A dad can’t find a bakery to make a birthday cake that can accommodate his daughter’s allergy-related needs. Two freelancers realize they need a way to organize all of their client contracts and can’t find software that adequately handles their use case. Necessity is often hailed as the mother of innovation – but not all ideas come from necessity. Unfortunately, in our experience, often media coverage of the ideas that powered amazing businesses and projects often stops at a very superficial level. The founders noticed a need and boom – idea. Often the ideation process has a much longer, more complex story and so we’ve asked some entrepreneurs and creatives we admire to go into detail about their ideation stories.
Renee’ Hood
How I came up with the idea of my business will be a two part story. One related to my doula services and the other of my products. First, we will start with the doula services. I had been in the coporate world for over twenty years and I was getting tired and frustrated with it. I’m not sure if it was the people or the job itself but I was ready to do something else. One day I was on medical leave and watching In the Heat of the Night (lol), and out of the blue I thought I heard the word doula. Now I’m pretty sure it wasn’t Chief Gillispie that said it, but I decided to google it. Goggle told me a doula is a professionally trained childbirth assistant who sees the mother during pregnancy, labor, and after birth to provide emotional, physical, and informational support. Wow I thought, I was already doing this for friends and family but didn’t know that’s what I was doing. I began to do some research and I found that it intrigued me. The more excited I got in my research the more alarmed I became at the same time. That woman that look like me were dying at an alarming rate unnecessarily. This fueled me to figure out what I could do to try and make a difference one person at a time. I quickly came to realize that this was something that God had placed on me and I had to see it through. My passion for people and my desire to want to help others has allowed this to be what I do fulltime for almost 4 years now. Read more>>
Kim Goff Meren Dehaze
We came from different parts of the hospitality industry in wine country, California but had a mutual contact who was running a successful business of her own. Kim’s background was in winery events where guests were always asking her to help expand their visit in wine country beyond the winery Kim worked. Meren was a local wedding planner and all her clients would ask for recommendations or help planning ancillary events or activities outside the wedding day. One day in 2016, we both separately, but simultaneously came to our mutual contact with an idea, the idea of offering personalized concierge services in wine country. Here the idea of K Concierge (a branch of the then, The K Group) was born. Through some trials and tribulations with the team, in the end we branched off into The K Group and now Elevated Experiences, Travel Planning & Concierge. Read more>>
Noah Bernstein
I may have not known it from the beginning, but my mission was to make the world a better place, one garden at a time.. it began in graduate school where I studied through a wide lens, the comprehensive process behind great cities and regional plans. I was fascinated by the complex web of connections between built, natural, social, and economic systems. Seeing the world through a design eye, I gravitated toward a career path in architecture. Read more>>
Kori Jennings
My entire life I thought I was going to be a performer. When I was accepted to college (Baldwin Wallace University – Conservatory) I was told I needed to fully focus on opera so that’s what I did. I am an over and when they asked me to focus, I did! I gave up my love of musical theatre and pop music and drank the opera punch. Decades of dedicating myself to my craft, to perfection, to foreign languages, to excellence! In 2008 I started my doctoral work at Louisiana State University. On top of my classes, lessons, and performing opportunities I was also a graduate assistant which meant I taught diction classes and private lessons. That helped me so much financially, but going to school is expensive and I needed another job so I started teaching private voice lessons a few night’s a week to young people aged 11 – 18 at a local performing arts academy. I will be forever grateful for that job. As I was learning more about vocal technique I had to change my language, really formed my own language, to make it accessible to younger singers. The bonus was that I was immersed again in music that I love, but had denied myself for so long. I started working on my own voice to learn how to belt (I hate that term, but everyone knows it) and to be a healthy singer with contemporary music style demands. This job made my brain work in new ways and it was that job that made me realize I really loved being a teacher. When my coursework was over and I was writing my dissertation I became adjunct faculty at a university a few states away. I would get up at the crack of dawn one day a week, drive 3 hours, teach 8-10 lessons and a studio class and then return home the same day. I learned so many wonderful and not so wonderful things about the world of academia. That job helped me realize university life wasn’t my path. I am not made for that world. I want to focus on what I love…teaching! Teaching is what I was meant to do! I do love performing, but teaching makes me feel alive in a way I’ve never felt before. So now I had to figure out what was right for me! I knew I wanted to be in New York because it was always a dream of mine and that’s where the action was. I knew I could find students with various styles and I could apply all of my education and really help contemporary singers make the sounds audiences craved, but ensuring my singers were healthy and could sing 8 shows a week. Read more>>
