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.

Aujha Hastings

My mission at Lotus & Avenue is to be as authentic as possible while educating consumers about the saftest hair care regimes and products (including but not limited to hair, non-toxic household living, and family life.) There is so much information on social media these days that can be equally convincing and deceiving, leading consumers to feel overwhelmed and misled. Lotus & Avenue was created with the intent to provide valuable and truthful content from almost a decade of experience in the hair industry, as well as my passion for educating anyone and everyone on safer living practices for overall wellness and happiness. Read more>>

Katy Stelter

Like many small business owners, the story behind my mission is very personal as I grew up battling acne that was continuously exacerbated by my athletic activities, lack of consistency with skincare & raging hormones. At the time my mother did what any concerned parent would do for their struggling daughter; she took me to see a dermatologist & the Clinique counter at the mall! Read more>>

Brian Hamilton

My mission is to give people another way. Another option for success. One of the biggest hurdles for people in life is fear. It’s crippling. I came to Punta Cana on a vacation during the peak of the pandemic. I saw the incredible real estate investment opportunities here and took immediate advantage of it. Now I assist people with breaking their fears and allowing their money to go much further in a growing market. Investing in Punta Cana and creating the life they want and dreamed of in addition to leaving a legacy for their children. Read more>>

Brooke Brun

How we got started and why we do what we do. Read more>>

jun zhou

My mission is to educate kids with games and illustrations. The idea comes from my teenage years. In high school, I found myself doing better than others in math and science because I built my logical and graphic thinking through books I read as a kid. I saw some of my friends struggle with school subjects. They had difficulty understanding abstract theories because they needed pictures in their mind. Read more>>

Elliott Ivory

Vine Street Brewing is prepping to open in early 2023 and it will be the first Black-owned brewery in Kansas City, focusing on bringing craft beer to many communities. Local musician and beer enthusiast Kemet Coleman dreamed of opening a brewery in Kansas City but had had little success up until now. That is where Woodie Bonds, member of Ford Motor Company and creator of the Hip Hops Hooray beer festival, comes in. Read more>>

André Natera

I stepped away from being a professional chef at the beginning of the year after 27 years of kitchen work. What I noticed is there was a serious lack of mentorship and coaching in my industry. There are not enough chefs teaching you to become chefs and run a business, become a leader to navigate kitchen life. Read more>>

Sophia Wyrick

In June of 2020, my Uncle Andy suffered a severe hemorrhagic stroke that changed his life forever. Due to extreme medical expenses, and the potential need to sell some of his belongings to pay for his therapy, I decided to start a fundraiser selling pet bandanas. On December 6, 2020 I posted a TikTok video explaining what the fundraiser was for and the products that I was selling. A few hours after posting the video, it went VIRAL. Within a few days, we received hundreds of orders for dog and cat bandanas that raised enough money to help Andy with his medical expenses. Read more>>

Ashley Edokpayi

My core mission is to build powerful visual identities and grow brand awareness for my clients through soulful content and warm, eye-catching design. By nurturing my clients’ ideas and walking closely with them on their branding and storytelling journey, I watch their excitement and passion unfold and their businesses flourish. To date, Bloom has partnered with more than 30 emerging woman-owned and BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) businesses. Read more>>

Lori Friedlander

Up until recently, there was a bad stigma attached with the word “Cannabis”. At 16, I started smoking pot. I knew that if anyone found out, I would be in big trouble. Other friends of mine in high school were snorting pain killers, and getting drunk, but the “ stoners” always seemed to be the calmest of the group. I knew at a young age, that cannabis was not harmful, but smoking in of itself, could be. Read more>>

Ashanta Coleman

I’m a true believer in testimonies and I express gratitude daily for my own. In November 2019, I was broke, even more broken and fed up with my life as I knew it. I had just left my then-husband, the third of my emotionally abusive relationships, and was in desperate need of a change. I screamed out to the Universe that I was done and to strip me of all that was holding me back and to help rebuild myself anew. I began writing; lists and prayers mostly. Lists detailing all of the parts of me that needed to go and prayers welcoming in all of the things I needed in order to grow. Read more>>

Breeze Hu

I began drawing comics for fun and never thought I’d become a comic artist, About five years ago, I receive an anonymous critique of my mini-comic collection. The viewer is disappointed because there are few narrations that are rather pale. I was so defensive that time, asking my friends why a comic needed a story. Can’t it be a poem or a piece of feelings? Shouldn’t art be free? With the confusion, I began to put more effort into storytelling. Read more>>

