Starting a business is a commitment and requires dedication, resources and sacrifice. We asked some of the rising stars in our community how they thought through the idea of starting their own businesses.

Erica Bentson | Pastry Chef

I had owned my own bakery in Portland, OR for 14 years. After selling it in 2018, I never thought I would be self employed again. I was enjoying the perks of being an employee…most importantly, leaving work at work and having weekends off. And when I moved to Phoenix in April of 2022, I had every intention of working for someone else, but the urge to be my own boss again was looming over me. I lasted 2 days at a job that I knew wasn’t right for me, then the next week, I found a bakery for sale in Gilbert. Read more>>

Lynn Truong | Photographer & Pharmacist

I’ve always had the entrepreneur in me. My entire family are entrepreneurs. I’m the youngest of 6 older brothers, each of which have their own businesses. My dad had his own business when he used to work. So you can say, entrepreneurship is in our blood. My main thought process behind starting my business was – my kids. I needed to start my own business so that I can be in control of my own schedule and my own income. Read more>>

Dale Ott | Founder, Nossa Imports

For myself (Dale), I have wanted to have my own business since I was a kid. I grew up on a farm in Coolidge, Arizona that has been in my family for 4 generations, and we have always been self-employed. Both of us have always wanted to work hard to have the freedom of movement in order to actually move the needle and make changes in our industry. Regarding the world of wine in particular, in a global setting we really only talk about 5 or 6 countries. The history and breadth of wine is so much more vast that just that very limited perspective. Read more>>

Ryan Hartman | CMO and Cofounder

I actually had my BMW break down with only 60K miles on it. My mechanic said I should’ve had an extended warranty on my car since the factory warranty had expired about a year prior. I learned my lesson the hard way, so for my next vehicle I shopped around and found out the shopping experience was completely broken. I couldn’t even get quotes online! Every site I went to made me call in for a quote. Comparing plans apples to apples was nearly impossible since I couldn’t tell what was covered and not covered, what additional upcharges were, etc, so we built Chaiz to allow for a true online comparison shopping process where you can get quotes from multiple providers in one place and buy completely online. Read more>>

Azalea Barr | Bartender & Business Owner

I’ve worked at a restaurant for six years now and I always get asked by guests sitting at the bar if I bartend private events. I’ve been doing that on the side kind of sporadically for a while now but it wasn’t until covid happened that I proposed to my husband the idea of starting a bartending business. The lack of control and stability that I felt during covid is really what pushed us to start this business. Read more>>

Kristina Lucia Pezza | Children’s Author & Illustrator

In 2018 I suffered an injury that forced me to but everything on hold for several months. Since I could not work or dance, I had a lot of time to think and realized that I need to make a change in my own life. I was in the process of pivoting for over a year when I got laid off from my job and was given even more freedom to explore. A month later I went on a job interview and when I left I realized that if I went back into an office setting I would be repeating the same pattern that I was working so hard to break. Read more>>

Linda Mac” and Russ Perlich | Founders of Act One”

The launch of Act One came from passions and relationships. My husband and I both grew up with teacher moms who impressed upon us the importance of education. We became involved with Teach for America when we moved from Tucson to Phoenix in 2004, working with underserved Title One schools in Phoenix. Concurrently we acquired the publishing company, ON Media, which publishes the programs for all performing arts groups in Phoenix and Tucson. In this capacity we were exposed to the inequity of arts experiences offerred to students in Title One schools. Read more>>

Jacqueline Gallegos | Owner and CEO of SHOTZ DE SALUD

The reason I created SHOTZ was to spread health in our community and to bring awareness to natural remedies that helped me on my own healing journey . Knowledge is power and I believe that if we begin to re learn plant based medicine our community would benefit tremendously . Read more>>

Fran Severn | Writer, Rider, & Adventure-Seeker

Writing and publishing a book is very exciting and fulfilling, but unless you are a big name with a loyal following, you can’t make a living that way. You need to expand yourself into a brand. There are many older women involved in riding and horses but there is no ‘authority’ who can provide information or inspiration. Positioning myself as that ‘authority’ creates more economic possibilities as well as providing a service to my readers and followers. It also creates an existing audience for future books regardless of the subject. Read more>>