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.

Accari Alexander

Best investment would be in my cameras. Each camera came with its own price tag but worth every penny. My first camera was a FujiFilm which was about $100 on Amazon. Which was the best but it’s was great for sunrise photos. A year later I purchased my second camera which was a Canon T5i. Read more>>

Ezra McKalmus

Say it with me three times: Merchandise. Merchandise. Merchandise! From personal experience, I can promise, to any visual artist out there, that scanning/documenting all of your work and manufacturing Merchandise to sell to your collectors & patrons is the absolute best investment you can make for yourself! Read more>>

Jacob Smith

The worst investment I believe I made earliest in my creative career, in terms of both time wasted and money spent, I say were the unprofessional relationships I created that did nothing to further my brand or hindered my networking abilities. A certain loneliness is required to succeed as a musician, I’ve learned to discard and minimize distractions and excessive baggage. Invest in your loneliness. Read more>>

Sensi Graves

The best investment I’ve ever made has been in myself. I remember when I used to be afraid of spending $100 on myself, now I spend high 4-figures a year on personal growth and self-development. It’s that important. You are the best investment you can make. What’s standing in the way of growing your business? You are. What’s stopping you from leveling up? You are. Read more>>

Kelly Norona

I went from a digital canon camera to to learning a whole different system like Sony. It was the best decision I made and I originally was purchasing the new Canon EOS R5 but they weren’t ready to release even when I pre ordered it. So I went with Sony and it changed my life colors are great quality at night is wonderful. It showed in my work a different quality then before. I’m so glad I did the switch. Read more>>

Kreda McCullough

Back in 2020, before I became a Brand Strategist and Designer, I was “just a graphic” designer and a t-shirt printer, raking in a whopping 4-figures creating graphics for my church (and other churches), creating graphics and printing t-shirts for other small organizations, and taking one-off jobs left and right. I thought things were looking up for me because I started to get design and t-shirt printing contracts, but then the pandemic happened. I was hit with a lot of canceled contracts, and I needed a lifeline. Read more>>

Sarah Kennedy & Kenzie Kirchoff

Usually, when we think of investments, we think about the amount of money we put into something. Sure, we’ve put some cash into this business—but truly our investments came from a much more vulnerable place that I don’t think a lot of people give credit to. We invested a ton of trust in ourselves. Trust that we could make this work and sustain our lifestyles off of it. We believed enough in our services, products, and mission to make this business more than a side project. Read more>>

AJ Good

The best decision I ever made was getting the building that The House of Masks is currently located in. I had a very interesting, life long relationship with the building, and as odd as it sounds, I always knew, even as a child, that the building would be mine one day. It was like a soul mate in a nonhuman form. Read more>>

Julia Asselin & Stephanie Gallo

Starting a travel agency in this day and age has practically no barrier to entry and minimal investment to start. Think about it; you’re really only spending TIME to learn, research and provide information back to clients. There is no hard product you’re selling or many tools you need to start besides Google, plus you can get away with free tools for quite some time. Read more>>

Skye Fingalson

The best investment I have made as a business owner has been finding the right employees and investing in their opportunities, growth, and success. Without good people on your team, it is difficult to run an effective business. What you give to your employees, they will give back to you ten fold. By giving them all of the tools they need to perform their day to day tasks, along with an environment they love to be in, they will love coming to work! Here at Design 2 Sell and Allure, we cultivate an incredible atmosphere. Read more>>

Ayla McCants

The best investment I’ve made so far was attending a private workshop with one of my professional inspirations. Prior to this workshop, I never had a mentor or worked alongside anyone within my field. This experience was a pivotal point for my career. I had gotten insight into how someone with over 10+ more years of experience within the photography business ran her business and it was the best thing I could have ever done for myself and my clients. Read more>>

Yuki Yamada

Leica M10Monochrom Read more>>

Daisy

The best investment is yourself! Honestly, I started focusing on bettering myself and becoming well rounded, so that included focusing on my hobbies, such as fitness, dancing, art. I worked on gaining higher confidence, learning how to do makeup, finding what hair and clothing styles worked for me and more .Doing these things helped me to be better. Once I pinpointed my needs and strengths, I attracted quality people to work with and opportunities. Read more>>

Christopher blair Watkins

Without the leap of faith, what would any individual have? My life is a constant reminder that anytime things seem at their worst! Opportunity is right around the corner. Not because it’s suppose to happen, but the thought of what else is left? I won’t ever be wealthy unless I attempt! I won’t ever be healthy unless I attempt! I won’t ever be successful, unless I believe in myself! Read more>>

Shawna Nicols

The best investment I have ever made, is investing in myself. Going all in on a non-normative career and never looking back. Read more>>

Brandon Gist

The best investment at any stage of business is marketing! We are firm believers on making sure we exceed expectations of each and every task we do. Wether it be the walking into our bathrooms and you see flowers hanging from the ceiling or a strawberry mimosa rimmed in suger topped with a fresh strawberry, everything we do is instagram-able! Read more>>

Erik Greer

The best investment I’ve made as a business owner was taking time to learn as much as possible about the industry I chose and how to build a successful business. In order to have a successful business in any industry, you need to be very knowledgeable about that particular industry. Who is your competition, do they manufacture their own products, are they a small or large business, what do their similar products retail for, etc? Read more>>