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?

Stephanie Scianna Pitts

My mission is to provide an environment where humans can be the most creative versions of themselves in a stress free place surrounded by like minded individuals. Whether it’s the child taking the class or the adult bringing the child, the mission is for there to be a mentally and physically freeing environment. I started artNEST™ shortly after I had my second child who is only 15 months younger than his brother. I was completely lost and really just trying to figure out this motherhood thing. I noticed that wherever I brought them, I was worried that they were doing something “wrong”. Not participating the way they should, not sharing, not interacting appropriately etc…I put A LOT of pressure on myself like most mothers do. Read more>>

Martha Lerner

I strongly believe photography is a form of therapy, or rather a healing tool. So I began my professional photography career making pictures of mothers at their births, since I was already a seasoned birthworker (Doula) at that time. I feel strongly that peace begins at birth, and all births CAN be empowering. But when we are in labor, we lose track of time, of this earthly plane, of everything, so photography allows us to view the experience from a 3rd person perspective, and allows us to see how strong and brave we are. It also allows us to view our experience and help us process, if the birth went differently than we imagined it would (and it so often does!). Read more>>

Andre Lira

Our mission first and foremost is always guest relations and especially customer satisfaction. That comes from the top down. Because of my unwavering drive, a passion for what I do, and an attention to detail. We’re never worried about the competition, which alleviates a lot of overthinking, because to me there is no competition because no one can or would do what we do. And that comes from the heart. When a customer says ‘I forgot how good it feels when things are done right!” That’s the pay off. That’s when the mission is achieved. Read more>>

Rachel Sloan

When my husband and I were told we needed IVF to become pregnant back in 2018, it turned our whole world upside down. Fertility treatments are painful and expensive, and unfortunately they don’t guarantee a baby, either. Another huge difficulty facing infertility patients is the lack of a social standard for support. When someone tells you they’re pregnant its, “Congrats! How far along for you? When is the baby shower? Can I bring you something?” It feels inherent that we all know what to say and do with this good news. Read more>>

Thong Nguyen

More than just a hobby, I want to earn my living by Wedding Photography. I have started my Wedding business for three years. Nowadays, I only see a few photographers who really put their time and money into education to improve academic skills. I’m keen on practicing my camera skill and editing skill to make sure my bride and groom look so naturally perfect in their wedding picture. Read more>>

Meleka Simon

My mom is a huge inspiration behind my why. She spent her entire life as a single mom dedicated to making a better life the next generations. She grew up in Mississippi during segregation and had a limited education. By herself, she raised 7 of her own children, 5 of her grandkids, and 3 of greatgrand children. As the matriarch of our family, she instilled in us faith, determination, a strong work-ethic, discipline, and most important accountability. I witness her put all of her children, her family, and other people’s children before herself to make sure they had the best opportunity to become their best selves. Read more>>

Lisa Collum

My mission has always been to support teachers and students in the area of writing proficiency. As a former public school teacher of 10 years and a mother of four, I witnessed firsthand the need for a comprehensive writing curriculum that would provide teachers with the resources they need to teach writing, and students with a methodology that is easy, fun, and effective. In this progressively digital age, developing competency in writing is increasingly challenging, but remains an important life skill. Read more>>

Adam Ogard

The story behind my mission was always to help people period! To elaborate on that I’ve always wanted to make people’s visions come true and help to inspire them to continue dreaming and building things they create in their mind. For example the perfect wedding, their dream event, their big show, etc. I’ve always just wanted to see the work I do for them and be happy and feel like they can cherish the moment forever. Read more>>

Aisha Lamar

The story behind Sucré Naturals mission is really a more personal one. I was 25 and struggling not only with acne, but hyperpigmentation on my face and body. I went to dermatologists who suggested taking medication and also went to the local drugstore to see if I could find any products that would help. Both of these ideas failed me. Firstly, the medication I was prescribed came with side effects like dizziness and nausea. I eventually had to stop taking it because it started to affect my daily life. Also, if you go the drug store, you will see many products for acne and wrinkles, but very few products for ethnic groups that suffer from hyperpigmentation and dark spots. Read more>>

