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.

Benjamin Anderson

My sister and I were raised by a single father. Something that he did right was that he was always transparent with us about what was going on as far as his work goes. My father has been in real estate for 40+ years and in the early 2000s, he was at the top of his career as an independent developer. That all changed in 2008 when the market took a down turn. This hit our family and his portfolio hard, Read more>>

Laphelle Taylor

My parents always kept me busy as a child. Whether it was sports, band, or church, I had little idle time to get into trouble or develop bad habits. My father’s discipline taught me the importance of hard work and dedication, while my mother’s entrepreneurial spirit instilled a desire to take risks and pursue my passions. Combining these values, I have become a successful business owner with a strong work ethic and a willingness to take calculated risks. Read more>>

Bridget Schraeder

There are two ways to judge success, one of my favorite quotes comes from Bessie Anderson Stanley’s observation that, “He has achieved success who has lived well, laughed often, and loved much” and my parent’s own idea of success “Success comes from being happy and having fulfillment in what you do with your life”. Read more>>

Alexandria Butler

I am very blessed to have the most supportive parents. My mom and dad have been behind me, rooting for me since the beginning, and they are not afraid to show their support publicly. While there are so many lessons that I continue to learn from them, the most prominent one is this: do not let others tell you what you can and cannot do. Read more>>

Trace Thompson

Let me first start by answering this stating I probably did a lot of things wrong that I thought were right at the time! As a backdrop, I lost my dad to cancer just before my sixth birthday, and a few years later, my mom remarried. Thankfully, I remember many things, and the most important trait both of them had is an incredible work ethic. My first dad passed away of complications after serving in the army during Vietnam, and he had built an incredible reputation as a salesman. Read more>>

Lorinda Hawkins Smith

My parents asked me what I wanted to do and supported me in those decisions. When I would model as a child for print magazines, the natural progression would be pageants. Instead of making the decision for me, I was asked if that’s what I wanted to do. I declined. Instead, I went on to act in plays. My parents noticed I had an interest in piano. They paid for me to have piano lessons. Read more>>

Sadie Gundersen

I owe a lot of my determination and success to my parents. I always was encouraged from a young age to pursue my dreams and to create a career for myself. I remember when I first started esthetics school, I was struggling and honestly wanted to quit. My dad sat my down and asked me why I wanted to quit. I told him it was because I wasn’t learning anything that I liked and I thought I would be better off getting out of the program. Read more>>

Amy Johnson (Atomic_Monroe)

They definitely taught me the value of hard work, they never just gave me things, they made me work for it. My very first baby doll I can remember wanting around the age of 5, my mom said if you want that doll you can do dishes until you pay it off, and I did! Read more>>

Kailyn Sarmient

During my childhood, my dad would often bring me to work with him. My dad ran a business doing classic car restoration. Watching him run his business was extremely inspiring to me. I learned so much about being a self-starter, taking initiative, working with clients, and the responsibility of entrepreneurship. Read more>>

Mayra Sosa

I find it the most fitting to talk about my parents when I talk about any of my achievements. My parents are the textbook definition of the “American Dream”. They immigrated to the United States at a young age to create a better life for themselves and their future family and have always instilled education, hard work, and finding our passion in life. My mother always told us, ‘if you love what you do, you will never work a day in your life’. Read more>>

Marvin Montgomery Jr

I’d say my parents did everything right truly. My mom Jo Ann Montgomery and My dad Marvin Montgomery Sr, have both been entrepreneurs for as long as I can remember. Seeing there dedication and drive did nothing, but motivate me for my future endeavors. My parents always gave me the opportunity to be myself and follow my passions. The word “no” or “you can’t” were never used in our household. Read more>>

Hilary Foster

My Mom was a special education teacher & tutor, and my Dad was an entrepreneur. Both have impacted not only my professional life but my personal outlook. Mom is a can-do type and does not get ruffled easily, while Dad has always had an uncompromising work ethic. He taught me the importance of returning every call (now email & text!) within 24 hours and that your word is your bond. I like to think I have the best of both of them in my personality and work life approach. Read more>>

Mark Wonderlin

I feel very fortunate to have two amazing and loving parents. They supported me through all the peaks and valleys that is entrepreneurship, and they have really forged the person I am today. I grew up outside of Chicago in the suburbs and saw my dad wake up every day at 3:00 am to head to work and come home close to 6:00 pm after his second job. I saw firsthand every single day what it meant to have a good work ethic. Read more>>

