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.
Lionel Mendez
We noticed several bars in our city offering free movie-nights as a way to bring in business, but after attending some of these ourselves, my partner and I found that they would often lack the necessary equipment and know-how to really do the movie any justice. We wanted to share our love of movies with the public while bringing a more professional polish to the presentation. Read more>>
Lee Campbell
After the 2020 Pandemic, many people were laid off or had their positions terminated, leading to a economic as well as an emotion crisis. For the first time ever, people began to realize that their employment was not guaranteed and from there a new wave of entrepreneurs were born. The only problem was, that most were first-time business owners, and weren’t aware of the difficulties that building a company presented. Read more>>
Gabrielle Estrella
Ever since I was 13 years old I knew makeup meant something more to me. Following beauty influencers like Jeffree Star and Jaclyn Hill, watching their videos and wanting so badly to recreate their looks. Though this may be an unpopular opinion, I adore Jeffree Star and he taught me everything I know about makeup. At first, of course I was terrible. It looked like I’d taken sharpie and drew it on my face. I would stay up until 3 or 4am just messing around and practicing until one day I wasn’t as terrible as before and so on. Read more>>
Tela Morris
I use to sew as a child. I knew one day that I would have my mark in the world with sewing but I didn’t know how to approach it. Whether it would be making accessories, making purses, making men’s apparel or making gowns. I was determined to see which one I was better at. I discovered that I was better at making evening wear for women. Whether it was wedding dresses, prom dresses or a simple cocktail dress it was always the reaction of the person that I was making it for. And from then on I wanted a place where women would come to feel more like themselves. Read more>>
Ryan Frisby
It was 2019 and I was taking a wheel throwing class in Austin, Texas, where I was living at the time. I was encouraged by my instructor to follow certain clay hashtags on instagram for inspiration and it was through those that I discovered polymer clay as a medium. I knew it was unrealistic that I would have easy access to a wheel or a kiln once my course was over and I wanted to build creative practices into my life that could be done on a regular basis at home. Read more>>
Kristina Grimm
The idea of the retail concept came to me when I was starting out as a creative entrepreneur. I was doing custom invitations for weddings and started a small line of stationery and greeting cards. I had a really hard time to find a way to sell my products locally and even to promote my custom invitation services. I was marketing online and selling on Etsy, but I felt like I was just getting lost in this endless sea of products. The idea of a collection of makers under one roof came when I saw wedding professionals share office space, and I thought “huh, maybe makers share a store space”. Read more>>
Andrea Lovegrove
The idea of opening a wedding venue came a long time ago , since I was young I wanted to be involved in the event industry, I attended culinary school in Mexico and start working as pastry chef for a big catering company we produced around 600 events a year with around 800 guest each . Read more>>
Lizzie Geerling Claire Troll
Working jobs that are often stressful (Lizzie a viral immunologist by day and Claire an occupancy planner by day), we sought a creative outlet that would allow us to channel our love for all things plant-y while stimulating the creative areas of our brains that we have always loved flexing. Read more>>
Nicole Jackson
In my middle school years, I was taking a literary class. When we reached poetry I was so excited and I told my dad about Robert Frost and Edgar Allen Poe. He reached for a book in our bookcase and it was a book about African American Poets and Authors. This is when my eyes were opened to the possibilities of what I could do, too. I began to write poetry. Read more>>
Clayton Bourges
If my memory serves me correctly we started Spring/Summer of 2019. We started by sharing local pet photos on social media Instagram/Facebook/Twitter etc. Read more>>
Isaac Rushing
How I came up with idea to create a credit repair company which lead me to be the founder of The Family Of Wealth? Well I’ve been an entrepreneur since 2014. before then I served in the US Navy for 5 years I was Honorably discharged in 2011, from there I went on to driving 18 wheelers all types from dry van and refrigerators to 10 car haulers. Read more>>
Ashley Solomon
I have always known I wanted to be in the fashion industry. My interests started when I was a teenager and I wanted to be a model. I even tried out for America’s Next Top Model and went to John Casablanca tryouts. After high school, I enrolled in college to pursue an education in Fashion & Marketing. Unfortunately, life’s obstacles had me move back to my hometown in Baxley, GA. Read more>>
