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.

Kemisha Cole | Weave, Wigs & Waist Shapers Vendor

The idea to start my business (KemDes), came about because I was always looking for good quality hair extensions at affordable prices. I love getting my hair done like most women do, and getting it done without breaking the bank. I like “good quality” weave, so I decided to research for vendors that had good quality with affordable prices. My research continued for months, which was frustrating at times, however, I kept doing my research. After four months of speaking to vendors and looking at samples, I found bundles/wigs that was affordable. With all the knowledge gained through the research, I started thinking that maybe this could be my side hustle. Read more>>

Ines Hegedus-Garcia | Architecture & Historic Realtor

I was marketing myself like any other REALTOR, following advice from industry experts and coaches but my marketing didn’t feel real, red flags kept going off and instinctively, it felt fake. Being a creative in real estate meant that I couldn’t do things like others in the industry, it meant that I had to find a path that made sense so I decided to follow my gut. I dumped all the “look at me” marketing, even my photo from my business cards. Marketing became client centric, focusing on selling Miami’s lifestyle, selling its way of life, like a philosophy, an “ism” and Miamism was born! I have to admit that selling Miami is easy because I love the city and everything about it. Read more>>

Deniz Salacin Erciyas | Graphic Design

What a world we live in, where almost everything is a cliche and a standard. Trends lead people into owning the exact same thing, which makes the world very dull and monotonous. I thought about personalizing items in design when I observed how uniform everything was. Things were so much more colorful when they were unique. First, I started personalizing things for my loved ones and myself. I designed items such as shoes, sneakers, leather items such as wallets, skateboards and such. After a while, after receiving many compliments on my work and further interest I decided to turn it into a business. I worked with companies such as HP, Bioderma, Vans and Caffe Nero on projects and I had a chance to work with Kanyon, a nice market shopping mall, on their customer mailings and communications. All of the projects that I worked at were all very inspiring. Read more>>

Giselle Gallardo & Nick Machado | Owners

We have always wanted to own a small business, but we never really knew exactly what it was that we wanted to do. We knew that we both loved entertaining and crowd-pleasing, and wanted to do something around that but also wanted for our business to be fun and for it to reflect Miami’s beautiful culture. When we would talk about the idea of owning our own business, we both knew that we wanted to combine Nick’s culinary school background, Giselle’s love for startups, and both of our creativity into whatever we decided to launch. We also kept in mind that to be successful, we had to do something we both enjoyed doing. In December of 2019, Giselle’s family hosted a graduation party for her. Read more>>