Our stories are often hard to understand until folks understand our true motivations, our true drivers and the stories behind why our mission or purpose truly matters to us. We’ve asked some inspiring folks from the community to talk to us about why they do what they do and have shared some of our favorite responses below.

TaVona Denise

Coaching changed my life. Period. Maybe it saved my life as well. I say that because I was depressed, working as a physical therapist in a hospital where you weren’t allowed to say you were depressed because it would go on your permanent record, but I could say that I was stressed. That allowed me to receive counseling. It sort of helped. After more than 10 years in the industry, I felt bored, burned out and stuck in the career I once thought I wanted to do forever. Read more>>

Kenzie Cox

I never thought that I’d be doing what I’m doing today! When I first began pursuing photography, weddings weren’t something that I was really interested in. I photographed lots of families and seniors and occasionally couples but never a wedding. I really had no understanding of what should be remembered about a wedding or how many significant little moments take place throughout the day. All of this changed when I became a bride. My wedding day transformed how I view wedding photography. Read more>>

Natalie Firkser

When I was 12 years old, I got invited by my church to go on a trip to serve in a poverty stricken town in San Luis, Mexico. We drove over the border, and pulled up to an orphanage shortly after. When I got out of the van and met the children, my world changed, as I experienced for the first time children starving to be loved. Year after year I returned to this small town in Mexico, investing in the community and forming relationships with the kids. When I went to college, I started bringing my friends and letting them experience this family I had found in Mexico. Read more>>

Megan Sims

Gymini is a full ready to wear inclusive collection offering women’s contemporary lifestyle, on-trend fashion. Based in Cleveland, OH we have over 20 years’ experience in retail sales, education and textiles. Influenced by the “live, work, play” communities providing opportunities for engagement, entrepreneurship, and energy; our mission is to provide attainable luxury clothing that is stylish and comfortable. Read more>>

Jonae Howell

Photogenic TheBrand isn’t only a clothing brand. It’s a platform for young children, and adults that are suffering from mental health issues. My goal is to not only network with my peers, but I want influence those all around me. I want all of my peers to have a better outlook on the issues they’re suffering from. Read more>>

Hector Morales

We strongly believe Sound of Wonder Studios was birthed from the heart of God. My wife and I have a music ministry called Wonder Worship which is where the idea of Sound of Wonder Studios derived from. Music has always been a huge part of our lives since we were both very little. It was actually what brought us together. We met through a church’s worship team. It was always evident we wanted to make music together. Our hearts have never had a longing for fame (not that there’s anything wrong with this), rather to make music for God as a full time ministry and source of income. Read more>>

Reginald and Bernetta Sweet

The story behind our mission is that my wife and I have both had a failed marriage and we were determined to make sure this marriage was successful. We love successful relationships and we we wanted to make sure every couple we spoke with was equipped with the tools to make sure their relationships were strong and sturdy. Read more>>

Jillian Hackett

From a very young age I knew I wanted to purse design, becoming a ready-to-wear designer, however is something I grew into. When starting my brand I knew I wanted my designs and brand to be the embodiment of wearable whimsy. I believe that you should be able to wear garments that are both whimsical and wearable. We should be confident and comfortable in what you wear. I also wanted ethical manufacturing and fabric sourcing to be at the forefront of my brand. I hope that in growing my brand I can fill a gap in peoples wardrobe by supplying pieces that function as versatile additions to a persons wardrobe but also statement wear when styled as such. Read more>>

JP Hightek

Hello I am JP and well known as JP Hightek in the Branding & Media Industry. I am a Global Branding Expert | Media & Live Streaming Professional | Speaker | Cinematographer | Graphic Designer | Software Developer. Read more>>

Sophie Henner

In the fall of 2016, I battled depression and anxiety that challenged my hope and strength more than I could have imagined. I felt foreign and debilitating emotions that left me scared, hopeless, and alone. I remember watching my anxiety turn into questioning myself, hating my situation, and fear of the intrusive thoughts clouding my mind. It was early October of 2016 when I felt my lowest. I needed help but feared that my need for support would burden my friends and family. I felt so alone. I felt like no one would understand. Read more>>

Denise Eimerman

When people think of getting a massage they think it is a luxury, something you do to relax and relieve your stress. What many people don’t realize is that there are many benefits to massage therapy and it can help relieve pain everything from head to toe, including migraines to sciatica to plantar fasciitis . While most people seek out a massage therapist because they are stressed out, our clients seek us out because they have been living with chronic pain or recovering from an injury or a surgery. To help our clients with their chronic pain we offer therapeutic pain relief massages. We want our clients feeling their best so they can get back to doing the things they love. We don’t want our clients living with their chronic pain. Read more>>

