Are you thinking about starting a business? If so, we think you’ll enjoy reading about how these seasoned entrepreneurs thought about the question when they were in your shoes.

Alicia Azahar | Author, Public speaker, and Actress

My thought process behind starting my own business was helping youth, teenagers and young adults find their voice. I found my mother dead when I was 8 years old and it was very traumatic for me. I didn’t know how to process what I was feeling. I was angry, and didn’t know how to express my grief in a constructive way. Read more>>

Dewayne Stone | Graphic Designer & Entrepreneur

My dreams of starting my own business started when I felt let down from previous jobs. I always felt stuck because of their refusal of allowing me to move up within the company. I wanted to do better than “them” because I knew that I had the ability. I also have an endearing love for art and community. I wanted to share my passions with likeminded people. Read more>>

Toon de Melker | Actor

Simply put, in the acting world your business is you. Everything that a ‘normal’ business includes you are in charge of. in my opinion 90% of the work is how you turn yourself into a marketable business and only 10% is the actual acting work. Of course, acting is what makes up your business but how you present your business is equally important. Read more>>

Ashlie Dance | Graphic Designer & Letterpress Printer

I’ve loved paper goods for some time, and discussed starting a letterpress business with my sister, Chandler, since before it was viable (she’s 12 years younger than me and generally a teenager isn’t fully equipped to be a business partner haha). So it had always been a bit of an itch. Then timing came together and we just went for it. Read more>>

Alma-Rocio Taylor | Real Estate Agent, Operations Director/Manager, Social Media Specialist

I have always struggled with traditional work roles. It always felt stifling and I would feel that I had outgrown the role pretty quickly. After an incident that occurred with my last role in corporate upon my return from bereavement from the loss of my second mom, I felt lost. I did not see how I could continue in that world. I spoke with my best friend, Ileana, and we were feeling the exact same way. The realization hit us that life was too short to continue to be unhappy and undervalued. Read more>>

Rana Rose | Owner and CEO, Accounting with a Purpose, LLC

After working for other organizations for the last 30 years as an accountant, I decided to start my company because I reached a point in my career that I no longer wanted to be guided by another organization’s vision instead I wanted to chart my own path to create my own vision. With God’s blessing, I have forged ahead to make that a reality. My vision is to lend my expertise to help small businesses financially invest in themselves by providing their bookkeeping, Read more>>

Ally Burden | Lead Coordinator and Designer

I went to college, and didn’t pursue a career in what I studied. Thought I wanted to make a career in retail, and was an assistant manager at a popular fashion jewelry store for a few years. I loved my job, but holidays and weekends are always hard in retail and I value time with my friends and family. Having recently getting married to my high school sweetheart, and being at the age where all our friends are getting married, I realized I love weddings. Read more>>

Vaughn Carter | Co-Owner of 2 Bros Coffee Co.

The thought process behind starting 2 Bros Coffee Co. was to build something with my friend that is just like a brother to me. We always talked about starting a business together and wanted to work for ourselves. Also to be able to give people employment opportunities and to leave something behind for our families. Read more>>

Natalia Lopez | Attorney, Immigration Law

I was working at a firm for 5 years. Towards the end of my five years, I was working 12 hour days, I was skipping my dr appointments due to my workload, and I wasn’t prioritizing myself. My boyfriend at the time (now husband) asked me why was I working so hard with such long hours to achieve someone else’s dream. I had never thought of it like that before. It really got me thinking about starting my own firm. Read more>>

Dazmyne/Tirzah Coleman/Walker | Entrepreneur & Business Owner

Our journey began with a search for high-quality hemp products that would make us feel good, but after trying various smoke shops in our area, we were left disappointed by their offerings. Not only did the products fall short in terms of quality, but they also lacked the reassurance of proper lab testing. This led us to start our own business with a mission to provide top-notch hemp and hemp products that are meticulously lab tested and self-tested to ensure premium quality. Read more>>