Lindsay Lyons

In college, I double-majored in Gender and Women’s Studies and Sociology. At one point, I wanted to be a lawyer working with survivors of abuse and intimate partner violence. After doing an internship in the field, I realized I don’t want to help people once abuse happened, I wanted to prevent the abuse from happening. That’s when I turned to education as an option for helping children be feminist, anti-racist, advocates for justice. Read more>>

Julia Hadjistavrou

I have always had a passion for people, especially the women in my community. When I first started creating with polymer clay in 2019, I knew I wanted to create more than just earrings. I wanted to cultivate a sense of boldness, authenticity, and empowerment within the women who wore my art. So, I created Handcrafted by Julia to do just that, to create a community of incredible women who could come together through their love of jewelry. Read more>>

Kanisha Rounsaville

Coach Kanisha founded Balance Cheer and Gymnastics to provide an inspirational athletic experience to an underserved community: minority female youth. Read more>>

Reecca Hunter

SoLo Craft Fair was founded by two makers, Rebecca Hunter (of Drawn Together Art Collective ) and Catherine Dunne  (of London Lily) back in 2016. Initially, the idea was to do a one off market, however, the concept snowballed and one market, became dozens of events (collaborating with other organisations such as Winterville, This is Clapham and Between the Bridges). Dozens of markets became a shop; The SoLo Craft fair Shop in Elephant and Castle. Read more>>

Zarie Baker

I started my business Miss Baker’s Kindergarten Prep after one of my mentors asked me to help prepare her daughter for kindergarten. In prepping for our sessions, I created a binder full of activities for us to work on during our sessions. I later decided to turn that binder into my first independently published book, Miss Baker’s Accelerated Pre-K Learning Guide: A dual language activity book that teaches early literacy and math skills in English and Spanish. I also started promoting my tutoring services more. Three years later, I’m here with two books independently published and a growing tutoring business. Read more>>

Gina Fick

We started this clinic in November 2017 with the vision of providing outstanding treatment in the most effective way possible. We are passionate about being able to help patients thrive and excel beyond your expectations by offering highly-skilled, evidence-supported physical therapy and sports recovery services so that patients can achieve the BEST results! Read more>>

Erica Coppola

I have been suffering from mental health challenges due to PMDD since I was a teenager. It became even worse and more difficult to manage during Covid so I finally decided to seek help from my doctor and do my own research. I finally was able to put a name(PMDD) to what I have been suffering from for all these years. I have turned my whole life around since my official diagnosis in 2020. I take Zoloft 25 MG every day as prescribed by my doctor to help manage my anxiety/depression. Read more>>

Kelly Melistas

Shortly after the birth of my twins, my husband (George Melistas) and I (Kelly Melistas) began to baby proof our home. No matter what child safety products we purchased or fixtures we installed, nothing seemed to curb our twins’ curiosity with electrical outlets and light switches. It was the one thing that truly scared us in our home and we had little control over it. Read more>>

Fatimah Basir

have worked in education half of my life. I began my first job at age 16 as a culinary arts instructor for a non-profit organization. At the age of 18 I had an opportunity to work as a summer camp counselor. It was this experience that allowed me to realize just how important instilling certain values in youth can make a world of difference. As an educator you realize how impressionable a young mind is. Being an educator you see first hand the issues that occur with children. I have worked very closely with children pre-k to high school seniors. The phrase “ I’ma Big Fish Not A Guppy” is a mindset and a lifestyle. Read more>>

Danielle Laurent

My business has evolved so much over the last two years! I have had 3 different names, various different products, and a lot of growing pains, but it all started when I watched a YouTube video about a mom and son who did a random act of kindness every day for a year! I was so inspired by them I started an Instagram with the name Kindness365, hoping to spread kindness in any way that I could! My business has evolved so much since that point, but my mission is still and always will be to bring joy through my creativity! I want people to see what I make and smile, whether or not they buy something, I strive to do that! Read more>>

Deon Lindsey

Royalty Coaching was birthed in 2017. Before I even started this brand I went through so much stuff but everything happened to me all at once. I remember August 30, 2017 like it was yesterday. I woke up with a really bad headache and I went on to work anyway (I worked in the health field as a Administrator) so in my mind I needed to go feeling bad and all. I remember walking in work with a smile on a face. Read more>>

Danny McCrea

The story behind what I do is that some people are not heard or seen, so through photographer and videographer im able to elevate those people. Whether that be through putting their beauty on display or giving those don’t have a voice a platform. Read more>>

