Every overnight success we’ve seen has been years in the making. And those overnight successes are rarely because of an amazing idea or a stroke of luck. We asked some of our favorite folks from the community about what characteristics are at the heart of their success story?

Steve G. Foster, CMP | Managing Partner

That we’ve connected everything we do, personally and professionally, to giving back in the communities where we live, work and meet. The name really says it all, Foster (to know) and Fathom (to grow), and over the years we made an ongoing commitment to helping organizations and individuals develop a leadership culture grounded in goodness. , You can’t lead without serving others and you can’t expect others to follow your leadership example without proving you have an ongoing commitment to fully doing good for, by and to those you expect to lead. That is a deeply rooted culture truth in any business or organization. Read more>>

Ronnie Enns | Founder & CFO

I believe that being able to take advantage of the right opportunities at the right time has done more to grow our company than anything else. Many well-known, successful people attribute their success to luck. I believe there are many educated, talented, and hard working people who have been unable to match the success of their peers simply because they didn’t have the same opportunities. We’ve had our share of good luck and bad luck, but through it all we’ve done our best to stick to our values and prepare for future opportunities. Being decisive and able to pivot quickly has benefited us greatly when those opportunities presented themselves. Read more>>

Mary Gonsiorek | Illustrator & Character Designer

Surrendering to the process. Especially as an artist that does a lot of on-site illustration work, it is so easy to get trapped in the noise- noise of the customers, noise of the anxiety and pressure of peering eyes watching every step of the process. Learning to surrender to the artistic process and just live in that moment with the art that is on hand, those noises get a little less loud. Also as a person who is diagnosed with anxiety and depression, learning to surrender expectation and surrender narratives that are not genuine to my goals are critical to moving forward with my art everyday. Read more>>

Justine Wollaston | Professional Creative

Consistent, enduring focus: I am either practicing my art, doing research for an idea, learning something new, proposing ideas, or working on a project/commission every single day. Read more>>

LaTarah Edmond | Salon Owner & Stylist

Marketing, Consistency and Professionalism. Read more>>

Eileen Chen-Mizuuchi | Entrepreneur & Dentist

Having a great team that believes in the core values and culture of the brand is one of the most important reasons we are successful. A very simple trait many people overlook is effort. All of our team members work hard everyday by focusing on putting an effort in making a difference in someone’s life and doing dentistry differently. Their efforts are clearly shown in our Google reviews. The responses we’ve received help motivate the team to gain more knowledge in improving not only patients’ positive experiences but in becoming a better person. Read more>>

Danielle Roberts | Medicare Expert & Co-Founder

Part of our cultural manifesto here is that we aim to make the impossible, possible. By investing in our Client Service Team from the very beginning of our agency, we have been able to grow a world class support channel for our Medicare insurance policyholders. This means they are never alone in dealing with Medicare. If a claim is denied or a doctor bills something incorrectly, they aren’t floundering around out there trying to figure out who to call first to fix it. They call us, every time. Our team has resolved hundreds of thousands of small hassles for our base of policyholders, and it’s made them loyal to us. They know that we will do everything possible, everything in our power, to try to resolve the issue efficiently and quickly for them. It’s the primary reason why we have over 5,000 five-star reviews from our clients online. Read more>>

Joe Baker | Pastry Chef

Tailorability is what makes Joe the Baker stand out among our competitors. We ask the important questions that go beyond flavor, color, design and make sure what the customer is asking for will fit their expectation. Often times we push them toward something more refined or new in some way to make sure it’s special to the guest. Read more>>

Danielle Georgiou | Artistic Director

Since I started teaching thirteen years ago, I’ve seen a blindspot in the education of dancers and performers: the relationship to an educational foundation. I so often see concert dancers with no real enthusiasm for their technique, apart from being a technician and dancers who so quickly abandon traditional movement that they lack the strength and specificity which it teaches. A dancer should feel freedom in their relationship to their education, not duty. Technique is your foundation, not your identity. This is not to say technique should be cast aside when making personal work, instead, it should be a sounding board, a reliable source of inspiration and challenge. In terms of the “success” of my work, I look to my succeeding in being able to make the work that I want to make, while learning from my collaborators and my audiences. Read more>>

Michelle Noah | Artist & Gallery Owner

I love adventure and taking on event driven challenges. Owning my own Art business has been one of the biggest adventures of my life. Creating is at the core of what I do. Creating the Art and creating a way to provide exposure to my clients and my potential clients.. creating a Website and Social Media platforms has been a great way to do this. Covid 19 has forced me to think of creative ways to get my Art out there. Read more>>

