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.

Liberty Cordova

The story behind our mission at Liberated Ascent is simple. Our mission is to have transparency with our products by telling our customers exactly what goes into them. We consciously source from companies that use sustainable practices from farm to distillery to create non-toxic and synthetic free ingredients. We believe that our customers deserve to know what goes into our products and how they’re made, as well as producing in small batch to only take what we need from the earth without mass production. Read more>>

Nicole Brittingham

The mission and heart of Dwell Home Design is that a beautiful home can be for every person. I was a stay at home mom and started to transform my house into a place I wanted to stay and dwell and invite other into. I did this through paint and feature walls and shopping at sales and repurposing items in my own house. I became passionately about others walking into their home and it feeling like them and that has character and features that make it “their own”. Read more>>

Mary Andrikus

I’m a wedding photographer but I am going to let you in on a secret: growing up, I did not picture myself getting married ever. It’s not because I’m on a “love sucks” bandwagon but because the standard wedding industry does not cater to me: a rebel, who likes to do things differently and intentionally. Read more>>

Makeda Greene

Blackmomsociety,Inc mission is to create a space for black mothers to feel empowered and supported by other black mothers. The story behind Blackmomsociety is simple, I wanted to fill a void that I saw within my community which was support. As moms, black moms and working professional black moms we are seen as being able to “do it all.” Studies have mythologized working black women as “superwomen”- we are there for everyone else, Read more>>

Emily Jaime

The idea for Yireh first came to me when I was 18 years old and on a 6th-month backpacking trip around the world! I got to meet so many different people and experience cultures much different from mine. After my trip I was so inspired by all that I had seen I knew I wanted to start a business that highlighted the uniqueness of people. However, traveling so much really opened my eyes to the realities of a lot of artisans. They work hard, sometimes in dangerous conditions for very little in return. I vowed to never take part in that when I started my own company, Read more>>

Tavon Ingram

I have been doing photography for about 15 years now. Started out when I was 13 just as a hobby because I was doing modeling but that didn’t really work out so I picked up the next thing to it. I never thought I would actually make it a career or didn’t know how I was going to make it to a career but I always knew the ultimate goal was to have my own studio. In 2013 I graduated from highschool photographing nearly the entire year book. During that time before graduating my grandfather had a conversation with me about life after school recommending me apply for metro and other jobs to get me going. Read more>>

SonJoria Sydnor

I began practicing yoga for my personal mental health after struggling with postpartum depression. My kids would often imitate me and want to join in. Since I had no idea how to teach yoga, we started looking for videos and books for help. We found a few but hardly any that reflected our family or my kids so we decided to write our own book and document our journey in videos. Years later we are continously adding ways to expand representation and increase visibility for Black kids and families in wellness products and resources. Read more>>

Kayla De Guzman

Ultimately, the mission of being a creative photographer is about using the power of imagery to tell stories, evoke emotions, and explore the beauty and complexity of the world around us.. whether it may be through capturing landscapes, portraits, or abstract compositions.. Not only am I driven by a passion for capturing images that are not only technically proficient, but also visually interesting and emotionally compelling, but I want to be able to share that motion with other people who want to get into it. Read more>>

Sylvia Yanez

The whole mission behind my brand, my company, who I embody is “do not stop educating and do not stop being authentic”. I strive to educate and raise awareness in anyway, every way, even if it uncomfortable. Some of my passions are mental health awareness, specifically TBI and suicide awareness. I also like to educate on identity crisis issues within young athletes and their lack of development in other creative passions due to the stigma of putting your everything into 1 sport only. Read more>>

Kaci Wingo

When I was a young child, I started out in front of the camera. I was very into pageants and that led me to some modeling as well. Ever since then, I’ve always cherished photography. When my grandmother and great-grandmother passed in 2011 only months apart, I was going through their photos with my mom and it made me realize just how important photos really are. They are the only things we have left when those we love are no longer with us. They’re sometimes the only things that can spark memories that we may have forgotten about from years past. Read more>>

Ana Zecca

As the broker and owner of Zecca Realty Group, LLC located in South Florida, my job is to help clients obtain the American dream which is to own a home. My nature is to help others and with this, will talk about my mission with my charity Jhoslen Angels Inc, of which I am the President and Team leader. Our charity mission is to help disadvantaged children in our community and their parents every holiday season and now year-round as well. Read more>>

Jason Caldwell

For nearly 20 years I worked in TV News in Mobile Alabama, Jacksonville Florida and Atlanta Georgia as a photojournalist and most of the stories were hard, meaning they usually had to do with murder, robbery or something very negative. I recently started Umage Media with a goal of telling businesses story in a positive way. Who they are, why they do what they do and the ways they benefit the community. Read more>>

Nathan Hirsch

At EcomBalance and AccountsBalance, we’re on a mission to help 1,000+ entrepreneurs better understand their financials. As an entrepreneur for the past 10 years, I’ve seen the ups and downs of having bad and great financials. With bad financials, I struggled to optimize profits and I didn’t know how my company was performing each month. With great financials, I optimized profits, built an amazing team, and exited in 2019. Read more>>

