Going from idea to execution isn’t easy. Part of the difficulty is that often there is no playbook to follow and while we can’t offer a playbook either, we wanted to create a space where aspiring entrepreneurs could read the stories of how some very smart, very thoughtful entrepreneurs form the community got started.

Isabel Moreno

I’ve always had an entrepreneurial spirit with a desire to run my own business. When I was in high school, I thought the business would be in the fashion industry so I went to fashion school and finished with a BA in business. I worked in the fashion industry for about 13 years and as exciting as it was, decided that it wasn’t what I wanted to do after all. Read more>>

Natalie Jambazian

As a licensed marriage and family therapist I wanted to go beyond the scope of just seeing one on clients. Through my personal and professional experiences, I wanted to write a book on narcissistic abuse recovery. I had come across many clients who I recognized went through and are currently struggling to heal from these types of toxic dynamics. Read more>>

Chris Christie

The idea of The Character Mill started over 15 years ago when I was a small business owner (I owned a bicycle shop and coffee bar) on the coast of Maine. While actively involved in the community, specifically with the youth, I knew there was a passion for making a bigger difference. Read more>>

Myca Williamson

Myca Raquel Consulting really began out of the need to survive. Read more>>

Regina Claudia

I believe that the best past of my profession is the ability to transorm environments and consequently people’s leves. When the work is updating and renovation, I always make a point os getting to know the place, spending some time inside it to understand the real vocations and potencial that the space represents. Read more>>

Sarah Skrobarczyk

My first step was to research types of business formations and decide what the new company needed to be. Then I contacted a lawyer and requested to have the new company minted. Once Stardust Entertainment, LLC was born then came learning about websites what one needed to contain what was a good platform, how would we sell tickets and take payments. Lots of research and learning went into our first website. Read more>>

Tiffany Grimes

Books have always been a huge part of my life, and I was in sixth grade when I decided I was going to be an author. Throughout my academic journey (undergrad and grad school), people would send me their manuscripts—my friends, a neighbor who lived a few houses down, my manager at Barnes and Noble, the librarian at my college–and ask for me to take a look. Read more>>

Mikeal Jinae

In 2021, I had an idea to create and launch a lip gloss as I was inspired by the early 2000’s aesthetic. During this time, I was using FENTY’s lipgloss and had just run out. I absolutely loved the texture and the color of Rihanna’s gloss and decided to research how to make lip gloss. Read more>>

Shonda Reynolds Christian

It actually started from a college paper “How to Live a Wonderful” when Professor wrote this needs to be a book. Well, years later while getting my master’s degree, I had to do a pictorial which led me back to the paper and I wrote a book from there. My husband stated the book needed to be a movie which shocked me. We laughed and years later, the book becoming a movie came up again. Read more>>

Jeff Bertrand

For me as an artist it always starts with an idea and a sketch book . I try and make it a daily journey of just putting my ideas on paper . Whether it’s a small sketch or simply some words . When it’s time for me to think about producing a large scale painting I grab my sketch book and I start flipping through to find a good concept for inspiration . Read more>>

Jacqueline Patton

Here’s what I think the key is for taking an idea to execution: just deciding that you’re going to do it. Read more>>

Bobby Cnare

SLOTHH was originally a duo project with myself and our other guitarist, Jake Owens. We had met each other through our old bands in the Triangle area of North Carolina. Both Jake and I happened to be going to App State for school and the second we found that out, we knew wanted to make music together. Read more>>

Nina Brooks

The idea to start was encouraged by my then boyfriend who is now my husband. I lost someone very close to me to cancer and shared my emotions with him in a text. That text sparked an the idea from him that I should write about my journey. I decided to write about it by publishing a book. Read more>>

Lisa “Moose” Kral

From the time that I was given my first camera, I have enjoyed documenting my experiences. With the development of digital cameras and social media, photography became more of a passion and people noticed I had an original style. Comments from many years ago urged me to be a professional photographer and, as I sat at my office job, I joked and replied, “In another life, I would be a photographer.” Read more>>

Mellisa Rasor

I was inspired to jump into photography following the birth of my first daughter in 2011. After seeing images on adorable babies in seasonal setups, I thought to myself “I can do that!”. At first I partnered with a local photographer doing set design and marketing. I’d create the mini sets and advertisements to match that he would use to promote and grow his business while gaining free images of what I thought was the cutest baby in Fort Collins. Read more>>

Brandon Love

When I first went from idea to execution I already had a mental picture of what I wanted to offer. I wanted the product, the sneakers/collectibles, to be showcased like art in a museum. I took inspiration from Sotheby’s Auction House and how they showcase the art. Read more>>

Tracy G. Crump

I started my business because I learned early in life that those with resources have a better opportunity to succeed than those without. Growing up in an under-resourced community presented many life lessons. A significant lesson for me was the value of mentorship. Read more>>

Demetra Jackson

My business first started off as a thought. The more I thought about it, the more I became interested into the Photo Booth industry. I talked about my vision with a friend and he started the research and I executed the plan. We searched the DFW area to see what Photo Booths were popular, what the people were saying, and price points. Read more>>

Jami Bolduc

Once upon a time, nine years ago, I had a dream—a dream that I knew, without a shadow of a doubt, would one day become a reality. In that ethereal realm of slumber, an idea was born, a seed planted by the mysterious workings of my subconscious. When I awoke the next morning, the idea was vivid in my mind, and I wasted no time in diving into research. Read more>>

Linda Edwards

In 2005, I came up with an idea to gather an array of professionals related to health/wellness ,financial literacy, and some other personal and business aspects of life. I also invited some vendors who provided products and services and hosted this event in a three bedroom loft apartment of a close friend. I was excited and nervous at the same time because I wasn’t sure of the turnout, but to my surprise, it was a success. Read more>>

Kristen Carbone

One of the surprising outcomes from my preventative mastectomy ten years ago is that I’m always cold. For the first few years after surgery I simply started wearing more clothes, always having layers with me, and constantly drinking warm beverages. Sometimes when I was working at my desk, in my cold office, I’d wear a hot water bottle under my sweater and occasionally would tuck glove warmers in my bra. Read more>>

Shima Razipour

After years of hoping to invest in Real Estate, I purchased my first home and have utilized it as a business- AIRBNB! It was scary, exciting, and fun at the same time. I always knew I wanted to buy a home, but opportunity seemed limited where I live. I realized my money in the bank did me no good, and I had to find a way to invest when and wherever I could. That is when I decided to look into Lake Havasu, AZ. The funny story is that I bought the house sight unseen- something I never recommend my own clients to ever do. Read more>>

Donna Weathers

I’ve always loved figure painting and came to really love abstracted figure paintings years ago. I knew I could paint something by seeing a model or a photo but how do you make a person’s features disappear? I knew it was possible to do this in photoshop but leaning that seemed too daunting of a task. Read more>>

Christine Lai

In my life, I have many passions within the creative field, and in the back of my mind, I always thought I would travel the world, but that only took the front seat once I became single and started to put myself first. My first trip as a free woman with my friends was magical, and I never realized how much I love to travel. Of course, coordinating everyone’s schedule and traveling to more places is always challenging. One solution was to go solo, which felt like a mission impossible. Read more>>