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.

Scrilla Fulcanelli

By far the best investment I’ve made was committing to a meditation practice. While it doesn’t cost a dime to try, it does require patience and an open mind . I started several years back after reading Be Here Now and Autobiography of a Yogi. It was through those books I started to see not only how self awareness and the quality of our thoughts determine the quality our lives, but also how we can improve in those areas with some regular practice. I was a little shaky with at first, but I usually get in at least 1-2 hours a day (with a few short ones thrown in when I can) now. Read more>>

Demetrius Watts

The worst investment I ever made. I took a risk by listening to my bro. This is what happened okay it was a Saturday, summertime in Orlando FL, and I had to pay rent for the next month and I was super short with my half of the rent. I had $200 out of $600 of it. And my bro. (who’s my roommate) he was short too but he had an idea that could help us out. Read more>>

Monique Davis

The best investment I have made was into myself by joining a mastermind group and hiring a one on one coach. I had been going through a 8 year divorce by this point. I had been a single mom for all 8 of those years as my ex-husband wasn’t participating in parenting. I had finished nursing school during our long time divorce and was now working in the ER. Working was great, however being a single parent had me needing to be available at various times for cheer comps or wrestling matches. Read more>>

Sandra Hernandez

My best investment ever: my iPad and Procreate In 2020 the laptop given to me by my college had broken. I had gone three months without being able to create digitally. I had invested in a Cintiq two years earlier and was unable to use the drawing tablet I had spent so much money on. I reluctantly bought an iPad but quickly found that I was using it far more than I ever used my Cintiq. Don’t get me wrong, working on a Cintiq makes you feel like a king but it does require a good amount of setup and upkeep. Read more>>

Elham Gamal

I remember before I launched my business, I spend weeks figuring out how I am gonna manage my budget, website cost, my own domain, ads and etc.. All of that and I know that my bussiness may not work, most people do not succeed in launching their own business, and I had to prepare myself for the worst scenario Read more>>

Michelle Singh

Investing in myself is the best investment I have ever made on this entrepreneurial journey. Why? Because personal development has become just as important to me as professional development. One of the first things I did when I started my business was hire a coach. I needed help, and I acknowledged that. So many times as educators, we wear many hats and have expertise in copious areas, so we rely on ourselves. Well, this mindset of doing it all is exhausting and unhealthy. Read more>>

Hannah McGinty

The best investment I ever made was to further my education into the wedding filmmaking industry. I went to college and studied film, radio, and broadcast television for 4 years. After college, I worked with a production company in Dallas, TX, and I did other commercial production jobs on the side all while trying to be a wedding filmmaker with the hopes of launching the business someday. I was fresh out of college, Read more>>

Jerrell Brown

The best investments I’ve made have always been into myself! Whether that be time reading a new book, practicing scales on instruments, or spending money on equipment to help spark inspiration! Read more>>

Michelle Collins

I like to share with people that my journey started as an independent business consultant, but that the true business launched after a milestone moment when I realized that I was investing too much time to other people’s needs and goals versus my own. I started the business over 18 years ago as a consultant providing a wide range of creative, strategy and project management services whilst building the skill and core competency, opportunities for my clients. Read more>>

Anduy Goliat

The best investment we can make in life is turning a talent into a source of income. In my case, Art became my best way share my ideas, talent and feelings while I invest and make money. Art is one of those many talents that can be used to grow and advance. Making an initial investment implies not only having some money to start, but spending months and even years to master all the techniques, learning the methods and having a general idea of ​​each aspect to be drawn. Read more>>

Kelly Johnson

I did this job with a Ford F-150 and a 12 foot single axle trailer for the first 5 years. I realized how much easier it would be to sort the items we picked up as we went if I had a box truck to store the items not going to the landfill. I bought my first 16 foot box truck in 2017, and added a double axle 16 foot trailer. It was the best decision I ever made! It cut the amount of time we spent going to the landfill in half, and saved us so much time on sorting at the end of the day. Now I have 4 box trucks that pull 16 foot trailers. Read more>>

Jackie Fernandez

The best investment Ive ever made as a business owner is investing in myself. I know. It sounds kind of corny but it’s the absolute truth and I didn’t even have to think much about my answer; it’s so true and real for me. I had a successful business as an event planner and some would say I was amongst the top in my industry. I had so many amazing events and wonderful clients. I was very busy and in my world that is a good thing or so I though. However….I felt robotic. Read more>>

Ezron Benjamin

The best investment I’ve made is called “Self-Investment.” For many years, I’ve invested my time, and resources into everything with hopes to getting to that level of success I’ve always dreamed off. But, the belief of relying of others to help you deliver your ideas in ways that will be beneficial to everyone involved, can be a very costly experience. Believing in yourself while understanding and visualizing the clear mission are some of the first steps needed in making the best investment decisions. Winning more with less is highly possible. Read more>>

KeeKee Webster

Booking studio time can be very expensive if you want quality work on a consistent basis. It can also stunt the creative flow because most times you’re only allowed to book a certain amount of hours. The best investment I’ve made was to buy my own studio equipment, and set up shop right in my living room. It was a small investment compared to the time and money spent booking sessions at other studios, and has allowed me to create in a comfortable space whenever I want, and how I want. I have been able to have virtual and in person writing sessions with some other songwriters and then turn around and record it right then and there. There’s no time limit, no pressure, no judgment – just me in my own personal space free to create what I like, how I like. Read more>>

Kurtis Bush

My best investment that I made was deciding to turn my attention to healing my inner child. I think as we grow through life in certain environments and encounter the ups and downs of lifes experiences, a lot of time, that inner child, who is very present within the the emotional body and the subconscious mind, gets lost. So when the core of your being is lost, or damaged, or is inhibited, whatever the case my be, it plays a huge role in our adult life and how we respond to everything, Read more>>

Apollo The Salty Doggie

A lot of people ask us how we decided to buy a sailboat. We never owned a boat before and if you can imagine Apollo’s mother is originally from the Czech Republic, so the first time she saw the ocean was until her 20s when she moved to Miami where she met Apollo future dad. He’s the one who bought Apollo in 2019 just before covid pandemic, so when Apollo was little puppy, the dog parks were closed and there was nowhere to go. Read more>>