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?
Yayi Dia
The story behind the mission of Mind Over Matter LLC is quite literally in the name. Growing up in an economically challenged environment, unstable minds so often went overlooked or untreated. I experienced this first hand in my personal life, and I watched it affect my entire community, including close friends and family members. Read more>>
Meaghan Emanuel
Women make up only 37% of all small business owners in Canada & only 22% in the US. Long story short, those numbers are LOW and I want to change that- I want to see and empower more women in business by building brands they love and are proud of. Read more>>
Alex Evelyn
With the launch of Big Al Management, I am excited to bring my passion and experience to support genre-bending creators who are pushing the boundaries. I look forward to placing power into the creatives’ hands while providing innovative tools and guidance for long-term careers. Read more>>
Mikayla Vasquez
I grew up in a very loving home but as a teenager I hit a time where I couldn’t find a way to love myself. I hated the way I looked – with every little detail making me angry or frustrated. I self-harmed, became depressed and wanted nothing to do with life. Eventually I started going to therapy and found myself through God, who I now have a steady relationship with. Read more>>
Kat Combs
In June of 2020, at the height of the pandemic, I married my best friend, Michael. We were only 24 at the time, but knew without a doubt that we wanted to spend the rest of our lives loving and supporting one another. Read more>>
Rosemary Tucker
As a multi-faceted entrepreneur and innovator, Rosemary was moved in 2019 to create Hoodies 4 Healing Foundation, Inc. (501c-3), a modern brand that went viral and assisted in saving her daughter Dyanna DeNae’s life. By raising over $60K through hoodie sells from various supporters near and far, Dyanna DeNae was granted the opportunity to have the necessary procedure to remove a life-threatening cyst in her brain. Read more>>
Brandon Flores
Here at BIGG FACCZ L.L.C. we have the slogan of being “Too BIGG for 1 G” meaning that we, at every level, are able to serve the entertainment community in both services and products. Our company has continued to grow further allowing us to be everything we can be as a multi-level entertainment company. Read more>>
Thea Kristensen
My undergraduate students and I recognized that we wanted to welcome the community to be a part of what we were doing, as we sought to learn more about black bears in Massachusetts. We recognized that people often do not feel comfortable engaging with science and therefore wanted to create an inclusive way to involve the community in our work. Read more>>
Davion Sanderson
Davion Sanderson is the CEO of Saint Louis, Missouri based Sauce Models Agency/Sauce Media. Davion, a Saint Louis native, was raised as the only male in the house with four sisters by a single mother. Davion witnessed first hand the lives of urban, single, black women as they navigated through society. As a son and a brother, Davion felt powerless to help them because of his age, lack of resources, and simply not knowing what to do. Read more>>
Maroc Wallace
My story starts with self worth. To be able to bring education and worth with spiritual enlightenment has always been the goal. I started with an idea to bring consciousness to the forefront. Maroc Horus was a concept conceived to love an support that very idea. Being bold enough to tackle status quo on the idea’s that have revised history. Read more>>
Terrelya Hoskins
My mission is to educate as many people about health and nutrition as possible. The story came from a personal experience dealing with the medical industry. I had a non-COVID medical issue that the medical industry had no clue or interest in finding out what was going on. All they wanted to do was prescribe the symptoms away. Read more>>
Ebony Cooper
Fit & Fierce is a wellness movement that started with my own personal journey.. I lacked support, confidence, and most importantly a positive mindset. By trade I am a early childhood educator. In 2015 after a 12 month battle, I lost my father to brain cancer. To keep from being wrapped up in depression, I redirected my grieving energy to become a healthier me. I trained 6 days a week, changed my nutrition habits, lost about 75lbs within 6 months and never looked back. Read more>>
Dawn Scott
OnlyTax was created to provide a welcoming community for Content Creators to have their tax returns prepared but as a resource for education so they can feel empowered through knowledge. It is a judgement free environment where creators can speak openly and honestly. We are female founded and discrete. Read more>>
