Risk is a topic that comes up a lot in our conversations with entrepreneurs and creatives, but a related topic is investments. Investments come in many forms – investing your time, money, heart and soul, etc. So, with that broad definition of investment in mind, we asked rising stars in the community to tell us the stories of the best or worst investments they’ve made.

Kathi Muhammad

The best investment that I have made in myself is acting lessons. When I made the decision to become an actress. I knew that I needed training. In order to be competitive, I wanted to learn techniques that would enable me to be comfortable auditioning. Once I received the role, I want to deliver a dynamic performance. In my acting classes I am able to experiment with new methods and try new tecniques that allow me to step oustside of my comfort zone. Acting just isn’ t about memorizing lines. It is about acting naturally. The actor must color in the lines to bring their character to life. The actor’s responsibility is to bring the writer’s words to life. Read more>>

Jessie Young

Investing in connection is the highest yield, compound investment I’ve made. More specifically, investing in my relationship has been the best investment I have ever made. Here’s why: My husband and I met when we were thirteen years old. Over the better part of two decades, we have ridden the breadth and depth of human experience together. We’ve ridden highs and lows: marriage to each other, birth of our gorgeous nieces and nephews (losses of our own), family deaths, career triumphs, sporting misses. Each week, for almost the last 1,000 weeks, we spend at least an hour on a date. It’s not always complex or sophisticated. Read more>>

Kim Bouldin

The best investment I’ve made as a business owner was to hire a business coach to help us build systems so we could scale and grow. The business was growing, but all of the operations and admin tasks were being done by me and/or tucked away inside my head. This decision to take that step couldn’t have come at a better time – March 16, 2020 – the day before we shut down our brick & mortar location for 10-weeks due to Covid-19. Making that investment when we did allowed us to immediately pivot to offering live Zoom training sessions for those 10-weeks (and beyond) and ultimately grow during and after the pandemic. Read more>>

Quiy Speaks

The best investment that I made into my business was the amount of money I decided to invest in myself! Before paying for ads, or for software, and all the cool fancy equipment, I invested majority of my funds to coaching and personal development. There really shouldn’t be a cap either on how much you are willing to invest in yourself and there are no limits to the ways you can invest in yourself. It could be as cut-dry as spending $1,000 on textbooks or spending $5,000 on a trip to go meet one of your favorite entrepreneurs at an event, the possibilities are endless! Read more>>

Christine Hall

In my estimation, everything in this life is steeped in duality, There hasn’t been a thing that hasn’t been a mixed bag, two sides of the same coin kind of bargain. If we love, we lose, eventually. If we live forever, it’s as bugs. My best investment was my worst investment, a hodgepodge of an experience trying to start a business in my mid-20s. First off, I couldn’t decide if I wanted it to be a business or a nonprofit, and attempted to jump straight into the role of community organizer with no formal training. This was in 2005, before Kickstarter, and before Nashville woke from its stint as sleepy little town. I brandished my DIY punk sensibility with reckless naivete. Read more>>

SJ McMillan

MelanList was founded to reinforce financial activism within the Black community. MelanList defines financial activism as the act of intentional and regular support of businesses that share the consumer’s values and or culture. When our company was created, our focus was on how to inject more capital into the community. MelanList is counting on the Black community to save itself and is the most honorable and vital place to begin strengthening Black wealth. Read more>>

Asha Oya

The best investment I’ve made has been in my education. I’m not talking about when I got my Bachelor’s, although that was a great investment. I’m talking about what’s developing right now. I got accepted to a 2-year degree program to learn the craft of jewelry-making. I am starting in the spring & will learn everything from casting metals, setting stones, & so much more. As an adult, going back to school, I am excited & also in a state of surrender. There is so much I don’t know about how this will change my life & my work. I don’t have all the answers to questions like “how are you going to pay for it?” “are you going to work & go to school?” Read more>>

Vanessa Thayer

The best investment I’ve made is choosing to continue learning well after my four years at college. In fact, that was just the beginning of my path to where I am now. I believe education is the one thing that you can never have too much of. After finding a strong yoga community when I moved to Tampa, FL I became intrigued by their yoga teacher training program and the self discovery that it promised. It was a steep investment both time and money. However, I felt confident in making it, because I knew the outcome would be far more worth it. In 2016 I enrolled in a 200 hour program, which led me to standup paddleboarding and SUP yoga training, multiple Reiki workshops, and most recently an additional 300 hour yoga teacher training program. Read more>>

Fritz Colinet

The best investment is when I invested in myself. I took control of my career, my business and my spirit. I had many challenges because I didn’t know the other side of the business and I had to control everything. I never had an issue getting clients or growing the business. It was everything else that came with running the day to day. I researched online, hired coaches and found out what I need to make my business life and personal balance and fruitful. Read more>>

Rudy Arora, Sanjay Vattamreddy, Sriyansh Shah

We spend over 15 hours learning how to speak in different accents during quarantine. From binging youtube videos to speaking to the mirror, we did it all. This turned out to be one of the best investments of our life because it not only helped us elevate our comedic performances but also develop a talking point to garner attention at social gatherings and break up awkward situations. Read more>>