It takes a lot more than an idea to build a business, but there can’t be a business without the idea. So we asked folks who’ve built wonderful businesses to tell us about how they came up with the idea in the first place.

Magda Lopez | Entrepreneur

I was preparing dinner in my Coral Gables home one night and my boyfriend who happens to be a CPA and business man recommended I open my own candle line. I love candles. I have a passion for rare and beautiful scents. I collect vessels as if they were art. That’s how the I AM REV candle phenomenon was born. Read more>>

Guillermo Dipp | Photo Booth Owner & Photographer

It all started when my sister from Dipp Photography kept saying how she gets asked so many times about photo booth referrals. Then after a few minutes of talking she asked if I know someone that would want to partner up with her to start a photo booth company and that’s when the light bulb went off! This business comes very natural to me since I love interacting with people and seeing them smile. Fast forward 4 years later and here we are. Read more>>

ALEX G GUADARRAMA | ENTREPRENEUR, FITNESS ENTHUSIAST, MOTIVATOR AND SEXY MOMMA

As a woman I feel we tend to take on so much, and give so much of ourselves. Most of us take care of the household and work full-time jobs and we end up forgetting that we need that ‘me time’, that we need to workout to stay healthy and I saw a lot of my friends become moms and that was all there was to their lives. They no longer tried to look sexy, stay fit or have a girls night, and felt guilty when they invested time in themselves. I’ve always been very active, I still love to dress sexy, even if I’m a mom and a wife, because I remind myself that before all that I’m a woman who needs to feel happy as a woman. This is when I decided to launch my blog–HIIT Like a CHICK, where CHICK stands for Confident, Hip, In Control Knockout. I wanted to share workouts women can do at home and even involve their kids, no matter the age. I wanted to share experiences with them we can all relate to and create a community of women who feel they are worthy giving themselves much needed TLC without the guilt. Read more>>

Erin Raspotnik (Peacy) | President, Mind Body Spirit Event Series Corp.

I was going through my own healing journey and discovered a plentitude of tools, resources, methods and people that supported my process. It was then that I realized that these things were so “unknown” to me and so many people that I knew. I wanted more people to know about these healing methods that inspired and helped me so much that I created Mind Body Spirit Event Series to bring all of these tools, resources, methods and people under one roof to share and inspire the attendees. I originally hosted one event and had not started a company at that time but after feeling and hearing the impact the event had, I was inspired to create a series hosting one big annual event. Read more>>

Elizabeth Silverman | Off Premise Caterer

My dad was a baker and had a deli, so I’ve been in the food business for most of my life. However, at that point I was working as a real estate property manager. Loved my job, loved the people I worked with. I entertained a lot, cooking for my friends and the office. I shared my love of cooking and entertaining with my friend Marilyn. She also loved to cook and entertain. In 1985 the company I worked for was acquired by a larger company and things changed from the small closely knit company to corporate. People left, new people came on. It just wasn’t the same. At the same time, Marilyn was looking for something to do. We talked, and decided to open a catering business. Little did we know what we were getting into ….who knew 33 years later we would still be together, best of. Read more>>