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.

Stephanie Amponsah

I had the idea to start a clothing line in 2005. I love fashion, shopping and my Ghanaian culture. The idea was to have a brick and mortar store with my older sister and twin sister selling contemporary African print clothing. Yet, the demands of work and other responsibilities never permitted us to get it off the ground. And quite honestly, the fear of failure and not having a steady income stopped me from pursuing this dream. Read more>>

Zenobia Bhanpuri

I left my position as an elementary classroom teacher after 12 years to become a full-time stay at home mom. After having my third child, I was craving a creative outlet. Ever since I was young, I loved any opportunity to celebrate and bring people together. 2020 came and didn’t allow us to gather and celebrate as much (sure, there were plenty of virtual celebrations). Navigating life in a post-shutdown was and still is tricky. Read more>>

Jade Di Marco

I’ve always been driven by my passion for using my skills to solve real-world problems, and when I learned about the devastating impact of waste and overproduction, I knew I had to take action. It was shocking to see how these practices were polluting our air, water, and soil, and harming both people and the environment. That’s when I decided to start a company that raises awareness and provides practical solutions for these pressing issues, empowering people to make a positive impact through their everyday purchases. Read more>>

Samiya Tuffaha

I actually started out by accident. Back in 2021, My cousin graduated with a masters degree and didn’t want to do anything so I wanted to surprise her with a luxury picnic. When everyone posted I started getting asked if I do this for a living and I should. That’s I got a foot into event design but it still didn’t feel right so I played around with Balloon design and more picnic but once I got my hands on flowers I felt this was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. I still do picnics and balloons but on a minimum but in the future I want to focus 100% on floral design. Read more>>

Morgan Nicoll

I was walking around Oakland and admiring the graffiti and at the same time seeing tons of people wearing the same Adidas logo sweatshirt. It sparked the idea to give logos and clothing a facelift with graffiti. To do a 180 from my corporate career and create a brand that is anti commodity and waste. Focusing on sustainable practices and celebrating individuality by upcycling vintage clothing into one of a kind pieces. Read more>>

Kim Robertson

The idea of Always Make A Statement came to me about two years before I actually started the brand. I was very hesitant because at the time, the plan I had in my head wasn’t fully flushed out. My dad always spoke about entrepreneurship to us, he tried to push us towards it but it wasn’t until almost three years after he passed that I actually took the leap. Read more>>

Marvin Jobs

The idea for Cavalier Goods Co. originated 2 years prior to me starting the business. A company in Hamburg (Germany) was making a beautiful messenger bag that checked all the boxes of what I was looking for in a bag but it was outside of my price range at that time (over $1,000). I saved up for it and was finally ready to buy it, but unfortunately (or fortunately) the company went out of business and there was no way for me to get my hands on the bag. Read more>>

Anne Blumer

In 2001, I left my human resources position with a high-technology company I had worked for thirteen years. I left because I wanted to graduate that June with my degree in organizational communication. To do so, I needed to take more than a full-time course load, which meant I needed to stop working. I graduated in June, and then in September, my husband, Stefan, and I married. I was in a career transition and busy raising two young children. Read more>>

Laura Fulmer

After working in the fashion industry for over 20 years, I decided to call it quits and dedicate my time to my growing family. I was blessed with so many special moments when it came to being the CEO of my family but I was itching to restart my career. After countless exciting years of planning my family parties, holidays and special events, I realized that this was something I loved and didn’t want to stop. Read more>>

Mark Broussard

I came up with the idea for my business based off of what I do in life, which is Fitness and personal protection, along with fire on construction and safety. so it only makes sense to use those three together and I came up with the name right fit protection, looking good while providing a phenomenal service. Read more>>

Sadie Hallmark

This passion started with me making cupcakes for my daughters first birthday. It was extra special because she is our rainbow baby. I miscarried my first pregnancy, so I baked my daughters cupcakes and poured my whole heart and soul into it. That sparked the curiosity to learn and develop. I had zero baking knowledge at the time other than what was bought in a box, so I challenged myself by baking everything from scratch and following other bakers and learning from their videos and tips. Read more>>

Leslie

From a young age I have enjoyed thrifting. I have memories of my grandma and I spending hours at a thrift store and leaving with handfuls of bags. These experiences sparked a light in me that continues to grow every day. Thrifting was such a constant in my life. A source of joy of excitement of wonder. Every single time you enter a thrift store there will always be different things. Then I found antique stores. Full of trinkets and possibilities. Read more>>

Merril Ridgway

My partner, Chef Owner, Edgar Matallana collectively have over 40 years of experience in Food Service. I was the Former Catering Director at USA Today and worked at Salamander Hospitality and Edgar was with Occasions Caterers in DC, and prior to that Sous Chef at the Hay Addams. We were burnt out after the long hours and at the end of the day compromising our personal style and execution. I quit first and did some consulting work and still found I wasn’t happy. We decided one night to just take the leap and open our own Catering Company. Black Garlic was launched in March 2020. Read more>>

