We reached out to some of our favorite entrepreneurs and asked them to think back and tell us about how they decided to start a business. Check out their responses below.

Victoria Downes | Business Coach, Strategist and Speaker

I decided to start my business because I was laid off at the start of the pandemic in 2020. We were on lockdown and my role at the Elizabeth Warren 2020 Presidential Campaign had just ended. I had been an entrepreneur for 15 years and owned a paint party company coincidentally shut down around the same time. Read more>>

Konomi Takenaka | Nail artist

I would like to know about foreign cultures and life so I need get to any my skills for live overseas. I started learn how to do nails three years ago because I like fashion, art and wanted to be comic artist when I was child so I like drawing anything. It’s very worthwhile for me! Read more>>

Ashley Minetti | Owner of Monogrammin’ Mom

Monogrammin’ Mom was born when my husband bought me an amazing and thoughtful Christmas gift in 2015… a vinyl cutting machine. At the time, I was working for a public IT company in sales, covering 7 states and traveling entirely too much. On my son’s second day of Kindergarten, he fell and hit his head on the playground. Read more>>

Carlin Hayes | Flower Truck Owner & Yoga Instructor

My first thought when starting my business was “ I can easily do that” My second thought was “ Holy crap I’m crazy I don’t know if I can do this” My third thought was “ I’m not giving up” No amount of schooling teaches you how to start a business and everything that goes on behind the scenes. Read more>>

Nicolas Roman | President Brothers Gutters West Broward

After working everyday for 28 years for a thankless company who did not value its employees, I realized that I was living groundhog day everyday. Counting the days until retirement is not the way to live life. I wanted to open a business and empower my employees to succeed and live better lives. Read more>>

Kaci Hasson | Salon owner & educator

Opening up my business was something that was necessary for myself… I had an assistant at the time and the salon culture at my previous salon home wasn’t able to provide a spot for her to grow and learn the way I knew she needed to be successful and mold her into the hairstylist she dreamed to become… Read more>>

Katherine Bischoff | Faux Florist & Wedding designer

I have always been a leader and entrepreneur, dreaming of bigger things, so when the idea of having my own business that could marry my personality of, go getter attitude and creative arts and design came together, I knew that was it! The wedding and event business had always intrigued me, as I loved to hold events and entertain. Read more>> 

Timaree Hagenburger | Registered Dietitian Nutritionist, Community Leader, Author, Exercise Physiologist (ACSM)

After teaching college for more than 2 decades, and speaking around the country, I discovered an opportunity when our world was turned upside down. Although I had been teaching at least one online class each semester, up until the shift to remote learning, the instructional format had been asynchronous. When I abruptly transitioned my in-person classes to Zoom, I quickly realized the mountain of untapped potential. Read more>>

Anna Bucknor | Operations and Process Curator (People & Systems)

Over the years, many of my friends have stepped away from their corporate jobs and ventured out into the world of entrepreneurship. We would often talk about their challenges surrounding the realities of entrepreneurship vs what they thought it would be. Read more>>

Samantha Lujan | CEO/Co-Founder

In 2017 we adopted our dog Beau from the Key Largo Humane Society. Found in a garbage bin right after the hurricane, he was in really bad shape when we adopted him and we nurtured him back to help. In 2022, we adopted our second dog Buddy from Paw Patrol Animal Rescue! Given to the shelter after a family realized he was a Christmas gift they didn’t actually want to or had the means to care for. Read more>>

Tatineasha White | Owner of Theewhitelabel LLC

At a very young age, I always loved fashion. I was never the teen that wanted the same outfits or shoes that every other girl wore it was just never me I always had a different look. From small dances, prom, or parties Im always that girl. I always got compliments on all my pieces, and this is where I decided to start TheeWhiteLabel LLC my online boutique in 2019. Read more>>

paco jimenez | productor

Well, very simply, I like to be independent and not have to give explanations to anyone. Things like schedules, moving to other places are not for me. Read more>>

Sherman Yee | Creative Director & Artist

When I started my fine art career, the idea of the starving artist always came to mind. I started drawing when I was very young and always loved doing it. But I didn’t realize you could actually do that for a career. I started off doing commercial art, graphic design and creative direction for design studios and ad agencies. Read more>>

Victoria Duerstock | Author & Owner, End Game Press

I would have chosen all of the above if that had been an option! I have a brain that can operate equally in both spheres. I can handle logistics and on task to get things done, but I also have a deep love of creativity and crave space to see what transpires when time allows. The challenge is that I can’t do both at the same time. Read more>>

Dawn FORD | Treat Baker, Cake Maker, Boss Lade

Ben and I already owned a dog care business and saw there was a need for treats with better ingredients so started small, making a few treat flavors for our dog care clients—-the feedback was great! Owners would tell us that their dogs wouldn’t eat the store bought treats they had and only wanted the treats we sent them home with! An idea was born, we did a season at the local farmers market and received great feedback, selling out almost every weekend! Read more>>

Dr. Kristal Cunningham | Clinical pharmacist, Transformational curl care specialist, founder of Bold Kulture Beauty

I desperately needed to make caring for my natural hair and loving my natural curls easier. I started my journey with natural hair care as a new mom struggling to balance a newborn, a career, and feeling comfortable and confident with my appearance. It was a rough time for me because, in addition to other things, I wasn’t entirely comfortable with my hair. Noting was working, everything required too much of my time, and caring for my hair had become overwhelming. Read more>>

Tracey Etelson | QHHT Level 2 Practitioner

We wanted to fulfill our life’s purpose of raising the consciousness of the planet, one person at a time. Creating a space for people looking to heal through alternative modalities, that would also be for gathering place for like minds, seemed a good place to start. Read more>> 

Llto Jordan | Audio Engineer & Recording Artist

Being Self sustainable. Able to come up with ideas organically in roll them out in my own fashion, without approval from a higher ups. Like as a label would be over an artist I can create in my own process, market and distribute it exactly how I’d like to! That’s Powerful and beautiful to have that kind of control over what we create. Read more>>

Morgan Rodgers | Designer & Entrepreneur

I relaunched my brand in June 2020, newly into the pandemic. My thought process was the world had shifted and most people weren’t going out or in need of custom clothing. So I decided I wanted to make a luxury sleepwear brand. Cool Silk by Morgan Madonna is a satin line of sleepwear predominantly for women, with a sprinkle of children and men throughout the line. Read more>>

Alan Alcala | Licensed Real Estate Broker & Business Administrator

Figure it out about the insurance requirements, because no one wants to help or disclose it. Read more>>

Mathew Forzaglia | NYC Fitness Professional & Founder of Forzag Fitness

My thought process behind starting my own business began 5 years into my career. It occurred to me that I was building someone else’s brand on their time instead of my brand and my product. With the busy, non-stop work schedule of a NYC fitness professional, I felt I had little to no time for personal and professional development. Read more>>