Are you thinking about starting a business? If so, we think you’ll enjoy reading about how these seasoned entrepreneurs thought about the question when they were in your shoes.

Tracey Corenman | Art Director & Project Coordinator at Shortcut Filmmaking

Our thought process behind starting Shortcut Filmmaking is that, as a married couple, and two very creative people, we wanted to build an opportunity to work together on something we absolutely loved. Since one of us has background in cinematography and camera skills and the technical side, and the other has background in public relations and client relations and consultative sales…it just made sense to put all of our best skills together! With so many traditional 9-5 jobs coming with such rigid processes and so much monotony, we knew we needed to create our own path that was fulfilling for both of us! Read more>>

Jennifer Mawcinitt | Owner

I started Wildlings Toy Boutique because I wanted a toy shopping experience for myself and my family that wasn’t readily available in my community. I’ve been able to explore lots of amazing toy shops across the country but when it came to my own backyard, options were limited. I started with a business plan and lots of research on starting and running small businesses in my area. I consulted with accountants, lawyers and other small business owners to ensure that we made wise decisions about setting up the business from day 1. I’ve been able to create something unique that adds value to my community and allows me to share my passion for play every single day. Read more>>

Tyler McIntosh Roger Calamaio | Co-owners of Desperation Skateboards

To be honest, there wasn’t any form of serious thought put into the idea of starting a “business” in the traditional sense, it just seemed natural. We all come from the underground music community that relies heavily on DIY ethics. You make connections with individuals who have their own screen printing operations or operate a label out of their garage. Printing skateboards didn’t seem any different, just a different task. Read more>>

Jordan Nelson | Non-profit Pro & Clean Beauty Enthusiast

Ultimately, I felt like I was meant for more. After graduating college I went into the non-profit field and to this day love the work I do with nonprofits. However, I felt the wrath of the grind after about 3 years in the industry. Wake up, go to work, go to the gym, go home, repeat. Although I was doing fulfilling work, I didn’t feel fulfilled. After 3 years as an event manager in the nonprofit field, I started up an online business in clean beauty on the side. Read more>>

Amy Haley | Photographer with Amy Haley Photography

It was four years ago, I had been doing photo shoots for friends and family, but my husband and I found a special needs bike trailer that we knew our son, Caleb, would love! I decided to put it out there and opened the #GreatCalebBikeFundraiser! I was astounded by how many people wanted to purchase a photoshoot to help Caleb get his new wheels, but I was even more inspired by how many special needs families felt incredible relief to have a photographer who understood their circumstances. I realized that I wasn’t alone in those feelings of anxiety and stress before a family photoshoot, and I wanted to help! I got tremendous support from those early photoshoots and decided to jump all in! Read more>>

Austin Smith | Director of Business Development and Social Media

The reason we wanted to turn the Salt Lake City Crusaders from an amateur sports group into an official business is because of how truly wonderful all the members of our team are. People are willing to sacrifice so much time and money to help the team grow, to travel for unpaid events, to provide supplies for team members and support; we just couldn’t sit by and let that continue to happen. We wanted there to be enough money coming in that people could be a part of this sport and not have to choose between saving more money for their families and future plans or being a part of something so enriching. Read more>>

Areli Rivera | Legal Document Preparer Certified by the Arizona Supreme Court

Life itself and circumstances led me to make decisions where I could spend time with my children, have an income and at the same time have the flexibility to arrange my personal life. I was going through very difficult moments in my personal life and I no longer had the head for so much; between a job of 8 hours or more, my small children and problems at home, the first thing that occurred to me was to start my own business because I reached my tolerance limits. I already had experience in the field for many years and in my previous jobs I was in charge of the company and supervising the work, so I said, no more. I went from place to place asking if they would rent me a desk to see clients, until I found a place, bought a computer and a printer, made business cards and let my friends and acquaintances know so they could spread the word. Read more>>

Heather Stutzman | Fitness Trainer

Prior to the pandemic I actually didn’t think about starting my own business. I knew I loved fitness and personal training but was always seemed too busy in my corporate career/personal life to think about building a business around it. The pandemic afforded me the opportunity to slow down and evaluate what was really important. I knew I loved to empower others and create fitness programs that fit a person’s goals and lifestyle. There are thousands of online fitness programs available but few are built for a specific individual. Read more>>

