Every overnight success we’ve seen has been years in the making. And those overnight successes are rarely because of an amazing idea or a stroke of luck. We asked some of our favorite folks from the community about what characteristics are at the heart of their success story?

Meg Smith | Photographer/Filmmaker

Perseverance. I became a photographer as a young woman in the late 90’s. I only knew one female professional photographer personally. Now I must know a hundred, maybe hundreds of women who are professional photographers. But back then it wasn’t considered a career path, and it was a male-dominated industry. Read more>>

Allie Steinbock | CEO and Head Fitness Coach for HEAT Fitness

The most important factor behind my success is that I genuinely care about people, how they feel about themselves and I am able to relate to them through my own fitness journey. As a teenager, I struggled a lot with my weight and self confidence. It wasn’t until I discovered how exercise, specifically group exercise, can have such a positive impact on people. Not only with getting in shape, but complete mental and physical health benefits. Read more>>

Max Lapekas | Kayak Guide & Business Owner

Customer service and experience. Almost all of our customers are on vacation and have been planning these experiences for sometimes years. That is why we focus on customer service and the experience customers have from the time they book to the time they get back in their cars to leave. Read more>>

Andris Braeuer | Filmmaker

The film world is immensely collaborative compared to other artistic avenues and that’s what I find most compelling about it. Collaboration has allowed me to meet some incredibly talented people who have helped me with all my past and future endeavors. My latest short film Bird of Paradise couldn’t have been done if it weren’t for the collaboration of so many people here in the Valley. Read more>>

Lorde Astor West | Venture Builder

Relationships. Building relationships with my clients and having a genuine interest in them, their business, and solving their problems to the very best of my ability. The average lifespan of my dev shop customers was around 8+ years. Because of the relationships that I built with my clients I was able to create a successful business from the ground up, on its profits, and was 100% referral based by year two. Read more>>

Lisa Hall | Founder & Owner of Experience Ancient Seas®

There are many contributing factors behind our success. The main ingredient in our formula for success has been leveraging my experience of over 20 years in the food industry. Working with gold-standard, industry innovators such as Starbucks, The Cheesecake Factory, Wolfgang Puck and even McDonald’s Corporation was very inspirational. I spent many hours in R&D kitchens across the country with top chefs creating ideas and new, fresh restaurant quality formulas. Looking back, it was an amazing career. Read more>>