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.

Jenny Blaschke

What I wish I had understood from the beginning of my business, is how important it is to invest in myself in order to succeed. By nature, I am frugal. I like to know the investment upfront and decide if it is worth the cost. For me, investing in a business coach seemed like a luxury and honestly, I wasn’t sure if it would actually help. Read more>>

Rose Cisneros

The best investment of time and energy I’ve ever made and continue to make is into my mental health. I’m thankful that society is finally moving discussions of mental health challenges out into the open, because I can’t think of a more important way to show up for ourselves. I started working on my mental health nearly 6 years ago to heal from various childhood and adult traumas. It’s been a pretty incredible journey so far, and looking back at the person I was feels surreal sometimes. Read more>>

Stephanie Truong

The best investment I have made was moving my Real Estate business from Coldwell Banker to eXp Realty in 2020. I’ve been licensed in the business a little over 3 years now. I remember the day when I decided to make the switch. I called my husband and told him I was moving my license over to eXp Realty. He quickly reminded me the switch would make it my third brokerage in ONE year. I told him, “yeah, but it will be my last.” That was 2 years ago! Best decision I made for my RE career. Read more>>

Savaun

I think one of the best investments I’ve made was purchasing the equipment to do home recordings. Though the long shutdown triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic was characterized by loss and uncertainty, many people also found time to do more things that they enjoy. I was one of those people! I have been recoding myself singing covers since high school. Read more>>

DaJoir Thomas

The best investment I have ever made was investing into myself. As I got older , I understood the importance of time management and the value of obtaining information (stocks real estate, etc) to become a better version of myself. Im still a working progress but it is still a long road ahead. In addition to that, my second best investment is starting Kickback N Chill!. Read more>>

Wanyea Robinson

The best investment I’ve made as a business owner would have to be the investment in myself. Within the few years of being in business, I struggled with the confidence of my work on the sole purpose of comparing myself to other photographers and videographers in positions I wanted. I wanted the clients, models, brands, etc. to book or collaborate with me but I honestly wasn’t invested as I should, I just expected it to happen with no work to show. Read more>>

Lava Dreams

The best investment I’ve ever made has been getting into therapy and choosing to look more deeply into myself. As a survivor of childhood sexual abuse, I’ve spent most of my life in survival mode. It wasn’t until months after my first memory of the abuse surfaced at age 25 that I was able to reach out and admit I needed help making sense of it all. Before that moment, I wasn’t self-aware at in any sense- I couldn’t even look at my own eyes in the mirror. Read more>>

Meredith Walker

I was a graphic designer before I began painting, which was a huge advantage when I began putting my work out into the world. I gradually created elements for my brand, and was easily able to design a website. Marketing myself and my work felt relatively natural. For the first couple of years the brand I had created was working but I got to a point where I felt stuck— selling work, making new connections, updating my website. I knew I wanted to grow and felt that my brand was holding me back. Read more>>

Jason Childers

The best investment that we made is professional packaging, once the time was right. All of our packaging was initially done in house and let’s just say was not made for the beatings retail shelves give them. This wasn’t even a blip on our radar, because honestly we didn’t wholesale very much in the beginning. We are still gearing this up. Packaging was always an issue after our first foray into wholesaling. Read more>>

Breanna Mohr

The best investment I have made when it comes to Breezy Visuals is myself. I invested in myself. I constantly battled back and forth with my work for years, wondering if it looked good or was up to my standards. I can be very indecisive and I feel like it held me back at times. I didn’t have confidence to do certain projects/jobs. I’d say over the past year I have truly invested in myself. I do the creative things that I do because they are fun and I get to show my creativity through my work. I have learned to take advice and apply it. I didn’t know my true potential. I know that as I continue to keep going, the only direction I’ll go is up. Read more>>