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.
Michelle Prier
Investing in property in my home country is one of the best investments I’ve made. In 2014 my husband and I decided to invest in a beach front property in Playa del Carmen, Mexico with the purpose of creating memories with our family and maybe renting it from time to time to pay our mortgage. At that time airbnb had recently opened internationally and I decided to list my property to see if people would like it. Read more>>
Jibril Washington
The best investment I’ve made as a business owner right now is the amount of time and money I’ve put into this latest project, “It’s In You”. I saw this project as an opportunity to create a proof of concept and set the tone for Intrinsic Media Company and what I’m interested in as a creative. I took a chance and made the decision to turn down a contract extension from the NBA to pursue building a media company back in 2020. Read more>>
Julia Y
Back in 2017, I had recently finished graduate school and was at a pivotal moment in my artistic career. I had lined up a meeting with the lead of the surface pattern design department at the clothing retailer where I was working my day job, and she asked me to make some sample patterns. I was also simultaneously working on a series of self-initiated mixed-media astrological paintings that I was really excited about. I was still working a full time job and only had a limited amount of time & energy into my artwork, and had to chose between creating work for a surface pattern design portfolio or working on my own project. Read more>>
Christine Patruno
The best investment I have made as a business owner was hiring a business mentor. Originally, CPHonesTea was my passion project/side gig that was “something from me” while working full time in Finance. However, about a year and a half in, the business exceeded my expectations and I had a client a waitlist. I took a step back and asked myself, “I’m only giving about 50% of my efforts to CPHonesTea, and I already have a waitlist?! What if I were able to give 100%?”. Read more>>
Dr. John Ughulu
My dad passed on when I was in high school and shortly after his demise, I got into the university and made wrong choices that made me drop out of college. Those wrong choices also lead to limiting beliefs such as shame, shyness and frustration. I battled with these limiting beliefs for over a decade until I took a personal decision to take charge of my life through investment in personal development. Read more>>