We were fortunate to catch up with some brilliant artists, creatives and entrepreneurs from throughout the Houston area and they share the wisdom with us below.

Jason Costello | Managing Partner & Founder Canyon Coolers

Managing risk is the number one thing I do. We have to take them and we have to embark on projects with unknown outcomes, but I have to be aware of the downside. I spent almost 15 years in industrial safety, my mom was a Risk Manager and my Dad was a Commanding Officer in the US Coast Guard. s you might say Risk is in my blood. We currently have one minority partner who is non responive unsupportive and generally relies on what I would say is poor legal council. You cant take quite the same level of risk in that environment. I have a modicum of vision which is to say I can connect some dots and I feel pretty good about plotting a trajectory without knowing exactly how each dot will connect. Read more>>

Natasha Simmons | Author and Ghost Writer

As a writer, I’m interested in exploring authentic aspects of the human experience, particularly the deeper, darker layers that are difficult to talk about openly. Therefore, I often find myself inspired at random times by doing normal life stuff. Things like being in nature, reading, traveling, long conversations, and viewing other forms of creative expression are some of my favorite ways to cultivate inspiration when my work is lacking color. Dealing with mental health struggles, grief, frustrating mistakes, and heartbreak are also inspiring in essential, though less pleasant ways. Read more>>

Jason Downer | Sound Mixer and Editor for Film and Television

What makes me happy is helping others. I’m a fairly basic person, I have my family, hobbies, and as I get older, naps. Naps are great, I had no idea when I was younger. So my needs are essentially met. I find that my work in film and television sound helps achieve someone else’s dream, and I find that very fulfilling. It can be very difficult to get a clean recording on set, to remove unwanted background noises in post production, and balance the whole audio shebang in the final mix. There’s a lot of common mistakes and pitfalls that I see. Being able to use my experience and skill set to insure a polished finished product that fulfills my clients’ vision is incredibly rewarding. Read more>>

Frances Melhop | Artist, Curator & Art Gallery Director

For me art as a mode of communication has always mattered, along with equality, and fair play. Over the years my main concern was telling women’s stories, from narrating tales with female protagonists in my fashion days, to teaching an art history “Women in Art” and now running a nomadic art gallery that leans heavily toward supporting female artists’ careers and practices. I guess Ive been deliberately trying to add to the canon to include the incredible stories of women that have traditionally been overlooked in the artworld. From the start I worked with mainly female editorial teams and crew in the photography studio, collaborating to create empowering characters through fairytale and folkloric stories. Read more>>

Parshe Johnson | CEO of Sugar Star Sweet Treats

My end goal is to leave a beautiful legacy for my daughters. I am doing most of the hard work now. My business now has 2 federal trademarks, a LLC and I am currently in the process of becoming a minority certified business. Securing these things now protects the Sugar Star Brand and will open doors for endless possibilities for my girls in the future. Right now I do all the baking. By the time they take over they will have employees doing the baking. Their jobs will be to lead because Mom put in the work. I would love to see them turn Sugar Star Sweet Treats into a household name. I want to see our baked goods in grocery stores and our line of bakeware in department stores. I can see it now. Read more>>

Cole Mitchek | Filmmaker

I believe that it’s something that I’m naturally attracted to, just creating things. I like to try and make things regardless of my circumstances. The more time I spend doing things that I love to do, the better I tend to feel. So it’s not even necessarily about what creative thing I’m doing, it’s mostly just the choice to do it. I’m then automatically opened up to possibilities that I wouldn’t have otherwise considered. So I want to continue to stay open in that way as I get older through the act of creation. Also I love to collaborate with other humans who will expand on ideas and make the process so much more exciting and fulfilling. Read more>>

Mac Smith | Vocalist and Manager

As a band, we pursue a creative career simply for the love of what we do. It’s a very difficult and hollow task to give ultimate effort towards something that you’re not passionate about, which is why we choose to make music. It’s what we love and we were simply born to do. It may not lead to material wealth and success, but will always be worth it to us. Read more>>

Dimitra Trejo | Director of Public Relations and Marketing

Balance is detrimental. I’m currently in a position that requires so much of my time. However I love what I do and am honored I was chosen for the job – with a toddler and one on the way balancing work and home will be a challenge – but that’s why they say “it takes a village” to raise a baby- and I intend to tap into that village often! Read more>>