Deciding to start a business is an unusual decision. It’s often considered irrational and yet for many it’s the best decision they’ve ever made. So we asked folks to think back to when they were starting their businesses and to tell us about their decision making process.

Lauren Less | Content Creator & Food Blogger

I honestly kind of fell into it. A few years ago, I started sharing my recipes and health journey on Instagram and I found that a lot of people were struggling with the same things as me (food allergies and chronic illnesses). I created this amazing community by sharing what I am passionate about- food and wellness! I have always been an extremely creative person and I realized that over the years I became disconnected from this part of myself. Starting a food blog and creating allergy-friendly recipes has helped me to reconnect with my creative side, which has been so fun and rewarding! Read more>>

Ali T | Singer-Songwriter/Performer/Producer

I have always loved music – I wrote my first song when I was seven, and picked up a guitar when I was 11. I always knew I wanted to be a performer. In college (Wagner College on Staten Island) I majored in Arts Administration so if I didn’t make it as the talent, I could at least work in the business. I like to think my business degree has helped my career. I not only write and produce my music, but am my own manager, agent, publicist, graphic designer, etc. I take a great deal of satisfaction in being my own boss. It takes a lot of self discipline. If music doesn’t work out, I still see myself owning my own business. Read more>>

The PassportPair Tori & Josie | UGC Creators, Travel Photographers, & Travel Influencers

Thank you for reaching out to us regarding our business venture. We are thrilled to have the opportunity to share our thoughts on starting our own business. As recent college graduates, my best friend and I were faced with the daunting task of finding jobs in a highly competitive job market. However, we knew that we didn’t want to settle for just any job. We wanted to create something that we were passionate about, something that would allow us to use our creativity, and something that would allow us to explore our love for travel. Read more>>

Sue Averell | Artist and Entrepreneur

Opening an art gallery had been my dream and goal for many years. I knew realistically that it was important to first have a large collector base. To accomplish that I worked with several US galleries and for 14 years participated in The Celebration of Fine Art in Scottsdale Arizona. After almost 20 years of consistent sales I opened Gallery Sausalito in 2017. I continue to partner with galleries and participate in international gallery exhibitions. Read more>>

Matt Dewar | Videographer & Digital Marketing Professional

My main goal with starting my own business is to escape any current 9-5 job and be able to take control of my time and money. Although I am nowhere near where I want to be, it’s a start. I’ve always had an entrepreneurial side along with videography/photography skills. I studied marketing and entrepreneurship at the University of Montana and gained a huge interest in being a business owner. Read more>>

Taylor Dave and Dawn Davis | Co-Owners of Gardens and Graze | Flower Babes and Charcuterie Queens

Starting Gardens and Graze was a breeze for us. From the moment we met, we could feel the universe nudging us towards collaboration. It was evident that our individual flair for innovation and creativity would combine harmoniously to create something truly special. And thus, Gardens and Graze was born! Read more>>

Anuroop Kumar | Founder, Growth Marketer, & Community Builder

Noticing a gap in the market and opportunity to differentiate myself in a crowded market. I found a natural inclination and talent for the startup/innovation economy while in college and at the time was involved on campus as well as leading some social entrepreneurship projects Read more>>

Kristen Sylvester | Fine Art Storyteller Photographer

Fly Free Artistry was founded on the principle of chronicling life. I searched for a business that captured the magic and adventure of children. As a mother to five it was crucial for me to find a creative who could allow children to dream the impossible, to seek the adventure, and to capture the true moments of awe and wonder in the moment. The moments we can’t get back, but we can treasure and create timeless heirloom works of art. Read more>>

Lindsey Graham | Keynote Speaker, Author, Podcast host, entrepreneur and political activist.

