Many books on startups and business talk about how there are right and wrong reasons for starting a business. So, we asked a handful of successful founders about their reasons and the thought-process behind starting their business.

Nehan Shujaat | Artist & Poet

Business is a word I tried to avoid using for such a long time because I associated it with only some sort of transactional exchange. While it took me awhile to realize that my relationship with clients, consumers, and even those who simply found inspiration from me was transactional in a way, whether it involved money, I always knew I wanted to put my work into the world. Read more>>

Grace & Jocelyne Galaviz | Owners | Dog Cuddle Enthusiasts | Will Travel for Food

Our small business, Nerdy Tails, began to form during the pandemic. As we were trying to be safe during this time and had a lot of free times, we began to explore different hobbies which included sewing and our dogs. Grace and I always had a soft spot for animals, growing up with dogs and adopting/rescuing 3 of our own. As we looked for accessories for our pups, we found that the choices for our favorite fandoms were limited. So, Grace took out her sewing machine and got to work. Read more>>

Da-Toneyia Clewis | Braid stylist, Speaker , Spiritualist, model

It was very native for me. My family has been throughout the beauty industry even before I was thought about , or extended the family ! I simply took over the passion and elevated it. Within it all , I became my own person and made it my own. Read more>>

Melanie Chaponan | Photographer

Honestly, I didn’t really look much into how to start my own business. I think I started it before even looking into how to start your own business. It was more for the passion of photography rather than the business. But then, I had to start managing my own schedule, policies, deposits, etc. It was somewhat difficult to manage a first because it was all so new. With help with my closest friends and google, I have been managing for a year now! Read more>>

Monica Bhattacharya | Artist and Art Instructor

I belong to a business family. Before marriage, when I was in India, my family used to own a Bengal themed clothing boutique. My parents used to run the business but I was deeply involved as well, especially when it came to designing and marketing activities. I hold a MBA in marketing and also a diploma in fashion design. But my passion has always been art from the beginning. Whenever I used to get time between studies and my business work, I used to fill that up by creating art pieces. Read more>>

Ishmael & Willie Holloway & Stricklin | Entrepreneurs & Content Creators

(Ishmael) I wanted to turn Mirror Check into a book to present to my wife on the day of our wedding. Mirror Check started off as a series of journals I would write about my struggles, how I overcame them, how I learned to love God even before myself. What made me start writing those letters in journal form was because I love history and saw how George Washington, Lewis & Clark, etc would write letters to their spouses talking about the things they encountered while on their missions. Read more>>

Sabrena Ford | Founder of Women With Purpose Tour

My thought process behind the brand was to build a platform where like-minded women in business come together and build seats for each other at any table. The Women With Purpose Tour is an empowerment tour for women entrepreneurs to connect and help scale their businesses through the power of networking. Our mission is to travel city to city, state to state, uplifting women’s voices in each community. We need more women leaders in the workplace to build their brands. Read more>>

Elijah Wang | Orthodontist and Dentofacial Orthopedic Specialist

We created LVL Orthodontics with a vision of an orthodontic practice designed for the modern patient. We wanted to serve the community by providing an excellent orthodontic experience supported by modern treatment modalities and the latest technology. Read more>>

Amari Edwards | Entrepreneur

Growing up one of the things I enjoyed the most was getting my hair done. My mom scheduled me hair appointments at my aunts salon every two weeks. I would sit for hours getting my hair done. Over the years I grew a passion for hair. I started watching youtube videos to gain more knowledge on how to do my own hair. I spent countless hours styling, cutting and dying my natural hair. Read more>>

Annalise Clayborne, APRN, cPNP | Pediatric Nurse Practitioner

After years of trainings, conferences and practice, I figured that there is never a “right” time. Leaving a salaried job was difficult, particularly when starting my own practice meant obtaining loans and less income. But, my husband kept telling me, “if you build it, they will come”. I was not entirely certain whether opening a Pediatric office would be a success or a total bust but I am grateful that others are seeking the very same philosophy that I have when looking for a provider for their children. Read more>>

Khawaja Minhajuddin | Founder & CEO

While working for multinational firms and software companies, I was always keen to start my own Company. In addition to a full-time job, I started working as a part-time freelancer. I spent my evenings working for clients through various online platforms and became a top-rated/featured service provider. Read more>>

Jenny | Vocalist

Hi I’m Jenny the vocalist of the band Saving Jackie. Here’s a little back story. The Drummer and I are Siblings. We use to be in a band called Jackie On Acid here in our hometown San Antonio, TX. We opened for many National Acts. In 2003 we ended Jackie On Acid to pursue family, work and continuing education. Over a decade later, I wanted to jam again. Read more>>

Ashley Werner | Founder and Owner of That Digital Rush, empowering businesses with digital marketing.

