We asked some fantastic entrepreneurs and creatives to tell us about their first job in their field. Check out their stories below.

Brady Malone

Here’s the proofread and rewritten version to grab the readers’ attention: From high school athlete to a relentless champion of health and fitness, my journey began with a burning desire to enhance performance on the field. But that was just the beginning. Today, that same fire blazes within me, propelling me to push boundaries and unlock the astounding potential of the human body. I am constantly in awe of what we can achieve, and it’s this unwavering passion that fuels both my own aspirations and those of my clients. Read more>>

Alex Darst

Laying a foundation from the start was my priority as a real estate agent in Greenville, SC. This business is full of people who “try it on for size” and even have early success but the most important thing to stay in business in real estate is consistent lead generation. Read more>>

Jack Solway

In 2017, when I first had the idea of taking photos of cars, it was solely based off the goal of being able to get closer to high end automobiles. Fast forward to 2023, and it’s all I do now. The process was not, and is not easy. I’m never not thinking about when my next shoot will be. Or scrambling to find a last minute client for a shoot that NEEDS to happen. Read more>>

Jazelle Foster

You know, scaling up was nothing short of an adventure. Picture this – we started gathering a dynamic bunch from my creative circle, we were streamlining our workflows, and I was learning how to delegate. Believe me, it wasn’t always smooth sailing. We tripped up, took on too much, and realized that getting bigger means getting ready for it. And talk about strategy changes! Read more>>

Kent Jolley

I work with folks with developmental disabilities and my first experience in the field was when my father brought home some of the clients he worked with for lunch. He was a teacher at a residential home and would often take his students home or off campus for activities. I remember being fearful at first. I was very young, but then I also remember being intrigued by his students and it became my future career. Read more>>

Alyssa Capps

Well in 2020 during covid I got bored. So, I decided to make some TikTok’s. About 3 months later my dancing videos started taking off. In 2 and half years I now have1.5 million followers on TikTok. 180k on Instagram. 60k on Facebook. I don’t have one niche as most people do, and I think that has been the key to my success. What started with just dancing, I now get paid to make content for music artists. Read more>>

Diana Morrison

This is a simple story for me. Started knocking on doors as a one woman show, When it was time for employee additions in the early 90’s, I recrited and hired military spouses who helped me to grow my business all over the world. Read more>>

Luke and Samantha Kuhn

Scaling our business happened over several years of hard work, hundreds of “yes” responses to opportunities, long nights writing and editing footage, and an extra dose of perseverance. We knew we had stories to tell about our own lives, experiences, and ways to explore around you, but we also knew there were so many exceptional stories out in the world that others needed to hear, too. Read more>>

Geraldine Convento

As a 4 year old girl, I declared that one day I would have my own business. That dream was forgotten through my adolescence and as an adult my business happened by accident. I did many things before I landed where I am today. I owned an online vinyl record store, graphic design outsourcing firm, film production company, a restaurant and did a bunch of freelance odd jobs. Read more>>

Andrea Richardson

As a full spectrum doula, I actually started off supporting birthing parents. At the time I started supporting my first pregnant parent, I was working full time as an early childhood educator at a center here late 2019.. I had spoken with the director of the center & was offering my birth doula services soon after my training. Read more>>

Jeri Ford Kayla Loschky

Kayla and Jeri both got their first pediatric nursing job right out of college (which is not always that easy)! Many new graduate nurses want to go into pediatrics, and there are a much smaller amount of jobs available. Both of them have a persistent personality which definitely helped land the job. Read more>>

Amanda Spence

I owned a non-toxic house cleaning company 10 years ago. It was successful. I had two employees and it was growing. One day I was given an opportunity to win a scholarship to massage therapy school. In all honesty, I didn’t know if I would even like it, but I thought I’d love to do something other than cleaning. I entered my essay on a Thursday and received a call on Friday that I was accepted and school started that very Monday. Read more>>

Andrea Amaral

It’s kind of weird how I got my first and only job in the industry so far. Around 10 years ago I was taking different classes in Mt.sac including “english as a second language” there I met Mahelia, my now friend, coworker and teacher! At that time I was a bit confused about which path I wanted to take, I had always liked the beauty industry but I was not sure which branch to lean towards, Read more>>

Kasey Wester

Ksea & Co. began back in 2013 and grew into something so much bigger gradually over the last 2-3 years. It all started out with embroidered monogram tees, which then led to vinyl stickers, and now strictly laser made goods. I have always had a huge love for art and building things so my business has evolved into exactly what it is today. Read more>>

Duquesa D Dean

We have more power than we give ourselves credit for. In many instances, we give our power up because we worry about our career progression, our families, and even our friends. We struggle with the “shoulds” of society, peers, and friends and put our dreams on the back burner. Read more>>

Carly Harvey

In my case my business is my career as a blues and jazz vocalist. I am an independent artist with no label or manager supporting or backing me. As it turns out I’m in the middle of a glow up and growing brighter by the day! It feels so surreal and at the same time like the seeds I’ve planted over the years are finally bearing fruit. Read more>>

CE’ERICA ALLEN

When I reflect on the growth and scaling up of my business, I realize that it was far from an overnight success. It required years of dedication, perseverance, and learning from both successes and mistakes. The scaling up journey was filled with various challenges and pivotal moments that shaped the trajectory of my business. Read more>>

Jesse Schroeder

Honestly, things started to scale up for me once I began to realize I needed to start working with a gaffer. Having not gone to film school, it took me a bit longer to realize I needed to collaborate with other creatives in order to improve the quality of my work. The first step of that involved working with someone who’s craft is dedicated to film lighting. This slowly evolved into working with bigger and bigger teams which only improved the quality of my work. Read more>>

Crystal Sanford, M.Ed., M.A. CCC-SLP

I am honored to support fellow autism and neurodiverse families through the special education process at schools called an “IEP”. We have grown to have several employees, including our awesome advocates, community liaison, and an administrative assistant. However, in the beginning it was just me…wearing all of the hats. Read more>>

Yolander Rivers

My scaling up, the growth of YoSoul Yoga has been by the familiar process of “who you know” accompanied with the use of social media and networking. Specifically, my business started by teaching class at my church for free. One of the yogis had a high school classmate who was opening her own fitness studio. Read more>>

Vernisa Washington

In today’s world we see different influencers and businesses share the positive moments about their story and not much about the reality of what shaped the journey. SpeakUpJV Podcast/Media has definitely had plenty of twists and turns that brought it to where it is today. This podcast was originally created by my best friend and I. Read more>>

Nicole Farran

I got into the aesthetics market in 2008 while working in physical medicine and rehabilitation. At the time, I was utilizing neurotoxins, such as Botox, for neuromuscular conditions. Treatment of neuromuscular conditions required advanced understanding of muscle movement. Understanding of muscle movement and anatomy, as well as artistic creativity, are required for using neurotoxins for aesthetic procedures. Read more>>