Entrepreneurs tell us about starting their businesses

Thinking through whether to start a business – whether to take the risk, whether to go out on your own – isn’t easy. So we asked some entrepreneurs we admire to tell us about how they thought through the process of starting a business.

Bernice Bedolla | Aguas Las Rancheritas Owner

When we started Aguas Las Rancheritas back in 2021 we didn’t really know where it would go. We wanted to bring a new twist of Aguas Frescas and change it up from a basic drink to something where you want to take a picture of! Read more>>

Melody Baha | Director, Actress, Producer & Writer

I was in acting school in 2016-2018 and in my last year we took a “web series” class where we learned about creating your own work. I was VERY inspired when we learned about Issa Rae and her YouTube series, which later turned into a smash hit on HBO. Read more>> 

Arricka Cox | Medical Massage as a billable treatment

In 2018 I just got out of the hospital after being an induced comma for 3 months. When I was able to secure an apartment from community resources I saw lots of neighbors that were also transitioning back into society from homelessness for on reason or another. Read more>>

Laurie Strand | Licensed Mental Health Therapist, Yoga Instructor & Senior Faculty for The Trauma Resource Institute

I worked for 14 years in the non-profect sector, community mental health, and in school-based mental health in public education. I loved and still love serving my community in a variety of capacities. As I began to entertain the idea of starting my own business, I began to explore working for myself through the formation of what many call a “side hustle.” Read more>>

LeRon Rovira | Business Owner & Designer

After I retired from the United States Army and wanted to start an business in apparel and didn’t want to work for someone else Read more>>

Jason Marchi | Writer, Editor, and Publisher

I’ve always had an independent streak. When I was a kid, my mother used to say that I walked to my own drummer. Right after college I started my stint working for others in a small textbook publisher. I learned quite a bit about how to run a small business because I had direct access to the three men who started the company. Read more>> 

Lauren Topor | Photographer & Artist

I’ve always known that I was bound for a creative career. But something happened in my early 20s: I got distracted. College, rent, jobs, family, social life; you name it. In 2020, like so many others, I did a sort of life audit and came to the conclusion that I desperately needed a more creative, more fulfilling career. And that was the start of Good Karma Photo. Read more>>

Fannie Hershberger | Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Income Tax Professional

I have been a business owner since I was 18 years old. Over the years, I have had multiple businesses but the part of business that I enjoyed the most was the financial bookkeeping and taxes part of it. When Covid hit in 2020 and my other business was forced to shut down for awhile, I decided to start a remote accounting business. Read more>>

Rachel Goodman | Dog Sitter & Social Media Manager

I truly believe if you do what you love, it does not feel like work. I thought, if I could do what I love every day, and have it happen to pay my bills, why not?! I have always had an entrepreneurial spirit. My thought process was this- being my own boss is better than having others tell you what to do. Read more>>

Lex Soul | Portrait/Fashion Photographer

I started my business back in late 2018 on a whim and faith. I was unhappy at my job and wanted more freedom to create freely. I decided to quit my 9-5 and pursue photography full time. Read more>>

Rob Becker | Real Estate Broker

I felt that I had unlimited earning potential. It was a way I could definitely provide for me and my family. Read more>>

Kun-Yen Kuo | KunYen Kuo, Owner of FIG Wellness Therapy, Occupational Therapist, Pelvic Floor Therapist and Lymphedema Therapist

FIG Wellness Therapy started because I needed help that regular medical treatments couldn’t provide. My job as an occupational therapist gave me chronic plantar fasciitis. I didn’t want cortisol injections or surgery, and I couldn’t make time for physical therapy twice a week. So, I couldn’t hike anymore, and work became hard. Read more>>

PD Williams | Personal Selfcare Therapist

My thought behind starting this business was to developed an wareness among massage therapists for the need of sensitivity when providing services to the plus-sized community. Read more>>

Danny Sawaya | Owner Tucson Strength

I know deep down inside I always wanted to work for myself. Every time I would find a job I would go in and put my entire heart into it, make an impact and then I had to wait for ownership or management to approve the next phase of what I wanted to accomplish. Read more>>

Michele DeFilippo | Owner, 1106 Design | Self-Publishing Expert

I wish I could tell you I had a plan, but deciding to start a business was a matter of survival. In 1976, my husband and I moved to Phoenix from New York City, where I made a decent living as a graphic designer. Unfortunately, the same work in Phoenix paid only minimum wage, about $4/hour. Read more>> 

Alex Sevigny | Musician & Audio Engineer

Like many musicians I had a dream of doing music and audio work at a professional level from a very young age. I had been a hobbyist musician for many years, writing and producing my own music for my solo project, but this was nowhere near a full time job, and certainly wasn’t paying the bills. Read more>>

Kelsea Robin | Violinist/Singer/Songwriter, Cofounder of Sad Girls Club

I moved to Phoenix in 2019, and immediately started trying to make connections and book gigs. Of all the cities I’ve lived and worked to establish a presence in, Phoenix, has been the toughest. I started keeping a spreadsheet of every opportunity I tried to get because I couldn’t keep track of the rejections. Read more>>

Liz Hahn | Owner & Founder of Phoenix Bachelor Party

I have always loved the music and entertainment industry. Growing up in Southern California, not far from Malibu and Calabasas, I loved throwing parties with local bands, kegs of beers, beer bongs, party models, and wet T-shirt contests. This was the winning combination back then: women, beer, and good music. Read more>>

Nikita Magan | Beauty Brand Founder

Growing up in health-conscious San Francisco, the mantra “you are what you absorb” guided my choices, especially as I overcame a stroke and dealt with the aftermath of it as an invisible disability, along with living with cerebral palsy. Health awareness has always been a huge part of my life, from being active to knowing what I put in my body. Read more>>

Jessi Lupardo | Co-founder, Mama to Parker

As the owner of a small, locally owned business in Scottsdale (Ruze Cake House!) and as a mother whose husband travels a lot for work, I frequently used meal delivery companies to help fill the gaps around mealtime! The meal delivery services were helpful, but not necessarily kid-friendly. Read more>>

Nikki B. | Real Estate Entrepreneur, AirBNB & Confidence Coach

The thought process behind becoming a Entrepreneur stemmed from me wanting to become my own boss, pursue my passion and make my own schedule. I felt the need to create and control my own narrative and not set limits on how much money I could make. Read more>>

Leander D’Ambrosia | Jewelry Designer & Artist

I started Leander D’Ambrosia jewelry as a side hustle when I was 22, living in that beautiful youthful delirium where anything is possible and everything seems doable, as long as you’ve got enough grit and sense of adventure. Read more>>

Ryan Harrop | Children’s Photographer

From the time I was 10, I swear I was constantly coming up with ideas as to how I could be a stay at home mom and still work full time. I wanted to be a nail tech, a piano teacher, a hairstylist, the list just went on and on haha! Read more>>

STEVEN GAGNON | CEO | Watch Designer

In the world of timekeeping, Eques Timepieces shines as a beacon of innovation and passion. It all began with a Mickey Mouse watch gifted to me at six years old, sparking a lifelong fascination with timepieces. Fast forward to 2000, when a simple question from my wife changed everything.  Read more>>

Amaya Burkhart | Children’s Character Entertainment Specialist

I have loved to perform since I was just 5 years old. Over the years I have taken part in countless plays, musicals, choirs, and performance troops. As a Disney fan as well, it only made sense to become a party princess performer. I joined a local company and absolutely fell in love with the job. Read more>>