The uncertainty of entrepreneurship causes many entrepreneurs to put off starting their business. For others, losing a job or other economic hardships push them starting their businesses earlier than expected. In our conversations with thousands of entrepreneurs we’ve seen so much variety in when, how and why people started their business and so we wanted to share a wide variety of views and reflections on the question of whether these folks wished they had started sooner or waited longer before starting their businesses.

Alliah L. Agostini

I published my first book when I was 39. I didn’t give writing books a serious thought until about a couple of years prior, because I didn’t identify myself as a writer, and I knew nothing about the process of getting published. But I enjoyed writing, and it came naturally to me, I had ideas for books, and I finally had one book idea that wouldn’t leave me alone. So I decided to fumble in the dark and start doing research about how to bring this book, and some others to life. Read more>>

Savannah Brown

Most of my working life I have carried multiple jobs at one time. I became a single mother when I was 21 and had to find ways to make ends meet while going to University and caring for my daughter at the same time. I wanted to make sure I always had flexible jobs that allowed me to be there when my daughter needed me. One of the many jobs I had was teaching an afterschool program and I loved working with the kids and providing them a place to learn a new skill. Read more>>

Sylvia Soares

Looking back, I think I might have started my business sooner, but I also recognize that waiting allowed me to build valuable connections and gain essential experience that have been instrumental in my journey. Read more>>

Emma Shay

As a kid, I dreamed big dreams, but as a timid, overly responsible, first-born daughter, naturally I chose the “safe” route when it came to my college degree: Accounting. Social media and interior design were not an option in my mind. For awhile, I told myself accounting was my dream. I’d be a CPA. But the closer I got, the less fulfilled I felt. I was craving a creative outlet. Read more>>

Erica Sharp

That’s a great question. I try not to have regrets about anything in life and I think everything happens for a reason. I started getting cosmetic treatments almost 25 years ago when I was at UT, so if anything, I wish I would have gotten into cosmetic medicine earlier in my career. I’ve always loved it and been open about my love for the industry, even before I was a Provider. I opened Arabella at the end of 2019, and a few months later the Covid Pandemic hit, and we had to close for a bit, and I was pregnant with our first child at the same time, so it would have been easier to open later. Read more>>