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.

Junior Bernadin

The inspiration for The Diversity Dollz NFT Collection originally came from my daughter. She’s a very diverse little girl with several different ethnicities coursing through her. It got me thinking, I wanted to develop something for her that would have a positive impact on women of color. Naturally, I’m someone who loves STEM and thrives in the realm of technology. Read more>>

Mark Scherer

I’ve had numerous businesses over the years, from construction to a raw food company. Each business had it’s own set of challenges, tough times and successes. Business was a way to live and provide things to live on. Most of them didn’t really feed my heart. One thing that was constant in my other careers was I had a passion for personal growth, and often spoke more about consciousness in my day than I did promoting my business. Read more>>

Dana Shannon

During quarantine in 2020, I was able to start working from home for my 9-5 job. I had a position at a large marketing agency as a Client Services manager where I managed about 25 accounts and client projects. While working from home, I was able to complete all of my full-time work in half the time it normally took because I had very few distractions. I was so much more efficient. Let’s just say, I had plenty of extra time to start thinking if this role and the schedule were going to keep me happy long term. I started journaling and really asking myself if this was my purpose. Is this what I was meant to do? Read more>>

Mikala Williamson

Celeste Essentials came about because I had a stem cell transplant that later caused me to deal with all kinds of skin issues from acne and boils to eczema and psoriasis. I was visiting way too many specialist and trying way too many different types of medication for help. Nothing was helping so I returned to nature and decided to test out natural remedies. I am very spiritually inclined and had a dream about the Blemish Bar, then when I woke up I did research on the ingredients I dreamt of. Read more>>

Dominique “Dolly” Hagler

The arts had always been a part of my life whether it be dancing, acting, modeling, or writing, I was doing it. I moved to Georgia in 2013, and at that time I started taking acting and modeling more seriously. After being in a few movies, I found that I was highly interested in writing my own short film, so I started writing Dating A’mari. As the years went on, I continued my focus on acting and modeling and stop writing altogether (outside of journaling) until 2019 after having my daughter. Read more>>

Angel Anderson

Prior to Angel’s Organics, I had to conduct tons of research. With my background in psychology, conducting research shouldn’t prove too much of a challenge. Through attending entrepreneurial seminars hosted by Draymond Johnson of Shark Tank and the D.C. Small Business Association, I learned so much about the beginnings of starting a brand. Read more>>

Kellie Heinen

I started Rustic Elegance after getting let go from a few jobs… lol. I hated working so hard for someone else and then feeling in-disposable. The last company I worked for totally closed and went under. I just couldn’t see working for another company again. It was my moms idea for me to start my own business (she had her own hair salon). So she was very supportive in me doing my own thing. I worked at fancy golf clubs in the banquet department all though high school and college and remembered loving events. Read more>>

Lily Hagen

Lingo Plaza was born out of a personal pain combined with a passion of cultures I’ve cultivated since a very young age. For many years, I experienced firsthand the pain points of language and cultural eduction through the lens of both a student and educator, but once I experienced multilingual and multicultural parenting, I discovered more pains, and just like my family, other families were going through the same thing. Read more>>

Keyonna Renea

When I was 25 years old I was taking on weddings and family portraits but boudoir photography called to me in a way that no other genre had. I quietly saved up for my own photo session for my 30th birthday and when the time came something in me became crystal clear. I didn’t want to leave my personal boudoir experience the same way I went in. Read more>>

Madeline McKnight.

Social con Cultura – Cultura Media & Consulting, LLC – was founded for Latinx & BIPOC creatives, business owners and entrepreneurs because most marketing tactics, hacks and strategies used by social media marketing “gurus” don’t apply to us. They often lack the cultural understanding needed to market to our communities in a respectable and relatable way that get our communities to engage. Read more>>

Richelle Henry

Richelle K Image Consulting was born post-grad. I was super young, super exposed to the real world at 20 years old, and really ready to just be who I wanted to be. That started out with being a stylist, but not long after pursuing that, I found out I had a knack for marketing, motivational speaking and just engaging with any generation. To me, image consulting has such a deep definition that exceeds the expectations of a wardrobe stylist. Read more>>

Salvador Soberanis.

