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.

PHAZE GAWD

The best investment I’ve made in my career was building and maintaining relationships with people in and outside the industry. Just being able to have a good network of people to contact is crucial even if nothing happens off the initial meet-up; there have been so many times where down the road, a reconnection occurs as an opportunity just by maintaining a positive rapport. I’m a firm believer that there is nothing more valuable than earning someone’s trust, especially in the business of creative entrepreneurship. Read more>>

Isabella Mahealani Ramsey

The Best Investment I’ve ever made as a young artist/entrepreneur was saying YES! The initial decision of saying yes to the life that was meant for me. I have opened up my life to recognizing my God given talents of creative thinking combined with passion for how art can change minds and lives into a business, and ultimately profitable assets that will support me in the long term. This decision has allowed me to tunnel vision what’s for me and what’s not for in this life path. Read more>>

Franklin Cruz

Hiring a coach for different aspects of my life really changed my path. I think going to class is great to getting a good base for your art, business, lifestyle or whatever you are developing. It does change the tempo of things when you hire someone to work one-on-one with you to specifically identify your strengths and areas of growth. A good coach with develop a thoughtful plan to accomplish your goals and will help accelerate your growth a lot. Read more>>

Greg & Jerry Money Vikings

As an introduction, we are The Money Vikings (Greg & Jerry). Since 2017 we have actively created blog content (trueiwealth.moneyvikings.com), YouTube videos and written a book about building wealth and personal finance. As young adults we came to the realization that investing and personal finance education in the US is pretty awful or non-existent. Therefore, many of us are thrust into the world with no sense of how to build wealth, health or invest. Read more>>

Garnett Phillip

I really don’t think any of the decisions/investments were bad – all a great experience. I would say the best investment was/is The Rogers Garden. I was able to see all the investors get their initial investment back. It also taught me how to be a better business woman, take care of my staff, and learn how to budget and survive is the harsh climates. Read more>>

Dayna Solomon

The best investment I’ve made is hiring a coach! I’ve worked with a Business Coach, have an online membership of a life coaching program, and now working with a success coach/business strategist. I came to a place where I felt my growth felt stuck and while my support team of mentors and colleagues are amazing, it didn’t feel enough anymore and I knew I needed a different kind of support to help me navigate and support me through the challenges of being an entrepreneur. Read more>>

Becca Hofmann

Hands down, the best investment I made in my business was to have brand photography taken for my own personal brand. Now let me be clear, I HATE the images I received. The entire experience was terrible. Read more>>

Wendy Smith

The best investment I have made as an artist is investing in my art fair booth display. As an artist it’s always a challenge getting your work out in front of the public and especially buyers or art lovers. Many galleries are already over populated with artists. Online sales are very difficult unless you already have a following and people know where to find you. In my opinion the best way to get your work and new ideas out in front of people is just do shows. Read more>>