Starting and growing a business is hard, but often deciding to start the business in the first place is even harder. We asked some successful entrepreneurs from around the community to open up to us about how they thought about starting a business.

Vanessa Presume | Brand Strategist & Celebrity Event Coordinator

I actually never desired becoming an entrepreneur growing up. I always wanted to be teacher. I wasn’t taught or shown entrepreneurship growing up. It wasn’t until I met my husband, Frito Presume, the original founder of our agency, that it sparked something in me that I didn’t know existed. He started the agency when he was 16 years old. I watched and helped him behind the scenes for years build other brands, host sold out events, and manage artist. Read more>>

Heather Finks | Aesthetic Nurse Practitioner & Owner of House of Beauty Fort Worth

I grew up in a low-income household by my father who raised my brother and I by himself. Success was not something that was easily recognized by our family. At the age of 14, I became pregnant with my daughter. Life was no longer about me. I did not want to be a statistic destined to fail. Being a teenage mother fueled my desire to escape from the cycle of deprivation generations of my family had faced before me. It was a tangible motivation coupled with an innate entrepreneurial spirit that drove me to start my own company at the age of 22. Read more>>

Christina Martinez | Credit Repair Specialist

My thought process behind starting CTX Credit Repair was putting myself in my clients shoes. I once was the person seeking help and guidance on how to fix my credit and maintain it in good standing. After feeling defeated a few times with some bad experiences with other companies, I decided to learn it, master it and educate on good credit habits. Read more>>

Krista Burrell | Beauty Business Owner- Krista Nicole Beauty & Beauty Queen Glam Team

I’ve wanted to own my own business since I started working at 13. I had the opportunity to help build a company at a young age and knew early on that I wanted to build something of my own one day even though it took me into my 30s to figure out what. When I had my son, I was motivated to inspire him to be his own boss one day, and my mentor made me believe I could do anything I set my mind to. 5 years ago I sold my house in OKC and left my corporate job of 10 years for a dream to live in big city full of opportunity and build a business of my own. With a background in business development, I started my consulting company, The Big Deal Group, and built a solid clientele through networking. Read more>>

David Armstrong | In-home Tech Support Specialist

In 2019 I was working for a telecom retailer, and witnessed countless people having tech support issues with nowhere to turn without being pressured to buy product. They would drive 20 mintues and wait in queues just for a simple tech issue. I started Detechtive, first and foremost, because I enjoy tech support and excel at problem solving. Delivering tech solutions and establishing a business with customer service as the main priority gives clients peace of mind that I have their best interest at heart. Read more>>

Rebecca Morris | Owner of Melanated Intentions

It was all a dream literally, I was going through one of the toughest times in my life where I was questioning my purpose and where my life was going. Finding an outlet to express my creativity is truly what saved me. I began making candles as a distraction to escape my reality, then researching manifesting. I started a self-healing journey that completely changed my mindset from seeing what was once impossibilities to creating my own destiny of endless opportunities. Read more>>

Patty Harrison | Editor-in-Chief

Funny enough, it came to me in the shower one day. I have a dear friend who is a top billing actress in DFW, and she was wondering how to get in front of agency creatives, because of late, they are all behind swipe cards. I have worked on the production, ad agency, and marketing side of this business, and EVERYONE strives to get their story heard to their target audience – by themselves. And they all need each other to make business grow. So, I reasoned a central place to show off TV spots, production stories, marketing achievements, events and more, would be well-received. And, I wanted to interview people, because its what I truly enjoy. People are incredibly fascinating! Read more>>

JASON HORTON | Musical Artist, President/Founder of The Musician’s Sanctuary, & Crypto Enthusiast!

Freedom and Fulfillment! I was blessed to know my calling early on. I was also blessed to be able to sustain myself from that calling. So many musical artists, both seasoned and novice, can find themselves stuck in a corporate 9 to 5 literally giving their time for dimes. I wanted a networking organization that would present opportunities for education and work for musicians by musicians! We strive to become a one-stop shop for artists and patrons! Read more>>

Kacelia Daniel | Visual & Fiber Artist

Outside of being my own boss, just being able to share my passion for art with others. Being able to show my daughter that the sky is the limit and you can do whatever you put hard work behind. Having a plan and committing to the work load, not losing sight of your passion or purpose and your goals. Read more>>

Adrian Cantu | Physical Therapist, Pain and Movement Specialist, Running Rehabilitation Specialist

Throughout my education and preparation to become a physical therapist, I always had the thought in mind of opening my own practice. While I was in Physical Therapy school, direct access to physical therapy services was a big item being pushed in the legislature. I even went to some meetings to meet with state representatives in hopes of gaining their support. On September 1st, 2019, Texas physical therapists finally gained a form of direct access. Read more>>

Brenda Valdez | Balloon artist

To be honest i never really thought about starting my own business. With the pandemic so much changed with not only my work life but also my family’s life. I started working from home and have remained working from home ever since. I have realized throughout this whole process working from home is not something i enjoy. Having three kids and needing to focus on my priorities for work tends to get a little overwhelming at times. Read more>>

McKinney “WorkHorse” Williams | Monsta Entertainment C.E.O.