Brandon Hill

My biggest goal in life has always been to build a business around my artwork, however that may happen. That’s one thing I processed at a very early age, having that I’ve been drawing all my life, and expanding my skills till this day. The intent to take everything more seriously came after my 25th birthday, then after being diagnosed with cancer and undergoing major neck surgery that October, my determination and resolve has never been stronger and more solid. Read more>>

Wilson Carter

Start small. Winter 2019. I was broke, so broke. Eating rice and beans in my tiny Hollywood apartment broke. I had published a novel a couple of years earlier and had moved to Los Angeles to try and make my novel a feature film. Leaving my family, friends, and girlfriend behind. I had failed miserably. Every job I applied for wouldn’t even give me an interview. My confidence had never been lower. But I had an idea. Read more>>

Gracie Wyatt

I am Gracie, the owner of Fully Loved and Free! I graduated in December 2021 from Wright State University. I am a daughter, a sister, a friend, an entrepreneur, a Christ follower and a dog obsessed girl. I love traveling, iced coffee and eating all of the ice cream that I can. The summer before I left for college, one of my best friends, Amy and I decided to paint a couple of doormats for my new apartment. They turned out super cute! So cute, I decided to start selling painted doormats. Read more>>

Jeannie Caryn

There are two parts to the story behind my mission: 1. First, I want people to know that they can start over at any age. It is never too late to learn something new, open a new business, gain a new skill, or pursue a dream. I taught myself how to play guitar in my 30’s, during my divorce, but I didn’t perform out live at an open mic until I was 41. Luckily, I was hired right away for gigs, and now I’ve had a very successful career as a singer songwriter for over ten years, and I am booked regularly as a performing musician for paid gigs at venues all over North Georgia. I have also recorded and released an album, MOTHER’S SELF-RISING, with Grammy Winning Producer, Larry Mitchell. Read more>>

Brigett Slaughter

I started making coconut soy wax candles after learning that paraffin wax candles were creating health issues for my son, who suffers from allergies, asthma, and skin problems. Candles made with paraffin wax contain toxic substances that are released when burned. Naked Wick Candles are made with coconut soy wax that’s non-toxic and clean burning, which reduces indoor air pollution. The mission of Naked Wick Candles is to create eco-friendly candles that are safer to burn around people and pets. Read more>>

Sheila Preston Fitzgerald

As an author, speaker, and tragedy coach, my mission is to help others who’ve experienced tragedy – be it emotional, mental, physical, relational, or spiritual – find hope and healing so they too can have a joy-filled life. Read more>>

Crystal White

The story behind my mission is to motivate women to take time for self-care. As I have a Clinical mental Health background, I know it is very important for women whether they are a busy mom, 9-5 business woman, student, or entrepreneur; to take time out for themselves to unwind and relax the mind. I provide a service that will enhance a woman confidence. Read more>>

Emoni Moses

I’m all about enhancing inner beauty and empowering people through a shared loved of all things beauty. My main goal is to cultivate a space where my clients are able to define their own beauty. Read more>>

Thomas Schreiber

I’m a firm believer that if you asked 10 strangers if they enjoy buying from local businesses all 10 would answer yes – I think it’s one of the few things we can all agree on as a society. I’m no different – I love going to the farmer’s market, supporting local businesses, and how much better local products are from a quality standpoint. Read more>>

zully Bautista

I just want to say that I never imagined that I would be an event planner. Let alone a wedding planner. Like Million little girls out there, I have always dreamed about my wedding. Now my mission is to make every Women dream come true of their perfect wedding as we dreamed when we were little girls. Read more>>

Briana Zamora

I bugged my husband for a camera for the longest because my phone was always running out of space for all the pictures i would take of my kids , when I finally got my camera i was happy its like opening a new Christmas toy you been wanting for the longest and now you finally got it and you want to keep using it . i also realize right away i had to learn about it because its not like a phone camera you just open app and take the picture , I hade to learn the difference mode to see what worked for me i ended up using Manual mode i like being able to be in control of light and color of my pictures my kids did not always want to be poses for me which is fine but now i had got invested on wanting to become a photographer i needed models to practice i send a few people messages and started practicing on poses , my settings , Read more>>

Emily Crump

As a photographer in Houston, we have many opportunities to serve our community by giving the gift of our photography. As soon as I started my photography business in 2010 I knew I wanted to find a way to give back using my talents behind the lens. One volunteer organization that truly touched my heart was Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep (www.nilmdts.org). This amazing organization offers parents experiencing the loss of a baby the complimentary gift of professional portraiture. Through an intimate portrait session, photographers gift families with delicately retouched black and white heirloom portraits. Read more>>

