The first step to starting a business is deciding to start a business. They say the first step is the hardest and in our experience this is especially true when it comes to starting a business. Getting over the mental roadblocks can be tough, often harder to overcome than the challenges you’ll face once you actually start the business. Fellow entrepreneurs share their thoughts below.

Stacy Marshall | Artist & Entrepreneur

Starting my handmade jewelry business was, like many business, born out of necessity! I was pregnant and stuck at home without a job or a car. My husband had our only car at work during the day and I was wanting to put my creative skills to use and make some money from home in any way that I could. Etsy was brand new and I decided to give it a shot! I have a graphic design background, so I whipped up a logo and a shop banner, and my online craft business was born. Read more>>

Sherry McClurkin | Emotional Balance Expert & Instructor, and Former Trauma Therapist of over 10 years

I’ve been a Trauma Therapist for over 10 years, and it was only about 5 years ago that I was introduced to brain-science based interventions. Finally learning how our brain processes emotions and the simple interventions available to make significant changes in that emotional processing were Eureka moments for me. This information deepened my understanding of traumatic impacts, explained what I see in clients and why they react in certain ways, and so much more. My reaction included shock that brain-science is not part of our basic training as therapists; even more, this brain science is basically Human Being 101, so why isn’t this taught in every elementary school? Read more>>

Sommer Koweek | Photographer and Painter

I decided to start my own business because I wanted more control and freedom over my life. I worked in the restaurant industry for a while and every week my schedule was different, and I was tired of not having extra time to do meaningful things in life. I have always loved art and creation, so I decided to find the most logical path to making art into a career. For me, this turned out to be photography. I was already familiar with the world of photography because I used to model. Even then, I had always been curious about the other side of the camera. I bought my first camera, watched hours and hours of YouTube videos about how to use it, and then I begged my friends and family to model for me. I didn’t expect to fall in love with photography as much as I have but now, I can’t imagine doing anything else. Read more>>

Karen May | Event Design Expert

I realized life was too short to spend my time making money for other people and doing nothing to better the world. I now have the freedom to choose the industry I want to operate in, as well as the services I want to offer, give my time to who I want to and well “Do It My Way”. I was not driven by money I never have been but rather by a desire to create a better world for those who need help, and the money I now make helps support that. Supporting community, non-profits, and other social efforts by giving back to my community has changed my life. Giving gets under your skin in the best possible way …I like to dedicate time to helping those less fortunate who need our help and resources. Read more>>

Sheon Paige | Founder & CEO

I started Smell’ N Bomb in 2020, the middle of the pandemic, because I wanted to create a business that gave people joy. We were all so sad, confused and stuck at home so I wanted to create a business that we all could use at home that gave us joy. I prayed about it and God planted this business in my heart and it’s been growing ever since. Read more>>

Kendall Linderman | Owner of Mod Desert

In 2019, I had a stirring in me to pursue something I was passionate about. My husband and I had collected vintage furniture since early in our marriage. Friends and family would often ask us to source furniture for them, and we thought, “Maybe this could be a business?!” So we asked our friends, Ashley and Micah Bentley, if they wanted start up a vintage furniture side hustle with us in our garage in the middle of the Arizona summer, and they accepted! We started with $500 each couple, bought as many pieces of furniture that we could, and I started an Instagram, @moddesert. We were very intentional with the posing and staging of each piece, making sure they looked like they could be INSIDE your home. Read more>>