There is so much to learn from investments that went really well as well as those that went really poorly and so we asked some of the wisest creatives and entrepreneurs in the community to tell us the stories of their best and worst investments.

Valentina Zakharova

The best investment I’ve made (and keep making) as a business owner is investment in myself, my well-being and self-exploration. This may sound out of topic, but if we think deeper, it’s not. I’ll explain. When you fly on an airplane, the flight attendant instructs you to “put your oxygen mask on first,” before helping others. Why is this an important rule for ensuring survival? Because if you run out of oxygen yourself, you can’t help anyone else with their oxygen mask. The same is with my photography. Read more>>

Sara Lovell

The best investment I’ve made as a business owner was…myself! My husband, Russell, and I used our savings to start our furniture refinishing business, Against the Grain Studio. We really just jumped in head-first with hope, a wish, and a prayer, haha! But we also put so much hard work, dedication, and persistence into it. Read more>>

Amelia Candelaria

My best investment was professional commercial headshots I got done by a local photographer. They landed me my first national commercial and highest paying gig to this day. My worst investment was, and this is going to be controversial but NYFW was definitely the worst. I understand the first or second time is really just networking and building yourself. However after that it’s just you wasting money to go to a 10 minute audition and never get a call back. So if doing anything fashion week definitely do virtual or invitational castings. Read more>>

Shaquana Wise

I can say one of the best investments I made as far as time is going to school for Certified Nurse Assistant and finishing. It was a time in my life in my mid 20s where I had to figure out who or what I wanted to be and how it can truly make a difference. My childhood was fun, spontaneous , wholesome but my Mid 20s to now I see the world more beautifully than I ever did in my life. Helping people is a gift I have and I always knew; Read more>>

Laidback Lee

The best investment I’ve made has been in myself. There’s nothing better than buying into yourself in my opinion, you challenge yourself to become better and eventually do become better and more confident in everything that you do. Read more>>

Shelice Johnson

The worst investment I made as a business owner was investing in a Publicist. I’m not saying all publicist are scammers, but I definitely made a huge mistake trusting this person. Back in December of 2021 the publicist popped up on my IG page. I read his bio and saw we were both from the same state. Of course I was like wow. So I digged a little deeper and saw he graduated from the same college as my oldest brother. Read more>>

Terrence Gover

The best investment I’ve made was investing in my character. In “Catch Me If You Can”, Leonardo DiCaprio took on serval careers with the same principle. Whatever you decide to do, learn it, practice it and live your life in that direction. Read more>>

Julianne Vickery

The best investments I have made over the last two and a half years were educational. In 2020 I started playing with fire and metal and had these ideas that I felt I needed to bring to life. Not having a formal metal smithing education made that a challenge. I poured over online videos, books and every free resource I could get my hands on. There were so many incredible resources out there, but I wanted more. Read more>>

Suzan McDowell

Never, never, NEVER buy a huge overpriced name brand printer that you don’t need and you can’t afford. Not only are they a rip off, that one evil printer, over time, actually cost me $63K. $63K! Then, to add insult to injury, they become obsolete 20 minutes after you buy it. Then you pay for what seems like forever. Plus after the gazillion dollars you spend, you still have to pay for the additional printing costs – like a little thing called color! Read more>>

Nakia Roberson

The best investment I made as a business owner was investing in myself. For many years I had a hard time believing in my self-worth and value. I allowed the negative talk in my head to affect me to a point that I was paralyzed in regards to moving forward and doing what God has called me to do. I didn’t love or believe in myself enough to walk in faith. Read more>>

Chelsie Maurer

I’m a firm believer in education and mentorship (let’s not reinvent the wheel, right?), so I would say investing in education has been the best decision I’ve made as a business owner. Each year, I make a point to invest in furthering my photography and/or business education to continuously grow. The education or mentorships look different each year, depending on what I want to focus on, but I’ve invested in in-person newborn workshops, online maternity and newborn workshops, newborn posing education groups, family posing lessons, and a course on elevating my client experience. Read more>>

Gericka Gillespie

In 2022 , I made a promise to myself that i was going to do something new! I thought of something that I wanted to do that I was scared of doing. Makeup came to mind ! I lost a close friend due to it. I was afraid that would clash but i’m glad i did it because it made me happy ! Once i followed my talent I began to grow ! I am so happy i invested in me ! I do not regret none of it at all! Read more>>

Ruth Hillman

One of the best investments I have made was an idea that came to me while sitting on the couch. Considering I have never had formal marketing training, YouTube has been my best friend. One day, while I was taking a break from the traditional marketing channels, I had the idea of looking for small YouTubers to share my products with. I found a small channel called Boxes and Deals and I sent her one of my pieces of Jewelry. Read more>>

Quinton Smith

I would say, my worst investment was not taking time to analyze how beneficial it is for me to invest into the resources and assets around me that could help me on the inside, and that goes for the personal and business. When it comes to being professional as a freelancer, and when you don’t have, ideal education or a reliable mentor, It can be very easy to frivolously invest but then have high expectations. Read more>>