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.

Jada Janelle | Freelance Marketing Designer and Mentor

I don’t like to call my business a business. I prefer to more so call it a God given gift to give back and help others that look like me go further with their brand. Read more>>

Samantha da Silva | Owner of Maison Roselene

I believe that there are certain personality qualities that come with oneself from a very young age, and being an entrepreneur is one of them, the virtues of independence and leadership were always in my identity. Therefore, even though I have had good position jobs in many companies, my mind and my path always led me to be creating projects on my own. Read more>>

Allan Lazher | Music Teacher & Entrepreneur

My goal is to help as many kids as possible discover the magical world of music and the arts. To create a space where they can grow as musicians and artists. To inspire them thru the transformative power of music to become good humans. Read more>>

Adam Duckworth | Travelmation – President & Founder

My thought process behind starting Travelmation was to take an older and outdated industry, the “Travel Agent” industry, and help modernize it. We did this with innovative digital marketing strategies. We were also the first agency to allow agents to market themselves on social media. Read more>>

Linda Chiou | Entrepreneur & CEO IVY Swimwear

As an entrepreneur, I believe that starting my own business was of the most rewarding and fulfilling experiences. There were many reasons why I considered leaving the corporate world and starting my own business. Read more>>

Che Hojas | Artist & Author

I think it was something I always had in me, the desire to build—a longing to develop my dreams and paths instead of doing it for others. I appreciate teamwork and the safety of a work environment, but I could never quit pursuing creating an impact with my own work and creativity. Read more>>

Oluwatobiloba Fasalejo | Contemporary Artist

Initially, my thought about Art is not a business, but a hobby. I find it very easy to work with few local material that I can get as a teenager, with just the little idea I get and with the influence of my environment. I easy adapt with creating art piece with my intellect and make the construction to something beautiful that can be sold and earned from. Read more>>

Jaime & Akim Lehmann | Founders of Alpinaluxe

We are a married couple, from two different cultures and work in two different industries. My husband is Swiss and works in the boat building industry. I was born & raised in South Africa and I’m in the medical field. He has a love for beautiful time-pieces and has always been fascinated by watches. Read more>>

Krupa Purohit | Esthetician

Coming from a family of entrepreneurs, I learned a lot of my ‘Eyebrow Threading’ skills from my mother, which goes back to my ancestors. I wanted to have a certain level of creative freedom, using products on my clients which are known to be the best in the beauty industry. Read more>>

Pierre | Photographer & Content Creator

I started my business in order to express myself creatively and also my passion for creating content. As a child i have always had a wild imagination and have always wanted to showcase that anyways that I could. Read more>>

Crystal Sawyer Musician|Educator|Consultant | Musician|Educator|Consultant

The company was originally founded by my late father. He suggested that I try the harp after graduating from high school. He saw the amount of performing that I was doing and wanted to streamline operations. In the current day, my business helps me with marketing and branding. Read more>>

Miguel Trinidad | Chef, Owner, Entrepreneur, Author, Disruptor

The thought behind starting my own business was to control the narrative. I wanted to write my story and control my destiny. I wanted to be the face for my community and show people like me that we can be business owners and we can make an impact. Read more>>

Davit Mkrtchyan | Entrepreneur & Architectural Designer

I always felt uncomfortable working for someone else and tried to find something that I love and can go through the stress to be my own boss. Since I worked in the architectural world from 16 years old I already had the experience to do projects from A-Z. Without any hesitation, at 19 years old of age I opened my company EHDM Group Inc with one of my friends. Read more>>

Tammy Rosen | Personal Stylist

After having my first son, I felt like I needed to do something for myself, but I also faced the challenge of wanting to control my own schedule. While brainstorming what to do, I asked myself what is something I do every day and how can I incorporate it into a business. Read more>>

Juan Barbeite | Founder, Chandler

In the Fall of 2020, I, like many others, had been cooped up at home for months with a lot of worry and uncertainty about the future. Along with the pandemic, my mother was diagnosed with Stage 4 breast cancer. Distancing ourselves from her during her most vulnerable times had me feeling completely overwhelmed and useless. Read more>>