We asked some very talented folks to talk to us about success and what it takes to be successful. We’ve shared their responses below.

Chevonne (CHEVY) Harvey

Success is a notion thats different for every person. Whether it means having a great career, a home, of a family, Success is something everyone strives to attain. When you reach success in your goals it makes you feel motivated, delighted, and helps you to do well and allows you to know you’ve made an impact in a competitive world. Read more>>

Kelsey Ammon

To be successful is a big topic and I believe that looks different for everyone. Some people think success means being recognized by others, receiving awards or becoming known to a wide audience. Others believe that success is associated with a dollar figure and to some, success could be related to lifestyle such as being able to step away from work, living slowly and spending time doing activities you love or being with family. Read more>>

Chris Saint Clark

My background is a place of struggle and negativity. I unknowingly surrounded myself with people of low vibration. I was always enamored with the bad boy image and gravitated towards that lifestyle. it was intriguing but little did I know that I was attracting negative energies. this went on all through my 20’s. 911 happened and I like many others were outraged and wanted to do something so I joined the national guard ( the regular Army said I had too many tattoos) it changed my life. Read more>>

Cody Montes

Success can look a whole lot different to each person. To some, success means a big fancy house, nice cars and lots of jewels. But success to me is being able to raise our child and follow my passion of photography. I have traveled a bit, worked in numerous industries, and taken what I have learned from each adventure and now apply it to my home life and business. The old saying “Do what you love and you’ll never work a day in your life”, Read more>>

Nicole Manosky

I think being successful is a fairly subjective term and can mean different things depending on the person. To me, being successful ultimately is loving and enjoying what I do. That is the most important aspect of success. Secondly, I want to be profitable in a way that supports my family and allows me to be available and present in my children’s lives daily. Read more>>

Crystal Lawburgh

I think that being self motivated and loving what you do are a couple of things needed to be successful. I also think that customer service and organization skills are extremely important when you are an entreprenuer. Read more>>

Dee Lee

Entrepreneurship and event production is not for the faint of heart. Every day you are always learning and growing. You are constantly putting out fires and fixing situations. I am so grateful for all the love and support I got from so many. However, to be successful in what we do it takes hard work, perseverance, and a strong network of people around you. I am nothing without those around me. It truly takes a village to execute it all. It takes knowing how to approaching things with heart, hiring professionals who become like family, that share the same values/goals, and navigating through together. Read more>>

Holly May

The ability to learn suffering and endure hard times… I think we under value moments of monotony; difficulty, boredom, loneliness. On the other side of these experiences are often break throughs; moments in time where we can see life through a clearer lens. It’s almost as though you have to go low, to go high. You have to feel what it’s like to be frazzled to truly appreciate peace. You have to get writers block to have that creative break through. It’s all apart of life’s beautifully chaotic experience. That’s success. Read more>>

Nicole Beauchamp

I think success boils down to the power of confidence and belief in one’s self. It’s by no means an easy thing to come by, especially in a judgmental world where everyone is a harsh critic. But if you love something with your whole heart and have a passion for it, and you believe that whatever you’re offering provides value to the world, you will already have taken the first step toward success. Read more>>

Julie Almeda

What I’ve learned since starting my business in 2017 is that success is not dependent on being the BEST in your field. You don’t have to be the world’s greatest graphic designer, web designer, photographer, etc. to have a steady stream of business. I’m not discounting the importance of providing an excellent product or service, but lasting success is dependent on creating ongoing relationships with your clients. It’s about listening to them, being responsive to them (and in the rare instance you mess up – its about making it right!) Read more>>

Janelle Harlan

1). Having a Service Mindset. By the time a business owner decides to hire someone like me, they’re usually pretty frustrated and overwhelmed. I thrive on relieving that stress and pressure for them so they can scale their business and make a bigger impact every day…all while regaining some balance and peace in their lives. It’s what I love most about my business! Read more>>

Haley Flippo

Passion and hard work. Success is measured differently for every single person but to me, it always seems to comes back to two things, passion and hard work. Measuring my success has always meant being genuinely happy in my career. I have struggled to find “the one” in business and this is because I have many interests. Read more>>

Alec Gorlano

There is only one way to be successful and that is always being consistent with whatever you are doing in life. Nothing is handed, it can only be earned. I think to be successful in this day and age, you have to have that go getter mentality, drive. You can’t be a victim or complain to your boss when you are the boss. I watched countless employees trade their time for dollars while I worked at an automotive parts company, playing the victim, begging for pity and living their lives miserably. I decided this wasn’t the life for me. Read more>>

Amy Nielson

A willingness to learn, a bias toward action, and play. I’ve always been a bit of a self-teacher. As a child, my parents moved us all over the country and I was often responsible for my own education. I only completed one grade of public education. It was kindergarten. Now I’ve created a multi-million dollar education company that is impacting children all over the world. Read more>>

Kelly Mason

You can be book smart all you want. You can complete all types of education, even know people that can open doors for you, but at the end of the day, if you don’t love and have a passion for what your doing it will be a fleeting moment or season in your life. Read more>>

