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.

Corbitt Williams | Singer and Early Childhood Music Teacher

The idea to start my business really came from when I was working for different family franchises in New York City. I got into this line of work years ago in my early 20s when I was just looking for a job to pay the bills, and I didn’t have the experience or degrees my colleagues did, so I didn’t think much of it. Over the years, I started seeing how much my early childhood classes and birthday concerts were becoming popular and bringing a lot of folks through the doors and making whatever business I was working for a lot of money. Read more>>

Alessandra Givens | Jewelry Designer

Alegria was born from a long time passion of mine. It all started in Rio de Janeiro – Brazil, when I was in the seventh grade and a school friend and I would create handmade jewelry to sell to our friends. Being born into a family of “gypsies”, we moved around a lot and I was exposed to many different cultures and traditions that inspired me. The jewelry I make has always been that one place where I poured all of my experiences and creative vision. In some moments of my life, I had to put this passion aside to give room to other passions such as traveling and studying Ayurveda. Read more>>

Asis Almonte | The Wardrobe Stylist

Honestly, I wanted to do something radically different from what I was taught as a kid. For I grew up in an immigrant, latin household that placed all its values on the privilege to be an American Citizen and the endless opportunities that came with that title. I was taught that the best way to live a happy, fulfilled and successful life was by living out the American Dream. Read more>>

Sheba Augustine | Creative Entrepreneur and Self-Care Advocate

I honestly did not think it through too much in terms of logistics- I feel like with each stage of business growth I am learning as I go. Starting and running OMI- my all natural skincare brand my has been an exercise in trusting my intuition and taking action on ideas. I saw that there was a lack of truly all natural skincare on my home island of Grenada and so I started using single ingredients like local coconut oil or blocks of cocoa fat to moisturise my skin and that of my newborn daughter. Read more>>

Jennifer Hart, MA, LPC, E-RYT, YACEP, CIMHP | Holistic Psychotherapist

My thought process behind starting my own business was enveloped in my desire to offer what I wish was offered to me when life got hard. I’ve had hard times, and I had an even harder time finding a woman of color practitioner that was well versed in alternative methods of healing such as yoga, sound therapy, study of medicinal plants and energy medicine. I attended to these healing modalities with women that were not of color and sometimes did not feel welcomed. Read more>>

Nick Mighty | Nerdcore Rapper

Honestly I wasn’t looking at it as a business at first ‘c it was just me having fun. Later on I realized I needed to market myself better and get more into the promotions and distribution side of things. Honestly it was exciting, it’s like starting a video game at level 0. The possibilities are endless and the excitement to see how far I go was overwhelming Read more>>

Nicole Thate | Dance Studio Owner

I had been teaching dance in the area for about 10 years. We have so many dance studios in the area so it’s great variety for people to choose from. I saw a need for a studio with a strong ballet focus but that also provided strong areas of other dance styles of Acrobatics, Tap, Jazz, Modern, Contemporary, Hip Hop, and more. My dance studio also emphasizes the use of curriculums in our training. We are an American Ballet Theatre training school in ballet and Acrobatic Arts curriculum training school for Acrobatics, Al Gilbert curriculum for tap, etc. Read more>>

Jameelah Trimble | Psychotherapist, LCSW, My client’s Favorite Therapist, Former Professional Athlete, Maternal Mental Health Advocate/Practitioner, Holistic Psychotherapist

The thought behind starting my own business stemmed from years of working & building other companies. As I matriculated through different agencies, following their policies and procedures I realized I could do the same thing for myself. I have always been known to go against the grain and question the status quo which often garnered a label of rebel. I saw it as learning opportunities. The voice. I am not afraid to say what needs to be said and have been known for my leadership qualities. So why not start my own business helping people find their own voice. Read more>>

Ashley Pusey | Chemical Engineer & Photographer

Legacy! Honestly, when I started making candles it was an outlet and the calming process of candle making allowed me to release anxiety and depression. When I found out I was expecting, I started planting the seeds of starting my own business. At that very moment, I was no longer living for myself and wanted to make sure my child had more opportunities in life than their mother did. Before I found out my child’s gender, I knew I wanted their name to mean illuminate; because I want them always to know, no matter how challenging life gets to always look within because all that they need is already within them and it glows. Candles illuminate literally and figuratively and my daughter’s name means Moonlight and from there Moonlight Wicks was born. Read more>>

