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.

Chardelle Moore

In 2019, I made the bold decision not to renew my contract as a television host and reporter at WBFF FOX 45 Baltimore. Instead, I ventured into entrepreneurship and launched my own multimedia communications company, Motivational Moore. Read more>>

Cristina Schutz

The idea for SchutzCoaching ignited from a journey filled with a decade in corporate leadership & development, personal discovery, passion for entrepreneurship, and the drive to empower women. Read more>>

Jessica Weidhaas

My passion for video and photo ignited when I was a kid. The idea of my own production company came to me when my 10 year-old brain thought it discovered stop-motion after taking a few shots with a small point ’n shoot camera my grandparents got me for Christmas. Read more>>

Kylie and Maggie Daniel

Like most important milestones in life, I can remember exactly where I was when I had the epiphany to get back into Video Production. Maggie had joined a Network Marketing company and we had traveled to San Francisco for a leadership training event. Read more>>

Robyn Parets

I came up with the idea for Pretzel Kids® about 18 years ago. At the time, I was operating a community-based yoga studio. We catered to adults with classes and workshops 7 days a week. Read more>>

Breina LaTrice

Imagine a young woman, just 28 years old, two years into her marriage, and completely blindsided by betrayal. That woman was me. The discovery that my husband had been unfaithful shattered my world, but what came next was even more devastating. Read more>>

Rae Breda

So funny story actually, I’ve kind of always had a fear of spiders which is pretty ironic, since the main part of my business is, sell jumping spiders. However, growing up I’ve always had a fascination with animals and wildlife. Read more>>

Jason Ellis

A passion for food, drink and lazy gardening… I mean time efficient gardening. I was turning the front yard of my east Austin house into a food forest/garden and I was trying to find productive plants that could tolerate our crazy Texas summers… HOT, drought, flood.. and then our erratic central Texas winters, with minimal effort on my part. Read more>>

Jay Michael Night

I’ve had a story in my head for over a decade about a psychic vampire who drains the life energy from those around him. In 2021, I decided to finally write the first book of the story, and to my surprise, people really enjoyed it. Read more>>

Shelly Scott

At Intuit I was trained on Scott Cook’s Design for Delight and Customer Driven Innovation framework. These tools became so ingrained in my psyche after ten years, that I naturally worked from them when I left the company in 2022. Read more>>

Khairi Mdnor

My wife Nathalie and I were on a trip to Myanmar with a 3 year old in tow about 10 years ago and during our stopover in Bangkok, we chanced upon a pair of kids harem pants and absolutely loved how effortless it was on our daughter. Read more>>

Rheagen King

My mom often tells me that when I was a little girl—maybe 3 or 4 years old—I saw an ad for underwear on television. I wanted the underwear so badly that my mom told me she would get them for me if I stopped wetting my pants. Read more>>

Alexis Howell

Growing up, I was deeply inspired by my mother and her best friend as they embarked on a journey to establish a charter school for girls in Gwinnett County. Read more>>

Celisha J

My book “I Survived” is not an idea. It a true that I lived. I was molested, raped, physically and emotionally abused from an early age. Experience was my teacher and because of my life experiences, I want to let other women and children know that they are not alone. Read more>>

Anthony Edwards Jr

In 2016, Janique and I created EatOkra as two Brooklyn transplants who didn’t have the means to cook or store food. Without a stove or refrigerator in our new apartment, we sought out spaces that were inviting, familiar, and brimming with the food they loved or would grow to love. Read more>>

Samantha Trionfo

The Empty Hourglass Project is a safe space for anyone of any age whose life has been touched by trauma, mental illness, suicide, addiction, and grief (which is most likely every person who walks this planet) to share their stories and experiences through creative expression and find healing through the power of art. Read more>>

Kara Drew

For as long I can remember, I have enjoyed cleaning and organizing. I remember as a child waking up early morning to reorganize my closet and getting in trouble for making so much noise. Read more>>

Liz Hahn

We started in the bachelor party industry space 30 years ago supplying talent to bachelor party groups that were all local events in San Diego. Then we started seeing a trend where bachelor party groups wanted to do more than have a keg, a bartender and some friends over. Read more>>

Pareeni Shah

I have always believed that coming up with an idea starts off with thinking about what you are passionate about, and the impact you want to make on your passion. Read more>>

Gianna Ferazi

The story starts when I was just 17, and totally obsessed with false lashes. Every day, I’d put on a fresh pair, but they barely lasted the day, two days if I was lucky. I was fed up with constantly buying new ones, so I thought, “Hey, why not make my own?” Read more>>

Karen Daniels

My pieces are artisan made… I came across something very similar to what I make now in Playa Del Carmen Mexico. After figuring out how to make the piece I started producing them for myself, i received compliments and offers to purchase off of my body. Read more>>

Cecile Jordan

I never thought I’d become a social media manager. It all started during the pandemic when I pivoted to being a virtual assistant. In researching services to offer clients, I decided to add social media management. Read more>>

Toshiki Khi

It was the summer of 2017 if I’m not mistaken, and I remember taking a road trip to see some family with my mom. At the time, my mom used Pandora to stream her music, and during the road trip the Drake radio station played. Read more>>

Kimberly Writt

When I launched be HUE in January, 2021, it was definitely a whirlwind, but is also felt like the natural next step. I had just completed wellness coaching school at Institute for Integrative Nutrition (IIN) and instead of focusing on a more expected niche and clientele, I wanted to target those who were lacking inspiration because of their home environment. Read more>>