Sarah Jackson

My parents definitely have impacted my journey. My mother is a nutritionist & holistic healer. She has taught me the ways of the kitchen help understand the usefulness of food for health. My farther has always advised whenever I have needed him. He always helps me on the business side of things. I feel the both of them have been responsible for creating my starting point. Read more>>

Jay Longest

My father was also an entrepreneur. I remember growing up and going to work with him. He purchased houses that were in despair and remodeled them to be ready for resale- long before this was the popular trend. My siblings and I would often go and help pull nails for a penny, screw off the light switch covers- simple little things that he knew children could help with. Being a business owner you tend to work a lot of hours, and often that means your family isn’t by your side. But he was able to often include us and teach us the value of family right along side the value of hard work. Read more>>

Abby Draper

I know that everyone says this, but I truly can say that I have the most incredible parents. Their support is unwavering and is absolutely what has driven my career and successes. In complete candor, it’s also what has allowed me to accept and move on from failures. Read more>>

Precious Williams

My parents taught us the value of collaboration and care for one another. My sister is 13 months younger than me. I remember getting my license first along with a car. I was excited to drive us around. Shortly after that, she got her license and we thought for sure her car was coming. It did not! Our parents said we went (pretty much) all the same places and we’d have to share the car. Read more>>

Catalina Reasoner

I lost my parents within the past two years. First my mom, in 2021, at the age of 92, and my dad early this year at the age of 97. I am telling you this because, I was very close to them, despite the physical distance between Columbus, OH and Caracas, Venezuela. I find myself these days thinking of them more often than usual. Wondering what advice they would give me if they were around. Read more>>

Worada Beau Lehman – Elchert

In 2005, I was a college student at The University of Toledo majoring in Studio Art. I still had a ways to go before graduation, but something was pulling me in another direction to pursue another artistic path. I told my mom I wanted to take a break from college and move across the country to attend makeup school. I was surprised by her reaction when I told her; she was actually supportive. Read more>>

Nikhil Verma

My parents are such lovely and caring people. They stressed the importance of education, not strictly just good grades, but allowed my brother and myself to be creative and allowed us to go on our own journeys to experience the world. We did well in school, and we also maintained very great social lives, as well as great high school athletic experiences. Read more>>

Jennifer Lehmann

What my parents did right, was to always show me was to not give up on myself, to believe in myself, and not to listen to the negative opinions of people because people are always going to talk no matter what so always focus on yourself and what you want and what you know your capable of and just do it Read more>>

Anais Wittrock-Roske

My mother and I immigrated from Ukraine when I was young, and our household was a mix of American politeness and Ukrainian directness. This verbal juxtaposition from different cultures taught me much about the importance of tone, rightful expression, and most importantly, perseverance. Read more>>

Chacon Carter Jefferson

My mom is a blunt woman she didn’t sugar coat anything with me my brother and sister. She told us we have to work hard for what we want and to never give up on our dreams and even when it’s scary don’t give up keep going. She was the first entrepreneur I ever knew she did hair in our home and then in beauty shops when I told her she was the first entrepreneur I knew she said wow I never even thought of that. When I left my job of 20yrs to work in my business full time Read more>>

Camila Hanisch

My parents taught me that all human beings are equal, the only difference is their circumstances. And extremely grateful for that because every person I meet is a gift, and an opportunity to love, care, learn, and grow. Read more>>

Amy McMillin

My parents are hardworking blue collar people. They had me quite young; I was actually born the day after my fathers 22nd birthday and my mother was 18. Living in a quaint town and in the country we did not have internet or much television; the summer of the OJ Simpson trial was brutal, as it was the only program on the tv, my hand was forced to find other entertainment. My brother and I resulted to reading books, drawing, board games, and walk through the woods exploring the land. But of course, that was only after our chores were done. Read more>>

Daniel Rucker

For starters, my mother had me at the age of 13. The best thing that she did for me was show me what it took to have a better life. Despite my mother having me at such a young age, she finished high school at 16 years old and when she didn’t have anyone to babysit, she would bring me to her classes in college. I have fond memories of drawing in the classroom while she worked. I wanted to be just like her and that determination that she showed me was instilled in me and started the work-ethic that I possess today. Read more>>

Cathy Howell

My parents are amazing people, but I would be doing the rest of my family a disservice by not including them, since for better or worse, we are a package deal. While we didn’t always get along, and occasionally I referred to them as an invasive colony of fire ants, I knew that I was always loved. That type of unconditional love tends to make a person fearless, especially knowing there is always a safety net to keep you from crashing too hard when you fail. Read more>>