We’ve been fortunate to connect with so many brilliant artists, business owners and leaders over the years and so we reached out to some of these talented folks to discuss what it takes to be successful.

Lizaida Zee” Renta”

HARDWORK! CONSISTENCY! HUMILITY! PATIENCE! HONESTY! FORGIVENESS! FAILURE! COMMITMENT! POSITIVITY! This list is the short list however, these are personally what I think it takes to be successful. Theres no short cut to success furthermore, practicing and implementing great habits will help you get there quicker. Read more>>

Michelle DiMarco

Success in the real estate industry requires a commitment to your personal values and an unwavering dedication to your clients. The best real estate agents are those who keep their customers’ best interests at heart. In a business based on personal relationships, it’s important to align yourself with people with integrity. Read more>>

Rhonda German

It starts with knowing what being successful means and being committed to the process. Being successful takes hard work and dedication. You need to be realistic and understand when it may be time to reset if things are not going the way you planned. It’s also important to celebrate your small victories instead of trying to focus on the big picture at one time. Sometimes we try to take giant leaps instead of taking small steps. Read more>>

David Velick

What I think it takes to be successful is a daily practice of persistence and consistency. These are the ingredients for growth both for yourself and your career. It’s easy to keep caught up in the ever growing instant gratification world we live in to the point where when we don’t see automatic results in such a short amount of time from what we are doing, we lose interest or the drive to complete something that once moved us to begin in the first place. Read more>>

Louis Buralda

To be successful is following your body’s natural current. Catering to your needs and belief. To be a war with the world but have peace within. Knowing that your success is YOUR SUCCESS and not anyone else’s. These are standards I have built for a clear path to success. I also understand the value of consistency. Being consistent yet working at a pace that doesn’t diminish my art in any way shape or form. Read more>>

Marzena Trawinski

Success is a huge achievement. It’s different for everyone as everyone’s goals and aspirations differ. To me, success means to be happy with your life, daily. It’s the beauty of finding within yourself what makes you happy and doing it. Working has never felt the same since I decided to become active and pro-active in my real estate career. Read more>>

LaTisha Styles

In order to be successful, I believe you have to have a certain level of comfort with failure. I like to call it failing forward. Each failure moves you closer to success. I believe each failure moves you closer to success as long as you have the assistance from a mentor or if you are following a proven plan. There are proven business models that you can follow, but even if you were to follow that model exactly, you might still fail. The reason is that you are unique and your personal blueprint for success will also be unique to you. Read more>>

Stephon Brown

Being successful to me, honestly doesn’t mean what the average person thinks. These days, success is managed by attaining a certain status or dollar amount. But for me, I think being successful is doing what you love, and being able to be happy in it. Being able to help others get to where they’re going and not have to feel threatened in your position. Read more>>

Abdelmasih Markus

success does not happen at one day, it is a journey of hard work. To be successful, a person must have knowledge and skills. knowledge through education, and skills through practice Read more>>

Jarrett Stieber

One of the most important aspects of being successful is to trust your gut instincts. Stay true to yourself. What makes you a good person will make you a good business person, so long as you don’t stray away from your morals and principals. Find a way to take what you think are your redemptive qualities as a human being and build a business that reflects that, a place that treats it’s customers and employees with the respect and consideration you treat those in your personal life with. Life’s too short to be an asshole. Read more>>

Clemon C. Malbreau III

As a Successful Business Owner of over 30 years, success is a on going initiative. I humbly can say success is basically keep trying daily and stay on the path of life. Success allows you to continue to make plans that you are passionate about. Being passionate is the key cause us as humans, we tend to focus on the things we love and continue to make better and continue to keep as a reality. Along with passion we have to always be committed to our brand as well as being honest with yourself. Read more>>

Marissa Clark

First, I think it’s important to define – “what is success?” For myself, success used to be a financial quota. I used to create revenue goals and would only consider that month a “success” if those money markers were met. But recently, I’ve changed my perception on the definition of success. Read more>>

Hozana Arceri

I think success is a term that many people use but few really understand. We define it with numbers so often in our day and age…Instagram followers, business revenue, how many times you were correct in risk, etc. I believe however that true success is defined by the amount of times you failed before reaching your pinnacle point. Read more>>

Khadeshia Beam

Of the various things it takes to be successful as a creative entrepreneur specifically my top would be. A consistent health and wellbeing ritual that happens every day regardless of the length of time. It is so important to create space for yourself as a business owner for your overall wellbeing and to stay in alignment with your expansive purpose. Read more>>

Avyana & Chloe

Success takes grit, innovation, self-discipline, a commitment to keep learning, determination, communication, taking a risk, consistency, transparency, and even failure just to name a few qualities that define success to us. Here at The Elite Nanny Agency, commonly referred to as TENA we believe that everyone has an opportunity to be successful in their own way. Read more>>