Somewhere in my young adult life, I started thinking like an entrepreneur. Working for someone else, wanting to have more freedom to grow, expand and do what I thought could be successful, it was natural for me to leave the natural workforce, and start my own business. I wanted to have the individual freedom to think critically in my job and be able to impliment ideas that I felt would be beneficial, without having to answer to anyone for those ideas. Ultimately, it was more about the freedom to TRY new business tactics, whether they worked or not. Read more>>

Angela Duque-Parks | Head Scooper

I began thinking about my own business when I was looking for a way help others along with my passion of caring for dogs. I have always had a passion for helping others and am a dog advocate. I wanted to deepen both passions and combine them somehow. Read more>>

Victoria Akkari | Handmade Home Decor

I didn’t know how to make all of this come to fruition, but I dreamed about designing home decor and working with women artisans. So, I began searching for ceramic artisans and took a leap of faith, I reached out to an artist whose work I found truly beautiful, and she kindly responded. If you don’t take the first step, you’ll never know what could have been or where taking action may lead down the road. Read more>>

LJ and Natasha | Owners of Piper & Buster’s Kitchen

First and foremost our thought process behind starting our own fresh dog food business was based on our own dogs’ experiences with commercialized dog food. As dog mamas, we always want our dogs to have the best possible health and that starts with proper nutrition. One half of Piper and Buster’s Kitchen is the best boy Buster. He struggled with allergies due to certain foods he was eating. Read more>>

Chad Gerber | Photographer & Filmmaker

At times when I worked in a construction office after graduating from university, I felt like the people above me had lost their drive and focus to do anything more than the bare minimum. Being a young, driven kid, all I wanted to do was innovate and try and improve the business I was working for, but would always find myself being blocked or being told “just do it our way” or “the old way works best”. Read more>>

Eirene Archolekas | Artist, Writer, Teacher, Expressive Arts Facilitator

I have always gravitated towards the healing power of the arts to deal with the angst of growing up in a dysfunctional family. It was only after my second divorce when I had a spiritual crisis, a dark night of the soul, to die to the parts of me that were no longer serving me that I embraced my true self–artist, healer, adventurer and expressive arts facilitator. I never knew I was such a talented artist and writer until I literally died and came back to life in a new way, sort of like the Phoenix. Read more>>

Amala Rose | Multidimensional Energy Healing Practitioner, Cosmic Sound Alchemist, & Artist

Starting my business as a healing practitioner was motivated by newfound passions and a strong desire to be of service in new ways. In the beginning, there was no thinking involved. It was purely heart led. Read more>>

Tracy Mayfield | Salon and spa owner

I started working at the salon I now own in 1995 and I started out shampooing hair and then over the years I did hair then trained others to do hair and won some competitions doing hair and the opportunity came up for me to purchase the salon I worked at and I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to be a part of growing the industry I love and keeping the same great qualities going at my salon and really being able to be a part of all sides of the business. Of course to secure a retirement plan as well. Read more>>

Ahmed Taaeb | Animation Director | Founder Firefly Studio

When I started working in the animation industry, I noticed that the world was changing rapidly, particularly in terms of the way children were consuming media. As someone who grew up loving animated cartoons and comic magazines in the late 80s, I saw firsthand how much technology had advanced and how much more interactive media was becoming. Read more>>

Nana Kwadwo | Founder and CEO

As a matter of fact, I had absolutely no idea I was going to be an entrepreneur. I started Factionary just as a Facebook page I occasionally posted fun facts. And that was all I thought it was going to be. But over the years it has evolved into a blog site and a startup company in which I have employed freelance writers all around the world. I just couldn’t imagine this happening in my life. Read more>>

Spenser Robinson | UX Designer & Content Creator

I originally started my business to protect myself from the many pitfalls that happen in the arts and music space. Publishing my art was my main goal but the more I learned about the industry and what was needed I started to feel my purpose extend into the digital space so I can help others navigate the digital world successfully. Read more>>

Jonathan Warren Schreiber | Photographer

Well, I’ve started a number of businesses ranging from house/office cleaning to a coffee shop to social media marketing for coffee shops in the state of Arizona to now running my photography business. I’ve always been passionate about photography and design since I was a young lad — thanks in large part to my two grandfathers (one an architect and the other an artist) and my father who was a gifted artist himself. Read more>>