Getting to do what you love?  Providing for your loved ones?  What does success mean to you? Below you’ll find perspectives from some of the city’s best and brightest.

Bailey Weigler | Wedding Photographer

I would say the most important factor has been client experience and truly loving what I do. Being an entrepreneur sounds like all fun and games until you’re grinding out 80+ hour workweeks and sacrificing time spent with friends and family in pursuit of your dreams. You have to truly love owning a small business for it to succeed. On the flip side, my career has allowed me the freedom to create the life I want to live and put my creative skills to use capturing some of the most important moments of my clients lives, which is why I started my wedding photography business in the first place. It’s so important to me that my wedding couples have an amazing experience from start to finish. Read more>>

Amy F. Tate | Midwife and Birthcenter Owner

Passion. I have always had a passion for supporting and empowering women. In every role I’ve had, this has been the key to my success. Midwifery is unique in that you get to walk through one of the most challenging but impactful times in a woman’s life. As a midwife, I am not just the care provider. At Origins we believe that we are the coach and guide throughout pregnancy, labor and birth. We truly believe that you should walk away from your birth experience feeling empowered. Read more>>

Tony Green | Host

Well, as a communicator, whether in front of an audience, or as service industry professional, I think the success of “Hello, I’m Tony Green” (HITG) has something magic in our team. I personally don’t always ask for help when I need it, but as a show concept and host I must do just that. With roles like director, producer, co-host, and more, each having a need to help another role, success for us depends on honing that skill, and we’ve done a good job. Read more>>

Jason Ramsey | Director of Business Development

Success can be measured in many ways. Personal fulfillment, helping others, making money, etc. Although these examples don’t cover all of them, I do think they cover what Bravadas does best. We could not have achieved any of those without our employees. That is the most important factor in our success. The Bravadas brand has been built out of love for helping people with hair loss, and the fulfillment it gives us. Our employees are highly trained and empathetic. This allows us to thrive in a space where face to face service is a must. Read more>>

Erin Malone Turner | Playwright, Poet, Actor & Filmmaker

The most important factor behind my success is staying true to my most authentic self, constantly finding and expressing my voice as a writer, and telling the stories that matter to me. Not trying to please others or make others comfortable with my art, but creating what I want to see; what I hope the world will benefit from, be moved by, or see themselves in. If someone is touched by some facet of my work, I feel successful. If the people closest to me, whose opinions I trust deeply, enjoy it, I feel successful. If I’m moved to tears at some point of the creative process (which I usually am), I feel successful. Most of all, when someone tells me that my work and I inspired them to write – that’s the cherry on top. Read more>>

Hillary Gadsby & Wendi Boyden Boss Talks | Founders

The connections that we were able to make and leverage has brought us both tremendous success in our own careers and business. The success of our brand is powered by connecting women to those people and opportunities that help them either launch or scale their own businesses. We have found the formula to that success even through the pandemic. There are many women entrepreneurs who want to start and/or scale their businesses but feel lost and missing community especially working from home through the pandemic. Starting and scaling your business entails retaining coaches and other experts that can run you into the hundreds if not thousands of dollars. These women are so overwhelmed with options that they don’t know where to start, and feel exhausted, drained, and disconnected. They join Boss Talks Network to get everything that they need to be successful in ONE place for an affordable price. Read more>>

Ressie G | Author, Producer & Advocate

Being a native of Atlanta, Georgia aka The Hollywood of the South, I have to say that my success most definitely is attributed to 2 major factors. The first would have to be measuring my level of success for myself. Being a celebrity fashion stylist in Atlanta was not my goal. However, it is the goal of many. To reach that level of success for many fashion stylist is their goal…which I understand. Who wouldn’t want to have a list of clients that have millions of dollars and fame that is vast and far beyond the reach of most “common folk”. Needless to say my sights have and were always set on something else. As I navigated myself though that career as a celebrity stylist I wanted to simply be in control of where I lived and my mobility. Growing up through the foster care system and being from the “ghetto” I was not afforded the same luxuries that most people were or even still are. Read more>>

Russ Porter | Music Studio Owner

I believe my personal passion for music is what motivates me, compels me and has made my business successful. When I was a boy, I found music to be about the only thing that I was good at and the one thing that brought me inner joy and fulfillment. Growing up is difficult under even the best of circumstances and finding a place where you excel helped me find my identity. It’s been a life-long path that has opened many doors for me personally and professionally. I’m so happy that I can reinvest my love of music into the lives of others who can carry the torch of music to future generations. Read more>>