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.

Andrea Castro | Professional Balloon Artist

Actually knowing that this was my passion was not difficult to discover since since I discovered the world of balloons in 2015 I fell madly in love with this, what was a challenge was moving to this country and making the decision to start once again in this adventure, inside I knew that I was going to achieve it but we were going through a global pandemic and the obstacles to start a new path or venture for me was terrifying. I never lost faith in myself but already making the decision made me think overtime hours and hours. Read more>>

Glorya Bolden | Creative Visionary: Creating solutions to establish a legacy that will empower and support future generations.”

“I started my business for a few key reasons, and one of the most important is to make a meaningful difference for grandparents who find themselves raising their grandchildren. This demographic faces unique challenges that are often overlooked by society. There’s an assumption that grandparents are simply here to ‘spoil’ grandchildren or play a small supporting role, but the reality is much more complex. These grandparents are stepping up in ways that go beyond societal expectations, often without the resources or recognition they deserve. I want to highlight these challenges, offer support, and work to shift how society views their contributions. Read more>>

Dalton Rapattoni | Director of Music Programming

I joined School of Rock as a student when I was eleven, and the school completely changed my life for the better. I was a pretty shy kid, not many friends, and when I walked into the school for the first time, I remember feeling like I had finally found a place for me and kids like me. I used the skills I learned at the school to pursue my own music career across several projects for the next decade, and did several nationwide tours before realizing that none of that stuff made me happier than being in the rehearsal room at the School of Rock. My family and I decided to invest in three schools in the DFW area (North Dallas, Rockwall, and McKinney) so that we could give students the same life changing experience that I had. Read more>>

Cooper Merriman | Apt 75 Band

Well Me (Cooper) and Johnny were hanging out because of some mutual friends and we bonded over music. I asked him if he wanted to write some music some time and he said for sure. We just loved the everything about music and being an artist and creating things. We eventually started hanging out and writing enough we thought it’d be dumb to not call ourself a band. Everything after that just kind of fell into place! Read more>>

Meagan Moseley | Design Enthusiast

My background in fashion has taught me the value of secondhand shopping to satisfy my champagne taste on a beer budget. However, I often noticed that my shopping companions left with empty baskets, which raised the question: why? I discovered that overwhelming options, poorly organized racks, cramped dressing rooms, and a discouraging atmosphere made it hard for them to see the potential in the pieces. This environment limited their desire to shop consciously and contributed to the cycle of fast fashion—buy, wear, toss, repeat. Read more>>

Mariany Torres | Travel Agent

The journey of starting my own business has been a significant one. I have been a Registered Dental Assistant (RDA) for nearly 16 years. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020 and everyone was required to return to work, I made the decision to resign from my position and embark on the path of entrepreneurship, I returned to work as an RDA in 2021, taking the time to reflect and decide on the path I truly wanted to pursue. In 2021, I decided that I wanted a career that would allow me to have more time for my family and create meaningful memories. Read more>>

Cash Lawless | I Invest in businesses and real estate and share the profits with our investors. (Venture/Private Equity)

Well it’s much different now than when I started my first company at 16. Back then, I passionately pursued what interested me with a lot of practice hours, and then people started to ask me to do that for them. This was creating videos back in 2003. That was a good way to approach business at that age. Read more>>

Johannes Luckemeier | Musician turned propulsion sound specialist and entrepreneur

First of all the longer I worked in different corporations I felt I wanted to start my own company. The key moment was when I bought my first electric car and started building a device and software to create custom engine sounds for that car. I quickly figured out as I was enjoying it that this is something other people could enjoy too. I did research on how to sell a product online and at the time Shopify was on the rise and had a lot of good content on YouTube. That’s how the overall thought process started for me. Read more>>

Nabor Godoy

It all started in 2009 after I got my MBA and worked in the corporate world, where I saw how much someone’s image impacts their success. But financial analysis wasn’t lighting me up, so I shifted gears and followed my passion for photography. Read more>>

Charles Sharp

So I got in an injury back in 2013, a pretty devastating incident, it made it very hard for me to do regular everyday jobs and I felt like I have to do something that I can bring up and support myself when it came time. I worked until my business was up on its feet and I’ve placed all my time and thought into how I can successfully build this with also being a father and a husband. Read more>>

Natasha OhSo Wright

“Be For Women” Three simple words that literally changed my life. 14 years ago, I started to become more spiritually sensitive and aware of energy and how it moves through me. I remember times growing up when I was always the one called to give a hug or massage a head. My hands and body were a conduit for energy to move through. As that grew within, I left the medical corporate field for something more rooted in my truth as a whole person. Read more>>

Emily Norris

I had been teaching piano and voice lessons for three years at a local music school. I really enjoyed teaching there and learned a lot about teaching kids of all ages! However, I wanted to offer even more benefits for students and their families. More personalized learning experiences. More access to me. More time to invest in what they were really interested in learning. So in 2020, I decided it was time to branch out and start my own studio! Read more>>

Ross Cooper

I wanted to offer the kind of help I needed when I began my fitness journey. there were so many little nuggets of information that would’ve saved me time and anguish had I known them early on. Read more>>