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.

Marco Buenrostro

To me, success is all about delivering what you promise. It’s easy to paint a perfect picture for potential clients, but the real question is—can you make it happen? Success comes from experience, and being in the photo booth rental business for 10 years has taught me that firsthand. We’ve faced our share of challenges, especially in 2020 when we had an entire year without events. But instead of letting that time go to waste, we made the most of it: learning new technology, mastering our customer service skills, and connecting through online networking. Each of these efforts helped us come back stronger. Read more>>

Mauro Hernandez

I believe that success requires a combination of perseverance, passion, and adaptability. A personal example would be when I arrived in this country and faced many challenges at first. Although there were difficult moments, I kept a mindset focused on learning, and step by step I developed the skills needed to reach my goals in my projects, especially in content creation, where organic growth requires dedication and passion. This experience taught me that success doesn’t come immediately; it’s the result of dedication and the ability to adapt and grow in the face of challenges. Read more>>

Aedan Petty

Consistency and personal excellence are a huge part in becoming truly successful. Consistency nets you business growth and wealth, and personal excellence yields satisfaction and purpose. There are lots of things you need to do to be successful, but I think these two topics are ones that are forefront in my mind at the current time for my business. I know plenty of creatives and business owners who are successful, not necessarily because they are the best at what they do, but because they were consistent in their efforts to build their company and brand. No matter whether they win or fail the day, or their deals, or something else they are trying to do; they continue to work and post and move their business forward. The other thing they understand is that failure is inevitable, and is part of learning how to win. Nobody succeeds without failure at some point. It’s all about getting back up when you fall, and keep moving forward. Read more>>

Evelyn Malveau-sanders

What does it take to be successful? Success holds many definitions… success could mean financial wealth. Success could mean educational gain. Or achieving whatever your heart desires. All success takes is guts! You have to be willing to sacrifice to be successful. Whether that sacrifice is old habits, negative feelings, or people who don’t grow with you. You have to be willing to be strong to be successful. All days are not skipping through the flower filled meadows. Some days are dark and cloudy while you climb the edges of those mountains to make it to the top; then realizing there’s another valley to cross over to climb the next mountain! You have to work hard, be kind and courageous to stay strong. Read more>>

Danielle Rizzo

To be successful, I believe you have to be willing to make sacrifices that others aren’t willing to make and push past your comfort zone. When I started my company, I was a newly single mom of four. I had to create a way to provide financially while also being present for my children. I quickly learned that success would require me to step up in ways I hadn’t before. One of the biggest lessons for me was understanding that you have to be willing to give up not just your time or resources, but also your limiting beliefs. For a long time, I held onto the idea that I could only do so much, and that I was limited by my situation. But once I let go of those beliefs and started focusing on what I could accomplish, things started to change. Read more>>

Himanshu Pandya

Success is deeply personal and multifaceted; it’s essential to take the time to understand and define what it truly means to you. One person’s triumph might be another’s disappointment. The first step in the journey to success is to avoid shortcuts or mimicking someone else’s achievements without deeper introspection. Instead, I believe true success comes from digging deep and discovering what brings you genuine joy and fulfillment—that’s your unique definition of success. I always advise pursuing your passion and making it your profession. No matter what happens in life, your profession is where you’ll spend most of your time and energy. Choosing something you’re passionate about turns effort into enjoyment, transforming work from a chore into a source of personal joy and growth. When you approach your work with this mindset, success becomes a natural outcome, not just a goal. Read more>>

Alena Nazarova

To be successful in the beauty industry today, talent alone isn’t enough. You have to understand the fundamentals of business—management, marketing, and presentation skills, among others. Our profession has evolved and become far more complex than it may seem from the outside. It’s a multifaceted career that requires a deep combination of knowledge, adaptability, and resilience. One key to success is having a clear map of your goals. You need to know exactly what results you want to achieve, as this clarity provides direction and focus. Without it, burnout becomes a real risk, and it can make true success feel elusive. Read more>>

Khair Mas’od

Success, to me, really comes down to grit. When I started my company, Subset, there was a huge learning curve. I hadn’t formally studied business management or accounting, so stepping into an executive role required me to learn on the job—while also leaning into what I do best, which is the creative work. But I quickly realized that being a business owner means you give up the 9-to-5 for a 24/7 role, and it comes with absorbing a lot of pressure, setbacks, and unexpected challenges. Read more>>

Dominique Thomas

I believe that success in any business comes down to a few key principles. First and foremost, it’s about providing the best possible experience for your clients. Your clients, whether past, current, or future, are your most powerful marketing tool. If you deliver an exceptional experience, they’re likely to refer you to people they know, which is vital to continued brand growth. Read more>>

Matthew Trenhaile

I originally came to Atlanta in late 2018 after I graduated from the Conservatory of Recoding Arts and Sciences. I interned at Means Street Studios to begin my career. Early on it was quite apparent how to get ahead. We had a large team of roughly 3o interns and most were only there 3 days a week. All I had to do to gain an advantage was to be there as much as possible. When people see your face over and over they are much more likely to ask you to help out with something than an intern they see every now and then. Also, paying attention to what some of the engineers did helped out immensely. Read more>>