Megan Smart

To be successful, people need to realize that it doesn’t happen overnight. You will have months to years of hard work before it’s actually easy. People see the success and not the failures. They don’t see the 10 rejections before that major breakthrough. So I think what it takes is discipline, consistency and perseverance. Read more>>

Cristina Pelino

To be a successful photographer, you must differentiate yourself from everyone else in the industry. Show your personality, create a personal relationship with your clients, and develop your own special and unique style of photography. In order to achieve this, you must open your full heart to the client’s you are photographing. Take photos that capture and display emotion and make the viewer “feel” something. Read more>>

 J.L. Drake

Drive and heart. I have a few obstacles that I’ve had to overcome as a writer, things I deal with daily. Though they can be challenging, I truly wake up every day excited to dive into a fictional world created by me. Read more>>

Jesi Cason

The key to success is being tenacious about problem solving. Murphy’s Law “Anything that can go wrong will go wrong” absolutely applies to business. Equipment will fail. People will flake on you. Competition will sneak up on you. Sales will drop. Disasters will happen. But survivors are the business owners who look at a problem and say “Ok, let’s find a solution” rather than crumbling under the pressure. There is almost always a solution to every problem. It may not be easy, or cheap, but there is a solution! Read more>>

Alessandra Alley” Leto”

Success is defined differently from one person to the next. What I may think is “successful” may not be someone else’s definition of it. For me success is about waking up each day and feeling a level of contentment. I don’t strive for money or material things, I strive for creating a positive change. Leaving a legacy of some sort behind. To me, success is looking in the mirror and thinking, “Wow! I have come so far” and feeling complete gratitude for it. Read more>>

Jose Ramirez

It takes a lot. It’s more of a combination of duties and morals you have to set in your life in order to achieve the goal. My perspective is to first acknowledge your surroundings. Who has your support and what can be used to help you become successful. Cause when life throws you down (and it will) you might need a bit of help and encouragement to get back on your road to thriumph. Create a schedule and stick with it. Read more>>

ashley robertson

WHAT I HAVE LEARNED IN BEING SUCCESSFUL. IT TAKES DRIVE. IN LIFE WE HAVE TO UNDERSTAND THERE WIIL BE NOs AND YES. IT DIFFERENT FROM PERSON TO PERSON. ITS A MINDSET. ITS A SET OF KEEP TRYING AND DEVELOPING SKILL. YOU HAVE TO BE COMMITED TO WHAT YOU ARE TRYING TO ACHEIVE NEVER GIVING UP. Read more>>

Franziska Koch

Working as a husband and wife team, we have the advantage of being able to split tasks among each other. Each of us has different strengths and interests and figuring out those strengths and developing skills and interests down the road helped us immensely to get the business running. Read more>>

Melina Molina

In addition to consistently working to reach a goal, I would say that there are two important keys to reaching a goal. Number one would be to surround yourself with people who are on the same path as you. People who think and act like you, and who feel an urgency to fulfill their dreams like you. I find that witnessing people whom I admire keeps me inspired and motivated to accomplish my goals. Read more>>

Dr. Gwennetta Wright and Deonta B

We ruminate three things that contribute to entities of being successful. First, you must have faith in anything you do. Faith is a critical component of success. You must believe it before you can achieve it. Secondly, you must be willing to sacrifice. Everybody sacrifice is different, but you will know what is necessary to sacrifice to reach your goals. Lastly, you must be consistent. Consistency leads to results. You need to show up no matter what. Read more>>

Ashley Neville

I have been a business owner for three years. I have learned a lot of things not just for myself but from others who are just as or if not more successful than myself. My biggest lesson is to surround yourself with people who inspired you to be GREAT. Collaborate with others in your industry. Stop competing with those who could help you. Read more>>

Makayla Miller

Consistency and dedication. i think everyone has their own personalized idea of success, and no matter what it is, you need those two to achieve it. My idea of success is simply progressing from where l started. Really focusing on yourself, your work, and your growth is how you reach success Read more>>

Nathan Currin

Hard work for sure… But also smart work. Working hard at the wrong thing is as unproductive as not working hard at all. I’ve learned that hard work coupled with smart work, intuition, and a great business idea is the key to success. Waking up every day determined to put in the work to drive the business, promote it in the right ways, and work strategically is so valuable often overlooked in a world that prizes “simply hard work” – work hard, but work smart and be truly productive. Read more>>

Emily Cargill

I think the biggest lesson that I have learned throughout my company’s 8 year history is to not compare myself and my work to others in my field. It is so easy to say ‘Oh look what she is doing’ or ‘Wow, they are doing so many more interesting things than I am’ but looking back (and forward) I have done some pretty awesome things too. Every company’s vision, mission, point of view, aesthetic is different and unique. Read more>>

