had just finished submitting an assignment for one of my classes. I had my fair share at entreprenuership but it didn’t feel right. I felt like I needed to do something different-something that I was passionate about. Then it hit me. I thought of passions, fashion and the field of law and it all click naturally. Read more>>

Scotty Jordan

I started my brand broncoboyzatl almost 4 years ago. I’ve always been obsessed with vintage tees such as tour shirts, nascar, wrestling and band tees. I always had visions in my head and always was very fashionable winning best dresses throughout school people gravitate towards me and always complemented me on how i would dress but i never thought about having my own clothing brand. I always had dope ideas looking at shirts in my closet for hours visualizing on how i would put together a shirt or what would make it better or stand out and wanted to bring those ideas to life but was scared to share them until i met my business partner Roderick Austin through my photographer Bmars. Read more>>

Daphne Verzosa

As a blogger and content creators since 2011, taking photographs of products sent to me for PR was natural to me. But back then, I didn’t realize that freelance commercial photography was a thing. Of course I knew commercial photography existed, but back then I thought it was only a job reserved for agencies. Until four years ago, a friend of my husband Chad suggested we doing commercial photography on the side. She told us their agency works with freelance photographers at their agency all the time and she thought we’d do well. And so we did. Read more>>

Dylan Tyson

After finishing my education I knew I wanted to start a business in the food industry because of my years of experience and passion for it. I consider myself a taco connoisseur, however recognized that the market is saturated with taco options already, and one day the idea of an “Ice Cream Taqueria” came to mind. After doing some research on ice cream tacos that were already available and being made, I recognized that no business had an identity of an ice cream Taqueria. Read more>>

Brian Smith

Aumour Kiddie Boutique was started in 2019 after I gave birth to my daughter Aumouri. I remember being a stay-at-home mom and always looking for cute little outfits and fun things to do with her. I was obsessed with dressing her up and taking pictures with her. I would be online shopping for different items and felt like it was a STRUGGLE finding what I was looking for. I wanted her to have access to clothing that was cute and casual, with a little pop to it. I thought to myself, how many other moms strive to find their kids the perfect outfit for every event, that’s comfortable and breathable. Read more>>

Ines Gomez-Acebo

I never thought I would end in the Real estate business as I had worked all my life in the retail industry and my last job in Spain was in politics. I came to Miami as a project manager for a new project and six months later unfortunately the project didn’t fall through. I was afraid I would have to go back to Spain but I was very fortunate that my visa allowed me to apply for the green card. My immigration lawyer told me that until I received the green card I couldn’t work for anyone but I could work for myself. I couldn’t afford to spend six months without income so I had to figure out something to get going as a self employer. Read more>>

Ariana Onyemata

So, first off I’ve always loved the beauty industry, especially makeup. I came up with the name for my business after I took my first client and before my first photoshoot gig ever. I thought to myself, I want something that’s different but catchy. After that, I got on Instagram and started to type in different names to see if it would come up as someone else’s name. For whatever reason, I put “Aribeatsface”, in the search bar and nothing came up for it, so it stuck with me. At the time, I was a newer MUA but I didn’t know how my business name by itself would motivate me to not only perfect my craft but learn different techniques & level up. Read more>>

Debbie Kamp

@Photography was born while I was working as an account’s assistant for a real estate brokerage. One of my responsibilities was to pay vendor bills, and in that process, I discovered how much money the broker was paying the real estate photographer. At that time, I was enjoying photography as a hobby, but became interested in doing more with it. I approached the broker with a proposal to take over shooting real estate for him, and he agreed! I had a feeling that this was going to be a worthwhile endeavor because there were so many potential clients in the office who would often follow the lead of the broker. Read more>>

Maria Cariza Crisostomo

I was working with and promoting a group travel service for over 7 years straight out of college. I absolutely LOVED it because I felt like I was living out my dream of traveling the world and not paying retail. To promote the service I started sharing my travels on Instagram and soon became the “travel friend.” Whenever my friends were going to a city, they’d always ask me what I recommend to help them in their vacation planning. Read more>>

Caroline Dawes

I have been cooking since a young girl growing up in Jamaica this is a family tradition as well as a pastime! I was raised by my great grandmother along with my four sisters and we all love to cook! Cooking is my happy place so I figured why not make money doing what I love! I’ve always cooked for people including my daughters friends and people just enjoyed the food so here I am ! Read more>>

Shira Yaziv

Before Athletic Playground, I was a personal trainer, I was training my clients at their homes or outside using local playgrounds and parks (I called my training business Athletic Playground because I trained clients using playgrounds). Aside from training clients, my schedule was full of my interests. I would commute all over the bay area to attend classes/jams that I was interested in. At the time I was interested in Parkour, Breakdance, Handstands, Acrobatics, Capoeira, Circus, Strength and Conditioning and Climbing. Read more>>

