Starting and growing a business is hard, but often deciding to start the business in the first place is even harder. We asked some successful entrepreneurs from around the community to open up to us about how they thought about starting a business.

Hellenic Cultural Society of South Florida | Cultural Organization focused on the community we serve

The Hellenic Cultural Society of South Florida started as a group of friends who love all things Greek: the Greek language, Greek history, and Greek culture. Approximately 10 years ago, three of us (Stavroula Christodoulou, Petros Tsingelis, and myself, Malvina Currie) organized a few successful events, such as discussions of history, poetry readings, and the creation of videos with the participation of other community members. Then, however — as is often the case — life pushed us in different directions. Read more>>

Emilio José López | Artistic creator and trainer

More than thought I must admit that it was feeling. The events of my life led me to the need to express myself in an artistic way in the field of writing, to later move on to creating children’s stories and currently also painting pictures. Read more>>

Natalie Lynn Lichtenbert | Conservationist, Biologist and Content Creator

I started Green Dolphin Project Global in 2022 after several years of volunteering for various organizations over the years. By 2020 and with the onslaught of online meetings, I was participating in seven environmental organizations at a time, leading a few of these! On any given day, I could be jumping to three different calls… Read more>>

Carlos Troncoso | DJ Charlie Woods

1. What was your thought process behind starting your own business? After working for many years in different venues and private events as DJ Charlie Woods and also as a musician/producer with different music projects, I realized that most of the focus in the Miami entertainment industry related to DJs and musicians where at nightclubs and bars, but not many where thinking about high-end hotels and fine dining restaurants. Read more>>

Brian Williams | thepsychogen

I’ve always wanted to be my own boss. Society teaches us to fit a specific “mold” in order to be successful. Since a child my thought process has been noticeably different. With that being said ill always push for ownership! Read more>>

Emilio Warwar | Artist & Entrepreneur

That’s pretty easy, aside from going after my dreams, I just didn’t ever want to work for someone where my value would be determined by someone else. I disliked some of the workplaces, the negativity, the unfairness or abuse, and the people complaining about how much they hate their jobs. Read more>>

Will Noveck | Law School Admissions Consultant, LSAT Tutor, Podcaster, Digital Artist

I was working for a large test prep organization and I was deviating from their rules because I found some of them to be counterproductive. At a certain point I got “caught” and I can remember arguing with my superior about how all I was trying to do was to get better results for our customers and, as you can imagine, this did not go very well. It was a frustrating meeting and I remember thinking to myself “I never want to be in a position ever again where I get yelled at for trying to do a great job.” Read more>>

Krystal Rogers | Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and Philanthropist

I’ve always seen myself owning my own business. Even as a little girl I used to tell my mom that I wanted to own McDonalds. As I got older the desire to be an entrepreneur only grew stronger with every job I worked. For me the question was what business would I start not if I would. Read more>>

Kristin Moncrief | CEO, Licensed Optician, Certified Vision Screener

he thought process behind starting my business was how can i make shopping for eyewear more convenient and make vision care more accessible for those that need it most, without sacrificing quality, care and service. Read more>>

Monique | Women’s Fat Loss & Nutrition Coach

I always loved to help people gain confidence while improving the quality of their lives. I thought the only way I could do that was by going to medical school. So I moved to Florida from Ohio in 2019 to pursue that dream. Once I went to med school for a few days, I realized it wasn’t what I wanted or was passionate about, so I dropped out. Read more>>

Tiffany Pottinger | Soapmaker

During the pandemic, I was forced to sit with myself, with my thoughts and reflect on my life. I often think back to countless days during my childhood at my grandmother’s house in Jamaica. I witnessed my grandmother owning several businesses, most of which were handmade items from cakes, ceramics, to flower arrangements. Read more>>

Ashley Keefer | Tattoo Artist and Owner of Phoenix Tattoo

I had gone through a really rough patch leaving my old shop. I was dating the owner and it was a very toxic. When I left he threatened me so I didn’t work at any other shops in the area. I was pretty devastated for a little while, until I decided to build something nobody could take away from me. Read more>>

Ian Borbolla | Certified Public Accountant (CPA)

I have always had an entrepreneurial spirit. As a kid, I started a lemonade stand. As a young adult, I started an event planning company. As an adult, I got started in the mortgage industry working in very independent roles. There were many other business ideas I had during my life that were never attempted either due to lack of complete knowledge or lack of resources. Read more>>

Qhayiya Asakhe | Asakhe Nojoko | Singer and songwriter

I grew up in a very poor family with a single mother and one source of income. So I thought one day, “How can I be free from poverty and be financially independent?” Having multiple streams of income was the answer. Read more>>

Carolyn & Andrea Baccaro & Podob | Co-owners & Founders

Hyperbole is founded on the belief that the absolute best products on earth are the ones that make you feel good about shopping: made by real people, designed with purpose, and unique to your style. Our mission is to curate a fun collection of artwork, clothing, and jewelry while connecting new, emerging artists with a larger audience. Read more>>

Tina | Amy Assadpour | Ahn | Co-Founders of Paw Paw Patisserie

Dogs make life so much better, and we think they should be celebrated every single day. This was really the catalyst behind our decision to start Paw Paw Patisserie. So whether it’s a Bark-day, Gotcha’ Day, Barkmitzva, or just a regular day at the park— we design beautiful cakes and biscuits to make your pup’s day as special as they make yours. Read more>>

Giselle McClymont | Entrepreneur & Educator

My thought process behind starting my business was, how can I provide quality education to meet the exact needs of each student and their learning style. Even before the pandemic extra academic assistance was needed for multiple students, I knew the pandemic and lack of face to face wouldn’t make it any better. My thought process was to provide quality education with the child’s learning style at the core, in this way I could help my community. Read more>>

V Kay | Travel Blogger & Content Creator

When I decided to create my blog, my thought process was that I wanted to share my travel stories as well as help other travelers with tips and tricks that I have learned over the years. Also, I wanted the blog to be a bit more interesting and different than everything that was available out there which is why I came up with the whole unicorn theme. So, a combination of all of those ideas is how I started my blogging journey. Read more>>

Aistė Rye | Visual Artist & Muralist

Coming from a family of entrepreneurs, starting my own business felt like a rite of passage. Witnessing friends start their own businesses in the last couple of years has also inspired and motivated me to start my own entrepreneurial journey. Read more>>

Daniel Londono | Entrepreneur

The truth is that I’m a very adventurous person, I’d rather failed trying than waiting for the perfect moment. I have started three different businesses here in Miami and with all of them I just don’t think to much, I make sure that I’m loving what I’m doing, that I’m putting all my effort, research and compaction to get the perfect team and start from scratch. Read more>>

Yanna Machi | Fashion Designer

It was the right time; I had been preparing myself after finishing my bachelor’s degree in Fashion design, acquiring skills and learning as much as I could about my craft and about businesses, when the opportunity
presented itself, it was as if everything aligned, I did not feel ready, but I knew it was time to take the leap, so I did and it was one the most important decisions in my life. So I guess my thought process was
something along the lines of: You are as ready as you’ll ever be, go all in. Read more>>

Cassanie Mckenzie | Yoga Instructor & Wellness Retreat Leader

As a yoga teacher of over 10 years, it was natural that eventually I would start leading retreats. This I did, but overtime, just as my group classes have given way to more private one on ones for more impact, my retreat model evolved as well to my “Privately curated wellness retreat” offering. Read more>>