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.

Marc Stern | Pastor & Business Owner

It’s a crazy story. I was an associate pastor at a local church for three years, and I decided to go back to school full-time. To bring in some extra money, I started investing into cryptocurrency, and eventually into NFTs. For those that do not know what NFTs are, they’re kind of like digital artwork. I was not aware of many Christian focused NFT collections, so I decided to start my own. I had a graphics designer start working on the designs. And almost immediately, I realized this was going to get expensive and take a lot of time. So, I had a thought, “In the meantime, why not put these designs on a hoodie?” And that is exactly what I did. And from there, my interest in starting my own clothing brand gradually grew. It went from trying to make some extra money while in school, to trying to build a clothing business that is focused on the Kingdom of God. Read more>>

Kalyea Terrell | Owner & Founder

If you met anyone who knew me between the age of 16 to my current age now everyone will agree that I’ve always aspire to have my own swim school. Even though my swim career ended in my freshmen year of college I always been aware of the racial disparity in the pool, and I felt that there was a need to address it but I always assumed I’m only one person I don’t have a team to delegate the huge workload that I knew would come with starting a business that would make a significant social impact on the community. The fear and anxiety of accepting such a huge responsibility was soon to wither away after meeting this young girl while I was on duty as a lifeguard at a community pool, she was crying expressing to me that she felt like she wasn’t welcomed at the pool because there was nobody of color in the pool or on staff except for me. so, after consoling her I made a revelation that history repeated itself because I saw myself in her. confused and upset because I always felt I didn’t belong and never having anyone to relate to. So, I made a promise to take on the responsibility and to start the journey of diversifying the pool, as well as be the representation for my community that whatever considered the “norm” isn’t normal. Read more>>

Nikki Jordan | Public Speaker, Teacher/Mentor Coach, & SEL Enthusiast

Honestly, the thought of becoming an entrepreneur never crossed my mind! I was content with discovering my passion and following it in a regular 9-5 job. Confidence at any Size originated from a bad breakup. During the relationship, I faced emotional abuse, particularly regarding my body size. A few months after the breakup, as I was beginning my healing journey, I looked at myself in the mirror and realized my beauty, contrary to what I was made to believe. This realization led me to post a selfie on Instagram with the caption “I was feeling myself before work this morning, had to get a bathroom selfie…#confidenceatanysize.” And with that Confidence at any Size was born! After a few more posts under the same hashtag, I launched a new Instagram page and officially started the business. Read more>>

Cole Newman | Artist & Content Creator

Back in high school I started a company called coles cups where I painted water bottles for my friends. I’ve always wanted to be an entrepreneur and figured this would be a great way to get my foot in the door. My thought process was this is not my end game business but doing something now will give me the confidence to run with it when I get my big idea. Sure enough, four years later I went viral on TikTok for doing a different type of painting (pendulum painting) and after that first video I knew this was my “thing”. Because I already had that confidence I knew where to start it was smooth sailing from there. As I’ve gone further into this career it has made me realize how much of an impact I can have on people and just that small, intentional start has allowed me to get where I am today four years later. Read more>>

Tiffany Horton | Owner & Creator of House Of Donuts, LLC

For years I’ve always wanted to start my own business however I didn’t have the slightest idea about what my business would be until about 2 years ago. After having a conversation with a friend, I decided it was time for me to go ahead and start my business so I started thinking about what the business would be, and all of a sudden, the thought of starting a donut shop popped into my mind. I didn’t get much sleep that night because my mind was so consumed with thoughts and ideas about how I wanted to run my business and what my business would look like. During this process, the more I worked on starting my business the more I saw my limitless potential in crafting something unique and also delicious. Read more>>

Lisa Stover | DFW Portrait Photographer

When I really thought about it, I realized that my love for photography started when I got my first laptop at 14. I would sit in my room with my bright pink digital camera and take selfies in poses and from angles that I thought would stand out in the digital world of MySpace. Then I would upload them onto my laptop – an old refurbished military ToughBook with a handle that made it look more like the modern game of Battleship than a computer – and start editing them in Photoshop. I would spend HOURS playing with colors, contrast, and lighting while I listened to the lastest Panic! At The Disco or Red Jumpsuit Apparatus album on my CD player. However, like many others, my spare time quickly began to become less and less as I went through High School and was involved in all of the extra curriculars that come with wanting to graduate with Honors, so my time taking photos and editing was replaced by band practices and writing AP English papers. Read more>>

Sarah Tomer | Owner and designer of Tomer’s Tipsey Creations

A glass of wine, honestly. I was searching for a replacement Christmas wreath on Etsy and in the local craft stores but nothing was catching my eye and the Etsy wreaths were not in my budget, at the time. I decided to try and create my own wreath. I started watching DIY videos. I found something to start with and went with it. I then started to get interest from friends and family wanting to purchase my wreaths. But, I wasn’t completely satisfied with my product, so I continued watching and teaching myself to create bigger and greater items. Once I was happy with my work, I had a lot more interest and I also promoted more and that’s when I created my company. I have been in business for almost 2 years now. I have been a vendor at several local craft fairs now and I also put my wreaths in a local boutique. I am a stay at home mom, so I have the opportunity to focus on growing my business and to show my children, that if you have a passion, follow it, no matter what. Read more>>

Roz Givens | Owner & Operator of The Snow Wagon

My decision to start my own business was driven by a combination of financial necessity and opportunity. As a teacher, I had a significant amount of free time during the summer months and was looking for a way to supplement my income. I had previously run a fitness boot camp during the summer, but it proved unsustainable due to the Texas heat.. Read more>>

Mary Tave-Ihenacho | Ministry Leader, Podcaster & Blogger

Typically, I help others start their businesses. I never thought about starting my own ministry. While I had an outline of what I wanted Audacity Presents to be, I was waiting for God to send someone who wanted to start a podcast or blog. I would then hand them the drafted outline and support them in their endeavor, but that day never came. I continued to outline topics on what area of life we fail to be audacious or to take a bold risk. I wanted the ministry to encourage people to take those risks for Christ. People often pray for more patience, courage, or boldness in their faith, but how about being audacious to pursue those things? I wanted having the ‘AUDACITY’ to do something to have a positive impact on the world. Read more>>

Kelly Kasle | Astrologer & Human Design Specialist

Ever since I was a child, people have asked me, “Why are you the way you are? How do you do all that you do?” I have always had an inherent, insatiable drive to learn, do and achieve while being extremely sensitive and artistic, but no one could explain to me WHY. Read more>>