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.

Annie Gipson

Starting my own business came from a point where I felt like I had two options: either build something of my own or leave the field altogether. I was experiencing high levels of burnout, working six and seven days a week, and feeling increasingly disillusioned by ongoing ethical struggles within organizations, especially around how animals were being treated in therapeutic spaces. Read More>>

 Ola

Honestly, it started with a simple feeling: I wanted to build something of my own that I could be proud of—something real, something the community could count on. Read More>>

 Swati Rajyaguru

My decision to start my business came from both my experience as a teacher and my journey as a parent. About seven years ago, I saw how transformative the Mathnasium Method was for my own children as their confidence grew and their attitude toward math became more positive. Read More>>

Patrick Grimes

My passion for photography and my desire to be my own boss. Read More>>

Abboud Bedro

My thought process behind starting my own business is that I really enjoy challenges. I like creating something from nothing and building it step by step. It feels exciting to grow something that is my own. I know it can be very difficult, but that’s part of why I like it. Over the years, I have learned a lot from both my successes and my mistakes, and that helps me keep getting better. Read More>>

Angelica & Derrik Olea & Roberts

For both of us, entrepreneurship was always a long-term goal, but it came from different paths that ultimately aligned.

Angelica spent nearly 13 years in senior living and franchising, helping scale a national brand from 20 to more than 175 locations. Through that experience, she developed a deep understanding of how to build, grow, and support a successful franchise system. That exposure made business ownership feel both attainable and strategic. Read More>>

 Barbara Metzel

I saw an opening and the fact that I could truly help people live better. I kept noticing how clutter was affecting people in ways they didn’t always connect to their home stress, decision fatigue, wasted time, and that constant feeling of being behind. What stood out to me was that most people weren’t failing because they didn’t care.  Read More>>

Marloma

I pursued a creative career because I’ve always needed to be making music and I think I always will need to do that. However, I didn’t always know that was something the world may also need. When I was 14, my friend of the same age passed away from a rare form of cancer. During the very early stages of grief I wrote a tribute song to her. My mom ended up recording it and the mom of my friend asked me to play it at her celebration of life. Read More>>

Tinamarie Cox

Being a full-time mom who has always had a creative itch has had its challenges. Putting aside that I am raising special needs children, parenthood in those early years sort of swallowed me up. I didn’t prioritize myself or my need to be artistic. For a while, I felt I had lost part of my identity. And I think many mothers experience this as well. But my creativity came out in little bursts through crafts and activities with my kids to practice their speech and motor skills. Read More>>

Melissa Luxton Sierra Rose

Both of us came from very demanding corporate careers—Melissa as a Trauma and Emergency Department nurse for 18 years, and Sierra as an aerospace engineer for 7. Because of that, we’re very familiar with high-pressure environments where decisions matter and there’s little room for error. That background has shaped how we think about risk—we don’t see it as something reckless, but as something intentional, calculated, and grounded in preparation .Read More>>