Picture this, you’ve spent precious time baking a pie. Researching recipes, gathering quality ingredients, setting the oven to the right temperature, you keep checking on it and then pull it out of the oven when it’s ready. While it’s cooling, you grab a plate and a fork. Read more>>

Aynsley Weiss | Artist

From a young age I’ve been drawing doodles and creating fun patterns. Birthday and Christmas cards were the perfect opportunities to design something new and grow my repertoire. As my abilities progressed and improved with practice, my mom encouraged me to make my art available for others to enjoy. I was initially hesitant to market my work, but after some convincing, I embraced the idea and began to create my Etsy shop. Read more>>

Danielle Hasting | Danielle Hsting, CMWEP & Owner

My professional plan started out as a journalist working for a newspaper and I had no intention of being in the wedding industry let alone a wedding planner. I have a social, but direct personality that has been a resource to friends who have found themselves in difficult situations and have called upon me for an assertive ally. Normally they were asking for me to help them walk through what they want to say in an email or how to express their concerns with certain situations. Read more>>

Shana Schottenstein | Artist & Toy designer

My family are all entrepreneurs and from a young age I loved selling my own wares. I always knew I wanted to be an artist but I felt most fulfilled when I had the freedom to work for myself and choose my own path. Read more>>

Angela Garcia | Founder, The UGLI Foundation

We live in a world where bullying has become an every day occurrence that impacts everyone. We can no longer escape it, particularly young people in school. Gone are the days of having someone make fun of you in the hallway or classroom, but then that was it. When you weren’t right next to them you could escape it. You could go home and not have to worry about that person. Now the bullying follows us everywhere. Read more>>

Malvin Earlonzo Porchia | Notary Signing Agent & Ordained Minister

I have always had an entrepreneurial spirit. Years ago I decided I wanted to work for myself. I was working 12hr sifts at a privately owned warehouse. I would drive my forklift thinking about how I was in that warehouse freezing during the winters and sweating during the summers. Thinking somewhere out there the owner was probably on a beach collecting millions. I have always been a dedicated worker, strived to be the best at whatever I choose to do. Read more>>

Ramon Maldonado | Son of the most beautiful soul /Cumbia lover / Dad / Everyday SUE Firm Tech

I believe the thought process started subconsciously at a early stage in my life as I was introduced to a gift I had no idea would be one of the biggest passions of my life. I fell in love with music, production, performance, business side of the market, etc… Read more>>

Elsie Russell | Owner and proprietor of 2 Chicks Home and Market

I have been involved in interior design and home staging for most of my professional career and I love all aspects of decorating, About 12 years ago, I started painting furniture to stage in vacant properties for sale and I fell in-love with the creativity of transforming used (but solid) items and furniture into pieces that were updated and stylish…..basically adding character and ultimately turning them into a piece of art! Read more>>

NiCole Sutton | RichGirlLashes

My thought process about starting my own business was very easy! Before I got into eyelash extensions I was an beautician for 14 years. And then the doctor said long time standing begin to be hard on my body, so I know I love serving people so I decided to stay in my field of work and service clients with the new up and coming thing and it was lashes!! I start my lashes Journey in 2010 and still going!!! Read more>>

Essence Quigley | Artist & Content Creator

As a young, African-American, I thought it was important to create generational wealth. I’m an eighteen year old, freshman in college, but I decided to start creating success for myself early in life. My business is a way for me to create stories through my art and content creation. Especially through my videos, I get to tell stories that are unheard and deal with perspectives that are rarely seen. Read more>>

Emeka Obi | Creative Director

I wanted to create a luxury clothing brand that emphasizes on modern and Texas attitire native to Dallas, and that could rival other fashion cities in the world. I got tired of hearing cities like New York, Los Angeles, Paris, Tokyo, Milan, and London always being in front of the headlines as the most fashionable cities. Read more>>

Maria Carrero | Designer & Muralist

I believe everyone has their own design aesthetics, even if they do not consider themselves artistic. My thought process behind starting my own business was to bring customizable designs to any space and use my talent/artistic skills to design someone else’ vision for their space. Read more>>

LaSheila Coffer | Travel agent & Tax preparer

My thought process originally being able to travel more for less. I was cruising at least once a year so getting it at a cheaper rate sounded good but making extra money was also a plus. I was looking for another revenue but enjoying life too. Read more>>

Kristine Smock | Jack of all trades specializing in self care

I decided to start my own business at the age of 33, because I have worked tirelessly and poured my heart into other people’s businesses since I was 14 years old. I finally realized I am talented, and started to believe in myself. I love great scented candles, perfumes, wax melts, and soaps, but I don’t love the harmful ingredients some manufacturers add to make the products. Read more>>

Brian Martinez | Artist

I have always wanted to start a business, but I don’t think I knew exactly what that entailed. My parents came from Mexico and mainly worked their whole lives. So they didn’t really understand what was needed to start a business either. It wasn’t until I was painting a large-scale mural at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas that a manager of where I was painting mentioned to me about getting a business license and an accountant. Read more>>

Michael W. Green | Actor, Writer and Director of Mike GG Productions

I wanted to shoot Movies but I wanted to be able to put my own swag/Style to them. I wanted to bring more creativity to Movies and not have them look everyone else’s Movies. I would also be able to cast Actors/Actresses who usually don’t get Cast and help them develop their craft Read more>>

Kaci Scott | Owner & Creator of Western Grande

My thought process behind starting my own business was actually to start a “hands off”/ passive income Amazon business until I realized I was sending all my customers to Amazon while they were taking a huge chunk of the profit. At that point, I made the transition turning Western Grande into a full time business selling through my website and shipping everything out myself. Read more>>

Jayla Cobbs | Nail Technician

I’ve never been a person that enjoys the structural norms of a workplace environment. I wanted to find a business that intersected long term financial stability and doing work that I love. A few months before the pandemic, I decided to take a chance on myself and get serious about the process of starting The Uptown Lush brand. Read more>>

Le’ Pri Edmond | Lifestyle Coach

Hello! I’m Le’ Pri, Lifestyle Coach and founder of KETO Me Please, LLC. As a Lifestyle Coach, I enjoy helping others sustain and maintain lifelong health and fitness goals through a ketogenic and low-carb lifestyle. When I think back on the process behind starting my own business, I realize I have always enjoyed helping others. But what I never foreseen in my future was me helping others get a better control of their health. Read more>>