E. Grizzly

My initial mission was just to manage shows for me and my friends. Me and my brother Marko Level were in a band called Alukard in Miami. That’s where we founded the AHA Network. Me and Marko would book and manage shows all over South Florida. AHA stands for artists helping artists. We just had the simple idea of paying it forward and helping our musician friends get shows. This idea has lead to so many other things though. Read more>>

LaTosha Humphrey

My mission here at Kreative Krafts HQ is to provide quality skin care, body care and hair care products along with beautiful hand crafted jewelry. You can expect the best when it comes to what we have to offer. Read more>>

Quinisha Perry

I started my hair company, Posh Obsession Hair due to the struggle of thin/fine hair. Growing up I experience seeing women and young girls lose confidence within themselves due to hair loss. It could’ve been caused from hairstyles, genetics, maybe cancer, medications, or even stress and depression causing alopecia. I wanted to create something that would back confidence into a woman. We all know a woman with confidence is an unbeatable woman! Read more>>

Courtney Jameson

I wanted to reach a community of peoples in order to share my knowledge, experience, & creativity. I never really wanted to be a teacher, but more of a sharer of knowledge bc to me that is how poetry & witchcraft thrive. Because of this, I created two businesses: 1. White Stag Publishing: A literary press that could reach those in a niche, maybe otherwise not seen in the poetry community, & publish their works, then share those works with the masses. And 2. Crimson Sage: An esoteric shoppe where I could share my knowledge & experience of the occult with people in my community. Read more>>

Angela Skurtu

When I grew up, I was raised in a very conservative religion that shamed anyone who wanted to have s*x before marriage. The message was purity-avoid s*x and you’ll be good in God’s eyes. The messages kids received was that s*x was bad and shameful. This message was extremely geared towards young girls. They told us that our bodies could cause men to do bad things and we needed to be proper. We needed to say no and we needed to be careful of what we did and what we wore. The underlying message was that women were responsible for the “sexual fall” for not dressing or acting appropriately. Read more>>

Breena Johnson

While it wasn’t an easy road to take in the beginning, with a lot of perseverance, courage, energy, time and most importantly passion, the road has become a journey that has led me to where I am today. I began my business in 2010 shortly after my first daughter was born. I had always had a passion for photography, but it wasn’t until after her birth that I began to take it to the next level. During that first year in business I was working per diem as a speech-language pathologist to continue to have a sustainable income while building up my photography clientele. Read more>>

Nigel Angevine

I believe that they’re are too many people that feel they aren’t “photo worthy” and I strive to show each and every person that I work with that that’s not the case. Everyone should feel comfortable in their own skin and that feeling on a client’s face when they see the beauty in themselves that others see is an indescribable sense of joy. My main goal is to eventually be able to travel the country and providing that feeling of inner joy all over. Read more>>

Jamie Lankford

I started Just Jamie Desserts in June of 2021. I had just graduated college in May, and I had a job, but I didn’t know if I was going to have enough hours/pay to stay there. I liked it, and I knew that I wanted to have my own cafe one day, so I started baking from home. Baking from home, led to me baking out of another restaurant’s kitchen as I started to supply local coffee shops. Vertical Coffee Co. started selling my muffins and other baked goods. Eventually my Cinnamon Rolls took off! This helped me pay my bills, and pay down on my student loans. Which at the time was my only goal. As new coffee shops opened, I started supplying them. Roots Coffee Co. Read more>>

MsNickee Mack

Growing up there we not many representations of ME in the industry. Women who looked like me were told we were not beautiful, we were not industry standard, we were never given the opportunity to be seen. I saw young girls looking for inspiration, looking for someone or something to look up to and they started turning to videos, tv and magazines that created an unrealistic fantasy of what beauty was. MY MISSION was to create a space where real women, with real bodies, in real life could fall back in love with themselves, build their confidence, show them that beauty comes from inside and if they wanted to work in the industry, we could develop the rest. Read more>>

Dwayne Calienté

My mission is to be able to use my platform to uplift, inspire, challenge, and create. When I was an adolescent I was not sure what I wanted to do with my life; but growing up I was always very creative. I made scrap books and school projects where I had to make a visual, always excited me. By the time I was a teenager, I was going to one of my favorites idols live concert (Ciara). I had front row tickets and I wanted to look my best. This is where I first attempted “make-up”. I wanted my brows to be fuller so I filled them in and concealed them. From there I always say that “it was love at first stroke”. Read more>>

