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.

Karli Hausman

Lyte Up Clothing started by accident from a fun outfit idea. It was 2013 and I was living in New York City at the time heading to a festival called Electric Zoo. I had purchased some el wire and decided to hand stitch myself a hat with the word DOPE on it. At the festival over 50 people stopped me and asked me to take down their information to make them one. Fast forward a few months and my first etsy shop was opened! I started off by making a few staple designs but I always, and still to this day 10 years later, offer customization. All of the profit I made I would roll back into my business which enabled me to get more product line accessories, It grew and grew and grew into the business it is today. Now we offer over 300 products and designs! Read more>>

Julian R. Pollard

This was a journey of passion & purpose; in the past 14-18 years, I was between two worlds, my professional corporate life and my life in Boxing. This sport, discipline, & philosophy helped me gain perspective on my time and future. It was a life challenge! This decision was about life, legacy, family, and community! It was rooted in passion, patience, & perseverance. It’s about You, Me, Us, & We… HOME-TEAM! Read more>>

Christine Faressa

Thank you so very much for this opportunity to share my story. It really began with family and a need. Our son, Domenic, was diagnosed with autism at age 3. At that time, my husband, Mark, and I knew nothing about autism except these children had no friends, were not invited to birthday parties and frequently were bullied. Read more>>

CHERITA TOUSSAINT

At the age of 13 I created a make believe shelter called Computer Company which was created for drug addicted parents to have a place for their children to stay while they were abusing drugs. Instead of taking their children around unsafe inappropriate environments I would provide a facility for the kids to stay and receive education, food and shelter. The parents could live there too but must be sober and ready to work on stability. Rita’s resources will be available to everyone, with focus for teenage boys who have mental challenges that have been recently released from jail, and teenage fathers. Read more>>

Daniela Peckova Watanabe

Back in 2015, much before the current silver and metallics trend hit every brand, I launched HarmoniaNY.com. At that time fashion was different and to go to a festival like burning man you would shop on eBay or go to small shops on Melrose before hitting the playa. At that time I was living in Hong Kong me and business partner planned our trip and wardrobe a year ahead and we enjoyed sharing a closet and dressing up together so much that it became our business. We began by making feather shoulder pieces with the help of a local seamstress and selling on Etsy. Since the beginning there was organic growth, google ads wasnt a must yet; most of the sales seemed to be from the US. Read more>>

Olunife Ofomata

I started my business because as I started taking a holistic approach to care for my skin, I started to see so many other benefits. Many of us grapple with imbalances; bloating, dehydration, inflammation, and an overload of toxins. These internal struggles don’t remain hidden – they manifest through our skin, revealing themselves in forms like acne, puffiness, dryness, dehydration, and uneven skin tone. This sparked a thought in me – what if there was a transformative solution that could address these issues at their root, from the inside out? A product that didn’t just mask the symptoms, but worked harmoniously with our bodies to restore balance, health, and natural beauty? Read more>>

Patricia Cardoso

When I decided to start Crowned Events and Rentals back in 2020, I was about 7 months pregnant with my daughter, Ava while working a full-time job that became temporarily remotely due to the pandemic. While home, I had so many ideas but didn’t know how to effectively start a new business. The idea first came to me when I used a peacock chair to take my maternity pictures; so, I told my husband that we should buy one and start renting them out to other moms/couples. We started with just one chair and it worked well especially because drive-by baby showers were a huge thing then. Read more>>

Jessica Millhiser

So I’d like to start by saying that becoming an entrepreneur was never actually a goal of mine. I knew it was something people did and I have several entrepreneurs in my family; my husband also has a past life as an entrepreneur. But it’s just not the direction I thought I was heading. I was living in Los Angeles, CA at the time, working as a Director of Operations for a swim school there – it was an excellent job for me, something I was very good at. Well, then the pandemic happened and my husband got laid off. We took that as an opportunity to leave Los Angeles (I’m originally from Vermont and was really ready to move on). Read more>>

Robin Prince

The inception of WE THA BUSINESS was born out of a combination of inspiration and a passion for excellence. The idea for our unique business concept was a journey filled with both logical reasoning and heartfelt excitement. It all began with a deep-seated desire to inspire and motivate individuals. We believed in the power of motivational quotes, uplifting visuals, and the wisdom of accomplished entrepreneurs to kindle the flames of ambition within people. We wanted to create a brand that not only motivated but also offered something tangible, something that could be savored and enjoyed. Read more>>

Keshroy Spencer

In 2020, I had a vision to create a dedicated platform for musicians, artists, bands, DJs, and live music venues to find the perfect match for their shows. Despite having limited knowledge of building tech companies or gig-booking mobile apps, I was determined to pursue my dream. With the help of my siblings, who share my passion for music, we overcame our challenges and created a mobile app that offers a mix of features with all the necessary ingredients for successful events and productions of any size. We believe that our app will be a game-changer for musicians and live music venues, as it addresses some of the biggest pain points for both. Our unique approach to solving these problems puts us in a great position to make a positive impact on the music industry. Read more>>

Jaqui Oviedo

Evan Davis was living in Las Vegas and got the opportunity to do private bartending events for his instructor while he was in bartending school. Missing home (Evan is a Colorado Native) he thought about bringing his expertise and knowledge back to Colorado. Shortly after coming back, Evan and Jaqui met while opening the Centennial TopGolf. While there, a fellow bartender wanted to throw a party without having to bartend himself, so Evan offered to do it. He and the guests had so much fun at this party that they hired Evan as their bartender for their upcoming wedding! Knowing he needed help, he asked Jaqui to go on an adventure to the mountains for this bartenders wedding. Read more>>

Breaux Silcio

I have a law degree and am a barred attorney. I was working as a solo practitioner while also doing work on large cases as litigation support. I was doing well financially but I was also getting burned out. I’ve been collecting media since I was a kid. I bought everything. Vinyl, Cds, Cassette Tapes, DVDs, you name it. Since I’m in my late 40’s listening to music via some kind of physical format is very normal to me. I was in my mid to late 20’s when the whole downloading music craze hit. Don’t get me wrong I downloaded music, but I also continued to buy media. Mostly CDs because vinyl wasn’t really a thing for newer artists I loved. I would buy the CD, then rip it for my IPod. Read more>>

Blake Yard

My photo career has gone in many different arch’s of the last 10+ years, but photography started for me just documenting things I saw when out biking with friends whether It was catching Tricks that were happening or just the general energy of the scene around me. After a few years it morphed into shooting concerts for fun to getting paid to shoot bands and their promo materials. Recently I have taken more of a step back from commercial photography and gone more back to my roots with a series of photos I’ve been taking called “FROMTHESADDLE” these have been raw in the moment photos while out cycling and I plan to assemble everything into a series of photo books over the coming year. Read more>>

Ricky Van Warner

The idea came to me while backpacking through Asia and exploring tea houses. I have always had a love for tea thanks to my Grandma, however, on this trip something clicked which told me to pursue this as a career. In my 20’s I spent some time traveling around the country and working on various farms and homesteads. Here I learned about herbalism and started making herbal remedies different aliments. I began to dive deep into plant medicine and came up with a variety of teas. This was the beginning of my business starting to take form. Read more>>