Are you thinking about starting a business? If so, we think you’ll enjoy reading about how these seasoned entrepreneurs thought about the question when they were in your shoes.

Lisa Bartlett | Owner & Mom

The thought process behind BoobieJuice is to help Moms modernize breastfeeding. BoobieJuice helps by extending the shelf life of breast milk up to 3+ years by turning your liquid gold into your very own freeze dried breast milk powder. Read more>>

Lisa Rehurek | Founder & Inc 5000 CEO

It was slightly accidental. I was in a business partnership as a minority partner, and it was not going well. A very toxic environment. I was offered a sub-contracting consulting gig and the timing was just right, so I jumped at that chance, But I also knew I wanted to build something along side of that. I’d say the universe kind of pushed me into it. I had no prior exposure to business ownership but I had been bitten by the bug, and I knew I didn’t want to go back to a “job”. That was 13 years ago. Read more>>

Paul Grecian | Fine Art Photographer

I had been selling my work part-time for seven years before deciding to make the career switch at age 40. I wanted to more fully explore my creative potential and to be my own boss. I had achieved enough while being a part-time artist to be confident that going full time was likely to be successful, and knew that I would always question myself if I didn’t try. Read more>>

Kerry Elise | Spiritual Life Coach & Herbalist

My best friend, Taylor Anne, and I worked in tattoo shops together for years. We wanted to open a space where artists could feel inspired to create their best work. Equinox Art Collective is a space where we have been able to cultivate a thriving art community and support artists of all kinds. We recently have been fortunate enough to expand our space into an additional metaphysical retail shop, Equinox Provisions. I work on that side of the business as the resident spiritual life coach and herbalist. We have included classes, pop-ups and markets where local artists and practitioners get to show case their talents and creativity. Read more>>

Onnie Michalsky | Therapist, Coach, and Recovering Supermom

In 2019, I was freshly licensed as a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor and had passed my certification exam as a Health Coach through the American Council on Exercise. I was working at a community mental health center and when the local office was moving to the hospital, I decided to take the changes as an opportunity to step away and start my own practice. Read more>>

Stacey Uhrig | Certified Coach + Trauma Specialist

The decision to launch my own business as a Certified Coach and Trauma Specialist was driven by a combination of personal experiences and a deep-seated desire to assist others in recovering and thriving. Throughout my career, I have personally witnessed the transformative power of coaching and trauma-focused care in people’s lives. I noticed a growing need for tailored, empathetic, and successful coaching services that address not just the surface-level issues but also the underlying emotional, psychological, relational, and physical aspects of untreated emotional wounds and developmental trauma. Read more>>

Victoria James-Foster | Clothing Designer & REFS Associate

Starting a business is something I’ve always wanted to do. I wanted to have something that was birthed from an idea that I had. I want to be successful and I want to call the shots! Read more>>

Sam Fagan | Designer & WordPress Developer

In 2013, when I found out I was being laid off from my job at a small marketing agency in Austin, the overwhelming emotion wasn’t panic or fear—it was relief. I was burned out, tired of the lack of autonomy and being micromanaged by those who didn’t necessarily understand the projects they oversaw. More than anything, I was tired of working in an environment that didn’t resonate with my aspirations or values. I was eager to step out of the shadow of young male leadership and show that I, too, could build something successful. Read more>>

Dee Strychnine | The Coop Ringmaster & Musician

The Coop started when I just turned sixteen. I was in a riot grrrl band, and we struggled to get gigs. Most venues favored our male counterparts, and some just didn’t want to deal with new bands full of teenagers. There was a lot of toxic masculinity in the scene that made me and our friends feel unsafe. I wanted my own safe space, a place where our friends could come, hang out and know they were supported. I also wanted a place that wasn’t as exclusive as local venues, somewhere bands didn’t have to worry about their follower counts or streams in order to get a spot. We threw our first show in 2019, the feedback was great, and I thought “wait, I could really do something with this.” And the rest is history! Read more>>

Josh Bakken | Executive Chef

Entrepreneurship has long been a dream of mine. Over the past 12 years, I’ve immersed myself in the restaurant and catering industry, diligently honing my skills and accumulating invaluable knowledge. Read more>>

Brittany Rhodes | Virtual Cohost and Assistant

When I started this business I wanted to provide guest services using my lodging management degree.. I was succeeding well helping local hosts and family and wanted to expand across the globe to people traveling the world and needing reliable support along the way. Read more>>

Bruce Chamoff | Podcaster of 19 years, entrepreneur, musician/songwriter, founder of the first podcast network in the world.

I formed the world’s first podcast network in the world, because there was no website doing it back in 2006. I wanted to provide podcasters a place to be found. I also wanted to provide a place where subscribers can find new podcasts and for those wanting to be interviewed on podcasts. There was no other site providing podcasts to the world at that time. Not even Apple or Spotify had this service. Read more>>

Cisko | Cisko Media Group

Starting my own business was actually inspired by my last employer. I worked for a landscaping company and watched the owner grow from renting a small shop to buying a large piece of land where he built his house, a huge shop, purchased so much equipment that he used to rent, etc. The harder the crews worked, the wealthier He became. I wanted my own success story. What really did it for me was something he said at a meeting that I know was directed toward me. I had placed a sticker of one of my designs (for promo) on a company truck and during a meeting he told everyone that he didn’t want any stickers on the truck and that “It might be important to you but it’s not important to me.” I felt like quitting that day on the spot but I’m not a quitter. Read more>>

Nakisha Hamilton | Licensed Esthetician & Corrective Skincare Specialist

In the process of starting The Rebeaute, I wanted to build a space where people could come and reboot themselves from the inside out. I wanted to create an environment where people could just let go of their daily stress, feel and look like a different person than when they arrived at my salon. Read more>>