Rachel Jackson

I wanted to impact the world around me. I saw a homeless man sleeping in a box, and I felt called to do something. So I asked my family and friends to donate items so I could make 1000 sack lunches. Read more>>

Luquana McGriff

I started my career working for the New York City police department. As a 911 dispatcher, I would always bake pastries for my coworkers I was told I should start my business selling pastries, and desserts. Read more>>

Alexandra Shield

I am a mom of two boys, and as a parent, you always want the best for your children. During both my pregnancies, I kept my babies as healthy as I could and avoided anything that could potentially harm them. Read more>>

Marisa Dawson

Back in 2022, a friend of mine was getting married and I was trying to help her with the logistics as much as I could. Not knowing much of the wedding industry, besides being a bridesmaid myself in many of them, there was definitely some trial and error. Read more>>

Ella Stafford

My back was against the wall. Despite being in a toxic marriage for years, the perfect storm was brewing. I took a pottery class a couple years earlier during a very dark stage in my life. Read more>>

Marcellus Smith

I have been interested in art since middle school, specifically paintings, music, and cinema. I also had a strong fascination with pop culture, such as magazines and their photoshoots. Read more>>

Lauire McCoy

The idea for Cornerstone Holistic Institute stemmed from my 20-year journey as a massage therapist, driven by my desire to balance motherhood with a fulfilling career. Read more>>

Rodolfo Delgado

The idea for my company, Replay Listings, stemmed from my experiences in the real estate industry, where I observed significant marketing inefficiencies. Read more>>

Vicky Westra

After many years of unsuccessfully trying to conceive a child, we adopted our daughter Gabbi from Romania. We knew there would be an adjustment period for her and us. Read more>>

Talita Trygsland

I founded Spire Connection LLC “SPIRE” with a clear vision to bridge the gap between the plant-based industry and the world of events. My journey into the event industry began as I managed a high-end venue called Unici Casa, orchestrating over 300 events in three years, from our launching own in-house event series to bar- and bat mitzvahs, weddings, fashion week shows to corporate events for renowned brands like USC, T-Mobile, Lionsgate, and Snapchat. Read more>>

Max Nelson

About 5 years ago I noticed a void in the headwear space for customizable, luxury ball caps. Sure you could get blanks from over seas and customize them but what I thought was missing was a more elevated canvas to work with. Read more>>

Suzanne Moloney

I’ve been living with a disease called hidradenitis suppurativa (HS)since I was a young teenager. It started off causing lumps and bumps in my bikini area, which would rupture and scar my skin. Read more>>

Nicholas Kimps

Honestly, I was tired of seeing a consistent missed opportunities for excellent care of clients. I was witnessing some good training/group fitness classes, mostly ok, and rarely what I would consider great. Read more>>

Alex Trejo

I’ve loved animals my entire life. There has always been a need for snake removal in my area but I never had any time. So I realized that I could become a 24/7 service that would help remove any unwanted snakes from someone’s property! Read more>>

Kristin Rehkamp

La Vie Est Belle was founded by Kristin Rohman Rehkamp to raise awareness and be a resource for families experiencing pediatric mental health challenges. After her daughter experienced a mental health crisis, she found herself wanting to help other families and raise awareness. Read more>>

Hope Gines

I started my Youtube channel simply to share my story/experience being on Keto and how I not only lost weight eating this low carb way but my health improved drastically! Read more>>

Lovie Carney

Back since I can remember being about eight years old, growing up with my Father, having a love for fashion he truly mastered the true definition of fashion. Read more>>

Brittany Bonine

My husband and I started doing Spartan races when we were first married. In doing so, we became competitive in OCR and wanted to build our own training gym and a small area on our property with obstacles. Read more>>

Ron Hesmer

It was 2014 and I was about to embark on a 10-day boat charter in the British Virgin Islands. In preparation for the trip I purchased a rather expensive pair of Polarized Ray-Ban sunglasses. Read more>>

Christal Brodziak

It started at a young age when my parents ran their own businesses when I started school age. I always helped from a young age and wanted to do more help more as I got older, taking over roles like payroll, deposits, and ordering. Read more>>

Lauren Lopriore

The patient is a 29-year-old female undergoing a right breast ultrasound core needle biopsy of a 3.2 cm mass at 10 o’clock and 8 cm from the nipple, a 1.7 cm mass at 11 o’clock and subareolar, and a 2.6 cm mass in the axilla. Read more>>

Brittany Boccher

I realized at an early age what my purpose was in life and over several years into adulthood I recognized my passion. For as long as I can remember I’ve been the “connector”, notoriously known to help connect people with a resource or service, but it wasn’t until 1o years into being a military spouse that I realized I was deeply passionate about serving and helping connect military spouses with the tools and resources they need to live a more purpose and passion filled life. Read more>>

Emmanuel Larbi

The genesis of Akra emerged from a sense of confinement and marginalization experienced with our inaugural establishment, “Accra Girls,” a Ghanaian restaurant that commenced operations in 2017. Read more>>

Charntell Smith

I started my spiritual awakening in 2015 when I became my 2 God Sons permanent guardian. Stepping up and taking them in an learning about family, trauma and the different waves of it. Read more>>

Molly Kaiser

Growing up, I was often in the kitchen helping my mother—whether cooking or baking for the family. It honestly has always been a sort of safe space for me, and I love loving people by making them food. Read more>>

Choko

Everything started in high school when I picked up a camera for a video technology class. I fell in love with filming the process of editing and the results when I get to see my project finalize. Read more>>

Skylar Males

I was a community engagement dance teacher for the Joffrey ballet. We were deployed to public schools all around chicago. Often in the south and west side which is disproportionately underserved. Read more>>