Marcus Jones
I’ve had a love for photography starting all the way back to high school. I was one of the editors for my school newspaper, and one of my task was taking pictures for each article. I graduated high school back in 2000, I attended Virginia Union University for college, where I majored in mass communications. Skip ahead to 2013. Read more>>
Ashley Ramey
I started my first blog in 2012 called Ashley’s Closet – with the desire to post about affordable fashions and styles for girls my age. After a few years passed, I found that I wanted to write and share more than just fashion. Read more>>
Latoya Janae
I started my brand to bring more options and creative flair to the tall fashion industry. Tall fashion is often overlooked in the fashion industry and has been for decades. There are a few brands that are starting to have a “Tall” section but what people fail to realize is “Tall” is not just one size and thats the problem. Read more>>
Brandi Swift
Since I was 14 I’ve been a hustler. I’ve probably hustled more as a mother than anytime before. There is so much pressure on mother’s and always has been. I created another Hustlher to support all the mothers that hustle to take care of their family by any means necessary. To give them a spotlight yo be acknowledged and feel good about themselves. Read more>>
Robin Dayley
I’ve been a photographer for 20 years. During that time I’ve been a lot of different sizes and shapes, but I have always been what our culture considers plus-size. As a photographer, it’s necessary for me to keep my own headshots updated and over the last few years I’ve had my photos taken by several different photographers. Read more>>
Jenni & Ben Mueller
Our Business was born kind of by accident. Back in 2012 we were looking to find a fun hobby to do together as a couple. I (Jenni) had always been an avid thrift shopper and lover of vintage things. I started an Etsy store selling paper and fabric crafts, and a few vintage items here and there. The Vintage items started so sell faster than the handmade ones and I was hooked. Read more>>
Kathy Dahdal
In a traditional sense, building a business often begins with writing out a business plan and using logic to get a sense for the potential success for an idea. But creating your own business doesn’t have to start from this point and it didn’t for me. It started from the practical day-to-day experience of being in my classroom with my students and interacting with my colleagues. Read more>>
Elena Velasco
Upon moving from San Diego to Austin, I had just graduated with a masters in fine arts and was pregnant with my daughter so it was recognized as an incredibly momentous time in my life. The decisions I would make in the next months would determine the path for a new stage in my life. I felt lost and intimidated as my college debt, newness, and insecurities about living in a new city felt heavy on my shoulders. Read more>>
Kayla Baskin
Many people may not know this but I first started Bodthentic because of my love for hair care. I always knew I wanted to have my own line of products and I’ve always been into health and wellness and the beauty space in general. So initially the idea started with my desire to create a toxin-free hair care line. Read more>>
Lizzie Toland
I started decorating cookies for fun in the winter of 2019. I wasn’t finding any jobs that fulfilled me, so every weekend I would spend any extra energy I had on practicing cookie decorating. Over the years, I had become obsessed with cookie decorating videos on Facebook and Instagram, and all I wanted to do was be as good as those decorators Read more>>
Nikki Orsak
Guadalupe Coffee Company was conceived over many morning commutes through the heart of the Texas Hill Country. With each pass over the Guadalupe River, Guadalupe Coffee Co was envisioned one cup of coffee at a time. The original concept for the coffee shop was centered around bringing a healthier specialty coffee beverage to underserved markets.. Read more>>
Mary Murkin
I had wanted to own my own business since I was five years old—you might say it was the dream of a poor kid from the Midwest. Then life comes along with things like school, work, marriage, moving, kids………..and then homeschooling my two kids for thirteen years. After all of that, it was then that I got to focus on opening a business. Read more>>
Stephanie Toxey
I always knew I wanted to attempt to make a difference in the world somehow, some way. The idea to start a business has always been a dream of mine just because of what my mom instilled in me as a child. I can do anything, I am somebody. Growing up doing hair was always something I truly loved from doing my sisters hair to learning what works and what doesn’t. Even down to teaching others about their own hair. Read more>>
LeAnn Phelan
