Are you thinking about starting a business? If so, we think you’ll enjoy reading about how these seasoned entrepreneurs thought about the question when they were in your shoes.

Jordan Fine | Photographer and proud mama

I sometimes have to laugh when I think about how this all started. I’m not sure I really looked at it as a business. I didn’t think that far ahead. I remember saying to my husband, I’ve always wanted to get into photography, and he said well why don’t you? So I think a week later we bought my camera and I started taking pictures of family and friends. I would post some of the shots I took on social media and then people started asking how much I charge. It just took off from there Read more>>

Emmanuel Daughtry | Journalist & Entrepreneur

Throughout college, I involved myself in every form of media possible. I started my own podcast (in 2017 before podding was popular.) I started a blog that gained traction fast. I emcee’d events on and off campus. I worked at the most popular radio station in the tri-state-area. I even threw parties that I was DJ at. The stage name “MannieOnTheScene” became more than an individual; it became a brand. Read more>>

Adrianna Gluck | Designer and Creator

The one that stands out was immersing myself in the maker community. In 2017, I was laid off from my job and was trying to decide what I wanted to do next for work. I knew it was different from what I had been doing, but I wasn’t sure what it was. With the help of friends, I started to create and plan a creative endeavor which I soon began that brought me to markets and had me meeting makers and artists. I’ve always loved the creative world as I’ve always loved to create. Read more>>

Suhay Gonzalez | Beauty Entrepreneur

The thought process behind starting my owning my emotions by converting sadness into joy. My desire is bring awareness towards brain health and contribute towards the effort on finding a cure by donating toward glioblastoma brain tumor research. Read more>>

Jim McMahel | CEO | DIRECTOR | PRODUCER | DESIGNER

I don’t mind working for others but want to have the most IMPACT possible and I found by starting my own business, I could increase the amount of positive impact to truly make a difference in my community. Read more>>

Angela Kerri | Certified Holistic Life Coach for High-Performing, Professional Women & Former CIA Officer

It was a life process that was behind the start of my business. I always knew that at some point, I would do something where I would empower women, I just didn’t know how nor the timing of it all. Prior to my business, I was a national security expert and pretty comfortable in my life. Then life happened. My husband was diagnosed with Glioblastoma (stage 4 brain cancer) and within 18 months he was gone and I was a single mom of 3 girls. Read more>>

Kaneesha Lechelle | Founder, CEO, and Master Mixer

My business actually started out as a therapeutic hobby to help me cope with anxiety and seasonal depression. The only thing I knew before I started was that I wanted to create something that was therapeutic as well and I chose to make candles. Read more>>

Christian Dominique | Manjay Restaurant Owner

i always knew since i was a kid that i wanted to own my own business. i think that mindset came from watching my parents build their own businesses as well. i’ve alway been creative as a person and never really felt like i could keep doing the same thing over and over day in day out. So i never really saw myself taking a desk job and work from 9-5. when we were starting Manjay, there was a lot of planning done. we started working on the concept in 2014 and ended up opening in 2019 so it took a good 5 years of planning the concept, understanding what we going for, the flavors, the decor, the branding etc.. Read more>>

Jessica Alencar | Entrepreneur

I always had the desire to own a business. When I decided to finally take the first step and start my business journey, I sat down to brainstorm about my passions and jewelry was one of the first things that came to my mind. I used to constantly misplace my jewelry and when I tried to buy new ones, they were either super expensive or of poor quality. I remember I used to ask my mom to bring me jewelry from Brazil, where I am originally from, because of the price and the great quality. Read more>>

Nicole Reichenbach | Owner and Designer of Elizabeth Cordelia, LLC

At first it was definitely daunting starting up my own business. Mostly I was extremely excited to begin the new venture of a self-run business. Essentially the time and effort put into the business affects the outcome, so I knew it would be a lot of work and time, but now looking back, I am so proud of how far I have come and the support I have from friends and family. Read more>>

Nyah Terrilyn | Spoken Word Poet & Magazine Editor in Chief

When I started S and M (or sex and music) Magazine, I had one thought on my mind: Why can’t I find the perfect coffee table book? My roommate and I had just come back from one of our favorite bookstore cafes in Washington D.C. where we spent hours scourging the shelves for something to decorate our living room coffee table with. When we finally decided our answer wasn’t on those shelves, we were also hit with the revelation that our answer did not even exist yet. So we decided to make our own answer. The next steps came way too easily. Read more>>

Taiece Lanier | Luxury Closet Designer & Organizer

Coming from a family of entrepreneurs, I always knew , I wanted to have my own business someday. I started my career as a Fashion Coordinator and Luxury Personal Shopper. As a personal shopper, I would spend a lot of time in my clients closets, putting looks together for different events and keeping their closets organized so it would be easy to find things, when needed. I would even help my clients edit their closet regularly, so I would have enough room to place new items. I had a lot of fun helping my clients stay organized and look their best. Read more>>

Jorge Lorenzo | Owner/Founder Lomelo’s Meat Market

It was a mixture of passion for liking high quality food as well as filling a gap for obtaining that high quality food during covid and the lockdowns with all the restaurants being closed down and the restrictions in place. Great plan, even better timing. Read more>>