Roberta Donato

My Happy Cabaña was created almost by accident! My best friend and now business partner, Claudia and I, were always in search of easy but unique dresses and skirts that fit our lifestyle. We are both moms, we love to laugh and have fun, and have both worked in fashion, so we wanted to look stylish as well, without breaking the bank and in a realistic way. We couldn’t very well wear a gown to the playground!! Read more>>

Jessica Davidoff

After selling my third business and having my son, I started to retire my blazers and shorter skirts and instead opted for the ease and versatility of long dresses. The only problem was my NYC closet became a total disaster! I tried hanging them on the top rack and the bottoms would get snagged by hangers or would cover all the clothes on the bottom rack. I tried hanging them on the bottom rack and the bottoms would get wrinkled and covered in dust bunnies. So I searched for a solution and to my surprise, there were NO hangers on the market designed specifically for long garments! Read more>>

Cassandra Claude

I wrote the book, “A Singer’s Compass” and created an online course, “Musicians Mastermind” offered to everyone (internationally) through University of Miami, Frost School of Music. My vocal coaching company was thriving. The deeper I got into the business and working with more and more aspiring professional singers, the more I began to realize there was a missing component that was consistent. It dawned on me that it was very much the root of many blocks they were holding. Read more>>

Dennis Pitocco

Blessed by sufficient financial success as an entrepreneur, my wife Ali and I decided to invest our time, our talent, and our treasure in truly giving back, by creating a “for good” versus for-profit business, entirely focused on doing what makes sense versus “cents”. That led to launch of our unique, award-winning 360° Nation global media platform. Read more>>

Lea Hayes

I have always loved creating jewelry. I started playing around with new ideas and materials and I loved how versatile leather could be! It is also so lightweight so people really gravitated to that aspect of it. The personalization that i create for my clients is one of the things that separates me from others. I can create personalized pieces for the perfect gift! Read more>>

Ana Maria Marin

The idea came up when I moved to US in 2018,and I wanted to start a business with a passion that I had since I was a little girl. I knew that I had a lot of competition in the area, so my first thought was to go with something more unique. I thought on macarons and cakes. I was following some IG pages from Australia and I wanted to do at first some letter boxes filled with macarons and flowers,to call more attention for my product. I made a few at first,but I had to change and start something more innovative. Read more>>

Bella Noelle Jordan

When I was about six months old my mommy and I started traveling extensively and she wanted to have a way for me to remember all of my adventures. We were traveling to North Carolina for her college class reunion and she asked one of my godmothers if she would be willing to write my adventures down so that I would always remember them. Since my mommy was already focused on literacy with me my godmother decided to take it a little further and write books that are all about me and make them available to the public and that is how we got started. For my first birthday, my mommy gifted me with the cover of my first book as well as my business and she and my god mommy worked hard to get the book ready to be launched for my second birthday. Read more>>

Brieanna Conway

Honestly , I created my brand because I wanted to give others what I never received growing up. I definitely was solving a problem no one else was solving . I always wanted to try therapy or counseling growing up . I always wanted to try be apart of a group of like minded people. I always loved the idea of wearing and spreading more awareness about Mental Healing . So I created all of my wants & needs into The Mhm Collection . And I couldn’t be more proud of the impact I have had thus far. Read more>>

Kyara Cortez

It all started on Father’s Day of 2021. I decided to make empanadas with a side of refried black beans and fried plantains for my dad. I’ve made them before but it was a few months before then. We were all eating at the table and my mom couldn’t stop raving about how they tasted. My parents both kept saying I needed to sell them. I was hesitant because a lot of new business owners in the food industry fail within a year. I told them I would and figured out a name for the business with my friends at that time. We came up with a name. I did the trial taste test with a few people and they loved it! Read more>>

Keith Cedotal

Well, it all started when I got fired – I mean furloughed – during the end of 2020. I thought, “Now is the time to start my own business.” Unfortunately, a lot of pastry chefs started their own bakeries, too. That was a good thing, because Dallas needed more local chef-owned businesses, but I knew I needed a unique concept. So, I took a step back and took some time. I probably took a little too much time, especially for my husband’s liking, but I wanted to get it right. Read more>>

Courtney Copeland

Picture this: It’s the year 2020, I find out that I am pregnant in late January and just weeks later… we are in a global pandemic. I was currently working in a Marketing position and because of the unknown, I am told that I should work from home. For the next 7 months I am working from home along side my husband and our 2 fur babies. Read more>>

Talia Ferrell

Funny Story Nails I Do Adore Collection Was Named After Inspiration from J’adore Dior Commercial, Meshed With Jay-Z Hit Song Girls, Girls, Girls. From There Nails I Do Adore Collection Was Created. Read more>>