I have been a Music Exec for 25 years in various seats – pubishing, A&R, Songwriter/Producer Management, Talent Scout, Co-head of ASCAP Nashville & Artist Management, but the thread that connects all of those jobs is helping develop songwriters. In March of 2020, I was managing an artist named Jake Rose who had a wonderful team of champions around him, Grammy award winning producers, CAA, Sony Music Publishing and we had just released a single that we were pumped about! Every knows what happened next. Read more>>
Jen Hirst
I lived in the sober closet for four years. I didn’t talk about it with anyone outside of the 12-step rooms. I was supposed to remain anonymous and keep this part of my life a secret, so I in turn lived in shame for many years. So often, we hear the sad stories, the things we’ve lost, that removing alcohol is going to be boring… but WHAT IF we could show people another way? Read more>>
Elsa Mucyo
I have been tutoring since I entered College. At first, I was just helping Elementary and Middle School Students with their homework. Then, I also started teaching the basics of English and German as Foreign Languages since I was studying them at an advanced level for my Bachelor’s Degree. Read more>>\
Cindy Williams
I love Texas! Through conversations, I realized that many Texans don’t really know about the different cultures and regions that make up our state. For instance, I’m of Wendish descent on my mother’s side (what’s a Wend?) and noodles, coffee cake, and thriftiness are a part of my DNA! I know that certain foods and customs are also part of the many ethnicities that formed Texas as well as the regions in which we live. Read more>>
Justin Cain
The podcast that I host, “fullcrcl” is what I call my life project. I’ve always wanted to create a space for people to feel like they were apart of an community. It’s really a projection from my own internal desire to fit in growing up because I know what it’s like to be misunderstood and an out cast. So with this platform I’m using the podcast to introduce humans to other humans and really just get to the center of who they are. Read more>>
Darya Kosovan
In early 2018, Ari Candles began from a desire to create not just a candle but something that will purify and benefit the atmosphere and air quality of your home. This desire came after burning a candle that was gifted to us and seeing black residue in our kids noses after burning the candle. That’s when we said “Never Again!” and began working on creating a candle that would not only be pleasant to burn but beneficial. Read more>>
Shajuna Fisher
Covid-19 had hit. I used to go to this gym a few times a week, so I was devastated that I couldn’t attend anymore due to the the severity of Covid, everything shut down. Life really changed for everyone! So I started working out at home. Trying to relieve stress and anxiety. Read more>>
Tracy Starr
While growing up, my family, like a lot of others, used plants and herbs to create homemade herbal extractions as a cure-all to treat illnesses and ailments we had whenever possible. We all had that grandmother or great aunt we could call on to get an herbal recipe to cure that suspicious cough or stomachache when feeling sick or under the weather. Read more>>
Manuela Valenti
I didn’t, it actually fell on my lap, but it started without me knowing it at a very young age. I’ve suffered from horrible chronic dermatitis all my life. My body is 90% scarred because of it, and somehow I made peace with the fact this life of itching and scratching and bleeding and scars was the way it was going to be for as long as I lived. Read more>>
Khashilah Butler
I’ve always loved cooking and knew I wanted to be a chef, but it wasn’t until I spent over ten years in the hospitality industry that I decided to enroll in culinary school in 2019. During that time, I discovered that I wanted the pursue an unconventional culinary career. In 2020, I did extensive research to identify a niche market. That is when I realized meal prepping is something that I do very well and enjoy. Read more>>
Deroll Scarlett
I’ve been wearing bow-ties for years now and the majority of my collections are homemade ties. I started making my own bow-ties for multiple reasons: • Bow-ties are hard to find in stores • Bow-ties in stores are expensive • I don’t have enough hobbies (yeah, right…) Read more>>
Andre Ricks
East Austin Comedy Club was born out of a desire for independence. Raza Jafri and I realized we both had the desire to have our own show to do comedy as much as possible. We met in January of 2021 an immediately started planning on turning Santa Cruz theater into a comedy spot. Read more>>
Kim Carr
Back in 2014 I was still a newbie in the world of professional photography. I had started out selling my photography on notecards out of the back of my pickup truck at the local Farmers Market and other small venue’s. I was given the opportunity to participate in the Saint Louis Art Fairs Emerging Artists as Entrepreneurs program. Read more>>
Ami Taubenfeld
