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.

Cali Golden

The idea of Calista Florals feels like it just came to me without me even noticing. I was working at a local flower shop in my hometown and started an instagram page solely as a portfolio. Then, as I was creating and falling deeply and quickly for the art of flowers I increasingly thought to myself “just start your own business” or more of what I thought would have been a casual side hustle at the time. (Although I’ve done nothing casual in my life, I usually go head first). Read more>>

Kimberly Bouton

I had previously co-founded a business back in 2013, a website and iPhone app to. help pets get adopted which was later acquired by PetSmart. My lead role was Product Manager on web and iOS, so processes and problem solving have always been inherent within me. After spending a few years working in marketing after the acquisition, I became a mother to an amazing little boy. As much as I felt fulfilled by my new role, I also felt very lost. Read more>>

Stephanie van Vark

After settling in a challenged, yet revitalizing historically black community, I, the Founder and President Stephanie van Vark, learned that neighborhoods such as these often have decisions about their future made for them without input or even awareness. Historic Overtown is a legendary district just northwest of Downtown Miami. Its cultural growth and development mirrored the artistic awakening of the Harlem Renaissance in the 1930s, and Historic Overtown was a busy entertainment destination known as Little Broadway. Read more>>

Kimberly Licht

One evening during quarantine 2020, I was reading a Shabbat story to my seven year old son at the time. There was a recipe for challah at the end of the book, and he asked if we could make it. My first attempt was an epic fail! Having had very little experience in the kitchen, I had no idea what to do with yeast, or how to make it work. I decided to challenge myself to get it right and once I found the perfect recipe, I started playing with it and coming up with creative variations, both sweet and savory. Read more>>

Faith Murray

Well I didn’t wanna work for anyone anymore. I was working 3 jobs in college and taking care of 4 kids by myself without help or assistance. It was getting hard to find a baby sitter and a daycare that I can afford. During the pandemic one of my jobs shut down Dunkin’ Donuts but my other 2 jobs CNA and Security Guard were essential personnel so I had no choice but to work and I was pregnant with my 5th child as well. I wanted to do something I love and making my own hours. Read more>>

Jasmine Muqbel

Hi! I’m Jasmine, the founder of For Love And Lemon Cookies. Over the course of a decade, I’ve worked in Fashion wholesaling and marketing, having kick started a lot of awesome woman-owned brands. I fell in love with making designers’ dreams a reality and discovered that great products truly do sell themselves. I wanted to create a brand of my own that sparked joy. For Love And Lemon Cookies began as a sweet feeling in October 2021. Read more>>

Christy Goldsby

I came up with the idea for creating Honey Mama’s in 2010 after doing a gut health focused cleanse with a friend for support, as she was trying to manage a devastating autoimmune disease called Myasthenia Gravis. Western medicine hadn’t provided any treatments that helped and she was losing hope along with an ability to control her muscles. Within a few weeks of starting the cleanse she had found almost total relief from her symptoms and discovered she was a celiac, Read more>>

Brianna Arps

Ever since I was a little girl, fragrance has been my favorite accessory to flaunt how I feel but I never thought of building a business in the industry. In fact, I dreamed of becoming a signer when I was young. The idea for MOODEAUX came to me in October 2018 after being laid off and becoming obsessed with skincare. Although it may sound silly, I always felt better after a shower followed by a spritz or two of fragrance. Read more>>

Cristal Cook

I wanted to take my writing skill and my 20 years of experience as a mental health therapist and create a fun and playful, yet deep and meaningful children’s book series. Think of Mr. Rogers and the heavy topics he brought into his program, topics that needed to be discussed and still made it a safe and fun place for children to be. Read more>>

Greg Chinn

The Local Brand Co. is my design studio located in Laurel Canyon, producing upbeat visual language for various clients. Originally from Hawaii, I grew up surfing and then followed my dream of graduating from The Art Center College of Design in Pasadena. I previously worked in-and-around the Greater Los Angeles area for corporate/entertainment/retail fashion design companies. I had previously run my own design business back east as well as having a design partnership upon my return to LA. Read more>>

Jamie Napper

Ms. Moment Maker was born out of a search for happiness and a need to express my creativity. I had spent years working an office job that I was great at, but I wasn’t happy. During that time I was really struggling to figure out how to move jobs and what it was that I wanted to do next. Before I could come up with an answer, the pandemic hit and that shift in time, despite everything that was going on, really allowed me to truly and deeply reflect on what is was that I wanted and needed out of the employment piece of my life. Read more>>