Jenni Greer

I have witnessed a lot of really beautiful artists and talented photographers miss out on abundant success because they have difficulty with the business side of this job. Making great art is important, but creating a professional, streamlined experience for your clients is every bit as important, too. A successful photography career has three major components: quality art, good business practices, and personal relationships. Making people feel comfortable and beautiful will keep them coming back for more, and referring their friends! Read more>>

Kathy Mays

Everyone defines success in their own way. Some, think it is how much money you make. Others, how much power or fame you have achieved. To me, success is working hard, making connections and a positive attitude. It is also important to find work that you truly enjoy. Read more>>

Chrissy Doles

In today’s world the key in being successful with a ever changing society, is staying locked on your vision. It is easy to loose the dream of success if you are not focused. Most people think they can’t create wine because so many other people have, but with that mindset you cannot be successful. I’ve chosen to be different in how my brand is viewed and that’s what makes my wine successful. Stay the course and let success comes with time and focus. Read more>>

Meron Tadesse

Persistence. You do not have to be the smartest, fastest, etc. You just have to never give up. Eventually you will succeed or learn from your mistakes pivot into success in another way. Read more>>

Rachel AO

I think to be successful some of the first steps are visualizing where you want to be in your career as time progresses, what success looks like to you personally, and setting goals for yourself to accomplish and grow in your craft. I believe that being true to yourself and your vision are also important elements to success. Read more>>

Travis Perkins

I think it’s at first stab, beneficial to define “success” for yourself as it can look very different per each of our own industries, philosophies towards work life balance, baseline starting points, etc. As of right now, I’m defining success as “having an abundance creatively stimulating work, a low stress work life balance, and financial freedom to experience life”. Read more>>

Chelsea Gardner

Tenacity and complete trust in yourself and your abilities. I am sure that you have heard about the dreaded imposter syndrome that can steadily creep into your life and your thoughts as you journey through becoming an entrepreneur, accepting a new job role, promoting into a senior role, and the list goes on. Read more>>

Terrance Fisher

I think you first must understand or define what success is going to look like for you specifically. When I started my business the definition of success was defined as becoming a household name. It wasn’t to become a famous/celebrity Chef. It was to connect with families so deeply that I would become the Chef they’d choose for any occasion. Read more>>

Ashley Weber

Consistency. Curiosity. Small steps. I believe it takes small mindful steps everyday towards your goals. It also involves constantly learning new things. It takes the willingness to elevate with the times. I was super resistant to technology in the beginning because I didn’t understand it. Read more>>

Danielle D’Alessio

I think it takes a lot of things to be successful. One thing is perseverance. I have honestly failed at a lot of things. Hell, I’ve wanted to rage quit my career a bunch of times too. But I truthfully love what I do and I keep trying things and seeing what fits and what doesn’t work and I go from there. It’s the only way to grow. Read more>>

Attallah King

I believe that it takes determination, consistency, and self-awareness to become successful. Determination because if one is determined to accomplish the desires of their heart no matter how the journey may look success will surely find you. Consistency is EVERYTHING! Some may not believe so, but if you remain consistent your target audience will begin to trust you as a business and a person. Read more>>

Carissa Martini

I’ve found that being successful roots from believing in yourself and pushing yourself a step further every day. Manifest and believe that the things you aspire to be and do in life will become reality, and with dedication it will. Failure is bound to happen. Read more>>

DJTSTREETS

In order to be successful, I believe as an entrepreneur/DJ you have to get support and trust from your clients/Friends. In the DJ world, your clients/ friends have the opportunities to place you in positions that could take your career to the next level. For example, if I am providing my DJ service for an event and someone who is attending the event loves my service, I potentially could a new client. Read more>>

Bonnie Klehm

I try to always look at setbacks and failures as learning opportunities. I always have a positive attitude and outlook on every business venture.I treat my team as equals, and in turn, they feel as equally invested in the success of this business as I do. Read more>>

Sarah Inamdar

To be considered successful, all one needs is to be consistent and sincere towards their work. The amount of hard work you put in to building your brand yields great results. Thinking about my journey, staying consistent was the key. I dedicated time and completely focused on building my business. With a lot of hard work, research, learning and gaining knowledge about business, I was able to establish my brand.

Courtney Hollingsworth

When it comes to what it takes to being successful (for me) it’s like a never-ending list. You’re always brainstorming on what you can do to be better. For me being successful takes being creative, staying organized (keeping business records,etc), being consistent, providing the BEST customer service, and understanding or analyzing all competitors. Read more>>