Through our work we have been constantly amazed at the incredible things people in every neighborhood are working on. What’s even more exciting is that they all have different stories, backgrounds, strengths and weaknesses. That there isn’t a single formula for success means that everyone can take their unique set of strengths and characteristics and turn it into a success story. We recently reached out to some folks we admire and asked them what characteristics they feel are responsible for their success.

Whitley Green | Dance Educator & Artist

The most important factor behind my success is redefining what success means to me specifically then aligning my goals with that. Also doing what feels good and “right” rather than what is expected, safe, or makes the most sense. Read more>>

Marissa Manzanares | Luxury Wedding Photographer

I can’t take all the credit for this, because I’ve learned and worked with some incredible people who helped me see what my vision was for my brand, how to get there, and how to convey it to my audience. So for me, it was learning from others in the industry, still learning from others in the industry, and having a team of women who I truly vibed with and helped me grow in the process when I was actually rebranding my business practically. In short, find your community. Learn from people you admire, and be yourself. Someone who I view as a mentor said this to me recently and I’ll paraphrase it now: Success starts from within. You can’t be successful until your mindset is set to be, and before it can flow out around you. Read more>>

Terri Maxwell | Investor, Business Growth Expert, Inspirational Speaker & Author

I had already been a successful executive and then an entrepreneur when I had a “purposeful awakening.” It was one idea: What if I could BOTH make the world better AND have financial success. When I first became a “conscious entrepreneur” in 2009, I had no idea how different it would be from traditional business. I struggled for the first few year trying to build a purposeful business, based on traditional business practices. It didn’t work. As I evolved in conscious leadership practices…my business grew. Over the last decade, I built what is now called “The Conscious Business Growth Platform” which is a diagnostic framework for entrepreneurs to evolve their business from start-up to >$10M in annual revenue. Based on this platform, we launched Shift/Co – a Public Benefit Corporation to help other conscious entrepreneurs grow. The power of Shift/Co is in both the platform for business success, but also in the community. Wee collaborate and work together to learn and grow. Read more>>

Rusty Hill | Rusty Hill Photography and Rusty Tintypes

It’s important to be true to yourself and remember your name is attached to every aspect of your work. There are times when you may be tempted to try and achieve something by taking a shortcut, but it will most definitely show in the final result. Lately, clients have been pushing us for more photos in a shorter amount of time. It can be difficult to manage this expectation while also producing the quality of work that I can be proud of. However, I have always taken the approach that no matter what, the client is paying for our time and marrying quality and quantity is crucial. It’s necessary to listen and not let our wants get in the way of what they are trying to achieve. Ultimately, they come to us for our creativity, knowledge, and experience, and we owe it to them to get the shots that will create the most sales for their product. Read more>>

Cam Petty Palmer | CEO

For me, building my business has always been about my customers and the ability to pick up and keep going even when this life of entrepreneurship can be ever-changing and oftentimes be a struggle. I’ve always lived by the mantra of “Make the next BEST decision” and that has always been the catalyst for how my business has grown and succeeded over the last decade! Read more>>

Tessa Todd Morgan | Professional Speaker, Founder & CEO

Taking things that others might view as failures as debriefing moments and making things better as a result. I simply look at what worked, what didn’t and what I can do different moving forward. I had the privilege of doing business development for 3 years for a group of fighter pilots called Afterburner before starting my own business and loved learning their process and it has helped me tremendously. Also, just that I keep going. If something isn’t doing well I try something else. During these times with Covid it took me many weeks of trial and error to go virtual. I think alot of people might have given up, but fortunately, I kept pushing through and now I’m luckily seeing a huge payoff. Read more>>

Angie Byrd | Owner & Therapist

The most important factor behind my success is God. I often say that God speaks to me by 2×4 because I rarely heard the whisper. My journey to owning my own business is a hot mess wrapped in a blessing. God had been speaking to me to venture out on my own but I was not listening and honestly too afraid. Eventually, he allowed a situation to play out that forced me to ownership. I was afraid and unsure. I committed to doing things different and I began to practice God’s Will. That for me was the single most important factor to my success. I began to educate myself and surround myself by people committed to helping people. I began my journey of success and created the brand of Christian Counseling. My group Full Hearts Counseling is devoted to loving and caring for all kinds of people with a variety of problems. Read more>>

Annye Grande | CEO & Creative Director

The most important factor behind the continued growth and success of etoile is our unwavering laser focus on creating luxurious products that are aesthetically beautiful and intelligent designs. Our NorthStar compass is the etoile “GoldStar Standard” which we apply to all aspects of our business: product, clients and our etoile team. Most importantly, our success comes from staying the course, protect our distinctive point of view and continue to learn. Read more>>

Amy Clayton | Swim Instructor

The most important factor behind my success is being able to provide quality swim lessons from the comfort and privacy of my back yard and continue to grow this business just by word of mouth. Read more>>

Kyle Hancock | Co-Owner & Founder

We have been extremely fortunate in our business and the growth of our brand over the years for a few reasons although communication, transparency and an unwavering mindset in the core foundation of our business beliefs have allowed us to get to the point where we are today. Read more>>

Candice Wagner | Entrepreneur, Owner & Head Coach

I am big on goal setting. Whether I am trying to improve the connection I share with my family and friends, working to refine my lifestyle habits, or building a thriving business, goal setting has allowed me to achieve some pretty incredible things in my life thus far. But, I don’t think that goal setting is very effective when you simply know what you want to accomplish. I think it’s important to have a strong vision and to know WHY these goals are important to me. I ask myself where I want to be in 1, and even 10 years from now, and what it will feel like when I accomplish these goals? And more importantly, what will it feel like if I DON’T accomplish these goals. Attaching my why via emotion makes me work harder to stay on course when life gets hard. Read more>>

David Gruber | Interfaith Wedding Rabbi

My philosophy in building an interfaith couple’s wedding ceremony is simple: It is the couple’s ceremony. Therefore, I build it around the couple and with the couple. The Stoic philosopher, Epictetus, once said that “We have two ears and one mouth so that we can listen twice as much as we speak.” I keep that in mind in my meetings with the couple. I don’t come with a “checklist” of things I need to do or I need to say; I concentrate on the couple. Their wedding ceremony is about them and should be about creating a memorable ceremony that will stay with them for years to come. Read more>>