The first step to starting a business is deciding to start a business. They say the first step is the hardest and in our experience this is especially true when it comes to starting a business. Getting over the mental roadblocks can be tough, often harder to overcome than the challenges you’ll face once you actually start the business. Fellow entrepreneurs share their thoughts below.

Aeriel Woodkins | Owner & Creative Director

I was a floral manager in a grocery store with a newborn baby right as Covid hit. Working in an “essential” place required to me to still come in. I’m somewhat of a germaphobe, so it was awful for me to be “exposed” and taking it back home to baby. After carefully thinking about it, I decided to leave my job and pursue my own thing as a florist. I could avoid germs, and make more money with my loyal customers. Read more>>

Dontrece Woodson | Chef D Woods from TheSoulofThings

Starting my food business The Soul of Things. Definitely was only only a thought process, but a revelation. I tried my food busniess years ago. Sad to say I was not successful. This time around took alot of thought and patience. But I wanted to make sure I was ready to start again. Starting with my passion, purpose and the love I have for food. I wanted to make sure this time around, I was going in the right direction. Read more>>

Kui Mwai | Journalist, Podcaster & CEO of Karibu Productions

It’s two-pronged. First, because I really love creating content. It’s what I’m passionate about, and a career I really see myself doing for the rest of my life! I can spend hours talking about a podcast show concept, or working on a script or building a character. It’s one of my life’s greatest joys. Second, there’s a unique opportunity, here in Kenya, to help build its growing media industry. Now feels like the right time to establish a business like Karibu Productions, which is committed to creating content that amplifying fresh, modern and unique Kenyan voices. We’re the only business in this realm, and we’re excited to make our mark on the industry and create content people really love. Read more>>

Robby Sinclair | Musician and Producer

After playing drums and singing professionally for almost 30 years, I found myself at a crossroads. I could either continue to develop my reputation and my name primarily as a session drummer…. or I could grow another side of my passion which is writing, collaborating, and leading. I moved to Paris in September of 2020, and I had made the decision beforehand that I when I got here, I would focus more on creating and writing than drumming. Read more>>

Michael Gallops | President/CEO, Metrocrest Chamber of Commerce

While I haven’t personally launched my own business yet, my vision for the Metrocrest Chamber of Commerce reflects my deep passion for entrepreneurship. The emphasis on small business empowerment and growth through training aligns with my belief in fostering a resilient and diverse local business landscape. Witnessing the potential for entrepreneurship within the chamber’s commitment to workforce development, advocacy, and economic growth has inspired me to envision opportunities for myself in the future that contribute to the collective success and prosperity of our community. Read more>>

Annette Hill | TV Personality | Entrepreneur | Motivational Speaker | Mom l Foodie l Founder of Universal Royalty Beauty Pageant|

Never did I imagine that I’d venture into entrepreneurship, but life had its own plans. The journey commenced with my two daughters participating in beauty pageants, starting from their baby years to toddlers. Fast forward to when they turned 5; they dropped the bombshell – no more pageants. I must admit, I had a brief “falling over and dying” moment (hahaha) because, let’s face it, they were consistent winners in almost every pageant they entered. Giving that up wasn’t in my plans, Read more>>

Mykel Thomas | Owner/Head Chef/ Creative

To be completely transparent, my initial thought process was I love cooking and entertaining. How can I make money doing it! But as I started becoming more familiar with the industry, we wanted to stand out as that company that listens to our clients. Those people you call when you have a vision, and you want to bring that to life. Clients want to put together events for many different reasons, weddings, corporate functions, etc. They want to portray an image, they want to be remembered, and they don’t want to worry about the details while they are trying to entertain, or hold meetings. Our core mission now is to make that process for our clients as seamless and elegant as possible. Read more>>

Wayne Wilder | Independent auto dealer and performance shop owner

After being in Corporate sales for the past 27 years, one thing that really stood out for me was the question, “what is my value to my family and community?” When you work for a company(s) that are focused on velocity and enterprise sales, they assign metrics on you and rarely take the time to get to know your character and understand you as a person. They don’t invest in the human element. Therefore, it’s difficult for them to assign a value to the employee other than a metric that they can track and measure. I had reached a point in my life where it was time for me to invest back into myself where I could actually help others, be of value to my community and earn a living that would take care of my family’s needs with integrity. The path forward to achieve this was for me to ask, what were my real skills, what was I actually good at naturally (aptitude) and what did I love to do? I found myself spending my spare time working on cars with my son, Colton. It progressed from a hobby to being an enthusiast, and ultimately to a business. Read more>>

Kendra LaRoche | Biophilic Designer

I wasn’t really thinking ahead when I started my business. I saw a fun opportunity to make a few extra dollars being creative for really what felt like the first time in my life. I didn’t think about doing it full time I didn’t know how to do anything properly. I just knew I was coming alive for the first time in a while and I wanted to follow that. Once I started to figure things out and people liked my work I knew there were proper steps I needed to take to make my business official but at the time I didn’t know exactly what I wanted out of Loft & Leaf. It took a lot of trial and error and steps backwards to get where I am today! Read more>>

Eric Aaberg | Award-winning Photographer

My name is Eric Aaberg, and I’m the CEO & Photographer of Eric Aaberg Photography. I created my business back in 2020, driven by a combination of passion, vision, and a deep-seated belief in the transformative power of photography. The journey to establishing my own brand was fueled by a few key thoughts and realizations. Read more>>

Frank Taylor | Director of new business Developement.