Steffini Hardaway
After a successful round of Red Velvet cookies at a beauty shop, we decided to roll out the baking business along with the jewelry business. With returning customers during this event and rave reviews, we decided to make it official and launch Minnie’s Sweets and Treats!! Read more>>
Diana Verduzco
Seven years ago – I was laying on my yoga mat at Core Power, winding down from an intense Sculpt class and fully sinking into my savasana. All of a sudden, I could hear a voice that was not my own…speaking to me pretty quickly. The first words were “You will be The Divine Designer. You will blend spirituality into your interior design business.” I realized this message was coming through from God/ Source/ whatever you want to call it, and that I needed to act fast to write it all down. I rolled up my yoga mat as quietly as I could, so as to not disturb the rest of the class, and rushed to the locker room. I sat on a bench with my phone and typed for AN HOUR into my Notes app…a channeled message from the literal Universe. When the “automatic writing” download felt concluded, I grabbed all my stuff and walked to my car – kind of in a state of shock. I remember sitting in my car for maybe another half hour, just thinking about the ideas I had been given…how right it all felt…and how I instantly knew it was going to change my life. Read more>>
Joel Lockridge
BourbonPens.com was created through an idea for recycling, a love for fine bourbon, adoration of woods with a story, and a love for woodworking. Read more>>
Dalia Vanessa Michaux
Back in the Myspace days, I guess you can say I was the designated person within my family and friend group for creating the cool layouts, and even taking their pictures. To think that we were coding and didn’t even know it is wild. I also enjoyed coordinating the group pics, and profile pic poses. This is where my love for photography and social media was born. Read more>>
Michelle Price
Before I became an audiobook narrator, I worked in the field of suicide prevention. Then, right before Christmas in 2020, I was let go from my position. This was the day after I had confided in my boss that I was having thoughts of suicide myself. To say I was absolutely devastated is an understatement. 2020 had already been a tough year. I was separated from my sons father, I was planning a large event for my job, and as March rolled around, I was hit with working from home due to Covid-19, my dad passing away on March 20th, and my state locking down officially days after that. So losing my job right before Christmas in that same year was unfathomable. Read more>>
Simon and Stephanie Simon
The Simon´s House started during the year of 2006, when I began to ask The Lord questions about doing the things that I loved—which was helping those who were less fortunate. I am a man who has a heart for people, and I realized that this was part of God’s purpose for me. I began praying and seeking The Lord for answers. And through seeking, trusting, fasting and praying and having faith in God The Simon´s House was born. God was giving me everything I needed and one of them was my wife Stephanie who has played a major role in helping The Simon’s House unfold. We are a power couple doing the work of The Lord. God was and still is opening doors no man can close and closing doors no man can open. We was blessed to receive our 501C3 and from there we started just going out feeding the homeless and helping people with some of their needs and doing it outer pocket. Moving from here to having our own Simon’s House property So we celebrated a groundbreaking ceremony and during the process of building we received a phone call to take over another food Pantry and at the moment we have 5 food pantries. The Simon’s House is not just about our food pantries. We also provide Mentorship, coaching, support, and encouragement. And we work with less fortunate people: homeless, poor and needy, veterans, single parents, and children to help instill change. For those individuals just released from prison we provide mentorship to help ensure a long-term successful re-entry into society.. Read more>>
Ashley Dietze
