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.

Seva Raskin

I grew up in the Washington, DC region. I was lucky enough to own a beach rental condo in Ocean City, MD for a while. It was a 3-hour drive to get there so when renters would occasionally break items, I couldn’t get there fast enough to replace or fix before the next renters were due in. The property management companies were not able to take care of these issues due to how busy they were managing the renter turnaround. Read more>>

Jewels Burdick

Back in 2010, life threw a curveball my way when my mom, in her early 60s, started having memory issues. Everyone thought it was Alzheimer’s or dementia, which was terrifying. She’d forget things, get confused, and one day, she even called me from town, upset because she couldn’t remember why she went there. Read more>>

Vizan Giri

I had been working with my father, Vikrant Giri, on our primary business, Gallant International. We’ve been making organic cotton bags, pouches, totes for non-profits, corporates, celebrities — anyone that needed customized merchandise. We’d been focused on using an organic cotton supply chain, working directly with farmers in India, and our bags were manufactured in Fair Trade facilities. Read more>>

Eric Brown

I started freelancing as soon as I got out of art school. I had a dual degree in graphic design and illustration. Like all new artists in the field I took whatever jobs came my way. I did collateral packages for start-ups, illustrations for a trophy company, training brochures for Hilton Hotels, design and mood boards for Sea Ray Boats corporate aviation. Read more>>

Cynthia Spriggs

My idea to start a jewelry business started with a simple idea in my head, creating unique pieces. I worked part-time at Ann Taylor for years and I would see women purchasing jewelry that was not high quality, no uniqueness to it and it was mass produced. So that means, everyone around the world could have that piece. I wanted my jewelry to feel special when you wore it. I wanted my customers to know the story behind the piece. And since I’m a petite women, I needed bracelets that fit my wrist. Read more>>

Jabarah Nichols

I was working at the Conoco Station and saw a magazine about barbering. At that time there weren’t many barbers around and it felt like they were going extinct. Knowing that there were not many options for barbers in the Flagstaff area was how I knew It would be worthwhile to invest in myself for my community. Read more>>

Allie Detwiler

We were living in our NYC apartment during Covid, with a toddler and pregnant with our daughter and up late one night drinking wine, playing games, and talking about how awesome it would be to own a wedding venue, a business of our own. We both absolutely love our jobs. Allie is a producer at NBC News and Todd is a designer at Peloton, Read more>>

Melissa Barker

After spending 7 years as a Coca-Cola Company Global Marketing executive—and with a treasure trove of expertise in design and compelling messaging—I established The Show & Tell Co., a content company that provided marketing solutions to over 75 startups. As I grew, I recognized the need for women-focused support, with the deep belief that women supporting women is one of the most powerful tools for our collective success. Read more>>

Simone Howard

I came up with my business idea around 2009 when I was at work in my regular 9-5, back then I use to be in the banking sector in Jamaica. It was a year after a near fatal car crash I was in that left me with brain damage, some paralysis and other permanent bodily injuries, but God said it was time to be great and not focus too much on all the medical obstacles. Read more>>

Monica Bonynge

Scott and I spent years healing. We both come from trauma not only in our childhood years but as adults in our first marriages with our previous spouses. In our marriage and through our healing journey, we formed an even stronger connection. We could easily see how much was lacking in the way of healing with one counselor or therapist. Not that they aren’t great at their profession but there wasn’t enough follow through. While talk therapy was great, we needed a deeper form of healing. Our vision started to bloom as we discussed at length how we could have healed not only faster but at a much deeper level spiritually, physically and mentally had we known what healing modalities we needed. Read more>>

Doneda Bailey

I established Noggin Educational Foundation in 2015 out of a desire to provide out-of-school educational services to low-income students and to begin to bridge the achievement gap. My introduction to the achievement gap came when my husband David was a first-year teacher and his first teaching assignment was at a very under-resourced school. Read more>>

Samantha Ramirez

Ever since I was younger I’ve had a passion for helping people. Leaving a meaningful and impactful influence on their life. I grew up in sports and carried that passion for my health and fitness into the gym once I entered high school. Knowing i wanted to create a great impact on society I began to come up with ideas on how I can get started on this goal. Read more>>

Leah Williams

Before starting my own business, I had been working in the corporate world as the PR representative for a private bank based in West Texas. I absolutely loved this role and being able to work with non-profits and outside organizations and manage community events, organize volunteer opportunities for employees, and design marketing campaigns. Read more>>

Sara Salem

The genesis of Phi Phi Artland emerged from a convergence of personal passion and a deep-seated belief in the transformative power of art. Fueled by a desire to create a haven that seamlessly melds martial arts, fine arts, and mind-body practices, the idea materialized through a reflection on the synergies between physical and artistic pursuits. Read more>>

Olivia Notini

From an early age I have always felt drawn tot he ocean. It has always been a tranquil, safe place for me. Scientists have actually developed a theory known as blue mind which is an at-homeness in the ocean so I self diagnosed myself with that condition haha. Beyond the ocean I’ve had a fixation on sharks for no specific reason. It probably started how most of our introduction to sharks did with watching a Jaws movie and getting an unrealistic idea of the animal. But for me the fixation turned to a fascination as I grew up and really learned about how crucial sharks are to our oceans and how in fact they actually aren’t out their hunting humans- it is in fact the opposite. Read more>>

Nchimunya Munyama

In the quiet corners of my childhood, on my grandfather’s farm, I discovered the essence of life in the soil and the resilience of plants. My path to Netagrow was rooted in the challenges my grandfather faced as a small-scale farmer, striving to manage water efficiently. Growing up in rural Zambia, I witnessed firsthand the struggles of small-scale farmers like him—climate uncertainties, inadequate resources, and the pressing need for a more efficient agricultural process. Read more>>

