We’ve always tried to ask the questions that matter but that are too awkward for people to ask their friends, family and coworkers without seeming dramatic. One of those questions is about mission and purpose – when’s the last time you asked a friend what their mission was? Too often we don’t talk about our own missions and don’t ask those close to us about theirs with the result being that our missions remain secret. Are you just a doctor or are you a doctor who wants to be there for patients in the way you wished your father’s doctor had been? People have incredible and meaningful missions, and we hope our conversations asking folks about their mission can inspire more such conversations in your life.

Gillean Barkyoumb

My most hated question is: “What’s for Dinner?” I am a busy mom of two (almost three!), passionate business owner wanting to grow and expand, and a women who values self-care, space to relax, and boundaries for personal time. After a full day of work, the last thing I wanted to do was to stress about what to put on the dinner table. I created the What’s for Dinner Club because it is a solution to my problem–it gives me back TIME and makes planning and prepping healthy dinner for my family so easy. Read more>>

Gina Lopez

My mission with Impreesive Glow Spray Tanning and Teeth Whitening training has been very simple from the beginning. I want to help women, moms, single mom, learn how to start a side hustle that could possible grow into something far bigger to allow them to grow financial independence. I have watched and have been a woman who has had to make life decisions based off my financial situation and not truly based on what mattered to me most. I never want to be in that situation again. I also don’t want other women to be in that situation. Taking xontrol over our finances is an esential part of independence. Read more>>

Jacqueline Rose

I was born into an abusive cult, an unthinkable and hidden scenario that tortured and scarred my siblings and I for seventeen-years to the degree that two of the four of us are disabled due to PTSD/Suicide struggles. I decided to commit suicide at age six, realizing there was no other means of escape, not even knowing suicide was a word. As I made eye contact with myself in the mirror, I remembered to my life dream I’d created at the age of five, to grow up and help people through horses. Read more>>

Michelle Nguyen

My mission is to reduce fashion waste by giving clothes and textile a second chance. I thrift and resell clothes as well as design and produce apparels from secondhand textiles and clothing. My desire to design and produce clothes was met with a challenge to be environmentally sustainable. My first attempt at a sustainable fashion brand was to use eco-friendly/natural textile such as cotton, wool, and silk. Even though this is a more conscientious way of producing clothing I still felt it was too wasteful. The amount of leftover scraps and unused fabrics left me feeling guilty. I began reselling in 2020 at the start of the pandemic which put me in contact with mounds of secondhand clothing and textile. Read more>>

Lisa Crichlow Helly

Every mission we do comes from my personal experiences. My business is a 501c3 nonprofit called “H.O.P.E. for the Beautiful Minds.” Our Mission Outreach Program is called “Born to Conquer”. This program is a huge step forward because it what ails full community outreach. We understand that not everyone going through difficult times is necessarily suffering from a mental illness. With the experience of the pandemic, we wanted to do our part and step up and serve on a larger scale. Read more>>

Joey Hodlmair

I was five when life changed dramatically. I remember wondering why my father left and I also remember believing it would mean my mom would leave as well. My mom not only stayed, she did everything she could to be present and with us. My mother’s journey is why I write and encourage other women to let go of comparing their path to others, to say no to the Pinterest lifestyle and dive into what they bring to their children’s lives-themselves. Read more>>

Kiersten Parsons Hathcock

I’m happy to say that I’m wearing many hats nowadays. My mission for my furniture company, Mod Mom Furniture, has always been to design and produce safe, eco-friendly, modern heirloom-quality furniture for kids and their families. While I was busy building that business over the past 13 years, an entirely new mission presented itself. Now, as the author of an upcoming memoir called Little Voices: How Kids in Spirit Helped a Reluctant Medium Escape and Heal from Abuse and as the Co-Chair of The National Institute for Law and Justice, my mission is still focused on helping kids, just in a different way. Read more>>

Diamond Dobbins

I wanted to start a business that solved one of many issues prominently in the United States, but also within my community, obesity. I have a passion for health & wellness and believe that it is my sole purpose to educate, motivate & encourage our community about ways to make their health a priority and ultimately live a higher quality of life! All of that being said, my goal was to create a business to motivate women to want to workout and achieve their fitness goals, Read more>>

Rochelle McLean

When I was a child, I was always fascinated by birth. At the age of 10, while my friends dreamed of becoming princesses and ballet dancers, I announced that I wanted to be an obstetrician when I grew up. I attended my first birth when I was 17, supporting my cousin and her husband while she gave birth to their daughter. That wondrous moment galvanized my decision to pursue a career in medicine and birth. The license plate on my car even read OBGYN2B and that is the path I focused on in high school and college … until I decided to marry my best friend who happened to be entering a career of military service. Read more>>