First off I want to start off by saying “Long Live Chef Dot!” My mother was a Chef and recently passed away due to Incompetency of the University of Mississippi Medical Center! And we are getting prepared for a fight!
My mother had her own brand of chef knives which we recently launched together under my entertainment label which is Monsta Entertainment LLC.
Her website is chef-dot.com , I would like everyone that’s reading this to go to her website and purchase a superior kitchen to the rule replace all of the knives that you have in your kitchen! Read more>>

Trayche’l Burgess | Hair Colorists & Beautician

Honestly, I was freaked out being it was right after covid shut the world down that I got my licensure and in school I never saw myself going out on my own. I just love the atmosphere and camaraderie of authentic beauty salons, but the places I saw myself working in I guess didn’t see me working there; but all in all God had other plans for me. I started off doing ShearShare on the weekends, where I would rent out a space and take clients. I did that for about a month when I was offered a permanent space at a location I rented and I just jumped in. Read more>>

Mackenzie Stokx | Wedding Planner

As a new small business owner, my thoughts were all over the place before officially deciding to jump into the wedding industry. When I started Stoked Weddings, I was incredibly nervous and scared of what was going to happen and what people were going to think. I kept asking myself, “Can I even do this? What if I fail?” and as someone who has been an over-thinker all my life, the thoughts didn’t stop there. Most of my life, I’ve struggled with anxiety and the constant fear of not being good enough. It has discouraged me from doing so many things and has caused me to turn down numerous amazing opportunities. Read more>>

Sawsan Hajmahmoud | Floral Designer

I was teaching at an elementary school before I decided to do my own thing. I wanted to have more kids and be available for them. I decided I can manage a small flora business from my home and take on events on the weekends. It has given me the opportunity to work with what I love and also be there for my family. It’s a balance. Read more>>

Liz Bakery | Cookie Designer

I wanted to start my own business so that I could have my hand in every bucket, from production, to marketing, to budgeting and scheduling. I’m equally interested in all aspects of business, and enjoy having a wide view of operations as a whole. In the past, when I have worked as just a cake or cookie decorator, I craved being a part of the business operations side. Similarly, when I’ve worked in a solely management role, I missed the creative side. Working for myself in a creative field allows me to use both sides of my brain. Read more>>

Rex Ravita | Rug Tufter & Textile Artist

I graduated college with a Bachelor’s in Broadcast Journalism right in the middle of the pandemic, and work was hard to find. After spending countless days applying for every job I could, I decided I should get back into creating art. I’ve always been a creator; experimenting with different mediums just out of pure enjoyment. When I discovered rug tufting during the pandemic, I fell in love with the process because it gave me something to look forward to doing everyday. I got a really great response on my first few pieces, and from there I just kept creating more and more rugs and that’s when more people started to pay attention. Read more>>

Cassandra Alexis | Author, Speaker, Podcast Host, CEO, Consultant & Chief Empowerment Officer

I created my business initially wanting to use the education and knowledge that I had obtained over my 20+ year marketing career to help other black female owned businesses. They say when you do something that you love you will never work a day in your life. Once I became an entrepreneur I understood that it took more than the knowledge of something to be successful. You can have a great product, or service and be good at what you do and still not be successful. There is a mindset and level of confidence needed to execute those plans, to raise your prices, to set boundaries, etc. Read more>>

Sneha Gorijala | Event/Party Decorator

I was born and raised in India and now the USA has become my home, where my husband and I are raising a family of our own. As much as we love it here, like any other expatriate, the longing and passion to celebrate our culture and traditions has always been within us. Growing up, we celebrated Indian festivals and events with great fervor and relevant décor had always been a huge part of any celebration. I fondly remember stringing fresh flowers for the entrance of our home as a welcome garland during the festive season. Now, the name of my company ‘thoranam’ literally means ‘welcome hanging’ in sanskrit, which sounds like a sweet coincidence. Read more>>

Michelle Lyles | Custom Home Designer & General Contractor

I’ve always known that I wanted to start my own business, the premise-based around having an end goal to be a residential developer. So overall, my thought process has always been to make as many strides towards my end goal as possible. Read more>>

Dr. April Johnson | Author, Christian Counselor, Business Strategist & Insurance Agent

As an independent thinker, I worked diligently to become a business owner. I believe it runs in my blood as my parents always discussed the importance of working for oneself. My mother Barbara Sykes was a self taught artist and seamstress. My father, Bernard Henderson worked as an independent cleaning services while working as a manger for transportation company. Through out life, goals must be set in place to ensure consistent growth and to realize the vision for the future. Read more>>