I got my first camera around my sophomore-junior year of high school back in 2015/16 and I would just take photos of everything! My senior year, I had a friend who wasn’t really able to afford to have senior pictures done because of how expensive they could be, so I offered to take them for free. I had so much fun working with her and making sure that she felt comfortable and beautiful during the session. When my friend got her pictures back, she was so excited and loved feeling beautiful in them. That really sparked my mission of trying to branch out and actively work on this business to try and make sure that every single client that I have the privilege of working with, leaves their session feeling confident and have the ability to just enjoy the moment instead of stressing out and picking out every single flaw. I may not be the most popular photographer or the make the most money from it, but knowing that I have been able to impact as many people as I have in that way and allow people who may not be able to afford too much but still want those forever memories is how I consider myself a successful photographer/business owner. Read more>>
Jessy Fernandez
In 2000 to 2004 we used to do video gaming parties with playing Halo. I would set them up for our friends and they would get very big. Super fun all day parties! After college I thought it would be fun to setup video gaming parties as a business. In 2010 I started the business. It wasn’t that successful. Not enough to live off of but would make some money. I went to North Dakota to make more money from 2013 to 2017. I paid off my Credit card debts and college loans. I moved back to Florida but didn’t have that much money to my name. I continued my business and tried to do photo booths but didn’t have a lot of success. Then after 5 months of being back and somewhat unsure of what I should do for work, someone asked to rent a jumbo Connect 4 which I didn’t have. I decided to rent it and that’s when things changed. I decided to rent many different kinds of games. Overnight in October my business became a major success. We went from 5 bookings a month to 25 to 30. Since then I’ve invented of 100 different services. We employ 1 full time 2 part time. 15 of 1099s. 6 vans, we have a warehouse in Fort Lauderdale and Orlando. Service all of central Florida. Our goal is to get to Atlanta now for our expansion plans. I’d like to keep expanding though growing is tough but we are constantly coming up with new ideas and new services. Read more>>
Sharon SANTONI
This is a tale of reinvention. From a stay-at-home mum with zero training in business to newby blogger and now to entrepreneur with a team of 12. Be careful what you wish for! Read more>>
Candace Oglesby
During the COVID-19 pandemic, my journey took an unexpected turn, leading me to establish Jurnee Mental Health Consulting, LLC. At that point, I had spent approximately two years working in a group private practice, navigating the complexities of providing therapy during a time when the world was grappling with unprecedented challenges and social unrest was happening. Read more>>
Maegan Kabel
When I am being fully honest, Gumball Revue never felt like a choice. I tried working a non-creative job and doing creative endeavors on the side. The idea of it left me feeling trapped and the reality proved to be even more confining. I considered working for creative companies, but I longed for the autonomy to create the art that accurately represented who I am while allowing me to connect with those around me. So, giving entrepreneurship a swing was the only option. Read more>>
Katie Jo Cassidy-Dupree
I have always had a love for Disneyland and for friends and family I was the unoffical guide before going to the parks and while in the parks. I was nannying for a family when they asked me to join them at Disneyland as an extra pair of hands with the kiddos. The mom quickly realized how much knowledge I had that was helpful, knowing where the bathrooms are, what the parade route is, where the characters are… and after a few short hours she said, “Why isn’t this your job? Every family needs someone like you to help navigate the parks.” I originally laughed it off because who has ever heard of such a job? But with a little nudge from other family friends I started exploring the idea of a nanny/tour guide for hire. With an immense knowledge of Disneyland and a degree in Early Childhood Education, I knew this was an awesome way to blend my love of Disney and working with children. On a sleep deprived flight home from Minnesota the name, The Fairy Guide Mother came to me. I checked Google immediately: no Fairy Guide Mother dot com, no social media presence and I thought “Well ,the name is too cute to pass up, I have to do it now.” Read more>>
Olivia Moore
It all started as a creative outlet while on bedrwst with my now 14 year old daughter . Once I started wearing my earrings , people were offering to buy them out of my ear . It was at that point I thought it would be pretty cool to see where starting a business would take me . Read more>>
Mary Rachich
I’ve always been fascinated by small business and from a young age I wanted in. During grade school I found an ad in the back of a magazine and ordered “inventory at no charge!” My mother was perplexed when a giant box of greeting cards arrived. I saw the box and couldn’t wait to get started! Alas, my mom promptly sent it back. But I never stopped trying to run small businesses. Through the years I’ve sold (among other things) Avon, Mary Kay, my handcrafted jewelry and a gardening service. All while working full time for someone else. Read more>>
Kimberly Steinberg
