Parents teach us many things including how to be a parent. We can learn from their mistakes, sure, but we can also learn a lot from the things they got right. We asked successful entrepreneurs and creatives to open up to us about their parents and what they felt their parents got right.

Courtney Vardar

I am fortunate to have contrasting parents. My father is a banker, lives in his left brain, logical, logistical. My mother is an Interior Decorator, lives in her right brain, creative & intuitive. They’ve both supported me in all my entrepreneur endeavors, and their have been many, and encouraged me to think bigger. When I opened my first store, my mother helped me with everything, buying, decorating, ect., Read more>>

Taylor Jarvis

Man, this is such a unique and deep question I’ve never been asked before! My parents were married at seventeen and nineteen and had me when they turned nineteen and twenty-one. While I believe parenting looks/is different for everyone, I think parent(s) go by what they know from experience but also figure it out as they go. I don’t think a perfect method exists because life is unpredictable,,,and that’s the beauty of it. The biggest thing my parents “did right” is/was love me exactly for who I am. Read more>>

Yolanda (YORO) Newson

My parents have always supported whatever I wanted to do a long time ago, if I wanted to color my hair hot pink, or cut up a sweatshirt so that I could repurpose it into three pieces to wear to a party, I had their blessing, and with that my creative journey fire was lit. My Father was the 1st creative entrepreneur that I had the pleasure to sit under and as I did, I gained the skill and love for working with my hands. Read more>>

Ashleigh Wilson

My mom always wanted us to see the world for ourselves, to really experience it. We were very hands on in our approach to learning and growing. I loved to read and research but to experience it first hand, that’s very special and not something i take for granted as I understand, it is a luxury. As a single mother, it was a lot, I am sure, but she made sure we really got to expose ourselves to different cultures and people, food and music. She wanted us to really get to know and understand people, not to take human interaction for granted. Knowing and understanding a person is a beautiful thing. Read more>>

Hannah Culbert

From a very young age my parents fostered in me a deep love of stories and storytelling. It’s a funny question, because I think not everyone would want their child to grow up and work in a creative field. Read more>>

Ravin Patel

My parents have been instrumental in my success. Not only did they both lead by example but they celebrated my victories along the way. My parents were so validating along the way whether tragedy or triumph and constantly reminded me to believe in myself. Read more>>

Dr. Mautra Staley Jones

I am fortunate to have been raised by my grandmother; a firm, yet loving woman who offered stability in an often unstable, uncertain environment. At a very young age, I endured incredible hardships. Yet, when faced with these hardships, my grandmother provided encouragement, wisdom and care. She instilled in me the transformative effect of education, the benefits of sacrifice, and the importance of service. These are the same values that guide me daily and are what inspire me to be for the students at Oklahoma City Community College what my grandmother was for me. Read more>>

Noah Johnson

The town I grew up in (Ferndale, WA) had a nearby community college with an award-winning Visual Communications (AKA Graphic Design) program, and also something called, “Running Start” which allowed Junior and Senior high school students to take college courses during their high school years. I was homeschooled until I went to Running Start, and I am grateful to my parents for doing so. They taught me to always try new things, figure out how to solve problems, and how to think critically. Read more>>

Lisa Werth

My parents ingrained the importance of hard work and perseverance so consistently into my upbringing that I couldn’t even tell you when it started. I feel like it has been there since before I can even remember. They taught me that if I wanted anything in life – whether it be gaining a skill, getting an opportunity, or achieving a particular outcome – that I must work for it. No one is going to hand it to me, I have to earn it. Read more>>

Emanuel Cleaver III

One of the biggest things my parents did right we to stress the importance of education beyond the classroom. When I was younger my parents would assign books for me and my siblings to read during summer breaks. I did not appreciate it then because I just wanted to relax and have fun when school was out. Over the years I’ve come to understand that learning should never stop even when you are done with formal education. This is something that I have passed on to my children. Read more>>

Natasha Larson

My parents from a young age gave me an opportunity to grow up in the states (I was adopted at age 7) and have unlimited access to growth. The faith and drive they showed got passed down to me and have helped me continue to be a hardworking, independent woman who can’t be told no (HaHa) Read more>>

Holly Slice

Until this summer, a large part of my identity was found in in these two statements: “I am a musician.” “I am an entrepreneur.” My life recently changed for the better though as we welcomed our son, Avery, into this world and now another part of my identity is developing: “I am a mama.” Read more>>

Johnathon Davis

Upon reading this question, I laughed at what my answer was immediately in my head. “Nothing!” , says my thoughts. However, as a family we have these playful tactics, phrases, and family nicknames that always bring us back to the love that I was raised off of. Read more>>

