Everyday we meet business owners, professionals, artists and creatives. Photographers, florists, realtors and more. They might come from different backgrounds, work in different industries, have varying personalities, and have vastly different income and educational profiles, but the one thing we’ve seen over and over again is that most people have a unique and special reason for why they do what they do. From a realtor helping families afford the first home he always wished for as a kid to a photographer using her skills to give a voice and face to victims who feel voiceless, we have been blown away by what happens when you just ask people a simple question – why do you do what you do?

Trinae Lashley

I was working as the Regional Director or Operations & I covered 2 states. Great job! I had promoted my best friend to Operations Manager, which was her dream job. We were a great team. Then Covid hit. She got Covid and was not doing well. I sat outside the glass door and she was then able to text. She said, “ I love you so much. Go Be Beautiful!” She passed away the next day. After her, I lost 3 other co-workers to Covid. Read more>>

Angelle Morris

Our mission is to inspire others to dream through style. When Noella Grace started the purpose was to sell affordable accessories for women. Now we’re on a mission to sell affordable accessories to men, women, and kids! We want every customer to look good but we don’t want them to break the bank either. Read more>>

Sathya Achia

I’m an author of diverse stories of joy and adventure for young adult, middle grade, and picture book audiences. Storytelling has been a part of who I am from the beginning. Between the South Asian folklore my grandparents shared with me and my highly active imagination, I knew at an early age that I wanted to create my own stories. Read more>>

Ashton Angelle

The story behind my mission as a recording artist is to bring back elements and sounds of the past decades that the radio has seemed to lose over the years. My dad is the age of most of my peers grandparents, so I grew up on 50s, 60s, and 70s music being played regularly. It was funny, because I thought that was what everyone my age listened to. Read more>>

Sabrina Wiggins

Growing up as a woman of color in a small, underserved community, I have seen first-hand the lack of resources and opportunities available to the youth. As an adult, I remain heartbroken by this reality, and am driven to make a change. My mission is to ensure that all children, especially children of color in underrepresented communities, have access to diverse books that accurately reflect their experiences and backgrounds. Read more>>

Tameiya Love

Growing up I was always ambitious and thought big . My mission is to open my very own full service Beauty Bar for men and women . I had everything I needed growing up but our parents were still figuring things out and there was nothing we as kids had something to look forward too or get is started on a path . My mother took cosmetology and when I was forced to start doing my own hair, I became very interested in the beauty industry . Read more>>

Drip Kultur

My mission was to provide a service that’s suitable for up and coming entertainers with budgets small and large. To provide customers with high end fashion at a decent cost. To provide a way for clients and entertainers to purchase jewelry that won’t break the bank and for them to have that “celebrity feeling”. Read more>>

Drew Tye Ruby-Howe

blending hands-on application with thick, fresh acrylic, drew tye ruby-howe creates bold, textural abstract pieces that take on a palpable intensity and life of their own. Read more>>

Sellecca Ballenger Sallis

Jerk Italy is a family business. I’m the CEO( Sellecca) Justin is the Chef and our mom is the CFO. In 2020 we lost our brother Daniel to a tragic accident. He attempted to save his sister Debbie. Unfortunately he was unsuccessful and they both passed away. Months after the tragic accident my brother and I did some soul searching about our purpose in life. Read more>>

Pedro O. Perez

Like many, the dream to come to the US was the only thing I had to start with. So, I started it by getting here. I joke about how my background is Italian because my first job was washing dishes at a local Italian restaurant. I never had dreams to come and open my own restaurant, but I found my way into the kitchen and my pathway changed. Read more>>

Roxana Cordero

The Add-Ons Box is not just an accessory box, our mission is to connect, empower and motivate every woman who receives our box. Accessories are part of our brand, but our identity and value will always have as a mission, to lead each BoxyGirl, as we affectionately call our clients, to become their best version. Read more>>

Michelle Thames

My mission is to help creative entrepreneurs make money doing what they love. I was fired from my healthcare job in 2016 and decided to go full force with my creative business. I’ve since made multiple figures from organic social media. Read more>>

Glen Burton

Our company mission is to help individuals and teams be the best that they can be to achieve mission success. What does that mean? Well, it’s about winning, surviving, growing, and always moving forward to achieve your goals rather than being in a comfort zone. Read more>>

Stacey Boyd

During 2021 my Mum was suddenly diagnosed with breast cancer, resulting in a mastectomy, chemotherapy and radiotherapy – as this was during the time when Covid was still rife, my Mum was not given much support and myself and my Dad were her primary carers – it was really hard to see her battle through not only the physical and mental demands of the cancer and treatments, but her appearance also greatly suffered. Read more>>

Cherelle Yarbrough Amari Yarbrough

As the digital age continues to dominate our children’s experiences, searching the internet becomes the main source for information and answers to questions. If you Google the top female superheroes of all time, you will return a list of amazing and powerful female superheroes, however, only one may be of color. Read more>>

Yolanda Graves

So in 2013, while I was in my business entrepreneurship class, I started doodling while taking notes and the original logo was made. A cloud with the letters ATC inside and a halo above the cloud. Absolutely no idea what made me draw that, I now know that was a download. Fast forward a few years later 2016 or 2017, I was cleaning out my room and getting rid of old textbooks, notebooks, etc. from school and somehow I found that doodle and took a picture on my phone. Read more>>