In the midst of my tenure in beauty manufacturing, I identified a gap in the path of aspiring brand founders. This realization gave rise to KSVP Strategic, a comprehensive consulting solution addressing every facet of brand launch. Acknowledging the inefficiencies of outsourcing, we streamlined the timeline, enabling founders to launch their brand concurrently with production. Observing numerous founders outsourcing vital tasks such as trademark filing, logo/branding, website development, and the creation of social and marketing assets to various contractors, a eureka moment struck. Why not establish a centralized hub where the support they sought could consolidate every essential facet under one roof? When a client from the manufacturing corporation called me to receive additional support outside of the production world, I knew I needed to start this company. Read more>>
Ebonee K. Donald
In December of 2022 I was traveling with my sister to Myrtle Beach from Columbia, South Carolina. This was about a 3.5 hour road trip for us. This drive was a scenic route with colorful trees, fields, and several hawks that we felt followed us the entire drive. It felt like we were right at home driving during a beautiful Fall sunny day in Michigan. While driving I started to think and talk about how I officially started to evolve and grow to see my true purpose on this Earth. I spoke with my sister about how I was taking baby steps to show who I really am and showing up on social media and in person. I never thought of myself as being a shy or quiet person, but when it came down to stepping in front of a crowd or a new group of people I tend to hide behind the loudest person and stay in the background. I started to have visions of myself traveling to lead and teach groups and speaking on stages. Those visions didn’t match who I was deep on the inside. I was excited for these visions that were given by God. Traveling has always been my passion and love language. Being able to add leadership, teaching, and speaking all while traveling is a bonus. Read more>>
Eric Vincent
I started Black Ink Creative Partners because I was always a gig worker, a freelancer. I couldn’t survive in a cubicle or answer to HR. It also didn’t help that I was a HS drop out and had a criminal record, things frowned upon in the professional world at the time. Read more>>
Dan Sawyer
I have a separate career that has me traveling all across the United States. I’ve been to every major city and more small towns in between than I can count. One of the benefits of traveling for work is being able to eat the local foods and find the hidden spots off the beaten path. My favorites tend to be small, hole-in-the-wall, typically family run places that have a simple menu that is done right like the cheesesteaks and pork roast sandwiches in Philly, Chicago Italian beef or deep dish pizza, pastrami in Detroit or crab claws in Key West. Read more>>
Annastasia Kay
A lot of things came out of the recent Covid 19 pandemic, but for me it was my business mindset and creativity. In 2020 there was nothing to do except sit at home and be alone with your thoughts, and as a result of this my sister and i came up with the idea to start our own business. Some might think this was the route i planned for but i promise you it is not. When we first organized we planned to create a jewelry business, we did our research, shortlisted and contacted vendors and finalized our plans. However God had different plans for us, with my sisters hair business becoming more demanding i was pushed to pursue this endeavor mainly on my own with her occasional input. At that time i was now becoming heavily interested in the beauty industry and therefore sprung the idea to create my own lip glosses, different colors, scents and tubes as a way of showcasing my creativity while doing something i loved. Personally i am someone who cant keep quiet, i must be doing something with my hands at every point in the day in order to avoid misery, this was a great trait for me to have as i began making scrunchies and later bonnets as a way of following the market and expanding my already established business. From the looks of it one would think this was an easy process but i was also a full time student now battling CXC examinations which were stress already in themselves. The formation of my business may have made me occasionally stressed but i would not trade this experience for the world. At this time everyone was now starting to experiment with the lip gloss concept therefore my idea was no longer unique but what set me apart from others was my presentation, well thought out combinations and my ability to engage with my followers to remind them that there is a real person behind the page and introduce myself and interact with them as a way of building lifelong connections and loyalty. Read more>>
Alma Cita
It all began when I gave birth to my son in 2017 and decided to leave my 9-5 job in the real estate business to become a full-time mother. In my experience as a mother of two, I have suffered severely from PPD (postpartum depression). At the time, I felt lost and depressed. After being stuck in a rut for a while, I decided that I needed to be creative and busy… so that I could keep myself busy and mentally stimulated. In this case, it was makeup and business. There’s always been a part of me that was drawn to the beauty industry and business, but as with everyone else, obstacles seem to come up from time to time. In the end, I never really got around to doing it. I told myself let’s just give it a try for fun and see where it takes me. Read more>>