My brothers and I were very young when we started Taylor Made my oldest brother was 19 and I was 13. My father had trained us to be horsemen and business owners. So we started a boarding farm, with the idea we could grow it into a big farm one day. Read more>>

Don Richard | Owner of Ring A Bell Moving

I was unemployed, filling out application after application. I started looking for freelance work to pay bills. I ended up helping a man with a moving job. I made more money in one hour than I ever made in an eight hour shift. Read more>>

Becky Upchurch | Acupuncturist

I wanted to create an Acupuncture clinic that reflects the balance between my formal Eastern Medicine (Traditional Chinese Medicine) education and experience and my Western Medicine /Western problem-solving education and expertise. I wanted to create an Acupuncture experience balancing “best of the East, best of the West”. I had never seen an acupuncture clinic that did quite this mix. From the moment a patient walks into my clinic, I want them to feel the calm relaxing environment of a beautiful space that is pleasing to all senses: a wall-length waterfall greets visitors, the lighting is soothing, yet professional, there are aromatherapy soothing smells in the waiting room and throughout the clinic, and there is relaxing spa music in the waiting room and in all treatment rooms. All senses are invited to relax. The treatment rooms have state-of-the-art equipment reflective of my highest quality tools and modalities. The treatment rooms clearly create a competent scientific message, while also being beautiful and luxuriously comfortable. I started my own business because I had a clear way I wanted to bring acupuncture into a biomedically-centric, health-oriented, well-educated area of DFW. Many people are nervous or hesitant about needles, so getting patients quickly into a relaxed environment paves the way for the medicine of acupuncture to perform at its best. It’s exciting owning my own business. I am so happy I started my own Acupuncture Clinic in Grapevine. Read more>>

Rachel Herrod | Co-Owner of How About Balloons

We are a mother-daughter duo and both have backgrounds in different fields. Rachel is a pediatric dental hygienist, and Lisa is an accountant. After Covid hit, we were both looking to get back out in the world, and were excited about the idea of starting a business together. We researched starting a balloon company, and decided it was a perfect fit. We went all in! Lots of balloon businesses start as a side hustle, but we were determined to make How About Balloons a full time endeavor. We also loved the idea of making our own hours and working together. Family is the backbone of our business, and How About Balloons is proud to be a full service balloon company that is female owned and family run! We are proud of our growth and enjoy being our own bosses as well. We continue to invest our time and energy into How About Balloons and from the beginning steady growth has been one of our main goals. Read more>>

Kendra Nicole | Graphic Designer & Artist

A few years ago I took a business and marketing class. I really enjoyed learning about the ins and outs of running a business. I’ve also worked for quite a few businesses and have experience working in management. I would consider myself to be a leader and I strongly want to make a positive impact on other people’s lives. I love creating art and I’ve always wanted to design clothing ever since I was a kid. In 2023, I created: ‘Blessed and Chosen Co.’ I made an Instagram page @blessedandchosenco. as a faith based safe space where I can share my art, bible quotes, merch, fundraisers and so much more! In my shop, I have colorful apparel, an assortment of unique merch. and original artwork. Creating a business to sell my personally designed apparel and artwork allows me to transform my passion into a purposeful venture. It provides a platform to share my creativity with the world, fostering a sense of fulfillment. Beyond self-expression, it opens avenues to connect with a community that resonates with my art. The main purpose behind creating Blessed and Chosen Co. is that I want to help others and make the world a better place. I have plans on doing so much more than just selling clothing and creating art. Having a business can be competitive. I embrace risks with faith, acknowledging that every journey starts somewhere. Read more>>

Yalda Alaoui | Founder and CEO of Eat Burn Sleep, Anti-inflammation Pioneer, Nutritionist.

I wanted to create a health platform that would have saved me from years of medical treatment and pain had it existed when I was suffering from auto-immune issues. Read more>>

Julie Blasnik | Owner and Director of Kiddie Krafts Preschool

I knew from a young age that I wanted to work with young children in any capacity. As I continued my journey in education learning about teaching styles and methods, I knew I wanted to do something different. I then worked at various private schools and pre-schools in the Dallas area as well as Austin and knew exactly what I wanted and envisioned. I wanted a place where children were learning in nature through play. Children would be able to spend hours outside learning without the confinement of classroom walls. Children would be getting messy, exploring, and creating amazing experiences. Read more>>

Sheri Lowry | Efficiency Advocate, People Connector & Tech Integration Expert

After parting ways with my role as a Senior Vice President at a prominent financial institution in the United States, I found myself at a crossroads, contemplating not only my next source of income but also my desire to make a meaningful impact on the world and the lives of others. Opting against a return to the corporate realm, I made the bold decision to pursue the American Dream by venturing out on my own. Read more>>

Shane Grant | Wedding Videographer

In starting my own business I combined passion with a need I saw. Many wedding videographers in the Texas area were over priced and delivering slow almost somber films. I believed in telling the happiest story of everyones lives. My approach is telling a timeless story that lasts decades to come. Read more>>