Chichi Mogbo

Thywordhidden was started February 2,2021. It wasn’t anything special , but to me it was a digital diary of sorts. The account detailed my growth and shared what I was learning as a new Christian. My goal was to inspire and encourage Christians and others to dig into God’s word and know Jesus deeper. The name of the page itself points to a scripture in Psalms that shows the heart of someone seeking the heart of God, by storing His word in theirs. Read more>>

Janet Gomez

I started my creative marketing studio because I saw a significant need in my community. As a woman entrepreneur myself, I noticed that many women-owned businesses were struggling to show up as their authentic selves on social media or struggling with content creation. I am passionate about helping businesses leverage the power of social media to connect with their audience, tell their unique story, and achieve their goals. It brings me joy to support fellow women entrepreneurs in overcoming these challenges and thrive on social media. Read more>>

Aspen Landers

My Mission is to Create Memories for Clients. We do this by Capturing those Memories in different ways through Photos, Boomerangs, Gifs, Videos, Glam Booth, Digital Mask, Digital Filters, Custom Screens, Custom Overlays and so much More. We bring that unforgettable experience to your Event. With the Setup from Custom props to the Red Carpet, Backdrop Customers always tell us the Booth was the Icing on the Cake. We love to hear that the Booths bring people together and they have so much Fun! The Mission is to bring people together no matter what Age it is something Fun on the Photo Booth for Everyone! Read more>>

Josh Pather

Our mission is to help people have a side hustle. So they don’t just have to rely on big corporations. This is the reason why we started Photo Booth International. It’s to give people the opportunity to create wealth for themselves. Read more>>

Taneisha Horton

I fell in love with photography as a teen. Once I had gotten married and experienced life, it motivated me to begin my photography business but I just didn’t want to have the standard photography services. I wanted it to be an experience, a true LOVE experience. I can remember times in life where I didn’t feel loved or didn’t receive love as I desired. I then started to look around and see how the world was operating off hate and no love at times. Read more>>

Mehnaz Tabassum

As I sat in my cozy office, adorned with motivational quotes and success stories, I couldn’t help but reflect on my own journey. How did I go from arriving in Canada with just $3000 in my pocket as a 17-year-old immigrant to becoming a successful career consultant, helping young professionals navigate their own paths? It is a story of resilience, determination, and overcoming challenges. My name is Mehnaz, and I am a career consultant, but my path to this point was not always smooth sailing. Read more>>

Kara Powell

Almost 15 years ago, I started my photography business. I was looking for a place that moms could come to feel comfortable. They could share their stories, talk about their kids and if they were struggling with infertility like I was; find a friend who would listen. Read more>>

Kelly Mothershead

My life’s journey has taken many turns…I have experienced a lot of tragedy but turned those tragedies into opportunities! I have had many careers…I was a hairstylist (that’s what paid my way through school!) I was a Director for a pathology medical group for over 20 years. When my oldest brother died and my mom got sick with cancer, I knew I need to change my health habits. I worked hard to get into great shape and won a national Physique transformation contest! I became a certified personal fitness trainer and opened a training studio. Read more>>

Suzy Wood

I’m an Integrative Nutrition Health Coach and owner of True Wellness Within where I work with people to get control of their lives and their health after divorce. My clients achieve their goals by addressing both food and lifestyle choices. Together, we look at all areas of their lives to see what’s out of balance all the while focusing on proper nutrition because certain foods can help with mood, stress, sleep, anxiety, hormones, weight gain/loss, etc. Read more>>

Robert Bojorquez

We started Partyfish Media, a podcast network/co-op in Seattle, when starting up our own podcast and amassing resources for DIY podcasting. In Seattle, lots of folks were creating podcasts in their own corners of the space and we thought a local studio resource and co-op model would really help unify the community. Our guiding idiom is “a rising tide raises all ships” and in this co-op we’d be able to cross-promote each other and find new audiences through outreach to diverse podcast listening niches. Read more>>

Tash Leath

I am a Celebrity Intuitive Life Strategist. My God given gift allows me to read a person’s past, present, and potential of their future by simply hearing their voice or taking one glance at them whether in a picture or in person. My ability to sense exactly what an individual has gone through, accompanied with intuitively knowing where their future lays, makes me a resource for many. Read more>>

Klara Lindberg

It all started out when I worked as an Art Director in advertising, I loved the agencies, my colleagues, and the creative work, but a lot of times I struggled with my own creativity and my identity as a creative. I compared myself to other creatives and their skills and constantly tried to become more like them. It didn’t work at all, of course, instead of getting inspired I only focused on my flaws which made me feel scared and lost in my own creativity. Read more>>

Kess Edafiogho

Many years ago my family relocated to a new country. As new immigrants my dad had hopes of continuing on his career in the corporate world after heading operations for a multinational company back home. Upon relocating he was faced with one rejection after another for many years simply because he did not have any ‘Canadian works experience”. He eventually moved into entrepreneurship and started his own business. Read more>>