Samantha Castillo

My parents have always taught me to learn a lot and follow my dreams. My dad always wanted me to go to school and get my degrees so that I could have a good corporate job, I currently have two Bachelor’s degrees and one Master’s degree. My mom always wanted me to follow my heart and my dreams, and because of that, I was able to create Sammy Snacks. I grew up being a migrant daughter, my parents and family would migrate to Washington state to work in the fields every 6-8 months, I lived that life for about 9 years. Read more>>

Sharnese Marshall

Oftentimes people ask me, “What’s your story? What’s your ‘why’?” And the truth is, my story is a beautiful one! I was very blessed to grow up in a very loving + supportive household with two phenomenal parents and amazing siblings. I was involved in every sport and activity under the sun, from ice skating to softball. I traveled frequently, went to church every Sunday and experienced so many amazing things during my childhood! School came easy to me and I rarely missed any days of school, but that wasn’t the case for many kids around me. Read more>>

Kyrston Jones

Growing up I always saw my mother doing it all! From running multiple side businesses/ hustles, working her main job, couponing to save money, being everyone’s go to person for advice, and more. She always made it happen and had determination and drive to do more. Read more>>

Taylor Nixon

Growing up, my parents have always tried their best to place me in the right programs around the right people and in safe environments. My mother especially has worked tirelessly to provide for me and my twin brother. She made sure we had whatever we needed and wanted. Circumstances forced my mother to be independent, resilient and self sufficient which I wish she didn’t always have to be. Read more>>

Elisa Bender

I grew up in a diverse household with a Hispanic mother and Caucasian father. My parents (now divorced) took me to everything that had to do with the Hispanic community and culture. Read more>>

Wendy Jones

What my parents did right was show me a great work ethic. My mother worked for almost 40 years at a manufacturer’s plant, while my father has been an entrepreneur his entire life. They show me through their actions, that if you want to change your current circumstances you must work to achieve what you want. My father told me at a very young age, Mother may have, Pappa my have, but god blesses the child that has their own. I was 11 years old. this common but true statement motivated me to start earning my own money. Read more>>

Asia hickman

As a child of military parents I have had the opportunity to travel and live around the world. I was born in Germany and was raised in South Korea. Because of this I consider myself cultured and have an innate ability to connect with all types of people. Read more>>

Alissa Strand

My grandparents (who raised me) instilled a love for reading and learning in me before I was even able to hold a book. No matter how poor we were, the house was full of books, they just made it happen somehow. I have hours and hours of memories of watching National Geographic with my Pawpaw and reading books with my Nana. I was encouraged to learn everything I can and dream as big as I could, and to never stop learning. Read more>>

Denice Martin-Thompson

This question stood out because I usually focus on what I believe my parents did wrong in my upbringing instead of what they did right. However, when I think about it now, something my parents did right that impacted my life and career happened when I got pregnant during my senior year of high school. After their initial reaction that I was about to ruin my life, they decided to support me by stepping back and letting me choose to keep my baby. They didn’t hold me to their expectations anymore. Read more>>

Alyssa Jacey

First, thank you for reaching out to me about my careers and passions! In previous interviews, I’m thrilled to read such a diverse group of topics to select from! Read more>>

Tonisha Dawson

This is a great question because I give my parents so much homage as to who and what I turned out to be. Growing up my parents were sort of strict. I couldn’t just be outside and doing whatever I wanted to do. I had to have a destination, a time that I was going to be back, How I was getting there and how I was getting home. There was no “free” moments for me to just get into trouble. I danced 5 days a week and ran track 5 days a week. Read more>>

Melissa Kreis

Great question! My parents were very hard-working people. They did it all right, raising us, in my opinion. Although, I probably did not think that as a kid! They taught my brothers and me to work for what we wanted. We all three turned out to be entrepreneurs in one way or another. They also taught us to be good to people which would always be part of who we are and one day serve to create an incredible customer base for Tomboy. Read more>>

Angie Dumler

My parents are immigrants and entrepreneurs. They came to the US in 1983 seeking solace from an Apartheid torn nation, and looking for a kinder, more accepting place to raise my brother and me. They were seeking the “American Dream”, and after many years of hard work, not fitting in, struggling to get by, they found it. It was not luck, nor was it simply time, but rather dedication and commitment to building financial stability, and thus a sense of freedom for our family. Read more>>

Christine Evans

I have been very fortunate to be raised by my mother and biggest supporter. From a young age, she taught me that anything is possible if you put your mind to it. Whenever I had a crazy idea that I wanted to try (and I had a lot of them), her answer was always “yes.” Now that didn’t mean that she would make my ideas happen for me. However, if I could figure out how to make them happen, I had her full support. Read more>>