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.

Taylor-Alexis Gillard | Wedding Videographer & Documentary Filmmaker

As a creative, I knew that I would need a financial base to sustain myself especially living in NYC. I also wanted to be able to work on film projects that are near and dear to my heart. Since high school I’ve always been labeled as a lover girl and I knew that I had a passion for telling stories through film. Essentially I thought that wedding videography would marry the two and it would allow me to flex that creative muscle filming each couple in a unique way. Read more>>

Good Luck Sis | Podcast

W e didn’t technically intend for our podcast to become a business. We just wanted to create a space that allows girls like us to connect and feel seen. Overtime we realized the impact we had in our community and decided to take this a step forward and make our podcast a business. We knew that we would be able to deliver so much more to our audience if we made our podcast a business. Read more>>

Britney Duke | Marketing Guru & Entrepreneur

From a young age, being surrounded by a family of entrepreneurs, I grew up with a spirit of self-reliance and an understanding of the value of hard work. My upbringing was not just an education in business mechanics, but a lesson in the power of autonomy and the direct correlation between effort and reward. This environment was not just inspiring but laid the foundation for my professional aspirations. Read more>>

Lindsay Freedman | Beauty and Skincare Expert and Founder of Storied Beauty

I spent years working in the skincare and cosmetics industry at a large International corporation in New York early on in my career. Many years later after moving to Dallas and having four children, I noticed a white space for a personalized approach in skincare. We have always had our dermatologists and aestheticians (whom I cannot live without). Yet, I found a hole for that hand-holding experience with someone completely unbiased, helping you navigate your way through the complex world of ingredients and product selection. Read more>>

T’Aundra Tennison | Lash Tech and Future Esthetician

When Covid hit my job downsized and I was unfortunately laid off. That was when my first thought of entrepreneurship started to form. I knew that I never wanted to feel like I had to depend on a 9-5 for financial security. I also wanted to have a career I loved to do on a daily. I never felt like any of the jobs I worked was something I wanted to do for the rest of my life and I was determined to find a career I could wake up everyday and enjoy doing. Read more>>

Alain Justilien | CEO, Justilien Home Stays

My thought process behind starting the business was to allow my wife first off to “retire” and allow her the space to take care of our baby girl as a mother. Secondly, I wanted something to help us on our journey to financial freedom and building our wealth Read more>>

Rosy Maldonado | Mom & Business Owner

My name is Rosy Maldonado and I have a two year old baby boy named Ayden. He was my inspiration for our indoor playground, Mini Playtime! I worked in corporate finance before having my son and when I became a mom I knew I wanted to stay home and spend as much time as possible with him. Read more>>

Forward Future | Nonprofit Combating Food Waste

The thought process behind starting Forward Future was simple: give back to an industry that focuses on giving back. People volunteer for food banks and food pantries wanting to make life easier for others, so that’s what we wanted to do for them. After many of our team volunteered at food pantries, we realized that a less time-consuming donation management system would let hunger assistance organizations do more “helping others” by saving them precious time and resources. Read more>>

Brian Lamb | Philanthropist

The summer before my freshman year of college I spent a lot of time traveling and soul searching. For anyone transitioning from high school to college it’s always an awkward stage of life. You ask questions like “who am I” and “what do I want to do with my life”. I came to the conclusion that I didn’t want to spend my college years living the typical college lifestyle. I decided I wanted to spend the next four years doing my best to serve others and looking back on my college years attaining something more than just a diploma. Read more>>

Annie Davis | Founder of Venture with Impact

After teaching in public schools in New Orleans and New York City for four years, I realized that I had the desire to pursue my interest in international development. On a whim I found a nonprofit organization located in Trujillo, Peru online, I donated and sold most of my possessions, and I moved abroad. Read more>>

Hector Vidaña | Pit Master

What am I doing? Am I really ready to dive deep into the food industry? Read more>>

Anna Mendelson | Owner of Vibrantguide.com

My mother was in the blogging industry and I loved watching what she did. I’ve always loved sharing my life through writing, so blogging was very appealing to me. While picking the topic of my website, I did not want to be boxed into any specific niche. I have a lot of different passions that I want to share with the world. I decided on “vibrantguide.com”. Vibrant Guide is broad, but all tied together by the idea of offering vibrant ideas to the world. Read more>>

Hou Si & Mariela Alvarez – Wong | Local Weebs & Takoyaki Chefs

We’ve actually been whipping up some delicious takoyaki for our buddies for a little while now. They were always telling us how it’s just not the same anywhere else. 🐙 So, a lightbulb went off – why not spread the joy of our favorite snack with other awesome folks who are all about Asian cuisine and culture, just like us? And you know what? Read more>>

Tiffany Kyviakidis | Owner

It honestly happened so fast that I didn’t even have time to really process what I had set my mind to. One day it just hit me that I wanted to be my own boss and never have to answer to anyone again. So I started building my business from the ground up. I kept telling myself every single day that this had to work, and I would be successful. I’m very proud of the business I have built and the hard work I have put in to make it successful. Read more>>

Anthony Rene Otero | Yoga Teacher, Meridan Yoga Therapist (MYT), & Holistic Practitioner

Yoga is the component of my healing and grounding practice. It has served as an anchor, a method of positive bodily processing, emotional processing, and overall spiritual processing and wellness. Experiencing first-hand the profound radical transformation of this spiritual technology I aim to bring the practice to those who will benefit from the practice, along with those who may not have access to or see themselves represented in the practice. Read more>>

Ashley Nicole Boykin | Business Owner & Aesthetician

Starting your own business can be an exciting venture, but it requires careful planning and consideration. The first step is to identify what you’re passionate about and what skills you have that could translate into a successful business. Research your market and competition, and develop a clear business plan with realistic goals and expectations. Read more>>

Palmer Ragsdale | A board member of Rockwall Summer Musicals

Rockwall Summer Musicals was started by a core group of founding members. We wanted to bring Broadway scale performances to this area. Read more>>

Johnathan Ketelhut | Owner, 4th Henry Productions, LLC

My wife was my biggest inspiration for starting my own business. I was actually working for a television company at the time, as well as shooting weddings on the side. I got to a point where my side business took up a lot of my downtime. As scared as I was about leaving my stable salary job, my wife convinced me that we’d adapt and be able to put 100% of our focus and energy into our own business. Once taking the leap, she couldn’t have been more right. Read more>>

Theapolis Jacquét | New Direction Ministries Senior Pastor

I knew that I was called to be a pastor, but I never knew I would be called to planting a church. During theCovid-19 Pandemic, the church I have been serving at since I was born decided to shutdown the church, but saw fit to create a time for members to drive-thru and drop off their tithes & offerings. I disagreed with my pastor and told him we should be thinking of creative ways to administer the Word of God to the members. He told me if I disagreed with his leadership, I should start my own church, so God sent my family and I in a “New Direction.” Read more>>