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.

LaToya Nelson

Growing up, I always knew that I wanted to become the owner of a business or organization. I have a passion for providing resources, assistance, and creating unique things. Read more>>

Robert Leopard

I have always been in management, first as an officer in the United States Marine Corps in the early 90s, and later in my civilian career in the sales and customer service industry. Read more>>

Alexia Hill

After attending a handful of fashion shows as media, and even working behind the scenes for many of them, I realized that the production can truly make or break the experience. Read more>>

Brooke Bobincheck

Interestingly enough, the idea to become an aviation analyst, travel reviewer and subsequent agent did not occur to me until after my marriage was over. I started watching aviation YouTube videos as a waybto distract myself. Read more>>

Robbie J. Atkinson

Honestly, everything started off as a dream. I remember waking up some mornings and calling my Dad. I’d describe to him literal dreams that I’d had that played out like episodes of movies. Read more>>

La’Asia Stith

The journey of starting IAM ART LLC’s Creative Panda Marketing is one filled with determination, creativity, and strategic planning. Here’s how it unfolded: Read more>>

Christian Warren FREED

It all started for me back in the late 70s when I was still little. My dad took me to see the Original Star Wars and then the animated Lord of the Rings movie. Read more>>

Dr. Tyana Velazquez-Smith

I completed my Ph.D in 2023 and I knew that while I love teaching pre-service educators how to implement Read more>>

Caleb Jakes

The journey to creating “Joyionaire Enterprises LLC” began in the most unexpected way—during my freshman year of college. At the time, I was at my heaviest, weighing over 300 pounds. Read more>>

Jamie Jones

Years ago I had a deviation on what I thought my path in life was going to be. In this uncomfortable space, I signed up for an art class on a whim and was hooked. Read more>>

Amari Morrison

In 2020, I decided to take a leap of faith. I have always wanted to write stories but I felt as though I had another calling. It was during my sophomore year in college. Read more>>

Jerry Roberts

At first I did not think about being a business owner, until one day my friend kept bringing up the idea of being a business owner and to use my multi-talent and gifts toward starting my own my own business Read more>>

Amanda Beggs

In 2023, at the age of 42, I embarked on a journey that had been quietly brewing within me for years. My business, Lavish by Amanda, is the culmination of my passions for makeup artistry, fashion, and painting—a journey that only began to take shape after years of professional exploration and personal discovery. Read more>>

Brittany Schiavone

In 2014 when Brittany Schiavone, who just happens to have Down syndrome, was 27 years old, she saw a video of people helping children with Down syndrome. Read more>>

Karly Aldrich

In 2018, my husband and I purchased our first home. I knew I wanted a garden, and that is why we chose this house because of the large yard. Read more>>

Julie Lloyd

As with most business ideas, Sissy’s Sensational Succulents was not one that just popped into my head one day nor did I need to figure out all the steps on how to make it a reality. Read more>>

Ashley Costello

It all began with a deep-seated passion for both writing and illustrating. As someone who cherished books and loved to create visual stories, the idea of merging these passions into a business venture was always at the back of my mind. Read more>>

Johanna Hun

A lot of people who are wanting to start a business are thinking to themselves, what can I do to make a lot of money. I was a little different. Read more>>

Spencena Dalmas

This is such a hard thing to answer because I’m doing so much. People told me to focus on one business at a time. But I actually started two at one time. Read more>>

Billie Best

I knew I wanted to be a writer when I was a child. All my life I wrote poems, journal entries, essays and short stories, but I kept them to myself because they were never my first priority. Read more>>

Charli Lindley-Hamlin

Starting was sort of organic; I wasn’t actually intending on becoming a little business when I created my Instagram account @wildflower.wares.made (formerly @wildflowerwaresmade) in January of 2018. Read more>>

Sarai Smith

Journey back to 2021 when I created this business based solely on my interest in sharing my hobby with others. I created hair bows to replace the never-ending routine of always having to purchase some for my daughter. Read more>>

Nisprih Mohan-Ram

Entrepreneurship is fun. No matter how I started, that’s the reason I stick with it. I chase the fun and I follow it wherever it takes me, spreadsheets and to-do lists in tow. Read more>>

Ashante and Brittany Wright and Johnson

Our journey began in 2020 when we began working on the same team in a small department at a juvenile court, right in the midst of the pandemic. Read more>>

Jennifer Glasgow

For all of her life, our Founder, Jenny Glasgow, has been smitten with animals of all kinds…the old ones, young ones, skinny ones, and, yep, you bet, the chubby ones. Read more>>

Alfred “Al” Fernandez

I get asked a lot how I came up with the funhouse version of bubble parties! Originally, I would rent small bubble machines through my inflatable business, “Al’s Funhouses.” Read more>>

Temperance Stone

I can remember sitting on the roof top of this fancy New York building posing for this elite photographer, daydreaming to ignore how cold I was. Read more>>

Don Schmincke

Was MIT planetary physics major. Automated the Harvard/MIT biomedical lab. Became fascinated with humans. Did graduate work at Johns Hopkins, and went on faculty with the MBA program. Read more>>

Privilege Johnson

I am a Beauty Enthusiast, Brand strategist, Makeup Artist, and A Holistic Advocate. I’ve been working in the Beauty industry for several years, I’ve done makeup for Movies, Tv shows, Funeral homes and more. Read more>>

Elizabeth Bernheisel

I started out selling my paintings to family, friends and friends of friends, which was wonderful and I am so grateful for their support. The first large abstract painting I sold was to an old friend from college, one of my sorority sisters, who saw the painting on social media. Read more>>

Breann Shook

Meet Breann Shook We recently connected with Breann Shook Owner/Founder of Grandma Lucy’s Pet Food to discuss the process of “ Going from Idea to Execution”. Read more>>

Carolyn Campbell

It took me years to get that first client, so I feel the backstory is important as to how I arrived at that point. After five-and-a-half years as the first Public Relations and Special Events Director of the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, DC, one of my mentors, PR mogul extraordinaire Henry C. Rogers (of LA’s Rogers &  Read more>>