Progress depends on unreasonable people pushing boundaries, breaking out of boxes, challenging the odds and proving that the impossible is possible. This happens everyday, in big ways and small – from a small town kid ignoring the naysayers and making it in the city of their dreams to the folks with ideas no one will invest in who somehow brought their vision to life. Our community is filled with so many trailblazers, innovators, and rebels and we hope you’ll check out their inspiring stories below.

Vanessa Mayberry

From a young age, I have been on a journey of discovering how to live a life filled with adventure, passion, new challenges, and creativity. Over time, I’ve learned that creating something long-lasting and purposeful often involves being of service to others. This realization led me to pursue multiple paths that combined my passions with the intention of helping others. Read more>>

Kendra Hall

I’ve always been a high achiever—honor roll student, strong writer, raised by two loving parents who gave me discipline, structure, and belief in my potential. But at 13, I made a decision that changed everything. I became pregnant. At 14, I was a mother. What followed were years marked by instability, housing insecurity, and adult responsibilities I wasn’t ready for. Read more>>

Nicole Pearl Consulting

If you’ve seen “The Devil Wears Prada,” that was very much what my life looked like as the editorial assistant to a powerhouse editor-in-chief in the magazine industry. My media career started in the heart of New York City, running around Midtown tasked with everything from finding the perfect gooey chocolate chip cookie to answering calls at all hours to meet deadlines. (Not exactly glamorous, but hey, it shaped me!) Read more>>

For 15 years, I was the definition of “hairstylist success”—fully booked, amazing clients, and thriving in commission salons. But behind the scenes, I was constantly stressed about money. No matter how much I made, I spent just as fast because I didn’t know how to manage it. That all changed when I had a baby. I realized that if I wanted to create real freedom for my family and career, I had to get my finances in order outside of the salon. Read more>>

Julia Kelly

I began back in 2021 as a junior in high school with big dreams of having my own business. I really wanted to connect with others and create products that my customers would enjoy! I also – at the time – just loved stickers! I loved the different designs of stickers and how stickers can describe you as a person. From there, I took all the knowledge that I had and began with my business! Here I am in 2024 running a business while also a freshman in college. Read more>>

Hailey Rowe

I went from unemployed to a full-time business owner doing what I love!

When I first started my coaching business, I had only one client for the first 6-months of my business at $50 per session (#yikes).

Even though I had all the “right” prerequisites: a burning desire to succeed, several coaching certifications, and experience working in business development & marketing for several startups, I was struggling.

No social media engagement, no systems in place, just a frazzled coach sitting at her laptop all day aimlessly trying to navigate the online world. Read more>>

Danielle Bullock

In 2023 I started making beaded bracelets and accessories as a hobby and also to cope with my anxiety. I started getting requests to make custom pieces and decided to turn my hobby into a small business. I decided to set up a business Instagram page and started to sell online. In 2024 I launched my website. I love vending at local pop up shops and school events. Read more>>

Isabella Bonzani

I’m a composer and multi-instrumentalist from Fairfield, CA. I studied music industry performance at Loyola New Orleans and am currently earning my Masters in Theory and Composition: Screen Scoring at NYU. My music journey started when I was 11 and picked up the saxophone. I quickly learned the clarinet after that and fell in love with performing. I grew up studying a mix of genres, so my background is a mix of jazz, classical, and pop/com music. I loved focusing on being a diverse player and was thrilled when I was accepted to study performance at Loyola with the dream of becoming a session musician for film. I studied in their classical and jazz program before switching focus to composition. Read more>>

Lily Boiko

Over the past few years, my life has transformed in ways I couldn’t have imagined. It all started when the war in Ukraine turned my world upside down. I was at a ski resort in early 2022 when everything changed. I left home the day before and haven’t been back since. I lost my business — a successful digital marketing agency — and my income. Before the war, I was teaching social media promotion on one of Ukraine’s national TV channels. Suddenly, survival became the only focus. Read more>>

Lizzy Layne

I am a New Mexico-based Artist, Creative Director, and Experiential Designer, elevating brands through immersive experiences, high-level strategic planning, and a bold, dynamic vision. I have a background in Fine Arts and I work with varied media and techniques to creative captivating designs, paintings, murals, silkscreen posters, merchandise, and anything else the creative process may inspire. Read more>>

Amber James

In the heart of New York City, Notes To Self Shop was born from my personal trials. Facing the profound loss of my grandfather and enduring two hospitalizations, which resulted in the removal of my appendix and gallbladder removal (all during the pandemic in 2021), I felt so alone and isolated. Read more>>

Stephanie Kwaghe

Interestingly, art wasn’t always my first love.However, as I journeyed through self-discovery, I stumbled upon a profound connection with creativity.

The more I explored, the more I fell deeply in love with the idea of bringing new ideas to life. It was a natural progression to surrender to my passion and pursue a career as a full-time creative.

