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

Colin Ferro

I always felt coming out of college that I was going to go into the field of advertising or sales. Little did I know that having my brother and best friend diagnosed with cancer in college that it would change my entire career path. Out of college I got a job working as a agent for Northwestern Mutual, after a few months I realized that job was not for me. I went back to working in a restaurant just as I did all through college, serving, bartending and managing part time. That then took me into operations for the restaurant group in which I worked in the corporate side for 2+ years.  Read more>>

Desiree Wilson

My first job in the industry was at The House of Beauty Queens in Bishop Arts District.My best friend and business colleague Aniyah is the owner of the business and she promised me a job as soon as I received my license.So I studied so hard I remember going to Starbucks and sitting for hours on my laptop to study for my state tests.I passed with flying colors and before you knew it Aniyah was calling with my job offer.She primarily does lashes and her studio at the times housed about 3 other lash techs.Read more>>

Patty Rappa

When I arrived in LA almost 12 years ago, I wanted to work in the beauty and aesthetics industry in some way shape or form. I’d just spent the last decade in the corporate world and I was ready for a new beginning. I figured these women must have the most amazing lives, working with celebrities, looking fabulous themselves! I didn’t know much about beauty but I knew tech so I created a beauty gaming app that would gamify makeup hauls, built in NFTs all kinds of stuff (totally before my time), but all in the name of getting a fast front row seat into this world. Got to hang backstage with A list celebs, designers and influencers. Read more>>

Mahri Relin

Wow, getting this job and experiencing fitness for the first time was quite an experience. I had been dancing internationally in musical theater for many years, and I was ready to settle down in one place. I also wanted to look into moving into another field that still involved movement, so finding dance-fitness was a revelation. Read more>>

Joni Chapman

Structrual Elements helped me begin my practice. As a recent graduate from the DACM program at Pacific College of Oriental Medicine in San Diego, CA and minimal business experience, I was searching for a way to secure my place as a Doctor of Acupuncture in integrated healthcare. I was scared and insecure as a new practitioner. I came across Structural Elements during my search and there was no looking back. I took a jump of faith and moved to Maryland to become a Structural Element practitioner and microfranchisee owner. Read more>>

Jordan Smelley

How I ended up getting my first paid job as a Peer Support Specialist at the Association of Persons Affected by Addiction(APAA for short) is through my Texas Workforce Commission Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor(TWC-VR for short).  The job posting happened to be sent to TWC-VR by APAA’s CEO Joe Powell and my counselor just happened to get that email and called me and I decided to go ahead and apply even though I don’t have any personal lived experience with Substance Use.  Read more>>