Alyse Deanda-Zagada

I came up with the idea to create Joli Fashion Society after spending many years in the Texas fashion scene. I have seen the ugly and gate kept side of the industry as well as the supportive side of it. I felt that each and every Texas city’s fashion scene needed to be supported and lifted up to promote the overall growth of the Texas fashion industry. I believe that with the constant education from the major markets that Texas can blossom into a fashion powerhouse with the amount of talent we have right here. Read more>>

Maegan Blau

Blue Copper Design was born out my personal experience living with a disability and trying to find an accessible home. When I bought my first home we immediately started renovating to make the home work for my accessibility needs. I fell in love with the process of home design and at the same time was finding myself having to be an advocate for the way I needed my home to be set up. That sparked my idea to create an interior design firm specializing in barrier free designs and catering to those who are looking for an advocate in their home design plans. Read more>>

Daniel Warren

This journey started in 2018 when my wife Liz Sanchez asked me what I wanted to do for my Birthday. My response was let’s do a whiskey tasting with our friends! So we had 30-35 friends to gather for a birthday celebration and whiskey tasting. Everyone had an absolute blast and wanted to keep doing the whiskey tasting. Little did we know this would become the first of MANY whiskey tastings we would host. Read more>>

Michele

I have always wanted to start my own business online because at this stage in my life and with all of the life experiences and wisdom that I have gained, I feel that it is time to share my knowledge of health and wellness with the collective. I have had to overcome many adversities in my life from anxiety, to the passing of a parent, being a 22 year Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma survivor and moving from the East Coast to the West Coast one year ago. Read more>>

Jennifer Kahn

It all started well before I had any idea I’d be running an accessories company. I was a professional Stage Manager regionally and on Broadway for 17 years, and for four years ran a blog on giveback and eco-friendly style. These were the two halves of my heart that I never thought would have anything to do with one another. Until I came up with the idea for Scenery Bags. Read more>>

Annalies Boerendonk

The concept and idea of Klein House has evolved multiple times over the past 2 years of being in business. Technically Klein House has been a brand for three years, and it all started as a food and lifestyle blog. I was hit by a drunk driver and suddenly found myself at home 24/7. I was in my first house, and I couldn’t work or drive so I spent my time watching The Magnolia Network; I found inspiration and hope in Chip and Joanna Gaines. Read more>>

Whitney Miller

I had been an athlete my whole life and a very active person. After having three kids, the value of fitness and moving well became very evident, along with the fact that busy moms don’t have much time to work out while juggling the demands of raising young children and other family obligations. As a former athlete, I loved the feeling of accomplishing goals and as a tired mom I just wanted to have more energy and feel better. Read more>>

Sandra Tribioli

After a long journey of health predicaments, celiac disease diagnosis and finding my purpose, decided to create a wave of much needed consciousness not just but across the globe, and started creating experiential spaces for enrichment, self-awareness, mindfulness, and positive socialization, while strengthening communities through healthier lifestyle choices. Read more>>

Jennifer Terrell

There were two paths of life that I felt the need to pursue for many years: touching the lives of youth and becoming an entrepreneur. For many years, I had the privilege to be a teacher. Although I was confident that I was giving it my all to educate my students, I still knew that I wanted to touch their lives beyond the walls of a classroom or the pages of a textbook. With this, I opened a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization known as Today’s Other Choices, Inc. Read more>>

Hawa Ibrahim

I started my handmade jewelry business at the end of 2020 while I was raising my first daughter. I had already been creating art starting back in 2011 and continued off and on over the years. I wasn’t aware of medium polymer clay until I came across an entire community on Instagram using one hashtag. I got really excited about all the ideas I could come up with to create wearable art. Read more>>

Ashley Tyson

In 2019, I began to see people post photos on Pinterest of these super fun looking and elaborate slumber parties. Thinking, “oh, that would be so cute for my daughter”, who was still a baby at the time but thinking of all the possibilities of future birthday parties for her. At the time, I was going on my second year living in Seattle with my family and a friend came to visit me. We were just talking about everything, work, people, how it was going living in the Pacific Northwest, etc. Read more>>

Alex Brooks

The idea of !MPROV Booze-Free Cocktails was sparked by a mentor and business partner of mine who also happens to be a teetotaler. We would often attend events where alcohol beverages were served and he always felt the need to order an alcoholic beverage to be part of the occasion. When I encouraged him to order a non-alcoholic version it was clear that options were few and far between. This was the realization that there was an opportunity in the Adult Non-Alcoholic beverage category. Read more>>

Snigdha Mall

I had the idea for my business for quite some time. Though I did not pursue it then, I always wanted it, and I did it. I had always seen my father and grandmother make fine art pieces; I wanted to be like my father. I started my journey toward my art business after I got married and moved to the States. Being an immigrant and on a dependent visa is another challenge. Read more>>

Clare Frances

It has been my dream to be known for something of my own. I have decided to have private branding on skincare. I have worked with a couple of persons, and a company trusted by dermatologists and esthetic professionals to help me select high-quality organic/vegan, eco-friendly and cruelty-free ingredients. Read more>>