Alexis Paige | Founder, Alexis Paige Made

Honestly, it was a matter of circumstance in the beginning. Before COVID, I was working as a personal trainer for a luxury gym in NYC, pumping out unsustainable hours and giving most of what I was making back to the gym. I knew I needed to think bigger, to figure out a way to work smarter, but I was so exhausted and just living from a place of reaction. Read more>>

Lois Eckley | Ascension Guide and Star Being

This is an interesting question because in a sense there was no thought in this process! It was soul lead! The idea or inspiration came years in advance of me ever knowing what the website itself would be and it took time for me to grow into who I am becoming. We grow and expand so rapidly, and so the first creations on offer on the website were quickly being changed for new offerings and services as I was growing and evolving. So there was an idea, a thought if you like, a desire to create something that would represent my frequency and be able to connect with others who could feel it too. Read more>>

Coach Litt | Head Trainer & Owner

When I thought about starting my business wasn’t until after one of my co-workers asked me to train her. Being a basketball coach and strength and conditioning coach I felt I could help her. She was going with another trainer and she had plateaued and getting her to go from 179 to 134 in two in and half months was amazing. I then wanted to give a very affordable place where people could come workout and get healthy. I wanted to create a product that was affordable, fun, and has all the bells and whistles that makes getting healthy fun and not feel like a chore. Read more>>

Ula Bozek | Co-owner of WMP Eyewear

My husband and I started WMP Eyewear in 2011 when we realized that the only affordable eyewear out there was gas station quality sunglasses. The eyewear market was missing quality eyewear and trendy styles at an affordable price. We wanted everyone to have an opportunity to score a great looking pair of sunglasses without breaking the bank! Read more>>

Lauren Clark | Life Coach for Creatives, Performer & Writer

To answer this question, I have to give a little back story because I didn’t wake up one day and go, “I’m going to be an entrepreneur!,” but rather my life unfolded in a way where entrepreneurship really just made sense and aligned with what I wanted and felt I could do! So basically, I got my professional start about a decade ago. I had just graduated from college and I moved from the midwest to New York City in 2012 to establish myself as a dramatic actor. However, I found the comedy scene to be a little more suited to me and my personality at the time, so I took improv, stand up and sketch comedy writing classes. Yes, all on top of each other and all at once. Read more>>

Natalie Nguyen | Impulsive LLC

Starting my own business has always been a goal of mine. I remember in elementary school we would have career days, where you had to dress up as what you wanted to be in the future. In 5th grade, I came in as a “business owner/CEO”, at this time I did not know what exactly I wanted to start but knew what I wanted. Fast forward to my freshman year of University at a business school, I was inspired by a doodle book that my friend and I collaborated on during the lectures. I wanted to throw our doodles from class on some apparel to sell. I began my research and it just escalated from there. Read more>>

Barb Poole | A mother, a grandmother, a great grandmother

Before my retirement from Mesa Superior Court my husband and myself purchased a small 6 months old pug puppy from a pet store. The puppy was frail and obviously sick. A few days after bringing our puppy home we woke up to the puppy in distress, The puppy’s eyes were both covered with infection. It was Sunday. We took our little girl “Liberty” to urgent care, urgent care cleaned Liberty up and told us to see our vet on Monday. By the end of that week little Liberty had undergone eye surgery by a specialist to remove ingrown eyelashes and a hole in one eye. We were told these issues are from inbreeding in the puppy mill. We did our homework, and yes Liberty was from a puppy mill with many inbreeding health issues. Read more>>

Amanda Budd | Licensed Esthetician & Entrepreneur

Ever since I was young, I have always loved all things related to beauty, fashion and self-care. Going through middle school and high school, I wasn’t always the greatest student. School was challenging for me because I was never interested in any of the subjects and struggled with test-taking. Once I was a Junior in high school, I was introduced to ROP classes. I signed up for a fashion course and fell in love with it. Throughout my junior and senior year, I also took ROP Advanced Fashion and ROP Entrepreneurship. I was always excited for new projects, research and I actually got A’s and B’s! Read more>>

Taylor Claiborne | Photographer / Jeweler

The thought process behind starting my own business was my own drive as an artist to earn income from what I love doing as well as branching out into paths to being more self reliant. It is easy to work for a company, do you job, leave and have a paycheck, but as a creative it isn’t something I can do for years on end and be happy about it. For me, starting my own business selling jewelry, doing photoshoots and working as a creative has a lot of merit in making myself happy and hopefully the good experiences flow into my clients’ lives as well. Read more>>