Savannah Crawford

It all came about over a course of time, honestly. I was initially inspired by a funny candle I saw a woman selling on facebook, I ordered it and when it arrived I liked the idea, the design was very, very simple lol but it worked. That motivated me to start designing labels on canva and putting them on candles I purchased from the dollar store. I would list the candles on facebook marketplace for resale, after selling over a dozen in one day I just knew I wanted to turn it into a legitimate business. Read more>>

Santiago Restrepo

I started thinking about having an Arepa restaurant after living in Los Angeles for a few years. It came to me after realizing there was something I wanted that was not available anywhere in LA. I knew the Arepa was something that needed to be introduced to this foodie market and had the potential of becoming a very popular dish. Growing up in Colombia, the Arepa is a dish we have as a part of most of our daily meals. The fact that it was not found anywhere around me was making me realize that there was a big opportunity to bring it to this market. Read more>>

Melony Huber

As an empty-nester now later in life, I was in search of what I wanted to do in this next chapter. My passions are in travel, design, philanthropy and creativity and I wanted to dive into something that could encompass all of these. My significant other is from Mexico and after being a part of his family, I found his sister’s handbag line to be a beautiful merging of old world Oaxacan craft and contemporary design and function. Read more>>

Ana Guzman

Luciana, my partner, and I both grew up in El Salvador and were fortunate enough to be raised bilingual, with Spanish as a first language and English as our second. This opened up enormous opportunities for us, including going to college in the U.S. where we started our careers. When our kids were born three years ago, we knew we wanted to give them to be bilingual but couldn’t find the right resources. Like many parents, we turned to books and found that our kids loved books that made fun sounds. Read more>>

Tee Allen

I started my Mind & Body Awareness business teaching yoga and meditate to beginners after I went thru a life altering event. Well I started after I healed from it. But that’s where the “business idea” came from. Learning about reiki, how to do yoga, and mediate helped me overcome a big rough patch in my life. And I was so happy and satisfied about my results because I actually felt better and my practice was why. So it was then I decided I wanted to spread the experience. So that other people could experience the healing benefits that mindful awareness offered. Read more>>

Salome Kyei

It all really started my Senior Year of College. I loved baking as a child and when I started college I didn’t have access to my own kitchen. Senior Year we were able to rent a townhouse which meant my very own kitchen and I started stress baking. It was a wonderful form of stress relief and I enjoyed watching others eat my food. It gave me a bit of purpose at the time where I was unsure of a lot of aspects in my life. Read more>>

Jessica Bantom

My business focuses on a combination of diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB) and interior design consulting. I get a lot of interesting looks when I share that. I began my professional career in marketing and I got into IT consulting as a technical writer and business analyst. At that point, while I was a few years out of undergrad, I felt compelled to follow my passion and go back to school for my design degree. Read more>>

Kenneth Wingerter

In the Summer of 2016 I accepted a Product Development position at (then) Longmont-based AlgaeBarn LLC. At that time, AlgaeBarn was a rather small company that operated out of a commercial garage space producing planktonic microfeeds such as copepods and phytoplankton for the aquarium industry. While researching planktonic algae in my earliest days there, I stumbled upon some writings about a very interesting and potentially useful group of photosynthetic bacterioplankton called purple non-sulfur bacteria (PNSB). Read more>>

Ashley Ruiz

There was no true direction when I decided to buy my first investment property, other than create an additional income. When I first purchased the Louis White Grocery store I was unware of it’s historical value and was focused on buying and flipping properties. I spoke to several contractors and was informed that it would be more cost efficient to demolish the building than restore it. Read more>>

Stacey Hursen

Like many others, I started needlepointing in 2020 as a good stay-at-home hobby. It instantly became my favorite craft! I quickly stitched many canvases and started an Instagram account, @stitchingwithstacey, to connect with the needlepoint community and share what I had stitched. However, often I would think of a design I wanted to stitch and not be able to find any existing canvases of that item. It was this that inspired me to try my hand at painting canvases. I saw an opening in the needlepoint market for younger, more modern designs. And, in 2021, I launched Stitching with Stacey Needlepoint Designs. Read more>>

Lisa Maurer

At the beginning, it was never about business. I found out that I lost my sister and best friend Ellen on my ascent to climb Kilimanjaro in celebration of my fifth year in remission. The last thing that she ever said to me was, “Go get it you beautiful woman.” After her loss, I felt the sorrow of each of her should-have-been significant days, especially the birthdays she never got to celebrate. As her 30th birthday approached, I was determined to turn her day into something joyous again. Read more>>

