Our city is home to so many incredible businesses and so we asked the founders how they came up with the ideas for their businesses and have shared their responses below.

Selene C Chaves | Developer & Owner of Skin Reign my Skincare line

This is the greatest part, I didn’t create my products to build a business. I have low thyroid and one of the consequences of this condition is very dry skin, after trying everything in the market and getting no improvement I decided to put into practice the few years chemistry studies I did. I made a list of the benefits I wanted my lotion to provide my skin with and got started with the research phase for ingredients. It was a trial and error process, mixing different things until I got to my perfect formula, my skin was now healthy, nourished, protected and glowy. Read more>>

Asako Kaplan | Japanese Design Entrepreneur & Cancer Survivor

I always knew that I had a creative side. However, growing up in a business-oriented Tokyo family, I followed a direction into early childhood Montessori education for over 15 years. After meeting my husband in Tokyo from the New York area, my life took flight over to the US and after a few years in the northeast, our family flew south to Miami 11 years ago. Surrounded by Miami’s artistic and design culture, I had the feeling that my life was heading towards the release of my creative side. Well life can change in a minute, as I was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2019 just before the onset of COVID. Read more>>

The Listening Room | Ontological Coaching

Bego and I are Ontological Coaches and met two years ago when we co-founded a Foundation for Women in Miami. We immediately connected and found that not only did we share a great passion for helping women but we were moved by an overwhelming need to “head out into the world at large”. It was only after endless conversations about the relationship issues we had both encountered in our coaching sessions and in our own contexts that one day it just came to us: we wanted to create a “room” for women where we could help them create and live better relationships. A room where they would feel understood and loved, where they could share their experiences and feelings with other women in similar situations. And this is how we created “The Listening Room”. Read more>>

Claudia Prado | Founder, Yum Pup

Our Yum Pup story goes back to when a tiny 2lb Yorkshire Terrier named Blue, after the leading bird in the Pixar movie Rio, came into my life. From the second we met it was love at first sight! Since then, I have dedicated our time together to make Blue’s quality of life the best possible and maximize our time together. Because if it were up to me, pups would live forever. Read more>>

Samantha Wallace – Harrell | Social media management & Digital marketing

A close friend of mine, Dr. Amber Williams, opened up a Chiropractic Care practice early last year and needed flyers and digital marketing. As many times as she offered to pay me, I turned it down. I was unaware that so many people turned what I was doing into a business. Last September, sitting with another friend in Real Estate, Laurane Simon, I asked her about her Instagram page and content. She informed me that she pays someone to do it for her, and that person, Sharon Lewis, teaches classes on Social Media Management. From there, my business begin. Read more>>

Carol Paz Nickless | Owner of Paz y Luna

I grew up in Honduras , watching my grandmother hand making straw hats to sell at the market . The process that it took her to make the hats always impressed me. That made me always appreciate hand made items .
Six years ago I decided to start a business selling unique , one of a kind accessories . I was fortunate enough to travel and see first hand the many unique products that every country produces. I now sell products from 10 countries and my clients appreciate the beautiful accessories. Read more>>

Pamela Jones | Founder of OmLuxe Lifestyle + The Ultimate Wellness Guide

It’s been said create what you wished existed. For me I wanted one go-to source where I could go to find out about all the best Wellness Destinations, Healthy Eateries, Movement Studios,Local and Sustainable shopping, Bio-Hacking, Sacred Gatherings and Miami’s best Modern Mystics providing everything from Quantum Coaching, Sound Healing, Full Moon Circles and even Tantra. Read more>>