Ideas aren’t everything, execution matters greatly, but starting often requires an idea and so we asked folks to think back and tell us the story of how they came up with the idea for their businesses. We’ve highlighted some of our favorite stories below.

Bill McAdams, Jr. | Filmmaker and philosopher.

IDEA – a powerful word. I grew impatient on waiting for others to give me the opportunity to execute my creative ideas. Don’t depend on others when it comes to your idea. Make it happen yourself. Only YOU can truly see and do. See it and do it. NIKE just got tired of hearing the blah blahs. Great movie by the way speaking of business. I went to the theater to see Ben Affleck’s Air. Read more>>

Becky Billock | CEO & cofounder of Noteful LLC, pianist, recording artist, music educator

I’ve been a piano teacher since I was 12 years old. Although I was wholly obsessed with the piano from when I started at age 4, I was never enthusiastic about the theory assignments my teacher would try to send home with me. I wanted to play the piano, not fill out a worksheet. Fast forward a few years, and I found myself trying to get my own students to do this work. Read more>>

Victor Chen | Martial Arts Educator and Action Actor

My entire life’s work has always been involved with the martial arts. When I was able to stand up at age 2, I was kicking and punching as if I already knew what I was doing at such a young age. From 8 years old, I was enrolled into Karate class at a local school, added powerlifting throughout high school but it was not until 1993 (the beginnings of the UFC) when I got into my hardcore martial arts training. Read more>>

Andrew Million | Business Strategy and Leadership Coach

I’ve actually been coaching and mentoring my entire career, but just didn’t realize it. We would build organizational goals and objectives, roll those down to department heads and leads. Then we would all work together to hit the targets. When one of us struggled, I’d hop in and we’d find a way to get through it. We would all find creative ways to improve financial results and customer experiences every day. Read more>>

Kim Arney | Accountant

With my love for accounting, I knew since high school that’s the career that I wanted. Once I graduated from college, I kept getting offers to be a computer programmer. I knew if I went that route, I wouldn’t be happy, and I’d be stuck in that career. I quit my programming job and registered with a temporary agency. I was sent on assignments with small business owners doing their books. Read more>>

Christian Wortham | Custom Jewelry Artist

It all began when I was diagnosed with class IV lupus nephritis in 2013 while attending college at North Carolina Central University. Honestly, the diagnosis shocked me because I did not know much about the disease, and I wasn’t entirely sure how the rest of my time in school would play out as a result of it. Read more>>