Shonta Eastern

After so many failed attempts to find a candle that doesn’t throw toxic chemicals in the air was my idea of starting Mahogany Essential Candle Co. Candles gives an ambiance when lit, the aromas throws a sense of peace that makes everything seem just a bit better. Creating a candle that’s non-toxic, allergy sensitive and eco-friendly was my dream that I brought to reality. I hear so many customers saying that “ they use to like candles but stopped because of the chemicals it releases was making them sick and their walls black”. Read more>>

Olivia Jones

I discovered how natural skin care products help with my daughter’s skin after her breakout with rashes. At first I was just trying things out, it was fun so it was actually a hobby for me, then some of the products started actually working(turmeric, oats, and certain oils). Then I started letting family and friends try my soaps and also making them as gifts for holidays. Read more>>

Leticia Saenz

My journey with Love Olive Kitchen began when my son was born. Due to his allergies to common ingredients like eggs and flour, I used my pharmaceutical chemistry background to better understand his food sensitivities. With the goal of creating healthy, “no allergy” recipes, I experimented with different combinations of ingredients to avoid fillers and highly processed foods. When the pandemic hit, I saw an opportunity to pursue my passion even further. Read more>>

Chelsea Black

Growing up I wasn’t always confident if I was confident at all. I was always the biggest friend I had. I even use to hate to take selfies. Back then they didn’t make nice plus size clothes ,if they did it had some type of animal print or design. Well they did have some plus size outfits that were cute it was just excessively expensive. Growing up there were never any plus size influencers or women that helped you feel good about yourself. I knew when I grew up I wanted to do something for the plus size community. I wanted to help women become confident. Read more>>

Susan Johnston

Living in Los Angeles during the Financial crisis of 2008, I witnessed many colleagues exodus. No longer could they afford the lives they built and at studio level vs Independent, it was really hard to even break even. I starting thinking about what is the root of what we do in media, which is story based and how we do it is with technology. I was a tester for Panasonic through Doug Leighton and was VP of Production at Big Vision Studios so I had an idea. What about a “creative sandbox” where people can test their theories (pitching) prove their expertise (screenings) meet people that move their careers forward: Read more>>

Keegan LaMar

As a collegiate athlete, you get pushed to your personal limits in everything you do. Sports, school, social life, personal life, and everything else demand so much from athletes competing at such a high level. Like most athletes, I had my ups and downs; and the downs make you feel like a crushing weight is on you. I held myself to a high standard and was my worst critic when it came to my performance on and off the field. Read more>>

Brook Banham

Sketchbattle was born out of my passion for design, cars, Detroit, techno, and socializing. As part of my Transportation Design Masters degree, I had to create a business plan for a side hustle that would allow me to pursue my interests outside of my main work as a designer. I wanted to create something fresh and exciting that would also be profitable. Read more>>

Deonna Zulma

Like many Americans, I too lost my job due to COVID-19. I didn’t know what I was going to do. I always wanted to start my own business. I asked God what should I be doing. He lead me straight to my heart! I’ve always had love for crafting. It wasn’t until I became an adult where I could afford the things I wanted and support my hobby (crafting!). I have a son and for his birthday i would always purchase him a personalized shirt for his birthday that consisted of his name, age, and theme. When I started my business I was able to make birthday shirts for him. Read more>>

Heather Feliciano

PynkHouse was manifested, I’m a sneaker head but also a girly girl at heart and when it comes to fashion, I really love complementers. I like accessories or certain items that will POP and make me stand out. I love to make statements when I show out!! PynkHouse was talked about long before I made it happen. I love make up and fashion and I love hair. I said one day I’m going to have my own lip line, and lash line. I’m going to be a boss and whatever I like I’m going to make. Read more>>

Gregory Kopp

My idea for my creative services business sprang from the personal computer revolution which transformed everyone’s lives and the way business was conducted. My company’s clients, including small non-profit organizations and the preeminent worldwide entertainment company based in Los Angeles are the driving force behind our success. Their energy and enthusiasm are infectious and translates to our exciting work relationships that are inspiring, fun, and ultimately successful for all involved. Read more>>

Ti’YAH Darcel Ingram

I have been cutting hair since I was 12 years old, almost 26 years now. I didn’t get licensed until 2013. TMH (The Most High God) told me that cutting hair would Segway ministry for me. Which meant that me quitting my job of five years in 2020 to be a full time entrepreneur would be the start of my forever. I used my 401K to open my business “Radical Kutz Barbershop”which now allows me the privilege to travel the world preaching and teaching the Gospel through music and ministry. Read more>>