Sarah Al Ramahi
I have always loved anything and everything related to fashion. It’s such a strong way to communicate without saying a word. I vividly remember when I made the decision that one day I would have my own fashion brand. I was ten years old and I was shopping with my mom at Walmart. At the time, Mary Kate & Ashley were the biggest hit and they had their pictures plastered everywhere with their own line at Walmart. They were only 14 so I could easily relate. All I imagined was my picture and my designs. And it just became a long time goal since then. Life got in the way and I majored in graphic design but I was always going above and beyond with my outfits (I look back now and laugh but they were cute at the moment 😂.) After I graduated I didn’t work with my degree and I decided I wanted to pursue my fashion dream. But then I got married and I caught up in that, and then my husband and family pushed me to start a few months into my marriage. I flew out to California and picked out my fabrics and found my manufacturer in Dallas. I wanted to make sure to stay local that was a big deal to me, I wanted to make sure my brand was ethical in every way possible and keeping an eye on things would ensure that. As I was about to start .. I got my pregnant and slept for 9 months😅. Then started raising a baby and got caught up in motherhood. Just as I was about to pick up again.. baby number 2 makes an appearance and there goes another 9 months. My brand was on hold for a total of 3 years. After I had my little boy I decided enough was enough and it was now or never. I called my manufacturer, set up a time to drop off my fabrics and never looked back. My dream was finally coming true. Here we are now, 8 months in and two collections later. It’s everything I ever dreamed of. Powerful , bold but delicate and dainty. Read more>>
Amanda Tankel
I started cocoatemyshoes initially as a hobby and an outlet during the pandemic chaos. I had been diagnosed with one of NYC’s first cases of COVID and after relocating to Los Angeles to be with my then-boyfriend, my mental health did a nosedive. At the time I was dealing with side effects from having Covid while also feeling completely lost and unsure of what I wanted to do in my life. After my relationship ended, I started making jewelry to distract myself from what felt like my world was crashing down around me. For the first time, I was doing something I truly enjoyed doing and it felt like it could be something bigger than just a hobby. A few months later I made a necklace for Billie Eilish and when she posted it on her IG, I knew that I was right. Read more>>
TOM DAVIS
I am a singer/songwriter and have been since I was about 12-years old. Getting up on that stage for the first time was a bit intimidating, but after that it felt like that was the place I was supposed to be. Making on doing this is quite a different story. After playing some smaller venues, I got interested in playing the larger places like theatre stages and casinos. It fell into place with a lot of ambition and a little luck. I was selected as an artist on the 66 Kix Tour in 2023 and played a few nice venues and some grand old theater stages with nice crowds. I later joined up with Jeff Tatum and Palomino Moon along with Becky Sparkman. We have been playing fairs, festivals and casinos ever since. Read more>>
Cheryl RICHARDSON
I come from a family who loves to cook, bake, and gather around a great meal.
It didn’t matter if we were at our Babcia’s, Ciocia’s, or at home…food always brought everyone together… lots of laughter and catching up… just being together with those you love the most… Read more>>
Brittney Powell
I have always had the drive to hustle. I always had a lifestyle in my mind as a young girl. I remember being 9 years old inventing dishes to cook and making new inventive place settings. So, i always had this creative mind to want to create something. I opened this small restaurant and that didn’t work out so i prayed and asked God what to do next and i dreamed of clothes and that’s how Kay Couture came about. Read more>>
Pake McNally
I was playing around making found object metal artwork, doing decorative blacksmithing and training Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, when one of my friends asked me to make him a “workout mace”. I’d never heard of such a thing and quickly forgot about it and moved on with other projects. Read more>>
Devra Jacobs
The whole concept of writing this book was seeing a need to create a functional program that would provide a way for people to make a less stressful move. Read more>>
Deb Porter
As I grabbed the next towel, my mind went to the chapter on imagination in the book I was reading. I thought, “If I can imagine myself doing anything, what is it I want to do?” And the thought came into my mind, “What if I LISTEN.” It was so strong. I get chills again now as I tell you about it. Read more>>