Annie Quach | Optometrist

The most important factor behind my personal success is the support of my husband. He understands that work never stops for a small business owner. We may be in the middle of dinner and I will have to stop to take an appointment or stay late into the evening to help a family in need. His support is unwavering and keeps me motivated to continue to work hard to make the business thrive. I can proudly say Aspire Eye Care’s success is related to my compassion as a doctor for my patients. Growing up with very little, I understand that oftentimes seeking care can be expensive or impersonal. I make it a mission to take the time to ensure every patient feels welcomed, comfortable, and well taken care of. I treat each patient like family and provide the most comprehensive quality eye care so my patients will never feel like just a number. This has led to a lot of word of mouth referrals and a steady influx of patients to keep us successful. Read more>>

Madison Villo | Haircutting Specialist

Genuineness. I always felt that being true to myself on social media and to my clients was very important. I never wanted to pretend to be something I am not. That played a big part in the type of hair that I wanted to create and helped to shape my clientele into a full book of people that I love and genuinely get along with. Read more>>

Ronnie Sunker | Photographer

The most important factor behind the success of Sunker Creative Studio is the relationship we build with each client. From the first contact from a potential client we put our heart and soul into our interactions and share pieces of our family with them, welcoming them into ours from day one. There is no generic responses to inquiries, we take the time to talk to our clients and find out what they really want and make sure they completely understand every part of our business and our processes. We know we’re not the absolute best photographers in the world, but we try to make the overall experience an enjoyable and memorable one to build relationships and keep them for years to come. Read more>>

Janeé Hill | Television Producer & Host and Brand Strategist

Belief is absolutely the most crucial key to my success. Belief in myself, belief in my team, and belief in the Lord Jesus Christ has afforded me once-in-a-lifetime opportunities. For instance, I sold my first television series to a network without any television producer experience, but I did have a lot of belief that I could do it if given the opportunity. When I appeared on The Food Network, I had no formal culinary experience. However, I had full confidence in the team around me. When I held my first “live” press conference (which was covered by The Today Show and Good Morning America), I prepared as much as I could. However, you never know what questions you are going to get. I had to rely on a power greater than myself, and for me, that power comes through the Lord Jesus Christ. Going from a small town girl who dreamt about being on television to taking multiple television series from script to screen was possible only through the power of belief. Read more>>

Meghan Waldrop | Hairstylist & Cosmetology Instructor

I treat everyone as family! I put myself in their shoes and make sure I give them exactly what they want done to their hair. Whether it is a specific style, cut or color, I always talk through a super in depth consultation to really figure out what they want as their end result. Read more>>

Jason Vaile | Home Builder & Screenwriter

I try to never take myself too seriously. If you fail, make fun of your own failure. Laugh at it, brush it off, and move on. If you keep the environment fun and lighthearted, people won’t treat it like work. Most people don’t have passion for work. Read more>>

Jennifer Bradt | Owner & Clinician

Honestly, it is still surreal to think about having a “brand”. When I opened Planting Seeds in November of 2008, I was new to North Texas, knew only a handful of people and had just watched my youngest walk into our neighborhood elementary school as a Kindergartner. Those do not make the most logical circumstances to decide to open a private counseling practice. In addition to that, I felt called to open a faith-based practice, yet the colleagues with whom I consulted all encouraged me not to follow through with that business model as it had the potential to limit clientele. You can tell where I stand on taking risks! Planting Seeds was birthed from a leap of faith and the support of an amazing life partner who has been my biggest cheerleader every step of the way. Read more>>

Coleena Heath | Owner

My People, Over the years I have hired a lot of people. Some that have been with me for close to the 10 years I have been open. Others that have just recently come on board. Some had moved on but each one of them have helped me in one way or another to get to where we are now. The other thing that has made our brand successful is Honesty. Pet are very unpredictable, they move and jump around and sometimes that can cause us to make mistakes. Razor burn, haircut to short even a small nic as rare as that is we don’t hide it. We let the customer know if there was any issues when they pick up. If a customer goes home and then find razor burn or other things then they are very upset that they were not told their baby had a issue. Read more>>

Crystal Perry | Brand Strategist

I speak from an authentic place. This allows me to spend time connecting with my ideal client at every touchpoint. It is impossible to connect with “everyone”, nor should you want to. The goal is to connect with people who want your product or service. My archetype is a blend of Royalty and Visionary. My ideal clients are looking for that specific approach to branding. For example, it would be a waste of time and resources for me to speak like the Caregiver archetype. There is no way I could even sell that because it is so far from who I naturally am. Read more>>

Aaron Bryan | Singer-Songwriter

I think for me, it’s my tangibility and the authenticity that goes into my music. Behind each song is a real story about real life and the things I’ve been through. There’s no safety nets or holds, I gamble everything with my honesty and emotions in hopes that it’ll turn into great art, because I think that’s what people connect to the most. I want fans and new listeners to listen to my music and feel that we’re in that moment together. Whether that moment is falling in love, leaving home, a broken heart or whatever it may be…I’m right there with them. If they can feel that when the listen to my music, that’s when I know I’ve done my job as an artist. Read more>>