Shane and Nigel Mushambi

OUR WHY Algebra and geometry are math subjects that my brother, Nigel, and I consider easy. We know that our accelerated math proficiency is not because we are somehow above-average in our ability to learn but because of hard work and the numerous opportunities we receive. As gifted black youths, my brother and I realize that two different worlds exist regarding education and learning for us and other black youth. The first world includes students like Nigel and me who participate in enrichment activities at school and after-school programs such as math camp or youth leadership conferences. The other world is where students attend schools in underserved. Read more>>

Faith Payne

When I first came up with the idea of writing a short film, it really sprung from the passing of my Aunt. My Aunt was my inspiration and built me to be who I am today. She helped me discover my passions for all things music. When going through my internal struggles with mental health, still to this day, I turn to music to help me heal. I wanted to share my story, bring awareness to suicide and mental health, and show how music heals. Read more>>

Helena Gibson

This is a personal question for me, as I had two very strong missions for starting Strut 20 years ago. Strut was conceived with the simple vision of helping women feel confident in their own skin. My mom was struggling with thinning hair. Watching her struggle to find a solution and a place that understood the emotional toll that this was taking on her self esteem and confidence, I knew I had to create a safe environment for women like her to find solutions to a problem that affects millions of women each year. Hair loss can feel isolating and shameful and I had to change that narrative. Read more>>

Qietta White

The story behind Q’s Art began in summer of 2018. I’ve worked for various companies throughout all of my 20s and have been a mother since I was 18. In 2018 I discovered this talent of mine that I didn’t realize at the time could make me money and help my family in ways that I never thought were possible. The beginning of it was a way to release emotions/express myself. But one day with the power of social media my inner thoughts on the canvas spoke to someone else as well and they offered to purchase it. I guess that’s when you can say I had my little lightbulb moment and seen that paintings I see in my mind and create can take me somewhere in life. Read more>>

Dave Shrein

I spent years working in the non-profit world. I connected with the mission and the family first attitude that leaders professed. Shortly into my time I realized that what was being projected to our team, particularly the family first value, was not being lived out. It was family first for the leaders but the rank and file had to finish last minute projects — often on days off — before they got to spend time with their family. And then I was fired… and the best reason I could determine was the leaders didn’t like me anymore. I decided that I would create my own business where family supported work and work supported family. I wanted to run a company that showed up daily to make life better for clients and teammates at the same time. Read more>>

Diane Buckner

Public relations and communications companies structured like ours understand locally owned businesses and nonprofit organizations work on a smaller budget than larger corporations. We will work directly with you and your employees with the flexibility to adapt to changes in order to target specific customers providing quality, personalized communications services to through various media outlets. Read more>>

Steve Chapman

Our mission is succinct–Serve the Show. Everything in our company is focused on those three words. Serve. The Show. From our website (simple, easy to use) to our tours (two dozen stories jammed into 90-minutes) to costuming, the use of technology, research, training, and a detailed review of every tour, we have the obsession of serving the show. But what does that mean? Early on, we recognized that we were in show business. All of our guides are entertainers. We are not museum docents or protectors of the past–we are actors and teachers and comedians, all rolled into one, and our mission is to be memorable and spreadable. Read more>>

Shemica

The overall mission of Personalized Learning Solutions is to assist parents/guardians of students with special needs in their quest for a Free and Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and other federal and state laws protecting children with disabilities. We are seriously committed to building and supporting a collaborative team of parents/guardians, advocate, school personnel, and community resources with an emphasis on continuous assessment of the child’s educational needs in all settings while supporting and guiding the parents/guardians through the process. Read more>>

Bob and Kate Carpenter

Our mission is to “Connect our community through food and friendship”. We have an open kitchen and people talk to us while we are preparing their food. People often say they feel like they are in their aunt’s kitchen. Instead of saying “Have a nice weekend” to our guests we usually say “What are you doing this weekend?” Open ended questions lead to real conversations and getting to know our community. We often plan dinners with customers who become friends, we’ve attended local plays when our guest’s granddaughter is performing, and we attend many local events with other local business owners. Read more>>