Taylor Riot

When I started setting up a booth at local markets I kept experiencing a lot of distain and apprehension from the patrons toward the things I was bringing and creating. This was an uncomfortable situation to deal with because I wanted to be in a place where my crafts and vintage items would have people excited to take a gander at what I was displaying. I then finally got on a few markets that were more similar to the flow I was bringing, but unfortunately the more intimate, smaller markets weren’t totally working out either. I was about to throw in the towel and just sell stuff online. Read more>>

Jennifer Hasbun

My Social Media Management company started thanks to the content that I was creating about the restaurants that I visited. It is something that I love, that I enjoy doing. I had so much fun doing it and being focused in creating awesome content that when people saw it it would make them want to go that I had not realized the love I felt for working with restaurants. Read more>>

Walt McKinley

I’ve lived what seemed like multiple lives in one and have had incredible success both personally and professionally, but based on my childhood I knew I was an exception. My childhood was something movies are made from and the abuse I endured left me an angry, self-sabatoging, and mentally struggling young man. I knew I needed to make the choice to embrace my past and let it fuel my future. I set out on a mission to heal myself from the only pain I knew and turn towards finding love and happiness. I wrote my memoir, “Monsters in My House, A True Story”, and speak around the world about how to heal from trauma and own your story. My purpose is to show others your history doesn’t define your legacy and where you start in life doesn’t have to be where you end. Read more>>

Matt Cox

The first major idea for our work came while I was working a different job and frustrated by the technologies that were available and being used. The short version is that it didn’t have the sophistication required to do what it was being asked to do, and I felt like I could design something better, something that hadn’t been done before. I did but was planning on it just being useful in a research context, allowing me to answer critical questions about clean energy impacts and the energy system in a better way. Read more>>

Pinda Romain

Being a creative professional for over 25+ years, I’m always trying to find ways to use my skills. I currently work as Creative Director for a national hair care brand, but I know that I have more to offer. I do freelance graphic design jobs here and there and I could never see myself NOT designing. After my family and I moved to the up and coming Richmond area in Houston, Texas, I quickly realized that most of the skating parties my kids were invited to took place at a skating rink no where near our neighborhood. I decided it was time to open my own skating rink and include my design services! Read more>>

Courtnea Whitlock

It all began in November 2017. All of a sudden, I became obsessed with the idea of baking. My birthday is in January and I just kept telling my friends and family, “I want to make my own birthday cake.” I’d usually do an ice cream cake from Randalls every year. Chocolate cake layers filled with Vanilla ice cream and whipped icing. It was simple and it was good… But it was so incredibly boring. Just basic. For weeks, my time was consumed with googling “How to bake a cake”, “What supplies are necessary to bake a cake”, etc. I frequented YouTube and Pinterest. In early January, I found myself at a local cake supply store and purchased a few items I needed to accomplish baking my own cake. Read more>>

Amanda Rainear

While searching for ideas for our own wedding after we got engaged in 2015, I came across live wedding painting. The idea had not exploded in popularity the way it has today, and I thought this would be a great opportunity for Jamie to explore. He is a classically trained painter, having graduated art school in 2008 and focusing on original paintings in the years following his graduation. At the time I discovered live wedding painting, Jamie was currently painting live full time as an instructor, and I thought this would be the perfect way to evolve what he was already doing. Read more>>

Pam Balentine Bell

After graduating from Michigan State University with both a bachelor’s and Master’s in accounting, I started working for one of the largest accounting firms in the world. I primarily focused on audits for Fortune 500 companies. Being in this business world for so long, I just thought EVERYONE in business knew how important accounting was to operate. I just KNEW everyone knew what a balance sheet, income statement (also known as profit and loss statement), and proper business tax returns were and how hugely important having them were to any business. Read more>>

Judica Salmon

I swear, I’ve answered this question in about three different panels and I’ve told a different story for each one, but they’re ALL true! One thing I’ve consistently conspired to do as a business owner is expound upon fact that this path is the longest, most convoluted, yet natural process one could ever be granted. It is not just one story, but a series of factors & events that leads you to a eureka moment; that eureka is that you have a product/concept that is not only profitable but needed. Yes-that moment happened for me while I was on Tumblr (of all things), but there were other factors that were imperative to the founding of my business. Read more>>

Paul Fields

I’ve always had an entrepreneurial spirit and a passion for business within the fashion industry. Having owned and operated my own brands in Australia, I wanted to create a business here in the U.S from which I could help other brands grow their business. Using past knowledge and skills, I set out to create MVA to focus solely on helping clients develop their brand in the areas of design, production, strategic planning and brand positioning. Read more>>