Sarah Garcia

I think it in order to become successful you have to believe in yourself the most . When I was in the beginning stages of opening up my salon I wrote a list of the scariest things that could happen if I started my salon . Then I wrote a list of all the possibilities that could come out of opening a salon . That list was much longer . Once you faces your fears, you realize it’s not the scary . Another key and probably the most important , is to stay consistent. Successful people are successful because they’re lucky, their successful because they’re consistent.. Read more>>

Shaun Sinclair

To be successful, you must have vision, discipline, and determination. For example, I honed my vision while serving 13 years in prison. I maintained my vision by being disciplined enough not to fall into the dangers of prison, and determined to accomplish my goals. Read more>>

Sean Kershaw

I think the most important thing about being successful is to truly understand what success looks like to you personally. Success is something that a person or a company has a clear understanding of and is taking the appropriate steps to accomplishing. I believe success is an ever evolving marker and can change by the week. For myself I define success by an over arching life that I want to live and having the resources to actively engage in this lifestyle all the while maintaining my integrity and beliefs without compromise. Read more>>

Karlos Miguel

There are many ways that it can take to be able to become successful but one main thing is to stay consistent and persistent no matter what. you will hear no after no after no and like myself you could just be in a bad mental space when you are at thee bottom. One thing you have to do is always believe in yourself and know that it is for you. Read more>>

Taylor Tovey

To be successful you have to have drive and passion. If you don’t enjoy making music then eventually you will give up. If you don’t want your success to be temporary, you should probably love the thing that you do. Anything that I want to become successful in I become obsessed with it. If you want to be the best you need to take the extra steps to learn the ins and outs of that industry. Being knowledgeable about your product or your industry will always pay dividends. Read more>>

Elspeth Victoria Brown-Fitzgerald

It takes a strong mindset and an acknowledgement of priorities to be successful. Everyone’s definition of what “success” looks like and feels like is as unique as our fingerprints, but it is relative to what matters most in our lives. For me, it’s conceptualizing creative projects, being inspired by the everyday moments with my two and half year old son Ragnar, nine month old daughter Aurelia, and working with the greatest person I know, my husband, James Fitzgerald. Read more>>

Michelle Ugorji

Being successful takes hard work, persistence, and perseverance. As a business owner, success begins with defining clear and specific goals. You need to have a clear vision of what you want to achieve and set realistic, measurable targets to achieve those goals. Read more>>

Brian Awitan

The opposite of cynicism isn’t authenticity, it is sincerity. My fascination with the creative process, curiosity and visual experience informs all of my work. Each piece is the part of an exploration finding wit, surprise, honesty and joy in the world around us. Read more>>

Laura McElyea

Through my entrepreneurial journey I discovered that everyone measures success differently. It is important not to compare your success and failures to others. For some being successful means making a lot of money, for others it may mean more time with family, it all depends on what your goals are. Their are a few characteristics that determine whether or not you’re going to be successful. Read more>>

Naana Nyarko-Asante

I believe what it takes to be successful starts with your customer service. Customer service can make or break your business. You could have an amazing product but bad customer service which can cause your business to not flourish. I pride myself on making sure I treat all my customers with respect. I love what I do and I put love into my products. I make sure my customers feel that love as well. Read more>>

Anthony Green

To be successful it takes a ton of hard work and dedication. Sometimes I don’t want to put the work in but then I remember that if I don’t work hard. It’s someone else out there willing to out work me and take my position. That motivates me to work harder to be successful. Read more>>

Q Morris

It takes perseverance to become successful. Things will get harder with ever new level you attain and failure is a big part of the journey. If failing is something that you don’t like then success may not be your thing. Read more>>

Stephanie Mickelson

I think that the biggest thing that it takes to be successful is persistence. A willingness to keep going even in the face of challenges and setbacks. Progress can be slow, and it can be difficult to see where things are headed, but getting up everyday and putting in the work, can create a level of success that you didn’t know was possible. Read more>>

Karlee Renkoski

Someone recently told me that failing in entrepreneurship isn’t making a mistake, running into issues, not growing fast enough, etc. — it’s giving up. So one of the first things someone has to come to terms with when they start their own business or creative journey is that they must cultivate perseverance. That’s what will get you out of bed every morning even when something hasn’t gone according to plan or you’re not hitting the results you thought were possible. Read more>>

Jessica Frigon

There are many things that will contribute to the overall success one will experience in business, but I will narrow it down to my top three. One: It is critical to identify and be deeply connected to your “why”. Keeping this at the forefront will ensure the decisions and pivots you make remain in line with your ultimate goal(s) and vision. Read more>>

Kait Martinez

I feel there are a lot of factors that come into play when we are trying to define what it takes to be successful. Something important to note is that what one person may consider as successful may look different to another. I would say the same applies to happiness. Why that is, is because they honestly go hand in hand! Read more>>

Thomas Russo Jr

I experienced much career success in politics at a very early age, and there was always a tug of wanting to genuinely serve others, and also fill my wounded self-esteem and ego from childhood traumas. After hitting rock bottom in my life several years ago, I pivoted to a more servant leadership model, whereby I focused on how I could best serve others, rather than how I could move them on my personal chessboard to serve me. Read more>>

