Our city is home to so many incredible businesses and so we asked the founders how they came up with the ideas for their businesses and have shared their responses below.

Mo’Fit by Monnique | Fitness Influencer & Trainer

The idea of starting my own fitness business stemmed from having a background of athleticism, being conscientious of my health, disciplined in my exercise regime and having a successful career as an educator/administrator. My thought was to integrate my career skills with my passion. My desire was to impact lives through the education of adapting healthy lifestyles. Read more>>

Isabel Horowitz | Student/Founder and CEO of Sew Isabel

I was a junior at the University of Michigan studying abroad in Sydney, Australia. COVID-19 made its way through the world and I was sent back home to Los Angeles, California. I was now looking at months on end with very little to do but take my remote classes and play fetch with my Labrador, Walter. I began with Tie Dyed apparel as that was the trend at the time (and still very much is). I mostly tie-dyed sweatshirts and sweatpants which I very quickly came to understand was an extremely laborious process. Read more>>

Stassa Johnson | Electrifying Blutique Owner

Being that I custom laser and design things, the idea for my business actually came from me wanting items made the way I pictured them in my head. I was running into a lot of things that were always very similar to everything else available. Having the opportunity to design and build all sorts of things has been a freeing and profitable experience. Read more>>

NaKeisha J Dawkins | Therapy Liaison

The idea for my business started with a friend telling me she needed to be able to text her therapist as life happens. I told her to write down what happened and her reactions to her experiences. I realized at that moment, she probably was not the only one and others needed a tool to help them navigate their behavioral therapy experience. From there, the work on the Self-Care Over Everything Therapy workbook began. Read more>>

Breaunna Ellison | Founder & Sole Owner of Per Usual Brand

The idea of Per Usual started quite funny actually. I honestly had seen the beauty in a friend, I realized how genuine, thoughtful, & completely themselves they were. I simply said that their “Per Usual” and that was it! I thought of the statement “Per Usual” to be a term that expresses someone’s own unique qualities. After that, I wonder what would look like on a hat. Read more>>

Denise Castille | CPR Business Owner | Lead Instructor

I suffered a massive heart attack in 2015. There was one other person in the office with me, Marie. Marie knew exactly how to respond in the medical emergency.There were several things I wanted to do to celebrate my survival — all of them took a backseat to my desire to teach as many people as I possibly could what they should do in an emergency. Read more>>

Ordessa Parham-Carron | Balloon Stylist

OC Events (which is my name Ordessa Carron Events) was created due to my daughter Melinda wanting a paint themed birthday party. We started to research ideas on Pinterest and came upon an image of paint cans from the ceiling with balloons spilling. I searched for a balloon artist in my area to create this look and could not find anyone to offer the service. Read more>>

Rikki Bett | Writer

A sweet friend needed a new resume and asked me to make it for her knowing how much I loved words and design. She raved about it, told others, people started getting hired, and a little business was born. Read more>>