Many books on startups and business talk about how there are right and wrong reasons for starting a business. So, we asked a handful of successful founders about their reasons and the thought-process behind starting their business.

Sara Waterman | Photographer & Owner of Sara Waterman Photography

Sara Waterman Photography was created out of pure passion and addiction, the good kind of addiction. After my first daughter was born, all I wanted to do was stay home and spend every moment I could soaking every second up, which I was lucky enough to do for a few years. My heart was so content and happy but my mind was lacking adult stimulation. So I took a Groupon coupon class (remember when Groupon was all the rage) that’s how my addiction commenced. Read more>>

Jill Perez | Ice Cream Slinger

I was inspired to create a space in my sweet little hamlet of Catalina that would provide comfort after a tumultuous 2020-21. My parents were small business owners in a small town, Sag Harbor, NY. And my best memories of growing up in their cobblery, were of the people in our community. My parents knew their names, their children, their illnesses, all the daily details that made folks feel noticed in a busy world. I noticed when my family moved to Catalina, that it was filled with the richness of the people who lived here. Read more>>

April Seed | Skylark Studios Owner and Instructor

I started Skylark Studios to create a place that was much more than somewhere to workout/do aerial. I wanted it to be a studio where friendships are made and a community is built. Where we can laugh and create. Read more>>

Cindy Lee | Chief Brand Officer

I started keeping my first ever Corgi 2 years ago, and as a dog-mum and a fashion-conscious shopper, this idea of matching outfits caught my attention and I tried looking for matching accessories online. However, I saw a sea of pet accessories in the market but they are either too cute to match with my daily outfit or their price is going over my budget. Nothing in between. That’s when I realized that there aren’t many options for reasonably-priced good quality pet accessories which fit my fashion taste… So one day while talking with my team, we decided to create our own brand to serve those fashionable dog-mums like me! Read more>>

Priscilla Teran | Tour Guide

I love to travel, I like to visit a different part of the world every time I travel. Something I always like to include on my travels is signing up for a tour to learn more about the city I’m visiting, I like to learn about the history, architecture culture.. and their food! In 2019 I took my kids to Hawaii, I had signed us up for a tour done by a local and thought “how cool that a local is going to show us around his city!” That’s when I got the idea! I started doing my research right away and I signed up on Airbnb and TripAdvisor that same night. Read more>>

Danielle Gartner | Owner, Baker Street Skin Care

About 8 years ago I discovered that I had a chemical sensitivity. I started randomly breaking out in rashes on my forehead and scalp. It was painful and totally embarrassing. I had no idea what was going on until I noticed a pattern. My skin would start to get bad on a Monday and get AWFUL by Friday; I realized I was doing this to myself every morning that I got ready for work and left the house. Read more>>

Brian Daigneault | Owner and Woodworker

I first started taking on small jobs since i was the son of a Cabinet Maker and Contractor. Everyone knew that I had worked for my dad for a long time and was getting good at woodworking. My dad was always bit to busy for smaller jobs so i started taking those on when things were slow for his company. The more jobs i completed the more word spread around and the more jobs i got. It got to the point where i was a bit to busy with these side jobs where I took work off from my dad to finish them. Read more>>

Jennifer Parks | Owner & Goldsmith

As an artist, I have worked in different roles after completing my studies in Metalsmithing at Edinboro University of Pennsylvania. Right out of college, I worked for a goldsmith as a bench jeweler developing my skill further. It was a valuable experience by expanding the application of my technique to a production setting. With the knowledge from my background, I later became the lead designer and goldsmith for a jewelry store. I spent 10 years fine tuning my skill in that position. Read more>>

Amanda Donaldson | Amanda Donaldson, M.S. CCC-SLP

I have always had a vision for how I want to live my life and starting my own business is the first step in doing that. I wanted to do something that would blend my passion for working with children, giving back and making a difference in the lives of others and speech pathology allows me to do that. Providing in-home services is unique in the Phoenix area and allows for me to see children in a natural and familiar environment. Read more>>

Robert Brown | Owner of Nxt Level Fitness LLC, Personal Trainer, Sports Performance Coach,

My journey to starting my own personal training and sports performance business started when I was attending Northern Arizona University (NAU). I started off my college career as a mechanical engineer student. I liked working with my hands and creating solutions for problems. After one semester, I quickly realized that I was on a path that I could be successful on, but not one that I was passionate about. Read more>>

Stephanie Bucklin | Psychic Medium, Reiki Energy Practitioner, Yoga Teacher, Motivational Speaker & Event Producer

I have always been a self-starter and a highly motivated person. At some times in my life at certain jobs, this proved to be to my detriment because I was an overachiever who always went above and beyond – and these actions got me fired more than once. I realized early in my life that I was an entrepreneur. Stephanie Bucklin Consulting LLC is actually my fourth business, originally started in 2011. Read more>>

Sarah Seisinger | Photographer & Photo Booth Trailer Owner

I’ve had many different “jobs” over the years, and quite a few “managers” that weren’t good at managing. I decided about 10 years ago that I was going to be my OWN BOSS…. eventually. But I had no idea how to make it happen, or if it was even a possibility. My younger brother had started his own business, and convinced me that I too, could be a business owner if I really wanted to work at making it happen. I was always verbally “putting it out there in the universe” that I wanted to make money doing what I love…. Photography. Read more>>

David Quintero | Multimedia Artist & Director in Film and Music

All my life I have been around self driven business owners. My mother had to do whatever she could to provide for my sister and I, so a normal 9-5 wasnt enough. As children, we would ride along with my mom to do demonstrations for kitchen cookware she would sell. My mother would make a mexican nacho dish to sell for lunch to the students at our private school to pay our tuition. My brothers started their own business when I was only a teenager. I saw the hard work and dedication that it requires. But I also saw the freedom to be your own boss and be responsible for your work and success. Read more>>

Lisa Peer | AAKSEL, Founder

At first, we wanted to develop a simple product that would be suitable for the masses and would have to be bought again and again. However, while we were creating this product, the process caught us like this. We put a lot of effort into it, so we said we want to create a great brand out of it and launch it accordingly. Read more>>

Chris Lozano | CEO & Founder

Good Question, I’ve been cutting hair for over 10 years and when our industry was shut down during Covid times , I feel for me my business got even busier . I was cutting in a little water heater room at my house and had clients lined up in my drive way .. all of them would tell me “ Chris it’s time to get your own shop “ & from there I found a space in downtown Glendale where I’m from so things started falling into place . . Read more>>

Tyler Beck | Creator of Aggregate Perspective

My business formed from a concept I had in mind for a media company when I was in college. I wanted an umbrella to combine photography, music production, graphic design, and later on podcasting. I had many ideas and aspirations and from there Aggregate Perspective was born. Read more>>