Michelle Enjoli

My business idea came to me as a result of several defining moments for me professionally and personally. The first was when I moved to Atlanta in 2015 as a result of a company relocation that left many of my former colleagues and me struggling to find new career opportunities and/or having to make tough decisions about our futures. Once I made the move, I had a few encounters where I realized that there was a large gap in the professional development space that wasn’t being served. Read more>>

Elizabeth Gallardo

My name is Elizabeth Gallardo and I am the founder and owner of The Cat’s Meow Café. A cat café concept located in the Upper East side of Miami, FL. We are partnered with Miami-Dade Animal Services to support our efforts in helping place as many rescued cats into forever homes. The Cat’s Meow Café is a retail café/cat adoption lounge that allows guests to interact and connect with unique cat personalities. Through this experience, we hope to create a stronger bond between the adopter and the cat. We also host a variety of events like cat yoga, paint night, comedy night, and educational workshops. Read more>>

Durell Peart

I came up with the idea for Double N Management & Marketing Group, LLC after my graduation from Full Sail University in 2015. I knew that I wasn’t going to be able to move to a bigger industry city to pursue a job working on the business side of the music industry and that I was going to have to stay put here in Orlando FL so my best bet to continue to make sure I could do what I love to do everyday is to create my own company. The name Double N actually stands for N’Courage & N’Spire. I think if you were to ask those who have known me over the course of my life would say that these two words describe who I am both personally and professionally. Read more>>

Maryely Tejada

My business started soon after I began my journey to feed my own child, Oliver. I was motivated to help other parents and have them not be in the same position as I was when I started feeding Oliver. As some must not know, thanks to most recent studies, store-bought purées are not the best thing to give your baby. When I started to feed Oliver, I felt in my gut that store-bought purees weren’t right. Always follow your mom gut! I just knew that a product with a shelf life older than my baby couldn’t have been good for my baby. Plus they are loaded with additives and sugars. All the things that a baby beginning to develop did not need. Read more>>

Jae The Don

Wellness has been a big part of my life for my entire life. My mom is a nurse and my dad is a police officer so they’ve always instilled in us the importance of taking care of your body. I started my yoga journey 7 years ago and decided to invest in my yoga teacher certification over the pandemic, shortly after that I became a certified life coach. Read more>>

Brad Herda

I have been blessed to work with many privately/family-held blue-collar businesses. In 2007, or 2008, one of my suppliers at the time, a second-generation sheet metal fabricator, was met with an ultimatum from his union employees, he was to either pay them or they would go on strike. This owner was one of the best guys I have ever met. He was 100% customer-focused, and he would do whatever was needed to keep the customer happy. In saying this, he also was not a fan of conflict. In the 8 years or so of being his customer, if we saw one price increase, that would have been a lot. Read more>>

Alexia McKay

The idea of RoyalTee Magazine was developed over a series of chapters in my life. Growing up, I was a very imaginative child. I loved to read, I was a huge bookworm. I started reading full novels by the time I was 11 and I also loved to write. I would pen short stories and poetry. Looking back I found it to be therapeutic and discovered how invested and passionate I was about learning about others. It’s a passion that paved the way for my journalistic career ahead, including RoyalTee, which I was unknowingly developing. Read more>>

Haley Van Der Linden

Our primary owner, Shelly Van Der Linden, spent most of her career working for her family business in the shoe retail business. When her dad retired from the industry, she was diagnosed with breast cancer. After her battle and remission of cancer she spent time reflecting what her next journey would be. Shelly’s best friend and former co-worker opened a women’s clothing boutique in Huntington Beach that focused on providing affordable, fun clothing in a neighborhood setting. Read more>>

Anna Warner-Mayes

Color has always colored my moods and I always loved the power of color to invoke or ‘describe’ emotions. When I first got cancer in 2008 as a young wife and mom of three, I was devastated. The cancer was in my neck so after the first surgery, I was unable to speak for months afterward. After two more recurrences in subsequent years back in my neck and surrounding lymph nodes, I realized I was using lipstick and the many colors to convey my moods to the world around me, especially during the times I could not speak; red when I felt like I was strong enough to fight, nude when I wanted to disappear into the background, deep plum/raisin when I was ‘frying’ in the throws of radiation, etc.. Read more>>

Tiana Davis

So I’m a tarot reader and love doing readings for others personally and for The Collective on my YouTube channel. I have a million tarot decks and am an avid collector myself something about them is extremely satisfying for me haha like the feel of the cards, shuffling them, the energy coming off of them, everything. One day I became friends with a seller on Etsy that makes gorgeous tarot decks, and she’s the one that put the idea into my head of creating my own deck and she even gave me the info for the connect that she uses for creating hers like the printing company and feedback on the card designs and supporting me buying readings and other products of mine from my shop and leaving reviews. She’s absolutely amazing be sure to check her out in Etsy @virtualrayality9. Read more>>