Season Davis

Personally my mission is to build. Build business, build future entrepreneurs, build my community, build my son, building is my mission. Helping people see that anything is truly possible no matter where you come from, what you have or have not been given. By building and helping others I achieve my goals. I achieve those goals through people. As we know and it has been said, “it takes a village”. Read more>>

Nicole Turner

An internal and external journey Read more>>

Alexxis Hamilton

My mission is to elevate the mental state of people that strive for a better self inside and out. Bringing some joy, peace and pure relaxation into others spaces with elegant and nostalgic scents. Through this, I only hope to contribute to the flourishing community of entrepreneur in the Detroit area. Working with others to grow the community by recycling the money through small businesses & events too support each other. Read more>>

Ben Gilmour

As a young boy I was always captivated by the “magic” of cinema. Having experienced trauma at a young age, it was often my escape; a time when my mind would leave our reality for an hour or two. Beautiful portraits or cinematic shots would remind me of the beauty in life. The dream was always to be in the film industry i guess, but as i grew up that dream would take on new forms. Read more>>

Diana Loaiza

Just like many say out there– “I just want to make a change.” Ever since we were kids there are celebrities that have greatly impacted our lives. These people were who we wanted to be ‘when we grew up’, so of course I want to be looked up to. Looked up to for making an actual difference and for being a successful latina woman. Read more>>

Jacinda and David

We created this business from love- love for charcuterie, being in nature, and love for each other. We want couples, friends, and anyone interested in our service to get away from the grind and madness life can throw at you, taking some time to be present and be peaceful. In our relationship, nothing has been more important than taking the time to enjoy intimate experiences that create lasting memories, and we want to pass that on to others who enjoy San Diego as much as we do! Read more>>

Meghan Stewart

I was born and raised in Houston, Texas. When I was growing up my maternal grandmother lived in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. I visited her often and those were my most favorite time. She had the most incredible life and lifestyle. Her and my grandfather were members at the local country club, they would take their boat to the Bahamas for weekend get-a-ways, and they were always going South to Miami to try the newest restaurant. Read more>> 

Sydney Hank

I work as a project coordinator for Upper Peninsula Resource Conservation & Development Council (UP RC&D). Our mission is to promote the conservation of natural resources within Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. We are a small non-profit that employs two people, myself and my supervisor, the executive director. I have been there for one and a half years. Read more>>

Shanteria Franklin

My clothing line was designed when I was actually really Young . I use to look at Fashion Magazines and put there pictures on my Wall . Growing up I watch my Auntie Cut and Design clothes while I was younger in Miami. So I start off drawing and drawing how I felt about things . Read more>>

Saskia Ketz

I’ve always believed that corporate careers don’t serve most of us and that being an entrepreneur is a healthier life choice. When we build our own businesses, we create our own lives. Read more>>

Kalief Dinkins

Im a 25 year old full-time Black Visual Artist from the Southside of Chicago that achieved a dream I didn’t even know was possible. A dream I didn’t even know I was chasing because I didn’t have any examples of the future I was heading for. I am still creating my own path as I go through my journey and there is not a guide book to success, especially when you do not have examples of people who look like you to follow. Read more>>

CA$H CAM

My mission is to uplift other KC artists and bring us all together. I feel like artist here just don’t really network that much, everybody kind of just stays in there own lane. It seems a lot of the time artists don’t want to work together and I want to change that! I remember starting off and not many artists wanted to work with me. Read more>>

Bree Ali Mary

Some people may start from the beginning, the very beginning! I am a 90’s baby but I won’t go that far back. Although, I was born in the 90’s I don’t think I truly started living until the pandemic hit! You see I had just graduated with my communications marketing degree, landed a well paying job for a company in Riverside and even moved in with one of my best friends to be closer to my new job; Read more>>

Carson Nichols

Only a few years ago, we reintroduced a small herd of bison to our property in Mountain Home, Texas. Not long after, our herd continued to replicate and grow larger. Once our herd reached about 50 bison, we realized we had to find a way to properly manage them. But, how? We could sell the animals live to other ranches in the area, or we could harvest them & create a unique meat company. Read more>>

Octoryia Robinson

I ran away from my dream of becoming a published author for ten years. I struggled with believing that I was worthy of writing a book that would sell well in the market. This internal battle felt like something I could never overcome until, one day, I decided to “do it anyways.” I didn’t want to die with the regret of never trying, so I began the process of writing my first book despite my fear of failure. After a nine-month process, my first book Unraveled Potential was published! Read more>>

Paige Hewett

Our mission is to serve our community delicious coffee with intention. We hope to make everyones day a little bit brighter with an oat milk latte from Living Millennially Coffee Bar :) Read more>>

Jetrice Gardner

In mid 2019, my husband and I learned we were expecting our first child three weeks after I was laid off from my job. Not long after giving birth, we were concerned regarding the sensitives of her skin. In a six-month time period, my husband and I found ourselves in the doctor’s office and specialist’s office due to her skin conditions. Read more>>

Nathalya Damota

My mission with Three Eleven is to bring joy to your everyday life and spread the word of God through beautiful designs! Read more>>

Shatara Clark

So, TyTalks, my baby and my first love begin one day when I realized I was just exhausted. I had been through a ton of personal trauma within a short time span, and the result was ill decision after ill decision. One morning I woke up and I was just tired, tired of making those decisions, and I told God I was tired. From that day forward I decided I was not doing it anymore. Read more>>