Starting and growing a business is hard, but often deciding to start the business in the first place is even harder. We asked some successful entrepreneurs from around the community to open up to us about how they thought about starting a business.

Dr. Alaina Puff | Intuitive Coach & School Psychologist

Admittedly, I never anticipated becoming an entrepreneur. However, a cornerstone of my practice has always been providing the highest quality care to my clients. I found that across many mental health settings, there were limitations in the systems that restricted me from doing the work I felt truly passionate about. Whether it was needing to provide an unnecessary and sometimes harmful diagnosis for insurance to cover treatment or only focusing on “what’s wrong” with a client, it was unsettling to be part of a system where many of the approaches did not align with my clinical perspective. So I decided to create my own business where I can fully utilize my own gifts and abilities to serve my clients in way that is meaningful to them. Read more>>

Jamie Scheppers | Artist and Owner of JL Scheppers Art

I first started my business on a whim. I had made some necklaces from expired calendar art to give as Christmas gifts. One of the women I gave them to said, “This would be even cooler if it was your own art.” At first I was taken aback, but then I realized she was absolutely right! Timing wise, I had just suffered a pretty major setback in my career and so I was looking for something I could call my own and pour my energy into. As my mom and sister unwrapped their necklaces, I announced to my family that I had decided to start a business so that I could formally sell my encaustic art, and (suprise!) jewelry too. Ten days later, on my 40th birthday, I formed an LLC on my cellphone while I was still in my PJs. Read more>>

Jeremy Burgett | Owner/CEO/Senior Instructor

I am a US ARMY (Retired) Combat Medic of 22 1/2 years. During that time, I had the honor of being a Combat Medic Instructor which allowed me to train the current and future generations of Combat Medics. After moving on from that assignment, I found myself always searching for ways and opportunities to continue to teach combat/tactical/wilderness medicine anywhere I could. That passion is what motivated me to start my own company in order to share my craft with all who want to learn and to try and improve our society. Read more>>

Sanat and Sundip | AVANA Companies

At AVANA, we have five values that guide the work we do: 1) put people first, 2) do the right thing, 3) take the lead, 4) excellence is a journey and 5) make an impact. Recently, our team launched a new platform called EqualSeat which brought those values to life. The platform is centered around creating inclusive investing opportunities for all. This includes breaking down barriers through education and improving accessibility to investment opportunities for
underserved groups including minorities and women. Our team’s focus is to help investors do the right thing for themselves and surrounding communities by understanding the greater impact that their investment has. In addition, our team strives to improve our services and platforms in our pursuit to level the playing field for retail investors. Read more>>

Jon Antonucci | Founder of SML Consultive

The story of starting my own business is one I’ve shared 100’s of times. It all began during a conversation I was having with my boss, as the training manager of an organization. To make a long story short, she wanted me to develop training that was specific to the team-leads of the organization, which I supported, but felt was in need of some change. I said, “I know I’ve brought this up before, but I am going to press harder, this time. If we are going to do training for the team leads than we NEED to start with leadership training.” I received instant pushback, but eventually was able to convince her that, it did not matter how well they knew their job if they did not know how to lead their teams. I will forever remember her closing statement, “I’ll be interested to see what you put together.” Read more>>