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.

Brandalyn McNeill | Las Vegas Wedding & Event Planner

I have a background in hospitality. I worked for about 10 years as a concierge at resorts on the strip. We planned out guests vacations, booked restaurant reservations, tours, nightclubs and more. In addition, we helped plan proposals and events on-site. I really enjoyed this part of the job. I left the hospitality industry to finish my college degree. Once I graduated, I knew I wanted to get into the events industry but more specifically, I wanted to specialize in weddings! I decided to intern for a wedding planning company when we moved to Texas. Read more>>

Sil Azevedo | photographer

The idea of doing something I love and making a living from it was the seed thought. It has now been 23 years since I took this step. In these 23 years there we several phases, including two studios, one together with other photographers on lower Greenville and the last one solo in Deep Ellum. With time things evolved and I realized that the best model for me was to combine my love for teaching with my love for the craft so that today I am an artist-teacher, combining the best of both worlds. Read more>>

Christia Rogers | MEd., LPC-S, NCC (Master of Education in Counseling, Licensed Professional Counselor-Supervisor, National Board Certified Counselor)

After I completed my licensure, I worked in mental health hospitals and agencies. I was passionate about helping people, but I was frustrated by the large caseloads and the lack of individualized attention that clients received. I wanted to create a center that would provide smaller groups and more personalized care. Read more>>

Emily Caldwell | Realtor

I’ve had a lot of tough decisions to make since deciding to start my business in real estate. I’ve always been a very ambitious, driven person, so I knew that I didn’t want my success to be limited by someone telling me what to do on a daily basis, or how much I can make in a year. I knew that I needed a job where there was no cap to how successful I can be. Where my success is determined solely by how much I’m willing to put in. Read more>>

Anika Jones | Social Worker, Notary, & Crafter

Thee Perfect Collection T-Shirt business started in September of 2018 in my kitchen. One day I was asked to find two baby onesies with the word Dallas on them for my husband’s cousin. One was supposed to be pink and the other one was supposed to be blue. After searching for about a week, I could not find the exact items. At this point, my mind started going 100 miles per hour and I came up with the solution that I was going to watch several YouTube videos and make them myself. Let me say this, I made those two onesies and the rest was history. I thought I was a professional after that and started the business. Read more>>

Hannah Caillier | Founder & CEO of Dear Hannah

After creating the Dear Hannah brand back in 2012 and thriving in the women’s and lifestyle category for ten years, I recently realized that there was a huge void in the fashion industry: the tween category. We had so many clients coming in and asking for our same trendy styles in smaller sizes to fit their daughters, so I knew I had to open another boutique with an entirely new concept catering to those tweens and young girls. And that’s how Dear Hannah Prep was born just a block and a half away from its big sister boutique, Dear Hannah. Read more>>

Phillip Koo | Modular Origami Artist | Pastor

How did we start? In 2017 my son who was 11 at the time was walking through a Chinese New Year Festival in Arlington, TX. It was there where he saw a shop vendor sell these small 3d origami pieces. There were several to choose from and he went ahead and bought a miniature bird. Read more>>

Quaray Payne | Veteran and Mobile Auto Detailer

As soon as I graduated high school, I enlisted in the military. During my journey, I was blessed to meet some lifelong friends, have exceptional leaders, and was able to climb the ranks. With each new promotion came more responsibility and I was able to exercise my leadership skills. Although I had this opportunity, there was a part of me that felt that I could do more. After 7 years of service, I was separated due to injuries sustained but I took this as an opportunity to dig deeper into myself and figure out my next path. Read more>>

Quaray Payne | Veteran and Mobile Auto Detailer

As soon as I graduated high school, I enlisted in the military. During my journey, I was blessed to meet some lifelong friends, have exceptional leaders, and was able to climb the ranks. With each new promotion came more responsibility and I was able to exercise my leadership skills. Although I had this opportunity, there was a part of me that felt that I could do more. After 7 years of service, I was separated due to injuries sustained but I took this as an opportunity to dig deeper into myself and figure out my next path. Read more>>

Ashley Carlow | Owner: Gracyn Elizabeth Bride

Honesty, there was not a thought process behind it! It just fell in my lap. I was an educator and was feeling burn out. My daughter was engaged to be married. There was a local bridal shop that was going out of business in the town we live in. We had just planned to look at dresses and get some ideas of what she liked. Two hours later, we walked out with three dresses!! Read more>>

Abish Rivera | Dual licensed barber/cosmetologist & owner

After working in barbershops for nearly 5 years, I felt like I wasn’t using all of my skills being a licensed cosmetologist and barber. I had reached a point where I had built a steady clientele and I had outgrown the barbershop world. I always knew I had more potential than just cutting men’s hair. As a result, I made the decision to start Ruthless Studio, a place where service providers can offer a variety of services and work independently. My vision was to provide an environment where strong independent women could expand their businesses and form networks all in one place. Read more>>

Tierra Palmer | Photographer & Travel Agent

I have been working in business operations in healthcare for the last 5 years, helping other people run thier businesses. So, when I had my second child, I decided to take some time off and was finally given the opportunity to change my career focus. When it came to running a business, I already had the experience. I just needed to think of something I enjoyed doing that I would love to be paid to do. Photography and traveling both came to mind. Read more>>

Jennifer Baptista | Cofounder and Chairman of the Board for Fostering Empowerment through Canine Help (FETCH)

Thought process behind starting our NONPROFIT: One of the other cofounders, Lindsey Hardman, and I worked with Dexter and Ginger Morin – trainers and co-owners of Paws in Hand Canine Consulting in Pilot Point, TX – with our own dogs. We started with basic obedience training soon after we rescued our dogs and then joined their very first therapy dog program course with their encouragement. Read more>>