Sarah Sweeney | Social Media Video Marketing Expert

After a 14+ year career in television, I was laid off in 2020 from my job in television due to the COVID-19 pandemic. I was working with Univision at the time. Coincidentally, I was also finishing my MBA with a specialization in Entrepreneurship & Innovation from Florida International University, so I was learning a lot about markets, industries, and expected economic trends during recessions. When I was laid off, it was tough to jump into another job as most corporations were laying-off their workers. Read more>>

Andy Ferguson | Agritourism Provider & Apple Farmer

When I was 13 years old, I started a lawn care service that paid for my first car. While it was nice earning a little money at that age, it was the thrill of knocking on doors and promoting my services that started the entrepreneurial bug. I graduated from law school in 2012 and that commitment was put to the test. When I was faced with a choice between several lucrative job offers from law firms and a Fortune 500 company, Read more>>

Jonathan Strauss | Unorthodox Lifestyle Marketing Professional/ Disruptor

I could never really work for anyone else other than for my family. I always liked getting things done my way. I like to get things done, without anything holding me back and the only real way to do that is operating your own business. Read more>>

Jamirah Gregory | Communication specialist & Entrepreneur

The thought process I had behind starting my business was to uplift women and men alike. Although, my business mainly caters to a female audience, I have had male customers as well. I wanted to create pieces that stood for something when worn. I want the individual wearing my piece to feel a special connection with the jewelry. Ie: this bracelet makes me feel beautiful or this necklace brings me positivity. Read more>>

Lori Lopez | Real Estate Broker + Owner

My thought process behind starting my own business began when I first entered the business in 2012. I noticed there was a very cookie cutter approach to how real estate agents handled their prospecting for their business and how they handled each transaction. It appeared to me that flexibility was almost frowned upon by many bigger brokerages I had worked with or interviewed for. It struck me as odd because in real estate, no transaction is the same, and you almost need to have flexibility in order to stand out. Read more>>

Erika Lauren Perez | Graphic Designer & Calligrapher

Creating & designing have always been my escape. I can draw, write, engrave, even color for hours & hours & then realize how much time has passed by. It has always been what I’ve done for fun & I always wondered whether I could make a living out of it. Once social media started to grow & my love for creativity & calligraphy along with it, I decided to put myself out there & finally created my own page for people to look at & get inspiration from. Read more>>

Michael Shatravka | Real Estate Media Producer

I wanted financial freedom, being my own boss, and owning something that was bigger than me. I promised myself that one day when I got to a point where someone asked me how I did it, I wouldn’t give them some simple vague answer you read in all these motivational entrepreneur books and now here I am telling you this: You need to want something bad enough. Write it down and look at it everyday. Try everything to get it. Then figure out which part of trying to do everything did you like the most/paid the most? Double down and start getting good at it. Surround yourself with good people. Read more>>

Tatiana Kobie Rodriguez Simmons | Food Influencers “Foodies”

When we started our page we didn’t think it would blow up like it did, I think that’s what motivates us to keep posting and stay consistent!! Our friends and family would see our personal Instagram stories and convinced us to start a page!! After thinking of different names we came up with “Weeatfoodsoflo”. Read more>>

Nikki Levy | Interior Designer

My business just began organically. From a little girl I quite literally thought about the business I would own every day. I would build it up in my mind and it was wonderful. As I got older, my imagination still was taking me on that journey and one day, somehow those dreams became a reality. It was all baby steps, evolving into my business I have today. It’s as important to me that I have a business as it is for me to have a family. The combination of those two things make me feel fulfilled and happy and I have a wonderful sense of purpose. Read more>>

Jamie Maitland | Group Fitness/spin instructor & certified holistic nutritionist

There was honestly no group fitness studio in the area that offered everything I wanted (fitness wise) under one roof. At the time I was doing a lot of pure barre, hiit workouts, spin and sculpt classes however, I had to travel to several different studios to get variety. To solve this problem, I decided to create my own! 🙂 Read more>>

Lottie Hulme | Showbiz Journalist and Creator

I have been a journalist for some years now, and in journalism there are many different strands. I love writing, but I wanted to expand into social media to use my skills more. As my niche is showbiz, I translated that onto my TikTok and didn’t expect to grow a following so quickly but it thrived, and it allowed me to use my love of presenting in a new and exciting way. I love engaging with my followers on there and I think having a niche really helps with growth. Read more>>