Nasia Eastt

The story behind my mission has always been to encourage everyone through my work and own experiences to keep going, never give up, always believe in yourself, trust the process & put God first! Read more>>

Wendy Wright

My name is Wendy Alane Wright, I am an entrepreneur and I help creative entrepreneurs build thriving businesses. One of the traps people often have when starting their businesses is waiting until they feel they have enough expertise to start. That is not how people become successful in my experience. One of the biggest lessons I have learned is you do not have to have everything figured out before you start walking in the direction of your dreams or goals. In fact, when you follow your heart and instincts you can achieve amazing things you didn’t even dream of! Read more>>

Sandra Bassett

I am an MBA who is also a Business Owner and Vocal Performing artist who Advocates for Arts & Culture Read more>>

Mili Takashima

I never imagined I’d become mom to a baby who was severely allergic to peanuts and tree nuts. It was something that was so rare when I was growing up. I thought it to be one in a million, and it never really crossed my mind. My husband has some food allergies, but they were minor. I was going about my typical stay-at-home mom-life, with two little ones. We were having lunch and I was packing up to run errands with my 4 year old daughter and 1 and a half year old son, when he asked for a little of what his sister was eating – peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Knowing that he had eaten peanuts and tree nuts before, I gave him a little bite. Read more>>

Chong Kim

Bringing Awareness and educating the public about the harms of my lived experience in Human Trafficking. Read more>>

Amber Lillie

I had a very difficult time finding Alternative Fashion that fit my lifestyle needs. I needed clothing for Day, Work, & Play. I also wanted to keep my edge while adding sophistication to the mix. That’s when the brand focus was born! The VSLZ look is Alternative.Edgy.Sophisticated 4 Day.Work.Play. We offer a variety of clothing options for your lifestyle with new pieces launching throughout the year! Read more>>

Samantha Frederick

My mission has shifted. At the beginning it was an adventure now it’s my way of life. Read more>>

Karen Floyd

It’s how I got focused on my specialized clients. Read more>>

Belinda Irby

The story behind my mission is empowerment, self love, self care & healing yourself to become the better version of yourself. Read more>>

Greg MICEK

I am a tax attorney, originally hired by Touche Ross, now Deloitte, in 1980 in Omaha, Nebraska as a newly minted graduate of Creighton University. Two years later, the Houston branch of Touche recruited me to become a rain-maker for small business market. In January, 1983, I hosted a conference at the University of Houston called “The Yellow Brick Road to Growth”, based on a newly passed US Congress legislation mandating every federal agency setting aside 5% of its budget to support small business innovations within its mandate. Read more>>

Coley Arnold

Our mission with all our businesses is to create community and support small businesses. Read more>>

Shannon Henry

My mission is to create a unique personalized experience with passion and enthusiasm, and photographs that our clients will love. Read more>>

Amy Aranyosi

My mission is to tell stories of bands/musicians that are authentic and raw. Read more>>

Viju Chiluveru

I founded a non-profit organization for Visiting Parent and Seniors in the US in 2008. They all gather to chat interesting topics like healthcare, alternative medicine, hobbies, literature, etc. Read more>>

Crystal Kearney

Being a single mom raising her two sons on the autism spectrum, I want to be the voice for other mothers and parents raising children on the autism spectrum. It can be challenging and hard, because sometimes when we get the diagnosis that our children have autism sometimes we don’t know who to turn to. I want to be their voices I want to bring awareness, so I became an advocate/spokeswoman. That is my goal. Read more>>

ERICA MITCHELL

The story behind my mission. through all us women go through. It’s to Walk in Style and Strut in Faith. Read more>>

Monica Mitchell

The story behind my mission is simple. In 2020, when the lockdowns were put into place and many small businesses had to close, I personally experienced how difficult it was for both customers and small business owners. I watched as larger corporate stores, liquor stores, and in my state, marijuana stores, were allowed to stay open while smaller businesses such as nail salons, hair salons, restaurants, and everyone one else not deemed essential had to close. Many families that had put their entire lives into their businesses lost everything. Read more>>

Dorothy Wilson

As a young girl, I watched my mother be battered over and over again. I felt hopeless and helpless to stop my father, who became a raging, violent bully when he drank alcohol. When speaking publicly, I often share that I felt that my hands were tied behind my back and my mouthed taped. I could not help her, but I became determined to break free of the cycle of poverty and abuse for myself, while bringing as many women forward as possible with me. This drive and passion to see others living their best life has guided my life’s work and ministry. Read more>>