Deciding to work for yourself is often cited as the best decision folks in our community have made. Hearing the same response over and over led us to ask them about the next best decision folks have made and we’ve shared their responses with you below.

Juan Valdes | Fitness & Automotive Commercial Photographer

As minuscule as this may sound, throwing myself out there and putting myself in uncomfortable situations and positions was and still is the most important decision I have to constantly keep making. Growing up I was raised in a household where hard work is appraised and if you’re not being praised it means you’re not working hard enough, So going into a career where I have to put myself out there and introduce my work to new eyes was VERY difficult and a very new experience Read more>>

Jacklyn Del Olmo | Real Estate Agent & Marketing Consultant

The single most important decision that contributed to my success was deciding that I was worthy of that success and that I truly had something to offer others. In the early stages of building my business, I fell into the familiar trap most entrepreneurs do. I thought everything I did had to be perfect. I conjured up a million things that needed to get done before I could be taken seriously as a business woman. I needed the perfect logo, the perfect business card, and the perfect website to build a meaningful brand. Read more>>

Vel Renier | Custom Wigs Creator & CEO of House of Renier

The single most important decision I made was to “just do it”. Get it done. If you don’t start something then you’ll never know if you can be successful. I don’t like “what if’s” or being in limbo. So I bided my time, took a ton of classes and now I can truly say I’m comfortable in my business. I won’t lie it did take me a few years to even get started, but that’s because I’m a perfectionist and I kept wanting to learn until I was comfortable. Once I got comfortable, I pulled the trigger and started my business. If you keep waiting, you’ll never see the starting line. So at least get to the starting point and just do it. Read more>>

Jalen Fryer | Recording Artist & Music Producer

Saying “yes.” What I mean by this is simply saying “yes” to as many opportunities as reasonably possible. Back in 2016, I made a conscious decision to say “yes” to every opportunity that I felt could push my career forward, and I can’t tell you how many times I’ve encountered integral pieces to my success by doing so. I grew up somewhat of an introvert, so doing this naturally forced me to get out of my comfort zone, and helped me to grow within every dimension of my life. Read more>>