Brittany Cunningham
Being a part of a small town and living on ten beautiful acres, we care deeply about the people and nature around us. We are passionate about making products that are both good for our customers and good for the planet. At 10 acre farm, we produce and sell high-quality, small batch goods made from simple ingredients and wrapped in plastic-free packaging. Read more>>
Narecia Estes
Tan & Chocolate mission is to live, enjoy, invest, spend time with yourself. Enjoy a radiance of pampering yourself. The true mission is showing that beauty can sustain our minds. What beauty really is, it’s upkeep of yourself. Mind, body and spirit. Read more>>
Narecia Estes
Tan & Chocolate mission is to live, enjoy, invest, spend time with yourself. Enjoy a radiance of pampering yourself. The true mission is showing that beauty can sustain our minds. What beauty really is, it’s upkeep of yourself. Mind, body and spirit. Read more>>
Enya Krieg
We live in a world full of STUFF. Most parents feel that their children have way too many toys. When things are cluttered, we become overwhelmed–add noise to the problem, then you have overstimulation at its finest. My company, Minimalist Minis, aims to make things simple for littles AND their caretakers. Everything that I design has adults in mind as well (none of my products require batteries and none of them have bright colors). Read more>>
Breeanna Banks
No matter what the story is, it’s important to recognize how our experiences have shaped us and driven us to strive for something greater. By understanding the story behind our mission, we can use it as motivation to keep pushing forward even in difficult times. Read more>>
Karen (Dr. K) Baptiste
My organization, Pre-school to Prison, LLC started out as a documentary project that grew into a consultancy because of my mission to dismantle the school to prison pipeline. Dismantling the pipeline became personal for me when my brother went from school to prison. While he takes accountability for his actions and served his time, the school system has been overlooked for their role in helping shape his pathway from school to prison. Read more>>
Tyler Sullivan
Tyler (CEO of Sully’s Salsa) like many 13 year old kids, is really into sports, gaming and Fortnite. In June 2020, his Mom was checking her credit card bill when she saw charge after charge to Apple for Fortnite V-bucks. She had no idea that her credit card was hooked up to either of her son’s electronic devices!! After a couple of calls to Apple customer service, it was discovered that Tyler was the culprit behind the V-bucks spending spree! Read more>>
Kathy Gallowitz
Retired LtCol Kathy Gallowitz (B.S. ’81/N) grew up as a Navy ‘brat’ and served nearly 30 years as an Air Force Officer. She is the Founder & CEO of Vanguard Veteran, LLC, author of “Beyond ‘Thank You For your Service,’ The Veteran Champion Handbook” for Civilians and has Masters degrees in Nursing and Political Science. Read more>>
Sierra Hollabaugh
My husband, David, and I are passionate about helping people find their favorite reads. It’s important to us that everyone feels welcome and comfortable in our store, and we work hard to have a wide variety of books across genres and topics. We began reading more during & after 2020 because we felt so bogged down by screens – they’re everywhere (in your hand, at your home, especially if you worked from home during the pandemic) – and getting back into reading helped calm our minds and regain that valuable mind space. Read more>>
Aiden Feltkamp
I love to write librettos, which are texts for new operas. It’s not a career that I ever heard anything about before I tried it for myself, but I’m so glad that I pursued it. Read more>>
MARCIA CHURCH
I started my private practice because I wanted the flexibility to be at home with my two year old daughter AND fufill my passion by providing in home & virtual speech therapy to the early intervention population who were greatly in need post pandemic. I also wanted to teach my children the value of hard work. My husband had a successful 9 year career in the NFL and it was very important to me to model to our children that when you find your purpose, you must work hard and dedicate your time and energy to walk in your purpose. Read more>>
Nina Bivens
Knowing that everything you want is right at your fingers, it makes you want to learn and figure out more ways to reach the top. Then, one day the ball is in your court! Helping those seek beauty, and wellness by boosting a person’s confidence, and making better choice in their daily life. It’s a genuine feeling, so what better way to express it then through a my platform! Read more>>
Framary Williams