Nakeba McKoy

We often receive accolades, praise, compliments, and adoration when we obtain achievements and awards. reach a certain level in our lives, or just even in how we carry ourselves. But how many of those times do people understand what it takes to achieve those things, Read more>>

Lulan Wang

My journey into the world of wedding photography began with my own quest to find the perfect photographer for my wedding day. I had a clear vision in mind – I wanted a photographer who excelled not just in taking pictures, but in telling stories. Read more>>

Christina Royster

Big Media Agency is an integrated marketing communications firm. We specialize in Public Relations, Social Media, Web Design, Search Marketing and Branding. We believe every person (organization or company) possesses a blueprint or a brand. Whether they choose to perfect or amplify it or not, we can help that blueprint become big. Read more>>

Angela Harland

During my first year as a professional stylist, I knew I wanted to learn about natural hair. My first salon I worked at was a blowdry bar. I had never heard of it before but it was exactly what I wanted to do. Once I got use to everything, I fell in love. I literally use to have dreams about blow drying hair. I know that sounds funny but it was times I had 10 clients in a 11 hour day. So of course the sound of a blow dryer was the main noise I heard the entire day. Read more>>

Kimberly McGregor

I came up with this idea because teaching SEL was not happening in my school building or many other CMS schools due to the school counselor ratio. I was one school counselor responsible for 725 scholars in my building. The state recommends that school counselor have a case load of 250. With 725 when is there time to teach Social Emotional Learning classes when you have to hold 504 meetings, facilitate parent teacher conferences, decide which students need School Based Mental Health Services, Read more>>

Jerell Fields

As an individual agent from 2015 to 2018, I realized that I had learned so much in this business that could be beneficial to other agents, so I decided it was time to start sharing that knowledge with others. At the end of 2018, I and 4 other black agents at a previous firm started an accountability group to help us follow through on goals. Read more>

Caroline Priebe

As a sustainability consultant, I was designing hypothetical business models using the biocycle to educate clients about circular design – I had essentially designed the business model I’m using now and decided to be the change I wanted to see. In the spring of 2022, I wrote a lot of emails to see if I could find people who cared about the same things I did like building regional regenerative supply chains and beautiful clothing designed for longevity. Read more>>

Scott McConkey

I worked at the same corporate job for nearly three decades. My wife, Julie, had a career at the same company that bookended an even more important job of raising our children. While we appreciated our company’s opportunities, we became burnt out. Acadia National Park was a place we had always wanted to see. So, we took a few days off to explore the national park and Bar Harbor. Read more>>

Bridget & Jose Mejia

When the pandemic hit, Jose was working a warehouse job and it was hit and miss when the warehouses would either shut down or call their employees to come into work. Schools were closed we had no one to watch our children. Jose and I took the leap of faith and decided he would stay home with our littles, since I had my nursing job there was no question with regard to job security. Read more>>

Maria Jose Meza & Brais Barros N/A

Maria and I resided in Lima, Peru, each pursuing our careers—she as a real estate agent and myself as a service manager in a prominent company. While life was steady, we felt the urge for change, a desire to embark on a joint venture, and a longing for a fresh start in the United States. With conviction, we made the decision to leave our jobs and relocate to Florida. Read more>>

Artisa Felder

Trying to heal from the end of a relationship and after the birth of my daughter, I was lost and trying to find my way in a lane I was extremely new to and no matter how much I thought I was prepared; I was not prepared for the emotions, past trauma, and feelings that were running in a loop in my mind. After praying for peace and understanding the idea to create a journal dropped in my spirit and from there You Are by Artisa Marie and Alonni Camille was born. Creating journals opened the door for me to release the old ways of thinking about past experiences and see things from a different perspective. Read more>>

Alisha Hayter

Just like a lot of little girls growing up, I loved dressing up, clothes, wearing the plastic heels that clunked when you walked. Except my love for dressing up and playing with clothes just continued as I got older. The only difference was when I entered junior high, I become obsessive over magazines with models in them and clothes no longer lit a light within me but instead became my competitor of what size I was in. Read more>>

Victoria Rice

I came up with this idea during the beginning of the shut down during Covid. With plenty of time on my hand I started browsing through Pinterest and saw this beautiful teepee slumber party (can’t remember the company name). Being that no one was really having big parties at the time. Read more>>

Jonathan Mortillo

My wife and I were living in NY I was working for a reputable plaster installation company that worked on very high end homes all through out NYC, we were ready however for a change of scenery and the circumstances were right to do so, so I called so of my contacts from around the country and got a job offer in Miami. Read more>>

Dawn Heilung

I moved to Chicago in hopes I would get the chance to boost my career as a performer but was met with unwelcome responses from most auditions I went to as an actor and a dancer. Lots of artistic spaces don’t know what to do with nonbinary and gender nonconforming artists. And the artistic scene of Chicago is not focused on telling the stories of trans people. Read more>>

Kellie Whitton

Spring of 2020 was not my time. The world had shut down in March for COVID, my kids were 2 and 5, and I felt a lump in my breast. Quite a difference from “all clear come back in a year” I’d gotten 2 months prior at my annual mammogram. I had my first phone call with my doctor who said mammograms miss cancer about 20% of the time (!!!!) so in the middle of this, she wanted to schedule an ultrasound. Read more>>

Kenan Thompson

Originally I attended local events as a vendor selling gems and minerals. One of the things I enjoy most in life,is interacting with new people from all walks of life, being able to meet/network and often times inevitably develope lifelong friendships. Through attending these local events i was provided just the opportunity to do so. Read more>>