Kiyarah Hamilton

I think that it takes a serial plan, to be successful. With a plan comes discipline, you have to be serious and determined with your own self to do exactly what you wanna do. Planning your every move, day by day, week by week, month by month and year by year.. you have to set new goals for yourself and a “game plan” to execute. I look at other young ladies around my age doing the same thing as me with so much success because they sticked to their plan.. Read more>>

Hannah Plonsky

Personally, I believe what it takes to be successful is full venerability and true authenticity. Starting out as a photographer, I thought I needed to capture the perfect photo and show my best work always. I quickly realized, that was not for me. Being myself, showing the raw moments of the day, documentary style was what resonated with me the best. My brand is centered around nature and my personality. Being vulnerable and being myself, allows me to connect with my clients on a much greater level. Read more>>

Cody Trueman

Giving 110% and believing in yourself. I’ve successfully been in business for over 4 years now, it’s a great feeling, but it didn’t start out that way. In 2016 I attempted to start a detailing business and failed. I moved on, took other jobs and tried out corporate America. It wasn’t for me. My New Year’s resolution for 2019 was to start up the detailing business again and give it all of my time, energy and resources. I worked a full time job while building my business and as I’m writing this I have left my old full time position to pursue detailing full time. I never gave up, as a result, I succeeded. Read more>>

Kylie Olney

I think for me, success stems from true passion. May sound cliche, but to be completely truthful, you HAVE to have some type of drive within you to complete quite literally anything major. Success can mean many things depending on the person, but to me it just means being proud of what you do and feeling like you’re actually accomplishing what your passion drove you to do. My passion for filming what our eyes see visually and creating it into an art we can relive every day has driven me to produce beautiful “gifts” for people and their joy alone makes me feel successful. Read more>>

Jesica Salzano Jes of All Trades

Success for me comes from a sense of reliability, professionalism and having fun doing what you want to do with your life. If you’re passionate about anything, you can turn that passion into a source of income with hard work and determination. Believe in it, live it and you will be it! Read more>>

Jamie Goldberg

I think integrity is the most important aspect of how I define success. I need to stand behind every product I make. It has to be something I personally use. It’s very important to me to use clean phthalate-free fragrances, because it’s what I personally prefer to burn in my home. I used to make dessert-scented candles: Think Fudge Brownie and Banana Bread. But I found they made me hungry! Now I only sell candle scents I personally enjoy. Sea Salt & Sunshine is my current favorite! Read more>>

Shelby Keller

I think the first step to being successful is to understand that every persons idea of success is not the same. Have your goals in sight, and never compare your journey to another persons. What I have found to be important for me personally to be successful, was to not allow my fear of failure to navigate my journey. I have come to learn that failure is a vital part of the process to success. Read more>>

Sheddie Fleurenceau

Along side consistency, I believe one major key to being successful, is finding your why and making your goals as clear and specific as possible. I’ve learned that going after the money just won’t be enough if the love or passion isn’t there for something that I’m trying to do. Hence, why I dipped my feet in many things before deciding to settle into something I love doing. Read more>>

Cary Zartman

Success is a moving target. And rightfully so! I think it was important to start off in the creative field with the broadest and brightest sense of what “success” means and the steps it would take to achieve it. Over time, we grow and evolve and the definition of success does the same. What was once the ultimate goal often becomes one step along the way to a completely separate and different goal! And the realization of that can only come from putting in the hard work toward achieving it. Read more>>

Alana Parker

Patience. Determination. Prayer. We all may have times where we feel like we aren’t doing enough, I take that as a way to work even harder. Read more>>

Michelle Ruber

I believe that a lot of what it take to be successful is believing in yourself and your mission. It’s surprising how many people will doubt you, your ideas, and plant thoughts of failure. It’s easy not to try and to give into the fear. There will be times, especially the times when money gets involved, where you really start to sweat. My advice is to re-find that drive, that belief and focus on that. Read more>>

 Kanithea Powell

Wow, what a big question. I think being successful means something different to every person that finds the courage to answer the call of an idea or a dream and where that person sets their intention at the beginning of that process. Are they seeking profit, fame, or happiness? For me, being successful is layered. It requires a variety of things at different moments of the journey. At first, there is a call, which usually comes to you like an easy breeze that gently brushes across your cheek when you are quiet and open to feel and receive it. At that moment, success is being brave enough to answer that call. Read more>>

Alexandrea Weis

When I began as an author, my definition of success was much different that it is today. I wanted to publish my stories, see my books in print and have people read and enjoy them. That was it. I did have lofty expectations about how many books I would sell a year and the size of the publishing company I wanted representing my work. Read more>>

Julia D’Angelo

I think success stems from the community you build around your business and the ability to listen to people. Floristry is a monumentally physical job and while it has its perks (beauty and things that smell good) it takes a team to not only get a ceiling install done in a few hours but connect with those we come into contact with. We get to help people on days that are life changing and while florals are a small element of the puzzle we get to stand by and witness these beautiful intimate moments. Read more>>