Sobe Eats started in May 2019 by 3 Brothers and local chefs Salvador Soberanis, Fernando Soberanis, Victor Soberanis, it started by our own food nostalgia of our culture and food, we are from a the southern part of Mexico ( Acapulco Guerrero) and always missing food our parents use to cook for us when we where kids in our trips to the beach. Rice, beans, chicken Tinga, Tostadas, Tortas, After my father past away we found our selfs cooking at our family gatherings and each of us would bring this recipes more often in a way to bring those memories back, so we decided to create our own concepts adding what we have learn from being in the industry for over 25 years. Read more>>

Latrice Farris Morgan

My natural hair care line was birthed from working as a cosmetologist. While servicing my clients I would assess their hair and scalp conditions. Some would bring in medicated products to use every 2 weeks or so. When I noticed that conditions were the same or worsened after a period of time, I started thinking of a permanent solution that would reverse the conditions or any damage. After having a personal experience that required me to take a natural approach to my health that is when I turned to natural ways to care for the hair and scalp. Read more>>

Setitra McCain

It all started during covid. I had to temporarily close down my green cleaning services to homeschool my children. During that time I couldn’t stand being at home and not doing some work to help out, I took some time to really discover myself and really dig deep into what it is I’m most passionate about, and what I enjoy doing. After a few weeks of self-discovery, I realize fashion, beauty and sharing what I love, and connecting with new people have always been a big part of my personality. Read more>>

Lauren Gayle

Dance and performance have always had a great, big part of my heart. It’s where I felt most confident and aligned with myself. I lost that part of me temporarily while going through life challenges and navigating through motherhood and it negatively impacted my self esteem and sense of identity. As I worked on finding my way back to myself, I realized that I l also yearned to be back on the dance floor but I couldn’t find a class that supported what I was looking for. I decided that if I couldn’t find it, I would create it myself. Read more>>

Annie Henderson

In 2014 I met Austin Jevne, while seeking out a locally made beer for a fundraiser I was hosting at my house. Everyone at the event loved the beer and Austin. The following week I met him for lunch to pay him for his time and proposed we open a brewery. Fortunately, we had very similar visions of supporting local vendors, creating a farm to table restaurant, foraging for building materials/décor as well as brewing ingredients and focusing on supporting our growing music and art scene in Rochester. Read more>>

Lauren Martin.

My journey to becoming a travel advisor was an obvious AH HA moment. 10 years ago, my husband Blake and I started taking one big international trip a year. We both were working 9-5’s, and were given only one week every year to take a trip. Instead of the usual week down at the white sand beaches of Florida, we wanted to shake it up. We had both been out of the country before (him more so than myself, he was a traveling musician for almost 10 years prior!) We started with Ireland, Spain, Iceland, and then onto Asia, Central and then South America. Read more>>

Jerida Lane

I launched my e-commerce coffee business Boss Lady Fuel Premium Coffee in the middle of the pandemic. I was drained mentally and starting to feel afraid to walk outside. I decided to focus my mind on creating and launching my coffee business. I’ve always wanted to become an entrepreneur and this was the perfect time to start. Launching my coffee business helped me to stay sane. Read more>>

Florencia Marie.

Love Peace and Flo™️ was simply a passion project that I started May of 2019. After embarking on a healing & self-care journey, I told myself I would intentionally focus on the things that brought me the most peace and joy in life. Art, writing poetry, and journaling had always been a major part of who I am so, it was easy to narrow my source of peace to those things; they each provided me with a window of escape to get lost in my imagination and gain clarity within my thoughts. Read more>>

Kandon Kyser

At this point in my creative journey it is really important to me to get my point across. I feel like nowadays you have to find new and authentic ways to communicate with your audience. You have to be able to take whatever grandiose idea or vision you have and make it digestible. My Enjoy The Meantime Project is an ode to appreciating the present, taking your time, and adaptation. I think the biggest hurdle I’ve faced as of late was my explorations in 3D Art. I’m about year into my graduate program and i’m really just starting to grasp the workflow. Read more>>

Alejandra Martinez Dunphy.

I have always loved design and architecture. My mother really believe in my talent and sent me to study abroad. I was born and raised in Peru. During my college years at The Savannah College of Art and Design I learned so much about design, architecture and fine arts. After college, I worked on several large architectural firms working on national and international projects. I gained valuable experience in interior architecture, construction and project management. Read more>>

Erika & Alba Barboza & Cavazos

We immigrated to South Carolina from Mexico to teach Spanish 15 years ago. We immediately noticed that the options for Mexican food were very limited and many places were “Americanizing” the food. We missed the foods we grew up eating, so we decided to start our journey offering our take on Mexican food at Soda City market in Columbia, SC. That was in 2017 and thanks to the excellent response, we now have a food truck. We love to share our culture through food! Read more>>

Deja Thelemaque

GOD DID ! On a serious note God truly did . It’s actually very fascinating to look back and see how through out your life God always planted those seed. Not even realizing that he would thrust me right into it .Growing up I was a YouTube queen I would study the OGs like AaliyahJay Tymetheimfamous Ivyleaguestyles & as I would watch them I would just dream of one day doing the exact thing . Now of course just growing up in a not so favorable environment my mind and thoughts would continuously tell me Nooo you can’t do it , no your not strong enough no your not smarter enough truth be told I didn’t think this work but God ! He sent me someone to push me . Read more>>

