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.

Bobby Ostrop | ACE Certified Entomologist, President

I have been in pest control for over 15 years and I have worked for many pest control companies. At my most recent job, I was the Operations Manager for a company, and part of my job duties was training franchise members how to start their own pest control businesses. Realizing that I had enough of all of the “corporate politics” my wife and I decided to make the leap and work for ourselves. K and R Pest Management was formed. Read more>>

Katie Mena | Tattoo Artist

I felt ready to start my own business around a year after completing my tattoo apprenticeship. I had established clientele and found that interest in my work was steadily increasing. I also wanted to create an environment supportive of a more comfortable, client focused tattoo experience and starting my own tattoo shop was the best way to achieve this. Having amazing friends who offered me space in their building to setup shop was also a huge deciding factor. Read more>>

Tom Virgin | Educator, Proprietor of Extra Virgin Press in Little Haiti (Miami) FL

Speaking as a late bloomer (BFA at 37, MFA at 40) my thought process was less a factor in starting a business, than my continued research in book arts and letterpress printing. My teaching career began at 41 as a Title I Public High School Art teacher in Miami, Florida. Parallel to my teaching, I continued creating and exhibiting art, while applying for grants and workshops in my field. After a couple summers taking workshops, I was awarded artists residencies each summer for over a decade. Read more>>

Siobhan Lynch | Stained Glass Artist

I was having dinner at a friend’s place one night and my friend’s father’s advice was “find something you love and do it as a job”. I was in between jobs and not quite sure what I wanted to do next. I had always worked and did art “on the side”. I was just starting to make stained glass projects and creating my own designs. I was loving it but did not think I could make it into a career. Read more>>

Samantha Knies Gray | Yoga and Barre Studio Owner & Teacher

I own Fire Horse Yoga in Jasper, Indiana — a boutique yoga studio in the historic downtown of a small Southwestern Indiana town. We’ve been in business, continuously, for almost 22 years which is nearly unheard of in the yoga studio world. I discovered Fire Horse Yoga in 2016 after moving back home for my husband’s job. I quickly fell in love with the space, the community, and the styles of yoga offered. In 2017, I graduated from Fire Horse’s yoga teacher training and took a spot on the teaching team. I continued to teach at the studio and around the community, but I was very loyal to Fire Horse and never imagined myself owning a studio. Read more>>

Jaclyn Waggoner | Certified Lactation Counselor

I have been in the lactation world for almost a decade. Mostly just volunteering and running free support groups. In all these years one thing that really struck out to me was the importance of women being educated and feeling empowered about breastfeeding BEFORE their baby was born. A lot of times people (me included) will do a ton of research on all things baby and even birth, but kind of skip over breastfeeding, thinking they will just figure it out when the time comes. Read more>>

Kylie Aaron | Registered Dietitian & Lactation Consultant

Working in community nutrition has been a wonderful experience but there’s a lot of limitations. Finding a lot of barriers to providing the best services and support possible lite in me a drive to want to start my own business. I found that working with clients and specifically new moms takes time that often I don’t have in a high paced community setting. Since starting my own business I find that I can provide more support, I’m not constrained by time and more resources to reach success. Read more>>

Dr. Sherard A. Robbins | Founder, Owner, and CEO of Visceral Change

Prior to founding my consultancy, I cut the bulk of my teeth as a professional in the student affairs sector at various institutions of higher education, where I worked as both, a diversity practitioner and a Residence Life employee. I would say in reflection that, although the skills and insights I learned from my time in student affairs were valuable, there seemed to be one constant that spoke true for each institution in which I found myself – the work around diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) was oftentimes noncommittal. Read more>>

Brittney Heyns | Accountant & Knitter

I have been knitting for over ten years. It has become such a passion of mine and I love to create all different kinds of things, but specialize in stuffed animals and wall art. While giving these things as gifts is always great, I will sometimes spend 30+ hours on a single project and it can be exhausting and devaluing to always be giving your handmade items away for free. I decided a few years ago it was time to start selling my projects and Knittney was born! Read more>>

Destry Phillips | Entrepreneur / Videographer / Drone Pilot

The thought process behind starting your own business was pretty straightforward for me. I grew up in a family of businesses, working during the summers and learning the ropes of business without even knowing it. I saw the freedoms having your own business granted you, and I wanted them. I had a hard time taking direction from my bosses in jobs after college. I knew I wanted the freedom to run my own schedule and make my own money. Read more>>

Matt Teske | Founder/CEO – Chargeway

My decision to found Chargeway was based on my own experiences with electric vehicle (EV) ownership. My wife and I purchased our first EV 9 years ago and discovered how difficult it was to both find and also understand different charging options away from home. I have spent over 20 years working on marketing and communication strategies within the automotive industry, so I felt I fully understood how to get into EV ownership. Read more>>