Becca Gunyon

For the last 21 years, I have been mentoring and counseling adolescents. Listening to these teens taught me so much about parenting and what kids and teens desire in relationship with each parent. As a parent of five of my own kids (ages 10-19), my time counseling shaped so much of my own parenting style. I learned so very much from these teens. As a writer, I compiled the top six themes teens taught me about parenting and came up with a parenting workshop to present to parents like me, who want to raise thriving kids who will become adults that give to the world around them- Parenting Moment by Moment- Making ordinary moments EXTRAordinary. Read more>>

Diane M. Simard

My second chance at life began on February 10, 2015, the day I was diagnosed with late Stage III breast cancer. I was about to turn 50, hoping the next chapter in my life would result in fewer battles with myself. For years I had struggled to maintain my weight, grow my hair longer, read more, learn more, do more, and love myself more. Then, straight out of nowhere came a horrifyingly fascinating cancer experience, complete with five months of chemo, hair loss, relentless nausea, depression, lumpectomy surgery, anxiety, more depression, two months of radiation, and the most uplifting support from family and friends I had ever experienced. I journaled to combat the anxiety, emptying my thoughts and fears into a safe place. Read more>>

Mike Baron

I seek to entertain. I seek to grab readers by the throat on the first page and drag them into the narrative to the exclusion of all else. Every part of the story must entertain. How do i do that? I use every trick at my disposal. A fascinating character, like Sherlock Holmes. A fascinating situation, like Jurassic Park. A seductive narrative voice like Raymond Chandler. Vivid and memorable descriptions. Original dialogue. A story has a beat and a rhythm like a good song. A story is a dynamic narrative with a beginning, middle, and end. Circumstances change. If Alfred is a successful businessman with a loving family and everything going great, that’s not a story. Not until something happens to upset Alfred’s happy life. Read more>>

LaTambria Smith-Johnson

You know…there’s always a reason why we do most of the things we do. As for me, there are a few reasons. For starters, I established my baking business in 2014, one year after I laid my infant son to rest. My intentions, really, was to do something fun with my daughters while also managing my occasional moments grief and depression. Many people don’t understand that during that time, I still had to be mama to two small girls, so there was not a lot of time grieve for me. Many days in fact, I’ll bake just random stuff to keep from breaking down. I still do that even to this day. Read more>>

Bridges Conner

My worldly view is to declutter the world one house at a time! I am very passionate about my profession and the fact that clutter weighs my client’s down and creates a very “stuck” feeling in their life. Having always been an organized, clutter free person, I want to share with my clients what an amazing feeling it is to live in a clutter free world. As I meet with clients, I come up with an action plan to suit their needs and in order to do that I create the perfect team for their project. Read more>>

Tab Sadiq

Many of us are aware of our strengths and what sets us on fire but choose to look the other way by taking solace in the illusion that we have enough time. Then, life happens and we get busier, more distracted, and drift further away from that thing that we were sent down to do. Another scenario is that we’re faced with a life-altering catastrophe that wakes us up from this “deep sleep” and we get right to what makes us feel most fulfilled. I fall in this category. After surviving a near-death experience, I got right to that one thing that I would have regretted the most had I not made it out alive; I began traveling at every chance I got and eventually began tying it to my other passion – story-telling. Read more>>

Chris Ahrens

I grew up near East Los Angeles where a lot of my classmates ended up dead from drug abuse or gang-related violence. These were good people and good friends who, because of circumstances beyond their control (mostly abusive or absentee parents) had gone down some dark roads. By the age of 30, I could count 14 of my friends who had died from un natural causes. Over time stories of violence have been so glorified by some media outlets that a kid without family or any real direction, looks to crime as a way out. My mission is to show a way out through the stories on my God N’ Gangsters YouTube channel. Read more>>

Shanda Roberts

I am a survivor of domestic violence and my reason for my mission is that when I was going through my abuse I didn’t have who I am trying to be to others. Support, resources, and just simply encouragement and motivation. My abuse started at 15 and ended when I was 23. I was abused as a teen and an adult. I attempted suicide and I was also molested at the age of 4 by a family friend. There were several people in my life who saw the changes in me and Noone asked “are you ok”? I want victims and survivors to know that they are not alone and we are here to support them in any way we can. I never want anyone to feel as alone as I did. Read more>>