Ornella Luces-Cedenio | Business Owner

The thought process behind starting my own business was an elaborate one. I say elaborate because there were many contributing factors that allowed me to arrive at the decision of opening my own business. Firstly I have an obsession with shopping. It’s my greatest stress reliever. So sometimes I would travel and purchase excessive clothing that I did not need or would not use. As a result of this I began selling my excess clothes to close friends and family. Pretty soon, they started asking me to shop for them. Also the joy I got from seeing them in clothing I chose was unexplainable. Then it hit me: since I enjoy doing this so much why not capitalize and make it a business. Read more>>

Lottie Hulme | Showbiz Journalist and Creator

I have been a journalist for some years now, and in journalism there are many different strands. I love writing, but I wanted to expand into social media to use my skills more. As my niche is showbiz, I translated that onto my TikTok and didn’t expect to grow a following so quickly but it thrived, and it allowed me to use my love of presenting in a new and exciting way. I love engaging with my followers on there and I think having a niche really helps with growth. Read more>>

Ornella Luces-Cedenio | Business Owner

The thought process behind starting my own business was an elaborate one. I say elaborate because there were many contributing factors that allowed me to arrive at the decision of opening my own business. Firstly I have an obsession with shopping. It’s my greatest stress reliever. So sometimes I would travel and purchase excessive clothing that I did not need or would not use. As a result of this I began selling my excess clothes to close friends and family. Pretty soon, they started asking me to shop for them. Read more>>

Charelle Thomas | Sex, Love and Intimacy Coach

It actually came about when a friend of mine reached out asking me to teach her how to do something. She had been calling me all day long and kept saying it was important and she needed me to be alone. It was a sense of urgency that I had never seen her express before. I finally called her back when I got home and she said “I will pay you if you teach me how to do this to Corey.” (Her partner) It was at that moment when the lightbulb went off. I realized that a lot of people are not taught about sex, love and relationships and it was something that I studied for a very long time for my own personal gain so why not teach others? Read more>>

Sionán | Fashion Stylist & Creative Director

I decided to pursue styling and a career in fashion because I felt like it combined a lot of my passions and skills. Styling is a career that combines an artistic and creative mindset as well as strong business acumen. It is a job that is challenging but super rewarding and that feeling is something I really aspired to have in my work Read more>>

Shanice Ragland | Ragland Shanice

My thought process behind starting my business was mainly my children. I absolutely had no idea that I would be running a kid spa just never thought that far. When I had my twin girls so much changed, my perspective of life changed I knew when I thought about my kids I just think of them being straight forever but when not leave a mark on everyone if you can. My objective for my business is to reach every little girl who don’t have the outlet to be a princess society tells us that only adults deserve this treatment (spa sessions) (me time) when all in all if it’s taught early the younger generation would understand how fundamental it is to take care of yourself Read more>>

Maxim Laroche | Husband, Father, & Entrepreneur

I had the opportunity to grow up around businessmen and other entrepreneurs during much of my life in Haiti, so being an entrepreneur, job creation, and owning my own time have always been a major motivator. My uncle always told me: “You won’t ever get rich working for other people, you’ll make them rich with the same effort that you could’ve done for yourself….question is are you willing to risk it on yourself instead of the security of a paycheck?” When I immigrated to the United States a little over 3 years ago, the first thing I did was create an LLC for my photography business but that is more of a passion project / labor of love vs a money generating business. Read more>>

Elianne D | Vacation rentals in Miami

I had a job in a good company but felt that I lacked freedom. Meeting schedules and not being able to decide what my days off or my vacations would be, did not leave me satisfied. I was a little scared to quit my job, but if not now, when? So I thought about being my own boss, with all the pros and cons that that brings. The freedom to decide is a great advantage. Always being aware of how things are going is a great responsibility. Read more>>

Rob Burn | Social entrepreneur – Founder Ten87 Studios.