Dots One

The story behind Dots One is Connecting the Dots. Connecting with different types of people for art, healing, and everything in between. My mission with connecting the dots is to create a platform or tree of various artists to connect, work, collaborate and grow with each other. “It takes a village!”, if I don’t offer the services you need from graphic design, printing, jewelry, chakra healing, I most likely know someone who does, thus connecting the dots! I’m a firm believer in “You Grow, I Grow, We Grow!” Read more>>

Gabriel Rodriguez

I have always had a passion for helping people. My mission is to make the home selling and buying process easy. It’s gratifying to know every day when I wake up that my team is on the same page. I get to share my story to motivate others to have the same passion. Read more>>

Aquinnetta Mims

As a baker, I must make sure my customers feel the love that I pour into each treat I prepare. I want my presentation and the smell of warm cookies or brownies to lift their spirits. That is the true mission behind my story and why I picked up a whisk and mixing bowl from the beginning. Read more>>

Luke Hobson

My mission has always been to help make the online learning experience meaningful and relevant for all students and learners. Growing up, I never saw the point in school and how what I was learning would help me in the real-world. I found myself being disinterested and constantly arguing with teachers about the classes. I completely gave up on caring and managed to fail out of high school. It was during this time frame that all of my attention was focused on music as I wanted to be a musician. Read more>>

Vee Boss

The story behind the mission is to inspire, impact, and include. I love everything entertainment and performing arts. I love being that light for others through my music and hosting services. Read more>>

Steve Weil

Rockmount is a 3 generation clothing manufacturing company started by my grandfather Papa Jack Weil. He worked 50 years with his son Jack B., my father. I worked with them 28 years. We are known for making the first snap shirts. Rockmount has been worn in 100s of movies and has a great following with rock stars and just folks. Elvis, Clapton, Dylan, Ronald Reagan… We sell world wide and have 3 divisions: wholesale, web and flagship retail. My role was to put the company on the map and reinvent it so that it stays relevant. Read more>>

Caitlin Lange

Our modern, don’t stop culture has caused us to become chronically fragmented and separated from our true authentic self. We’ve learned to loathe our bodies giving us free reign to assault and abuse them, distrust our impeccably accurate intuition and award the label of success only those who burn the candle at both ends. We have forgotten how to thrive as the divinely inspired earth creatures we are. We are part of nature, not separate from it. Just as a garden needs to be tended, weeded, watered and loved, so do our own intricate and wondrous lives. Read more>>

MIRIAM AMSELEM

Since my early 20’s, my passion has been wellness – mind, body and soul. What ignited this passion was an infertility diagnosis. This diagnosis brought with it a lot of heartache and I was on a personal mission to help myself NOT to be a victim. For me, wellness isn’t just physical health. Wellness is also emotional, mental and spiritual health. It has been my personal practice for over 30 years and about 20 years ago, I started sharing my knowledge and personal experience with others. Read more>>

Savannah Samples

When I was in college, I started nannying to cover my bills. I began working with 2 families—one family was strictly childcare and the other I was doing everything but! I grew my work by word-of-mouth from 2 households to 12 while going to school full time. I observed that most households weren’t really looking for a nanny…they were looking for an extra pair of hands. Read more>>

Odessa Feaster

When I was a little girl I had a vision of what true love was supposed to look like. Unfortunately, I did not have the best role models to emulate, so I found myself operating off trial and error. It took failed relationships and marriages for me to get to the point of not just going through the motions, but being honest with myself with facing the realization that I had become my parents. I began to take a moral inventory of myself and dissect the components that contributed to why I often settled in relationships. Read more>>

Christopher Arlen

The Soft Skills Company works with nonprofit and governmental organizations to foster positive relational dynamics through facilitation, mediation, and skills-based training programs. We utilize the Listening Circle (as developed by We are Open Circle) practice to foment open expression, empathic listening, and attentive witnessing to unveil connection, meaning, resilience, and collective wisdom. Read more>>

Melissa Rubin

As the years have gone by I often am asked one simple question “How did you develop this distinct customer experience”. In essence they are asking me the story behind my mission as a Broker Advisor in South Florida,. For me, it always starts with the people. As I say your “home is as unique as you” and let’s learn what is most important to you!!! I find that meeting people where they are and engaging in the conversation they want to have vs. the one I think they should have is the start of a great experience for the client. There is a particularly good feeling when someone is heard, seen, and listened to. Read more>>