Michelle Bilbrey | Owner of Cedar Creek Cowgirls

The equine cattle and ag business is tough. We have stayed up all night with a sick horse calf or foal. Sometimes the ultimate heartbreak comes of losing that precious animal. The tough part we have more animals depending on us. So we have to wipe the tears and continue on carrying that life we lost and heart break with us. I love colors. In winter it’s dark and dreary but when spring comes and that first little pop of color shows it’s lifts my mood. Read more>>

Raquel Adkins | Real Estate Investor

I was always an entrepreneur from a very early age. I have created two start-up businesses from zero and sold them for a very healthy profit. But after having kids, I was looking for something that would build financial wealth to leave behind for them. After watching a Tiktok video of a real estate agent saying how to buy a duplex, live in one unit, rent the other, and live for free, I was inspired to start my real estate career of buying and holding properties. Read more>>

Jeff Cutshall | Owner of Custom Meats

We had been living in NYC and moved out to Connecticut. One night early in our life there I went to buy steaks for dinner and was surprised to find there wasn’t any place in town that sold high quality meats. I’ve always enjoyed cooking and the visual element of markets… the vibrancy of the colors, the different cuts of meat, seeing the product as “raw” as possible (ie, not plastic wrapped, frozen, or other), etc…. Read more>>

Tom Mullen | Founder/Creator of Washed Up Emo & Music Industry Executive

In 2007, I saw a giant void online of bands I grew up listening to that weren’t mentioned often in the music press. I was at an indie label at the time and had some free time on my hands and started writing about them on a free website. I had no socials, just a website, realizing how much I missed writing. Prior to this I had written a zine in high school, wrote reviews for the college newspaper, and freelanced early in my professional career. Read more>>

Alicia Serrato | President and Founder of Primos

I am a first generation American and navigating life after high school was difficult and daunting. After college I found my way to education without any real guidance and while I am happy with my career, I sometimes wonder how my life would be different had I had a mentor in my adolescence. I see too many “Alicias” still stumbling through decisions to this day. It doesn’t have to be that way. Read more>>

Bryn Gabriel | Holistic Beauty & Wellness Expert

The thought process behind starting my own business was deeply influenced by a personal journey that had a profound impact on me. When my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer, it was a wake-up call for our family to reevaluate our everyday lifestyle choices. We strongly believe that these choices played a significant role in her journey to recovery. Read more>>

Jennifer Lankford Alysha Clarke | Pediatric Nurse & Owner/Operator of The Hive Northlake

We were driving home from a night shift that we had both worked together at the hospital and were discussing child care options in the area. There are not a lot of flexible childcare options around us and we started brainstorming what it would look like if we were to create one. There was a lot of research and faith that went into opening this business. We are not business women and had not developed a new business before so we had to learn a lot along the way. Read more>>

Liliana Garza | Bookstagramer & Handwriting Expert

I have always enjoyed sharing what I read and my knowledge in what I learn every day. The Spanish language is becoming increasingly important worldwide, and creating a community where people can learn, share, and practice Spanish seemed like an exciting project to me. Read more>>

Lauren Harder | Future Esthetician

What really inspired me to start a business for myself was one simple conversation that took place between my father and I back in March of 2023. At the time I had just lost my previous job as a medical receptionist, and I was constantly just stressing over where I could go work next and still make a decent amount of income. After our conversation, all I could really think about was trying to come up with an idea on how I could make the most amount of income possible within the limited job listings posted in my area. Read more>>

Lexi Kassler | Meta Ads Specialist

I have been working in marketing — specifically on the social media side of things — for the last five years for a variety of large sustainable and social impact organizations and businesses. The thing I found most challenging was not being in a position where I could more directly work with and help clients. I like to be face to face with people and ask them questions. Read more>>

JeVaughn Martin, Sr | Content Creator & Conversationalist

The decision to start my own business, iDream Media, was driven by a deep desire to pursue my passion and make a positive impact in the world. As a father of three, it was not an easy choice to leave the security of a guaranteed income job. However, I realized that life is too short to simply settle for a path that didn’t align with my dreams and aspirations. Read more>>

Venice Arevalo | Lash Artist, Educator, Mentor

I started my lash business during 2020, a year that produced a lot of uncertainty. I was a stay at home mom to a one year old at the time and questioned what the future held for my family. I wanted to provide for my child while being present for my family. I hated the thought of having to succumb to the regular 9-5 grind and trade my time for money. My goal was to find something I would love doing and make money while doing it whether it was passive or non-passive. I shortly found that the lash industry would be the path to accomplishing both. Read more>>

Peter Cohen | Builder / Cat enthusiast

Early in life I realized that I would rather be in charge and own all the success and all the mistakes. I also wanted to control my own time. Another strange but true reason was I am someone who is often too warm. In Japanese they have a word for it: Atsugari. It means I cannot wear suits or even shirts with sleeves. By creating my own companies I could always set the dress code to allow for that:). While my main income comes from the construction company I run with my brother, my passion is the nonprofit I created that helps save cats. Read more>>

Chelsea Mouton | Co-owner

Buzz, Wanda, and Scott talked about it for many years. Then all the pieces came together! We all get to do what we love, and Scott and I get to raise our kids along side us at the winery while we work (and play). Read more>>

Chelsea Boutwell | Oddity Jewelry Artist, Entrepreneur, & Mom

My business was started out of 100% necessity. My husband & I were both employed full-time with Whole Foods Market when we were forced to go on a Leave of Absence when our son developed a brain tumor and required around the clock care and extensive treatment. Read more>>