I was a producer/engineer, working freelance across studios in London. I was spending a lot on hiring facilities by the day or half day, I even rented a space monthly myself as a private studio, however the space wasn’t ideal. I needed an affordable, functional set of spaces that myself and my musical network could call home. Where we could share facilities equipment and our connections. I was convinced I could build something better. Read more>>

Bernadette Indre | Cosmetic Tattoo Artist

I’ve been an artist and creative individual my entire life and even graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree of Fine Art in Visual Arts. Unfortunately, I graduated in 2008 during the recession and had no idea how to market myself or my work. I was hired into a major insurance company handling injury claims and eventually moved into pharmaceutical sales and finally medical device sales. The medical device industry is incredibly difficult to break into given the level of expertise required to succeed, but the financial payoff is substantial. It’s at this point in my career that I honed my sales and marketing skills. Read more>>

LUZ ADRIANA ALVARADO | CREATOR OF THE BRAND @MADAMAFRIC DEDICATED TO SKIN AND HAIR CARE IN A 100% ORGANIC WAY, HIGHLIGHTING PRODUCTS OF AFRICAN ORIGIN

my thought was very clear, to start a project for many women, mothers who can work from their homes to take care of their children, at the same time also find a financial method that creates economic independence, this helps women to be happier, safer in a society with a business factor , be more enterprising than employees Read more>>

Luciana Preguerman | Fashion designer & Manager at Yosoy Marketplace

We created Yosoy Marketplace with the purpose of creating a community of creative minds, where we all work towards the same goals throughout our individual businesses. Yosoy Marketplace was created after realizing that there are so many talented small businesses that were looking for a place to call home without the hassle of opening up place on their own. We are a CoWorking space for small retail businesses in the creative arts. Read more>>

Lex Brown | Owner & Head Designer

I have forever loved fashion as an art form – practical, expressive and fun it is. I am formally educated, and industry experienced in fashion design.
And it seemed to go hand in hand with being my own boss – fashion designer.
But once I realized the negative impact that garment waste has on the planet, my perception of clothing really pivoted. Read more>>

Elissa Arbeitman | Art Therapist & Process Painting Facilitator

Art Therapy is not the most well known profession so I knew I needed to start my own business if I wanted to create and provide my own programming, get compensated well and make my own schedule to support my children. Read more>>

Jane McCartney | Jewelry Designer

After having been in the women’s fashion business for 35 years as an evening wear designer, upon moving from Los Angeles to Delray Beach in 2016, I was looking for a creative outlet & started making jewelry as a hobby. A new friend hosted a jewelry party for me at her home, & after selling many pieces, I felt validated in my creativity & thought that this could develop into a business. I like selling direct to customers & have participated in many seasonal jewelry & holiday bazaars, plus I have a number of friends/customers who always come to me when they need gifts for family & friends (and self of course!). My business has grown steadily over the last 5 years, & I garner great fulfillment from the creative process. Read more>>

Kresence Campbell | Psychotherapist

After giving birth to my daughter in 2016 I began struggling with postpartum depression. I had a hard time getting to therapy with a new born and could not find a therapist of color. In 2017, after I became licensed and I decided that I wanted to help other mothers that went through what I did. I wanted to ensure that therapy was easily accessible. I opened Holly Street Counseling and began providing virtual therapy services. Read more>>

Kala Williams | Digital entrepreneur

Growing up I always wanted to be my own boss, but as life happens we lose sight of our childhood dreams. I started working at 16 in high school and after graduation I didn’t go to college I just worked two jobs. Fast forward after 7 years and probably over 7 jobs I realized that working for someone else is just not for me. I felt as I work extra hard and always willing to pick up extra shifts or be a leader amongst staff. I started thinking what if I put all of those leadership skills and passion into myself, and what kind of impact that would have on my life and legacy. Read more>>

icon303 | Poet & Artist

Hello, I am icon303 (spelled just like that; one word, all lowercase) and am a poet and artist. As I’ve grown and matured as a person, I’ve realized its simply irresponsible to work for anyone else. Sitting at a computer screen, mixing a gimlet in a shaker tin, or stepping on nails pulled from a roof are square pegs to my heart shaped spaces. While writing an obituary, I was stealing company paper to print out my first manuscript. Read more>>

La’Vonne-Alexis | CEO & Fashion stylist

My thought process behind starting my own business was that I wanted to make an impact within the industry in my own country doing what I loved to do. I always knew I wanted to be an entrepreneur so it was a matter of having a career where I want to get up and do this every single day, and what girl doesn’t love to dress up? I was also in college at the time, so keeping my mind busy on other things was a must for me. Read more>>