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.

Misty Love | Photographer

Prior to becoming a family photographer, every year I would get family photos taken. Especially in time for the holidays, as they make memorable gifts. I noticed that pricing would increase every year to the point where I was paying as much as I paid for wedding photography. Read more>>

Dominique Willis | Owner of L.E.D By Willis

The thought process behind starting my own business was to break generational curses and build generational wealth. I want to be able to help my family and children with whatever they ask for, and I want to be able to give back not only to my community but to other communities as well. Read more>>

Abby Higgs | Business Owner and Wedding Photographer

Word spreads fast! After taking taking many pictures for friends in college, I started getting inquires for senior photos, engagement photos, family photos etc. I thought, “why not get paid to do something I enjoy?” In November of 2018, I registered my business, created a website, and started marketing Abby Higgs Photography! Read more>>

OG Hatch | Podcaster & Content Creator

That’s a very interesting question. There a multiple reasons why I started my podcast. As someone who deals with mental health the main focus was to use the podcast as audio journal for myself as self therapy. Also, along the way I understood that by me being vulnerable on my platform discussing topics such as mental health, depression and anxiety I could positively impact people whom looked, sounded and thought like myself. Read more>>

Rob Baddorf | Author, Middle-Grade Fiction

Wow, I wrestled with that one. I could have gone to a traditional publisher and continued to submit my activity books and my middle-grade fiction, but to what end? My literary agent wasn’t able to get traction with the large publishing companies. They don’t want to risk much on a new, un-proven author. Read more>>

Stephanie Perry | Cafe owner and graphic designer

My husband, Ammon, and I moved back to the city of Harrisburg in PA in 2010 from the suburbs. I’m a graphic designer and had been working at Messiah College in the Marketing and Public Relations department. Read more>>

Jessie Eisenhart | Wedding Photographer

I always knew I needed to be my own boss. As a little girl I was super bossy & never exactly listened to anyone.. I still don’t LOL I always loved documenting everything. I was that annoying friend that always took pictures of everyone & everything. As the years went on I some how I fell into the wedding photography business. Read more>>

Richard Alexander Martinez | Founder

I started Simply Spice Rubs, LLC. because I had a vision on some new seasoning products that included using freeze-dried fruits powders combined with raw spices…some varieties I came up with were Raspberry Lime Pepper, Citrus Cranberry, Kiwi Wasabi and Banana Bonanza. Read more>>

Casandra Newman | Metal Stamping Artist, & Crafter

This business sort of started as an accident. I started making pieces for friends and family as gifts and fell in love with the craft. As my son got a little bit older, I was able to focus on it more. Being a stay at home mom, I started to realize if I make the jump, that I could potentially make an income doing what I love and still being home with him. It has also allowed me to navigate my schedule around his activities, and still be at as much as I can. Read more>>

Nick Selway | Nature and Landscape Photographer

Growing up with parents who worked for themselves i always wanted to do that as well. Born and raised in Lake Stevens, Washington along the Northern Cascade Mountains, I grew a profound appreciation for the natural world at a young age. I spent my childhood traveling and exploring the Pacific Northwest with my family and my love for mother nature grew. Read more>>

Joe Furman | Comic Book Shop Owner

Starting something ambitious is always the hardest part. I had always day dreamed of owning a comic book store, it was the idea of leaving a steady career and pursuing such new territory that was the scariest part of it all. Read more>>

Jacob Thomas | Real Estate Agent

The idea behind starting my own business is just that: it’s my personal business. There’s so many fields to choose from when choosing a career, but not many that you can be your own boss. My goal in life has always been to have a career that I’m passionate about but also one where I can determine the processes and make the decisions as I see fit. Read more>>

Elijah Goldsmith | Car Enthusiast

I didn’t have any, I was just winging it like I normally do but I did figure If I’m going to be spending all this money on car parts and making YouTube videos might as well try and make some money while doing it. I met my friend Evie, and that is when things changed. She is super smart and very business savvy. She help me a ton and put me on the path to have a legal business. Read more>>

Timber Times | Creator & Business Owner

I created HighIQ somewhat out of the blue. I struggled throughout college as I had difficulty concentrating on my tasks and figuring out my career choice. In fact, I had an intense fear of graduating college. Prior to making this decision to start my own business, I’d worked in numerous corporate and retail jobs and realized, it was not for me. Read more>>

Halla Byer | Reiki Master & Quantum Healer

I started my business in September of 2021, and it is simply an expression of my soul and where I was in my own personal evolution. From then until fairly recently, it was more of a hobby and creative expression than my actual work, as I was still employed full time at a big fintech company. Read more>>

Ashley Ketch | Photographer, Graphic Artist & Artist

The thought process behind starting my own business came as a series of events and “Aha!” moments! I had been working an amazing job as a graphic designer for McCain Foods Canada covering a maternity leave. As my position was coming to an end, I applied for graphics positions for jobs located from Newfoundland to the Yukon, trying to find that permanent job I could work at for years and retire at. Read more>>

Anne Lehman Stolpe | Artist, Illustrator and Graphic Designer

Making art has always been a part of me. Since I first picked up a crayon, I’ve been drawing and creating. It was my favorite pastime as a child and it still is! I pursued art in college, majoring in Art Education and received a degree in Fine Arts. Soon after, I became interested in Graphic Design and digital art. Read more>>

Dusty Reyes | Owner of Leda Atomica Studio

Several of my creative friends expressed the same concern around the same time – they were tired of spending so much time learning to run a business when they wanted to be making art. Painters trying to design websites, printmakers running an Etsy shop; that stuff wasn’t what they wanted to be doing, and there was a lot to learn. Read more>>

Queli Arenbart | Health Insurance for Individuals and Families

I’m originally from Brazil where I grew up around many family members that were small business owners. I saw the hard work they put in from the start of their business and watched their success over time. I noticed the personal growth they developed from striving to be successful in their market. Read more>>

Evie Harper | Driver & Architect of Opportunity

I had a hobby that I’d loved since high school, but off-road driving didn’t strike me as a career. However, in 2020, I discovered the women’s only Rebelle Rally, The Rebelle Rally is the first women’s off-road navigation rally raid in the United States. Read more>>

Cristina Baciu | EKA Yoga Founder & Yoga Instructor

This is such a cliche, but it started on New Year’s Day 2021. I wrote down my 1-year goals, my 5-year goals, and my lifelong goals that morning and envisioned the life that I wanted. In this life, I imagined (word for word from my notepad) my life goal to “have helped millions of people around the world to believe in themselves and revolutionized how people think and do yoga.” Read more>>

Rosilind Rosie” Hooks | Private Wealth Notary “

I launched Marksman Signing Agency at the start of the COVID Pandemic due to limited access. The only notary that I used previously was with my bank. Once COVID was in full swing, the majority of banks had closed their doors and refused to notarize anything that wasn’t related directly to a bank advantageous financial transaction, Once I began my notary journey I began to look at ways to maximize my notary commission and completed the training to become a Loan SIgning Agent. Read more>>

Ime deCaussin | Polymer Clay Jewelry Designer, University Professor, and PhD Student

Starting my business Created By Koko was serendipitous. One day I was scrolling on Pinterest and stumbled upon a photo of polymer clay earrings. I was instantly intrigued and continued learning about polymer clay by reading books and watching tutorials. Rather than keeping all the earrings I created for myself I decided to start selling them. Read more>>