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.

Jake Rothstein | Founder & CEO of UpsideHōM

My family faced challenges when managing my grandparents’ needs as they aged. I saw first-hand how my grandmother found herself alone after my grandfather passed away. Although she was 87 at the time, she was in perfect health and had a good social life; however, she had a large house that she could no longer maintain, and she needed help with a few day-to-day tasks like grocery shopping and driving to doctors’ appointments. In a way, I was her first home manager. She moved into an apartment and I helped her out when my other family members couldn’t. This is how the idea for UpsideHōM came to be – a viable solution for those in between living independently and requiring full-time care. Read more>>

Sheda Vours | Multi-Disciplinary Artist & Giver of Fantasies

I’ve always wanted my artistic presence to be known, to be seen, to be felt. I started off in high school, with creating an Instagram account with the username “jazminnojutsu” and I would share images of my make up looks, drawings, paintings, and cosplays. I was happy with the work that I was putting out. At the time, I knew I was doing my best with the little resources I had but I’ve always wanted something grander. My next level of creation had to happen soon, so I decided to re-brand into a multi-disciplinary artist and from the depths of my deepest interests and passions, conjured the glamazon that is Sheda Vours. I went to college for an Associates degree in Fine Art and figured out after 15 years of being immersed (against my will) in academia, traditional schooling was not aiding me in my creative endeavors. Read more>>

Laura Whalley | Founder of Hatch Creatives

Hatch Creatives came from the community of women of around me. Many girls I knew were talking about or dreaming of starting a business or creative endeavor of their own. I realized there was no collective, local space where these women could meet to collaborate and support one another, so creating a community for these ideas and women was born!. Read more>>

Analauren Garcia | Owner & Designer

Here’s a bit about how Easy Basic Creations came to be, and how our handmade shop started as a mom on a mission to create her first-born’s year a holiday success and turned into a vibrant and thriving mother-daughter duo. The one that really motivated me to create EBC was my lovely and amazing mother Rayda. I’ve always been a crafty person and love to work with my hands. However, it wasn’t until I had my son Logan that this idea started to form in my mother’s head. She saw how I hand crafted every little detail that I need to make Logan’s first year memorable because I had this crazy new mom concept in my head of how I wanted everything to look but couldn’t find anything! From the monthly milestones, holiday events, nursery décor, first birthday; well you get the gist of it, friends and family were impressed with everything I created. That’s when my mom said, “You know we can really make something out of this” and the rest is history. Read more>>

Alejandra Carvajal | Event Planner

I was working as a planner in a local restaurant and saw the opportunity of offering our clients a service that will complement they’re events. Flowers and decorations to beautify the already amazing set ups that we offered our clients. After some years of doing both jobs I was able to become independent to focus mainly on Always Be Creative Flowers and events. Today, we offer not only flowers and decorations but event and wedding planning services. Read more>>