ANIW is a jewelry line with a positive message and was created as an outlet to remind you to love yourself. As a wife, mother, and entrepreneur my life is very chaotic and I tend to forget to focus on myself and love myself. Read more>>
Classye James
The cornerstone of Shakeout is diversity, equity, and inclusion. We are a 501(c)3 focused on educating and connecting current and former athletes to tools and resources for personal and professional development. We motivate, assist, and provide athletes a platform to enable success as they prepare for life after sports. The success of these athletes is rooted in their accessibility to financial support, career opportunities, and a supportive community. Read more>>
Eleny Guerrero Pena
am an immigrant who came to the US with no literacy of the English Language, I have struggled financially in my life and decided to join the military where I endure my share of mental struggles after 2 combat deployments to Iraq. I have my own share of mental health diagnosis and have a previous partner, friends who also suffer from mental health illness. I build my mental health counseling practice mission in serving the underserved BIPOC community, veterans/active-duty service members who struggle with a culture of seeking help being a weakness and allowing to feel human again. Read more>>
Norine Fahie
As the founder and host of the Save Our Sisters Group and the Save Our Sisters Unplugged Podcast, my mission is to help women of all ages use their voices to free themselves by sharing their stories of success to survival to inspire and support each other. This was created from a need to provide a source of strength and safety for women who may be feeling alone in their life struggles. Read more>>
Jenny Wang
My Story, #BrokerJenny I was born and raised in Beijing. I immigrated to Houston in 1991. I graduated from Conrad N. Hilton College of Global Hospitality Leadership of University of Houston. I had always been working on the restaurant’s side of the business as a student, so naturally, I was offered a “restaurant’s manager” job after I graduated. It was different running a restaurant in the real-world compared to working at our “magic-kingdom-like” Hilton College. Instead of setting a goal to climb up the managerial ladder, Read more>>
Shaleen Sheth
I would like to share the story of my journey as a founder in the media and nonprofit space. I am one of the co-founder of Women Who Win, and look forward to sharing my learnings as a female founder. Read more>>
April, Tyron Harper Harper, Harper
Harp Vision is a self-care business that stands by the ethos “self-care isn’t selfish.” In the true spirit of living out that mentality, one of the defining moments for April was leaving her part-time job to put her full efforts into growing Harp Vision. While this would, in the short term, negatively impact us financially, it would ultimately improve the overall outcomes and success of Harp Vision. This decision allowed for more time and energy to be fully invested in building the future of our company. Read more>>
Lina Dweik
My struggle with finding modest fashion pieces inspired me to bring change within the fashion industry. I’ve always been interested in modest fashion, an area of the industry that is often overlooked. I found it difficult to find pieces that were high-quality and modern while being modest. Read more>>
Keneshia Frasier
My mission is for my clients to feel beautiful on the inside, not just the outside. I feel that confidence starts from self-esteem, which has a strong impact on how we view ourselves. I want my clients to leave my business with the highest amount of self love possible. I love talking to my clients and getting to know them, with hopes of building rapport and trust. Reading the 5 star reviews left by my clients, is enough confirmation for me that my mission is evident and appreciated. Read more>>
Victoria Mack
Since my childhood my heart has always had a soft spot for giving back to my community, at the ago of 12 years old I started doing mission work at my childhood church Pilgrim Rest Missionary Baptist Church every 4th Saturday of the month for at least 10yrs, I would go with my Mom, Aunts and Cousins to feed the homeless through the church homeless program. Read more>>
Amanda Spencer
The Radical Agenda was founded after my children’s school district made national headlines. In the summer of 2021, a Board of Education meeting erupted over the inclusion of “CRT” in elementary school curriculum, which basically meant a small but loud subset of parents disagreed with the inclusion of any mention of segregation or racism in American history. My friends and I were discussing how ridiculous it was to consider inclusive American history as a “radical agenda.” Read more>>