Our community is comprised of some absolutely brilliant entrepreneurs and so we asked a few of them to tell us the story of how they came up with the ideas for their business.

James Jackson | Chandler & Small Business Owner

I have always been inspired by the stories that scents can tell. I feel that scents can take people to a specific place and time, transport a person to an exotic location, or enhance any mood a person might be feeling, or want to feel. Whether it’s a mother’s perfume, grandfather’s tobacco pipe, an old barn, a beautiful rose garden, or just a clean kitchen, smell is very powerful. With this belief in mind, I have always been drawn to scented products and aromatherapy. When the opportunity arose a few years ago for me to start my own scented candle business, I wasted no time researching, designing, blending sample scents, and creating our first mock-ups to share with friends and family. After listening to feedback and making some tweaks, we set up at our first market. We have been in business ever since. Read more>>

Demeatrie Funderburk | Creative Multi-hyphenate & Culinary Magician

Being a military veteran that was stationed in very remote bases, I was always the person who took extra time to create experiences the fostered camaraderie but most importantly reminded us of home. Its important to be able to connect and build a foundation in a place that is your home when you are away from home. Later in life, I discovered that this was a notion that needed to be expanded beyond just the military aspect. So many people travel, so many people move to new places, so many people feel disconnected but what I have learned is that food and fellowship creates unity. I didn’t want to just cook food or cater or provide nourishment. With my business, I wanted to create the scene, encourage people to interact and frame it with globally inspired dope food that is not always accessible to bridge the gap between cultures and highlight that we are all a part of the human experience. Read more>>

Camilla Frontain | Actor & Photographer

Years ago, I was on an improv team in college called Comic Frenzy. We would begin each new semester with something called The Honoring. It includes a lot of trust exercises like carrying each person across the room, sharing eye contact for unreasonably long periods of time, and ultimately having a genuine chat with one other member of the team. We would ask each other about fear, vulnerability, passion, love. All the good things. And then, drawing from that conversation, we would come back ready to “honor” each other. The task was to prepare something that captured the essence of the person you talked to, and to share this with the rest of the team. Because we were in theatre, a lot of times people would write songs for each other, or sculpt their teammate’s face out of play dough, or bake them a cake. Read more>>

Christine Goodrich | Owner + Creative Lead

I had been a designer working in the 9-5 world for about 8 years when I had become unhappy at my current job. I had always been a go-getter and had been freelancing on the site outside of my full time design role. When I found myself with 2 solid, steady freelance clients I decided to follow my dream of starting my own business–taking the leap in to entrepreneurship— and that is how my agency, Kona Made, was born. I didn’t know what to expect going out on my own—not knowing if we would fail or thrive–but it has been the best decision I have ever made and the business has grown exponentially over the past 2 years. Read more>>