Jenna-monet Queeley

In my opinion, to achieve the ultimate level of success in anything in life requires dedication & most importantly consistency. In launching Jenna-Monét Béauty in 2021, it has shown me that in order to spread brand awareness I’d have to show up day to day via social media, word of mouth, in any way I could, in order for others to know of Jenna-Monet Béauty & its brand message, “determined to enhance your natural béauty”. Currently, Jenna-Monét Béauty has been acknowledged by OFF Town Magazine NYC, Caribbean Posh, JG Management USVI, Miss New York USA 2024, Love Flaws Foundation & soon to CanvasRebel Magazine. Read more>>

Kylie Motley

I believe that the “elixir” to attaining success is composed of desire, courage, faith, and perseverance. If one follows this formula with an immense drive to achieve their goals, then success is inevitable. Oftentimes, taking the first step toward your goals is the most frightening part. It’s easy to get excited about the end result and the final product, yet I find that the journey to the destination is equally as important. It is during this journey that you get to make mistakes, learn, and ultimately grow. Like a tunnel, you must go through it to see what is on the other side. When your desire to achieve a goal is stronger than your fear about it, you build courage—the courage to take that first step, regardless of the outcome, to face the unknown, and to take a leap of faith. With faith, you can acknowledge failure and obstacles as setbacks rather than endings. Read more>>

Nina Winters

The topics of success and accomplishment are rather personal than universal. I have come to this realization amid a “very successful” legal career according to the majority’s view, which associates the success with a paycheck, a position in a company, a degree etc. To my biggest surprise, something that was supposed to feel like “success”, didn’t feel like it all. I followed the path that was carefully paved away for me by everyone else but me, not paying attention to anything that would not fit that standard of a successful accomplishment. It is then when I discovered Earl Nightingale’s recordings on success, which finally allowed me to see what I was missing all these years. “Success is a progressive realization of a worthy ideal”. Read more>>

Autumn Bishop

The idea of success varies from person to person. For some, it will be becoming the CEO of a major company. For others, success could be contributing to a major project. As a Christian creator, my idea of success can sometimes be contradicting to others in my career. I see work as something that I enjoy and will enjoy doing for the rest of my life. However, I do not see work as something to find my worth in. For me, success is having a job that will allow me to showcase my strengths and improve my weaknesses, but also allow me to support and provide for myself and my family. In this way, career success takes hard work, dedication and commitment. It takes a firm belief in the work that is being done, and that it is worthy of being shared with others. On the other hand, my personal success derives from the ability to let go of work and have a home life that also brings me joy and fulfillment. Read more>>

Sarahi Pendergrass

I believe that true success involves several key elements: clarity of purpose, authenticity, resilience, adaptability, and building relationships. For me, clarity of purpose means understanding what truly matters. When I started sharing content about mom life and marriage humor, I realized my passion was in connecting with other parents who find joy and laughter in the chaos of family life. Authenticity has been crucial as well. I remember one time when I created a fall activity for my kids, where they were supposed to pick up colorful leaves and place them in a cardboard cutout to make a colorful tree. But when it came time to do it, they showed zero interest—not even a little! So there I was, picking up leaves and crafting a masterpiece all by myself. That moment perfectly encapsulated the unpredictability of parenting and became a humorous story that resonated with my audience. Read more>>

Bridget Stephenson

The wonderful thing about success is that it can be different for each and every person. For one it can mean making enough money to support them and their family and for someone else it can mean growing to seven figure profits. Since the meaning of success can look different to everyone, so does what it takes to be successful. My business journey started with me not fully understanding what my version of success was. I saw photographers online shooting every single day and traveling all the time, and I assumed that’s what I needed to do to be “successful”. I dreamed of booking destination weddings, traveling to new locations, and put a lot of energy into marketing my business to do that. It wasn’t until a good friend of mine sat me down and asked me what my dream life looked like before I ever thought about if that version of success aligned with what I wanted. Turns out, it wasn’t! Read more>>

Julia Goncharov

Success, for me, means recognition and being part of something that changes everyday life or shifts the way millions of people think. People who share this mindset often gravitate towards science or founding startups, which, in essence, have a lot in common. Driven by the desire to create the Next Big Thing, we are constantly searching for worthy ideas and the resources to bring them to life. But beyond having a great idea and a solid team, there are two other key components to achieving success: motivation and funding. Read more>>

Megan Andersen

Success can be measured so many different ways and feel different for everyone. I believe that anyone can be successful by digging deep within yourself to find the determination, grit, and drive it takes no matter what you are working toward. I believe that feeling successful typically comes after challenges along the way. It’s important to take chances, reflect on the journey as you go, make changes, and push forward until you hit your goal. Read more>>

Madisyn Kuehn

I believe success starts with taking action. While not every idea is meant to become reality—some are better left as ideas—I’ve seen too many people talk about what they want or wish they could do without ever starting. It can be tough to trust yourself when there’s no clear ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ path. But to me, success is about making a choice and moving forward with it—turning a thought into something real. Read more>>