Today, I’m thrilled to be living my dream, and I’m excited to see where this creative path takes me. Read more>>

Bria is a dynamic professional whose career journey seamlessly transitioned from the vibrant world of culinary arts to the transformative field of career coaching. She graduated from Delaware State University with a Bachelor of Arts in Communications and navigated her way through many fields. She is currently an Operations Coordinator at the Sustainable Cities Fund, a project supported by Bloomberg Philanthropies and other philanthropic partners. With her background as a former chef, Bria now dedicates her expertise to guiding individuals toward fulfilling successful careers, investing in their financial health, and creating meaningful businesses. Read more>>

Loren Lewin

Companion Candles was created out of a love for animals and a frustration with the candle industry. I was disturbed to find out that most candles are made with petroleum, phthalates and other harmful chemicals. Not only are these ingredients toxic when burned, they’re also terrible for the environment. So, I created a line of candles that are not only safe for you and your pets, but also give back. For every clean, cruelty-free candle purchased, we donate a portion of proceeds to animal rescue organizations across the country. Companion Candles was founded in October 2021, after my rescue pup, Mylo. Read more>>

Chrissy Guiriba

During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and amidst a surge of anti-trans legislation, the world was a challenging and isolating place for gender-diverse youth. It was also during this time that I founded Transcending Adolescence (TA)—a nonprofit dedicated to creating brave spaces for trans and nonbinary youth to build resilience, confidence, and self-love. Read more>>

Jillian Lenser

When I was little, my dad would give me a Kodak disposable camera that was supposed to last the duration of our annual family vacation— I had other plans. The film would get used up in a day or two. Once we got it developed, a lot of the images were shockingly good.

This began the start of photography as a hobby, photographing my friends and a bit of street and architectural photography. I leaned heavily on Photoshop to create the images I had in my head. Read more>>

Steffanie Costigan

I have been writing from a very young age, my parents say since I was three years old, I would draw stories all over the walls of my room. As I got older I began my best to write stories down, drawing illustrations for them. There was only one problem, although I loved writing and telling stories writing was also my weakness. I have a learning disability called dyslexia. So most people couldn’t understand my writing because of all the errors in my writing. However, I was determined to not let my reading and writing impairment get in my way. I kept writing despite all the doubts, despite my teachers telling me I would never succeed. Matter of fact you could say it made me even more motivated that I would not let anything get in the way of my passion. Eventually writing turned into my strength, and now I am ecstatic to be an author and a journalist/reporter. Read more>>

Kathy Bresler

ALTAR Community began with a powerful vision that emerged in 2005, shortly after I completed treatment for breast cancer. At that pivotal moment, unsure of my path forward, I turned to a life coach who guided me through a vision exercise. She prompted me to envision my life a decade ahead: where I was, what I was doing, who I was with. To my surprise, I saw a vibrant community space where women of all ages gathered for conscious growth and healing—a vision that seemed out of reach as a full-time mom to a 6-year-old and a 9-year-old living in Chicago. Although it deeply resonated with me, I dismissed the vision assuming I was unqualified and would need to move to California to make such a place a reality. Read more>>

Crystal Cavitt

I became interested in touch therapy after an extremely toxic relationship. I struggled with understanding and honoring boundaries and consent in my interpersonal relationships. I noticed an article, a few videos, and read a book on cuddling by Samantha Hess. I became enamored with the concept, but struggled to navigate becoming a professional cuddler, as a single mother. I lived in a scarcity mindset and was not very self aware. I was consumed by a victim mentality, grief, and resentment for my lot in life. Unaware that I was the only one holding myself back. Read more>>

Maggie Olson

My career has always centered around leadership, strategy, and building high-performing teams across industries like retail, food and beverage, and technology. With 20 years of experience, including leadership roles at Nordstrom and T-Mobile, I’ve always been drawn to roles that require both execution and big-picture thinking. But it wasn’t until I became the first Chief of Staff to the President of the T-Mobile Business Group that I truly found my perfect-fit role. Read more>>

Majestic Moodz

I’ve always had an eye for beauty and been a real girly girl. I did a little of everything and experienced so many different industries but really fell in love with Esthetics. I attended Ideal Beauty Academy in pursuit of becoming an Esthetician. I graduated in 2021, took the written state exam, the practical state exam and became fully licensed all in 2021. It was during the time we were in the middle of a pandemic so it was a very overwhelming yet accomplished feeling to finally get to that finish line! Read more>>

Carolyn Hillyer

I’ve been a baker for decades and always love creating and sharing through food. I became gluten-free and suddenly I wasn’t a great baker anymore…I couldn’t even make a decent cookie. I had to fix this and regain the part of me I lost. I started the long road to discovering what works in the early 2000’s. This is my constant journey, always striving to improve and share what I know. I use social media to bring my bakes and recipes to anyone who wants to learn. Read more>>

Ana Carpio Luis Padilla

Supramorphous started with a spark—a series of late-night conversations between two designers in Toronto who dared to dream big. We, Ana and Luis, often wondered: Could fashion do more than just clothe us? Could it reflect our values, inspire individuality, and push the boundaries of creativity? These questions fueled endless discussions and ultimately led us to create Supramorphous—a brand born from a passion for responsible design and a desire to challenge conventions. Read more>>