John Gonzalez

I use to do personal training at regular gyms. I noticed a lot of time we would have yo wait for machines or equipment because they would occupied. That would be an inconvenience especially if you were on a tight training schedule. One day I thought to myself wouldn’t it be great if i can create a space where all we did was personal training in a private setting without the distractions of traditional crowded impersonal gyms. That’s when i decided go open up a private training studio. Read more>>

Tearra Davis

In 2020 I decided to come up with an idea of creating a vegan skincare line due to me struggling with acne for years because of my increase of hormones caused by my hyperthyroid and puberty. I felt like nobody made skincare products for my skin complexion and start struggling with self-esteem issues. I tried everything to store bought and going to a dermatologist. When I saw I was getting no results and it was only making my skin worst that’s when I started to research and study at home natural remedies and herbs for acne. Read more>>

Luis Chacon

The idea to start my food page was actually the start of the covid lock down. I started posting pictures of food I made on Instagram and some friends/family said start a food page. I needed to do something to occupy my time, being on lockdown and working from home in the same room I slept was exhausting mentally. So after a couple weeks I decided to move forward with Letsgooocooking as the name and started my content journey. Read more>>

Derrick Mayo

I came up with BLAKMAGIK after watching a documentary series called “Hidden Colors”. The documentary uplifted my spirit so much because it highlighted the mountain of accomplishments melanin people have achieved despite having the odds against them, in bondage and being systematically oppressed. Read more>>

Chetna Mehta

It was 2016 and I was counseling at an urban city high school in San Francisco, working with undocumented brown and Black kids who needed more positive role models and adult figures in their lives. Trump was on the path of being elected as the president of our country and the air was thick with fear and confusion. Read more>>

Alison Levin

Throughout my life, I have been enamored with history, architecture, photos, and time periods of the past. I grew up in a state rich in history, majored in Design & Historic Preservation, and worked for several historical societies. But, it wasn’t until my grandparents passed away, and I inherited their photos and documents that I realized how unique these items are to our entire family. Going through thousands of images and items became an honor and gave insight to my family’s legacy versus a laborious task. Read more>>

Samm Stafford

I have always found so much joy in making things with my hands. That joy would more than double when I’d give my work along with a little piece of my heart to a loved one and see them smile because of it. I hadn’t realized that making things could be my career until much later. Someone very dear to me showed me the wonders of modeling clay at an early age, but it wasn’t until I was married that I truly fell into sync with ceramics. Read more>>

Tina Paola

Owning a creperie wasn’t a dream of mine. I wanted crepes and couldn’t get them on Long Island. It was a simple pleasure I associated with being on vacation. In 2013, going on vacation wasn’t in the cards for us. Not while potty training, sleep training & dealing with the ‘terrible two’s’! And let’s be honest, living on LI with a family is expensive. Especially, with my @tendcoffee addiction! I could’ve returned to being a teacher, Read more>>

Gloria Jenkins

One day while at home recovering from eight injuries subtained from a fall. For, the first time I found myself resticted. I saw a man from Dallas featured on a local tv channel. He opened a terrarium business, which was a first of its kind in Dallas. The guess learned how to create their personal terrarium, while learning the basic care instructions. I witness some very unique terrariums, the attendees appeared to have a wonderful time. Read more>>

Ashley Mason

I’ve been entrepreneurial-minded since I was six years old, when my sisters and I played this game called “stores,” where we would pretend to own businesses and “buy” things from each other with fake money. I made them play it with me so much that they eventually became sick of it, but all it took was that first experience of entrepreneurship, and I was hooked. Read more>>

Becca Sapienza

I’ve always been that typical Florida girl. Growing up I spent most of my free time at the beach or out in the boat. I lived in a bathing suit most days and I lived in beach-style clothing. Roxy, Billabong, you name it I wore it. I loved to draw from an early age and got tired of seeing the same repetitive artwork in big box stores. Plus, I wanted my art to have an impact. As I got older, I noticed how people treated the waterways and beaches where I lived. Read more>>

Bella Kalkbrenner

My idea for River and Rosemary began in 2022. In September that year, I found a best friend and companion in my new puppy River. She immediately became by sunshine and support. At the beach with River, I started collecting shells on our walks. As I collected more and more shells, I was bothered by the fact that none of them were ever whole or “perfect.” However, as I looked at each piece more closely, I realized that each one was so beautifully colored and uniquely shaped – every piece was naturally one of a kind. Read more>>

Meshonda France

I have always loved fashion from a very young age, well before social media even existed. Fast forward to how I became a Fashion Blogger and Influencer, It all started when I created an Instagram account. I would post pictures of me in my outfit of the day of what I was wearing to work which at the time, I was expected to wear professional attire, working in a courtroom setting. I would take pictures and post them to my IG account and I would always get overwhelming likes, compliments, and comments asking where the outfit was from. Read more>>