TJ Rutherford

I grew up doing farm work and working for local businesses from childhood into adulthood. I have plenty of work experience with small businesses and Government Agencies, but I never stayed away from manual labor. The dream to own my own business never died. As the “guy with the pickup truck” of my various groups of friends, I stayed busy always helping them move or hauling things to the dump for them. Read more>>

Kennon Wright

I started Blanc and Noire Skincare because I had extremely dry and sensitive skin and could never could find a moisturizer that was long lasting. When I envisioned Blanc and Noire Skincare I wanted to create a brand that smelled great, used ingredients that fit my skin’s need, and was inclusive so people felt like they had a tribe of support for their dry and sensitive skin type. Read more>>

Carla Thomas

Honestly, BERRY Fabulous Berries wasn’t planned to be a business at all. I was a single mom & it was my oldest son’s 11th grade year in high school. I was just looking for a way to make extra money so that he would have the Senior Year he would never forget & also find something I enjoyed doing that wouldn’t have me away from home working so much. Read more>>

Jenise Miller

When I graduated esthetics school, I planned on branching out on my own after gaining experience in the field for at least a year. Unfortunately I didn’t receive business training in the program that I attended so in my mind, I wanted to gain knowledge and experience from working in a spa and networking, then pursue my own establishment once I developed the confidence. But after putting in plenty of applications and not landing a job within the first couple months, I started to get restless and worried that no one would hire me because I was fresh out of school with little to no experience. Read more>>

Micah Larsen.

My first business failed. As I studied social influence in graduate school I kept seeing how research on changing people’s minds could apply to small businesses. I created an algorithm — starting on paper at my dining room table — that predicted the best way to persuade someone to say “yes” to a request. It took all the social science I read about and made it into a tool business owners could use. It worked, and it was really powerful, but I couldn’t get people to pay to work with me. Read more>>

Diana Gray

Pawsense Enrichment Center focuses on the behaviour of each individual dog and ensures that they are receiving the appropriate amount of stimulation or enrichment. We aren’t a daycare free-for-all and each day all of our clients receive bits of training, whether they are in our training program or not. The idea behind Pawsense is for dogs to feel like they are in as warm and loving of an environment, such as their own home, but only filled with lots of playmates. Read more>>

Ricardo Rivers.

I was tasked with a photography job, and at the time I was very unprepared and dubious. After feeling unsuccessful about the job that was given, I began to dive into photography and by reaching out to veteran photographers and completing research. Read more>>

April Punsalan

I formed Yahola Herbal School due to the need to reconnect humans to the Earth through the use of wild herbs for food and medicine. We live in a period that scientists call the Earth’s 6th Massive Extinction. We are losing a tremendous amount of biodiversity daily. I knew that if people learned about wild herbs they would help protect them. Using elderberry, a popular, widely known wild herb native to the United States, as an example, I knew people wanted to learn about wild herbs; it was just that they weren’t taught about wild herbs in school. Read more>>

Meg James

In 2019, my husband Logan and I chose a hotel in Machu Picchu, Peru when deciding to travel there on a week getaway. The hotel that we chose, Sol y Luna, was using the profits that they had made to run school for 200 local Peruvian children who wouldn’t be able to go to school otherwise. I was blown away by knowing that hotels around the world could make such an impact with their profits. Read more>>

Emilie Stooksbury

We came up with the idea for New2Knox when I finally had the guts to admit something really embarrassing – I was lonely. I had graduated from a small college in Austin, Texas and immediately moved all the way to Knoxville, Tennessee for an internship. I figured making friends in this fresh season would be as easy as it had ever been, but I quickly learned what a lot of people know already… it is *really* hard to make friends as an adult. Read more>>

Zakariya Alshawi

When I first arrived in Knoxville, Tennessee. I’ve always liked the idea of owning a business since I was a kid, and I’ve always loved the concept of being self-sufficient and not relying on others for help. My first source of revenue was when I began a vending machine business in middle school. I bought coke and snack machines and placed them in various locations such as office buildings, industries, and laundromats, producing a passive income. Read more>>

Danielle Becker

In reality, I intended to build a graphic design agency but a void I saw in the market, alongside continuous gut checks led me on the greater path to build what Lefty’s Right Mind is today. I have always simultaneously help two jobs – days spent in the corporate world while freelancing at night and on weekends – my dream was always to run my own business. Guided by my background in graphic design, I took every freelance project that came my way. Read more>>

Javier & Jasmine Huertas r

Javier was born and raised in Guatemala. His dad started learning about creating and making cookware when Javier was a baby. He felt strongly about giving the people of Guatemala a high-quality product at an affordable cost and grew the company to be the #1 cookware company in Guatemala by his focus on quality and service. As long as we have been together, (married 11 years now), it has been in the back of our minds to bring his families cookware to the USA. Read more>>