I am the parent of an autistic daughter named Annie and felt that from the time of her birth in 1990 until she was 21 that we were forced to be pioneers. It was very difficult accessing information about things my husband and I were observing in her early development that were inconsistent with her two older brothers. Read more>>
Tracy Rowe
If you’re looking for a rags-to-riches story, keep going because this isn’t it. What this is is a real deal life experience that will hopefully inspire you to tap into your own drive and grit. My journey to becoming a business owner started in college. I went to college because my older sister went to college. In fact, I even went to the same college she attended. Read more>>
Desmon Simon
Thanks for having me today!!!!!!! How did I come up with the idea of becoming a business coach the urge to want to change lives and help people it all started with me learning how to shift my whole mindset I begin to work with the mind body and soul and also teach women all around the world how to deal with trauma and being able to help women was my main goal that lead to me wanted to also change the financial thinking Read more>>
Fernando Ortega
I´m a Lawyer by trade (‘93), since 2004, I have been involved as an entrepreneur in corporate projects in Spain and internationally. Founder of Publicatuslibros.com (2004), Ittakus Comunicación (2005), Noticiascadadía (2006). In 2009, I founded ILOVEACEITE Spain, currently with two international subsidiaries: Kochamoliwe in Poland (2011) and ILOVEACEITE US, in the USA (2016). Read more>>
Scott & Holly Stafford
I Scott started making things for around our home. I kitchen island, shoe rack, pallet wall etc. Holly has always been an artist and loves to paint and draw and we both are extremely creative. We made a peice for our home which is a buck cut out and hand painted. We were showing to everyone and everyone told us we should combine our talents so we did. Read more>>
Ed Miller
I’ve worked as a trainer for 16 years. When I moved to the area in 2011, I worked at a large health club for 5 years. I reached my ceiling there as one of the top producers and began to plan opening my own business. This didn’t happen overnight. It took almost a full year to plan and build. I had built up enough clientele to where I finally felt comfortable going out on my own and opened the facility with my business partner in February of 2016. Read more>>
Fifi
When I graduated from college with an English degree, I was told that I could possibly have a tough time finding a well-paying job in my field. I had some interest in law, but my job working as a Information Specialist at a patent firm was not fulfilling enough to me. I left the firm to teach English in a homestay program in Beijing, China, because I had a deeper understanding that if you do what you love, the money will come. Read more>>
Keke Powell
I got the idea during covid. I was thinking of creative ways to share my ideas, but also getting the supplies I needed to be successful as a teacher. As teachers, we don’t always get all the materials we need to bring the excitement to learning and making it fun! I wanted to use social media to help me with the out-of-pocket costs to do just that! Read more>>
Adam Bylicki
After retiring from the Army in 2018 I took a contracting job that required me to be gone for 90 days at a time. Having 2 girls at home made this got old real fast. After a little Over a year I quit and decided to chase what I’d always wanted to do, which was cool for a living. We opened the truck in late 2020 and haven’t looked back since. Read more>>
LaRonda LaNear
I wish I had come up with the idea of We Got It Covered long before I launched. For years I’ve hosted events for friends and family, I’d always have a plethora of food and extravagant set up’s. I even meal prepped for a few friends. One day a friend told me I should think about turning this into a business. After much thought, I came up with a plan and executed. Read more>>
Neshia Brown Caston
I started my life as a Runway Fashion Model in the year of 2015. I have always dreamed of being everything God wanted me to be, and that was to be different and to stand out from the crowd and to believe in myself. I love art & fashion, it is everything and more to me ! Read more>>
Mike Brown
Wanting to highlight local authors south of Atlanta in the Fall of 2018, I talked an author-friend, Tim Riordan aka Judah Knight (author. name) into doing a local author event in Senoia–the home of the Walking Dead television show. After a sell out event, I had no problem discovering local authors wanting to take part in local author programs. Read more>>
Mr.Jay King
Growing up I was very fond of makeup, clothing and keeping up with the latest trends. I really didn’t think too much of it because it was something that came naturally. I just like to keep up on myself as a person. Read more>>
Mike Maddux
I’ve always been an entrepreneur at heart, even at an early age. So, it came as no surprise that after college and a couple of successful years working in sales for a large corporation, I decided to leave corporate life behind and go into business for myself. Read more>>