Amirah Perkins

It’s been an up and down battle but I’ve gotten to where I am through a lot of blood sweat and tears. I’ve even quit doing what I do completely at times because I was so frustrated. With the support of friends and family I’ve grown. Read more>>

Doris Casap

I have been on a several years pivot that is not close to done and is teaching me so much about myself, while I build new skills, enter into wonderful new communities. I launched MOTHER FILMS in 2020, after enjoying an incredible run at HBO, when HBO was the center of everything new in television and film. Leading a team of acquisition executives, I was in charge of film programming for the networks, negotiating with everyone from a producer with one film to major studios for years of their output. Attending film festivals, markets, premieres and conferences was a wonderful part of being in the thick of the film community and I developed deep and lasting relationships with every kind of film person. One of my greatest joys was programming HBO Latino for US Latino audiences, adding comedy and music to the mix, being Latina myself. Read more>>

Brittanie Baker

My whole family has been in the business my whole life. My mothers husband owns a Mortgage Company that I was working for. He ended up opening up a Real Estate Company. I moved from the Mortgage side to the Real Estate side. Being in the mortgage business has helped me on the Real Estate side. After a few years I realized I needed a team mate. I asked my mother and she said sure. We have been Two Chicks and A Sign since then. Read more>>

Wendy Hayes

Throughout my childhood, I studied acting, dancing, and music (instrumental and vocal). I also studied costume design as well as hair and makeup design.

In 2011, a friend invited me to attend his birthday celebration at a Renaissance festival. I figured, hey that sounds like fun! With the bite of my first turkey leg, I knew that I was a changed person, and I needed more of this in my life. By trade I was a makeup artist, and I was starting to find that some photographers would fail to give me images of my work. So I purchased a DSLR camera so that I could take my own photos at shoots. Read more>>

Katie Romig

I’ve been interested in photography for as long as I can remember, but it wasn’t until college that I developed my focus on dogs as a subject! I didn’t have a dog of my own at the time (living in a dorm has its downsides), but was lucky to have lots of friends and family around with willing models. As the years passed, and I saw many of these dogs pass as well, I was really struck by just how little time we have with them. It became more and more important to me that I was able to preserve these dogs and their memories accurately, and I developed more of a focus on the heart and personality of man’s best friend. My hope is always that when you see a photo I took, you have a sense of the subject- that living, breathing being- outside of just that second in time. Read more>>

Monique Gatterson

In 2020 I resigned my leadership role in the medical field and went full-time running a food truck with my husband. This was a huge change for me as I was very much used to being in Corporate America not in the fast paced food industry. Once this decision was made there was no turning back, but I quickly realized that my skills learned in Corporate America were transferable to exactly what I needed for running my own business. My husband was the chef and excelled in making sure our food was on point, but we also needed my skills of ensuring our books were right, but also the customer service piece of connecting with our customers. After combining our skills we learned how to operate our small food truck business and growing it by opening our first Brick and Mortar in December of 2024. Read more>>

Dianne Vavra

After nearly 20 years, I left my corporate job as Senior VP of Press and Celebrity Relations for Dior Beauty. It was an exciting time to be a publicist and I was able to travel the world. My passion has always been collecting vintage jewelry and handbags, so after nearly 3 decades of globe trotting and treasure hunting, (I was at Estée Lauder prior to Dior) you can only imagine my collection. Read more>>

Jessica Jeffries

Meet Jessii Marie; the visionary artist behind Imprinted by Jessii. Her life is a testament of faith, artistic passion and resilience. Known for her uplifting and encouraging spirit, Jessii credits God as the source of who she is, her gifts, strength and creativity. Her journey is a powerful reflection of one’s ability to overcome, create, and inspire as she is fueled by unwavering faith and purpose. Read more>>

O’Donnell

I grew up mostly in Central Wisconsin, but spent some formative years in Las Vegas. I was surrounded by music. My parents were karaoke DJs at local bars, family events, and weddings. My dad played Irish folk music with his brothers, and influenced the whole family to learn acoustic guitar. My mom sang around the house and often performed folk music alongside my dad. I began singing for crowds when I was 4 years old. At circumstance of having musician parents, I was exposed to a wide variety of music and pushed forward with an eagerness to find music I connected with. Read more>>

Kirsten Smits

I come from a family that has a deep love and respect for the arts, and my mother put me into ballet classes at 5 years old. So, my story as an artist starts at 5 years old. My brother was taking acting classes at a performing arts studio in Boston, and when I would accompany my mother to pick him up, she would find me outside the dance studios watching the students in awe. My whole life has revolved around my love for dance, even in the pivots that have taken me in other directions. Read more>>

Lorraine Woodruff-Long

Lorraine Woodruff-Long is a self-taught San Francisco quilter with a primary focus on color, improvisation, and recycled/repurposed fabrics and, additionally, is passionate about creating quilts as political and social commentary. She is familiar under her quilting name, @quiltinginthefog. Read more>>