Helina Melaku

I am born and raised in Ethiopia and migrated to America as a teenager with my family. Living in Detroit, I noticed the lack of healthy, nutritious food options, as well as the lack of African cuisine. In 2020, during the mist of the pandemic, I started Konjo Me Ethiopian Cuisine. Cooking has always been a passion of mine, and bringing my cultural food to Detroit became my mission. I felt the disconnect with my culture living in America, so I started hosting dinner parties, inviting friends, neighbors, and family frequently in my home to bring a sense of togetherness with my community. Read more>>

Taylor Griggs.

I came up with Shop BTXO from being into makeup since I was a teenager. I would put on my eyeshadow, eyeliner, and mascara just to play outside with my friends. I’d watch a lot of beauty gurus on YouTube do their makeup and show their fashions and I’d sit there and copy what they were doing. So as I got older it only made since for me to start my own YouTube Channel and my own cosmetics brand, BeautifulTaylorXO in 2018. It was until 2021 I changed my brands name to Shop BTXO. Read more>>

Rick Ornelas

. In mid-2020, when the world was in crisis, I was suffering myself. I had just been laid off and was anxious and hopeless, not knowing what the future held. So, I decided to stop being a volunteer victim and looked for ways to help others who were far less fortunate than I was. This led me to write a blog article about using the pandemic as an opportunity to be grateful for all that I had and focus on ways to impact others positively.  Read more>>

Delores Baker

I came up with the idea for Baker’s Learning Kitchen based on my 20 + years of experience tutoring different students. At our company we focus on individualized tutoring. We only offer one-on-one tutoring and that’s for a major reason! I understand we could make more money and service more people simultaneously if we offered group tutoring, but it isn’t as effective for the student. I realized that everyone has a unique learning style and different barriers that stop them from understanding various concepts. Read more>>

Michael Havens

My wife Andrea and I were at a corporate Sci-Fi convention with over $1,500 worth of badges around our necks eating a $37 plate of orange chicken I wouldn’t feed my worst enemy and holding on to a $9 Coke this was way back in 2015. That is when I decided to start throwing a Sci-Fi convention right here in Nashville! Something where a family of four could attend and not have to skip a mortgage payment to afford the tickets but something that was still just as good as the big conventions on the coasts. Read more>>

Austin Moua.

I remember it as if it was just yesterday. Growing up as a POC, if you wear or eat something culturally in grade-school you’re looked upon differently from your peers. Being embarrassed of your own culture and roots is something one should never be shamed about in my opinion. Also seeing my peers wear things I couldn’t afford as well, hits you differently when you’re growing up versus now, being that we’re our own person now. Read more>>

Ryan Ridgley

For over a decade and a half I have been a part of an industry that is automatically hated by 33% of the population. Those are tough odds when just about everyone who has ever owned property needs help with wildlife issues in their home at some point. For the longest time our industry has been plagued by the image of a backwoods hermit who is coming to your home to catch/kill/dispose of the animals causing you stress. We are often seen as uneducated, unrefined, and “rugged” people. Read more>>

Joe Luo.

More than 20 years ago I had the idea of wanting to sell traditional Taiwanese gua baos, aka The Taiwanese Burger, in the United States. However I lacked the necessary skills and confidence back then. Seven years ago after turning 45, I decided it was time to finally take the chance. I did not want to regret not even trying. Read more>>

James Sims.

I attended an event where I met cigar smokers. They were discussing how there wasn’t a cigar or smoke shop close to the location of the event. It gave me an idea of what would it look like if a cigar or smoke shop could come to any event and service the needs and interest of cigar smokers. From the novice to the most experienced cigar smoker. I had imagined before this experience I would open a cigar lounge, however the cigar smokers at the event changed my mind. I began researching and asking questions to cigar smokers to get their feedback on the idea of a mobile smoke shop. Read more>>

Vishal Sharma.

well the journey of Chef Connect India started on the balcony of an aribnb where I resided when i was visiting my friends, it was a middle of the night we were all craving for food with good taste but since being midnight everything was closed .That’s when one of my friend told about the service that was available in the country where he worked, that there is a provider who provides chef to cook yummy and delicious food at the comfort of their house. Read more>>

Angel Peterson

Some DEFINITE blurred lines of life experiences and risky choices created the business I have now today. My original plan was to have a permanent makeup business that could touch women’s lives and give them a space to be themselves. I thought it was going to be the services I provided that would do the trick to help them feel beautiful. What actually happened was my business turned into a healing journey for myself while helping others. Beauty was not my passion, not my plan, and certainly not what anyone would expect from me. Read more>>