Nikki Thompkins

BIGNIK LLC. is an extension of myself. I grew up in a low income neighborhood with high crime rate and the presence of drug and gang activity. I was raised in a single parent home with lack of money. Often times food, clothing, and toiletries were donated to the family to help make ends meet. Playing sports was an outlet for me. I played 3 sports in high school to avoid being home. I spent countless hours at the community center in my neighborhood as well. It was a safe environment where I was able to play eat free meals, play games, sports and receive help with homework, I earned a full ride basketball scholarship to Central Michigan University. Read more>>

Nia Spratt

The story behind my mission was too incorporate healthy eating in a reasonable way. When I started my business people were already hip to fruit cups , fruit bowls ect. But, I tried to figure out a way to make my business unique. It’s funny how a person will go in the grocery store and buy fruit and it sits in there refrigerator for days before they decide to cut it. In most cases by then the fruit is bad. What I decided to do is make fruit cups, trays, platters the way you want with any fruit you desire. Such a simple idea has been Quite profitable. Read more>>

Logen Christopher

I am first and foremost, a storyteller. I found my way to film production at a young age, and saw the potential for true human connection in the art, and was hooked. There is no greater medium that expresses societies consciousness, or that has the opportunity to shape it. Running a business was never my main motivation, it really became a necessity when traditional avenues into the industry were closed to me. I grew up in a very loving family in a beautiful place, but watched my family struggle every day to keep us afloat. There was no one in my family with connections to the industry, or magical viral opportunities that capitulated me into opportunity, there Is only passion and dedication that have helped me reach this point. Read more>>

Talena Handley

Girlie Garage’s mission is to make women safer and more confident on the road. We do that by educating and consulting them on their personal vehicles so they don’t get taken advantage of at auto shops. The confidence that stems from understanding the machines we climb into everyday is contagious and begins to overlap into other aspects of life. That confidence, combined with actually having your vehicle serviced correctly, means that the vehicle is safer, and the person behind the wheel is safer. Read more>>

Lauren Whitmore

Black women are constantly ignored and treated as though their voices doesn’t matter. This holds true even in their most vulnerable moments. I became a birth doula because I believe that we deserve to feel heard, seen, respected, and trusted throughout pregnancy and in our birthing spaces. Read more>>

Sara Patino

I’m from St. Louis and travel back to Colombia, South America to visit my extended family. Speaking spanish and staying in the remote ultra-green farm country of central Colombia has been my normal. Even as a kid, at the end of my trips I’d come home with handmade purses, belts and jewelry from artisans. It planted an appreciation for handmade accessories, nature, cultures and love of travel. Read more>>

Taylor Adams

As a boudoir photographer, my mission is to help women love their bodies how they are now. Growing up I struggled with loving my body and being ok with where I was in the moment. I never was truly over weight I just never was super skinny. I grew up in a home where I was always told that I needed to lose weight, work out, eat better since I was fat and out of shape. It was truly hard and I still struggle with my body being told that all the time switching my mind to your body is perfect the way it is. Read more>>

Randi Weinstein

I created FAB as a business workshop for all women in hospitality, no matter where they are in their career. It’s a place where they could learn about the true business of the industry, talk about the great things, and more importantly the hard thing about being a woman in hospitality. Its intent was and continues to be a place for people to connect with others, share stories, become each other’s resources, champions, and ultimately, empower one another. Read more>>

Sauce

Mission is defined as “a important assignment carried out”. In life we can have more than one very important assignment and the goal is to complete them. Myself I want to enhance the life of fashion and the people that wears it. To be the best fashionable version of myself, and secondly most importantly I want to make CHOICES a movement like never before. Assignments. Read more>>

MICHELLE CUSTER

My very best friend and Pillar of Light, Leisa was the inspiration behind Northern Star Event Planning. My life changing moment was March 12, 2015, when my best friend, Leisa, who was like a mother to me, died unexpectedly. She was the first person who saw me for who I truly was and the potential within me. She loved me as if I was her own and she didn’t have to. She was there every moment that mattered, and I knew I could count on her for absolutely anything. Losing Leisa was God’s way of helping to teach me just how bright I should and could shine, Read more>>

Sherry Kong

I’m the daughter of immigrant parents, who survived the Cambodian “Killing Fields”. It’s a story not many people know about and a story under represented in the food scene. In 2016, after pushing the reset button on life, we trained under the tutelage of my mom, who taught me how to cook Cambodian food. Our mission is to share a Cambodian mom’s story of survival, resilience and love through food. Read more>>

Carlos DelaPlaya

Growing up, I was taught that my very normal way of being and desires were something wrong and meant to be fixed. My natural state is a gay man who is incredibly artistic, latino, ADHD/neurodivergent, emotionally sensitive/intuitive, and extremely spiritually minded. Many of these aspects are deemed less than or a problem that needs “fixing.” Read more>>